Lead hardness?

daved20319 · Jan 3, 2020

I ordered a variety of Missouri Bullet Co. bullets awhile back for my .45's, among them, their 200 gr. coated SWC. The load I've settled on is 4 gr. of Bullseye at around 750 FPS, which is soft and accurate, but dirty. The bullets I chose are the harder ones, 18 BHN, but in doing some more reading on their site, I'm wondering if I shouldn't be using the softer 12 BHN bullets instead. Based on that info, the harder lead could be causing the dirt, by virtue of the bullets not obturating at the low velocity and pressure. Anyone experiment with this, and if so, did it make a difference? Or is this just the nature of Bullseye and lead bullets, even coated? Thanks.

DizzyJ · Jan 3, 2020

Reading some of the material by Mic McPherson, that sounds possible. I've never tested the theory as I mostly shoot plated or fmj projectiles.

Member 5605 · Jan 3, 2020

The dirtiness will be a combination of bullet lube and your powder.

If you think it's not dirty now, use some softer alloy and watch the lead buildup in the barrel.

You are shooting bullseye which isn't known for being a clean powder. If you want to clean it up, shoot a cleaner powder.

ageingstudent · Jan 4, 2020

daved20319 said:
I ordered a variety of Missouri Bullet Co. bullets awhile back for my .45's, among them, their 200 gr. coated SWC. The load I've settled on is 4 gr. of Bullseye at around 750 FPS, which is soft and accurate, but dirty. The bullets I chose are the harder ones, 18 BHN, but in doing some more reading on their site, I'm wondering if I shouldn't be using the softer 12 BHN bullets instead. Based on that info, the harder lead could be causing the dirt, by virtue of the bullets not obturating at the low velocity and pressure. Anyone experiment with this, and if so, did it make a difference? Or is this just the nature of Bullseye and lead bullets, even coated? Thanks.

I have experimented extensively. If they're coated bullets 18bhn is too hard at the velocity you're shooting them. I shoot 125gr .357 magnums at 1400fps with a coated .358 sized bullet at 12-15 bhn and no leading. Are your loads just burning dirty or are they leaving lead in the barrel? Lead leaves light gray streaks not black crusty powder residue. Two different things.

Also, a bullet doesn't need to obturate much (if at all) if it is sized properly for your barrel. Ideally you want the projectile to be .001-.002 larger than your groove diameter.

I should mention that I shoot coated .352 sized 158 gr bullets at 12~15bhn out of my .351 WSL at ~1800 fps with no leading. 18bhn is unnecessarily hard for your .45 at the speeds you gave. The new coatings make hardness less important. Good bullet fit is way more crucial than hardness. If they are just running dirty and that bugs you try some 700x or something that burns cleaner than Bullseye.

awshoot · Jan 4, 2020

I would definitely try a different powder. I have a Ruger SP101 which after about 100 rds with bullseye, the cylinder starts jamming up. In contrast, I can shoot Accurate No 2, 5, or 9 as much as I want without issues.

41mag · Jan 4, 2020

I too prefer 200 cast @ around 750. Even Universal Clay's is cleaner. Seek out cleaner powder for your load. Too soft a lead will plague even at lower fps.

daved20319 · Jan 5, 2020

Thanks, guys. Just to be clear, I'm using coated bullets, so no leading issues, just lots of soot everywhere. It's worth noting that it was worse with the lighter charges/lower velocity loads as I was working up my current load. Kind of a waste of time in a way, if there's such a thing as a "standard" target load for the .45 ACP, it's probably a 200 gr. SWC over 4 gr. of Bullseye.

Okay, I'm going to go with the assumption that this is a Bullseye issue, I only have a couple pounds of it, so I'll burn it up and switch to something else, probably Alliant Sport Pistol as it's advertised as being pretty much purpose-formulated for use with coated bullets. In the meantime I need to order more SWC's, I've only got a handful of my first box left. Later.

Hatman1793 · Mar 7, 2020

Don't discount Bullseye as a suitable powder. Bullseye is very energetic, offers low powder throw weights & has an abundance of applications.

4.0 grains of Bullseye powder behind a cast 200 grain 45acp SWC bullet is the CLASSIC proven target load @ 25 yards. 4.1-4.2 grains to 50 yards. Ask any Camp Perry Bullseye shooter.

All powder is dirty, its the nature of the combustion process. Sure, some powders offer less byproducts but its a trade off on price & more powder required. Using powder coated bullets means no metal on metal friction, no lead vapourization, & the bullets can be BHN 7-9.

DizzyJ · Mar 7, 2020

Hatman1793 said:
Don't discount Bullseye as a suitable powder. Bullseye is very energetic, offers low powder throw weights & has an abundance of applications.

4.0 grains of Bullseye powder behind a cast 200 grain 45acp SWC bullet is the CLASSIC proven target load @ 25 yards. 4.1-4.2 grains to 50 yards. Ask any Camp Perry Bullseye shooter.

All powder is dirty, its the nature of the combustion process. Sure, some powders offer less byproducts but its a trade off on price & more powder required. Using powder coated bullets means no metal on metal friction, no lead vapourization, & the bullets can be BHN 7-9.

Bullseye is my favorite pistol gunpowder for 9mm and 45ACP.