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I've loaded lead in 300 blackout in the past. Anything over 1200 FPS was atrocious. At pistol speeds, they did very well. I imagine this is the same thing. If I were looking to get rifle speeds with lead, I would be looking at gas checks.

Castboolits is a great source for lead use too. Check out that site if interested.
 
... but I will not get into a 'revolving door' of chasing something that many never work.

I hear you. I have nice accurate hunting load using 140 gn SST bullets. I bought some 143 gn ELDX bullets and after three different powders and varying combinations of cases and primers -- just gave up. I didn't think the difference would be so wild but my rifle hates those bullets for whatever reason.
 
Now - here is the interesting thing - I just 'miked' a Speer 100 grain half jacket 'plinker' and a 110 grain JRN - both of which my rifles shoot very well.

The Plinker miked at .308 and the 110 at .309 and these shoot excellently.

The lead bullets mike at .309 as well but zero consistency.
 
You might be able to cheat a bit if you can find some bullets like the old Lazer cast they were a brinell 21. I'd start with a good bore scoping, I'll bet you're leaded up like crazy. I know some use Trailboss or Accurate Arms 5744 for hardcast loads in rifle calibers. You might look at the Lyman Cast Bullet load book for more information/ideas.
 
Recently I've been playing with some surplus plastic bullets I've had lying around for years. They are a 20gr plastic bullet with a copper base. I load them with a few grains of Bullseye for about 2000fps and have been surprised that they shoot quite accurately at 25 yard
I nominate you as our NWFA representative at the riots in Downtown Portland!
 
Update:

I contacted Patrick at BadMan Bullets and told him about this.

His first question was if I had been flaring the case mouths which I had not. I had only been chamfering the case mouths with an RCBS deburring tool and he recommended I start flaring the case mouths for smoother bullet seating.

He also recommended only a light crimp and that I reduce the powder charge to 8.5 grains but I 'rounded' it down to 8.

I thoroughly cleaned the rifles I had shot my first loads out of and fortunately there was no leading.

Anyway iv'e got a batch of new rounds loaded with with corrections made so i'll be trying them soon with hopefully better results!
 
If you've made it a smoothbore use 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. Plug the barrel and fill it.. leave in for 10-20 minutes, swab and repeat if necessary. The solution becomes lead acetate so don't breathe the fumes or touch it, it can kill you for reals. Suppressor guys use it all the time. I used it a bunch because I made a huge batch of 9 that leaded like crazy and didn't want to pull them all. Works great.
Do an online search for other cautions concerning certain metals etc..


Id rather use sweets and chore boy and not take a chance on etching my bore . That solution has been known to etch a bore in considerably less time than 20 minutes. Use with extreme caution.
 
Id rather use sweets and chore boy and not take a chance on etching my bore . That solution has been known to etch a bore in considerably less time than 20 minutes. Use with extreme caution.
Yea, I've heard some people fret. I've not had a problem and woulda died of old age blasting through those crud rounds and then chore boying it 100x. And glocks are throw away anyway.
 
Yea, I've heard some people fret. I've not had a problem and woulda died of old age blasting through those crud rounds and then chore boying it 100x. And glocks are throw away anyway.

I actually use an after market barrel in glocks that see cast ammunition.


On another related note never buy a trap door if you think that the leading in a pistol can be troublesome. I've brought trapdoor barrels back to live that were heavily leaded using sweets, chore boy and lead free cloth. Not a free lunch by any means but it is effective and safe for the old steel in those barrels.
 
I once had a5" 625 lead foul so bad had to send it to the factory after hours of various home-care theories. Got it back, clean, with a scrawled note from the 'smith to "use harder bullet heads".
 
I actually use an after market barrel in glocks that see cast ammunition.


On another related note never buy a trap door if you think that the leading in a pistol can be troublesome. I've brought trapdoor barrels back to live that were heavily leaded using sweets, chore boy and lead free cloth. Not a free lunch by any means but it is effective and safe for the old steel in those barrels.
These would lead all my 9mm guns just the same, to include the stock glock barrel.. just the ticket for an ugly job. A few times the barrel barely had a hole down it (well, it was MUCH reduced) so I'd put some sintered iron slugs through it and then use that solution. And repeat.
 
Update - this morning's results!
Dramatic difference! I may be on to something! Check out the 11, 12 and 1 o'clock two shot groups!
This was with the recommended case mouth flaring and reducing powder charge.

IMG_2152.JPG
 
Update - this morning's results!
Dramatic difference! I may be on to something! Check out the 11, 12 and 1 o'clock two shot groups!
This was with the recommended case mouth flaring and reducing powder charge.

View attachment 721571
:eek: I didn't catch the no flaring part. Yea, that's pretty important. The most important part of a bullet regarding accuracy is the base..
 
I didn't catch the no flaring part.
Yep - this is my first ever 'serious' attempt at loading cast for RIFLE ammo - forever with pistol and never an issue.

Working on modifying a 9mm case expander die into a .30-30 case mouth flaring die as we speak!
 
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