Excessive leading in a .44 Magnum

Niederlander · March 25, 2022, 06:27:41 PM

Gentlemen, I've recently acquired a .44 Magnum with .431 cylinder throats. Both .429 and .430 bullets cause severe leading. Have any of you experienced this? I'm going to try .431 bullets, but I'm about ready to sell it to someone who shoots jacketed and get one with tighter throats.

LongWalker · March 25, 2022, 07:28:52 PM

With .431 throars and a .429 barrel, leading is normally due to the bullet alloy or lube. What alloy are you casting and what lube are you using?

Niederlander · March 25, 2022, 07:42:37 PM

I'm using wheel weights and tumble lube. What's got me puzzled is the same loads shoot with no leading in a Ruger with .430 throats, and I shot the same loads in a Smith Model 29 of the same era with no leading.

David Battersby · March 27, 2022, 12:50:55 PM

the cast bullet needs to be at least the diameter of the throat or 1/2 thousandths larger. Flame cutting of the bullet will happen with undersized bullets.

Niederlander · March 27, 2022, 03:38:57 PM

Going to try .431 bullets next. Hopefully that cures it.

Coffinmaker · March 28, 2022, 08:07:37 AM

Take a real hard look at the Barrel Forcing Cone. The throat diameter you cite should have no effect on leading. The contributing factors are the lead alloy and the lube.

Play Safe Out There

cpt dan blodgett · March 28, 2022, 04:56:27 PM

Are you trying to shoot 44 Mag velocities? If shooting somewhere around the 1000 fps mark you may find going to a softer alloy will upset and seal better. You could always use a gas checked bullet as well.

Bryan Austin · March 31, 2022, 07:32:01 PM

Quote from: Niederlander on March 25, 2022, 06:27:41 PM
Gentlemen, I've recently acquired a .44 Magnum with .431 cylinder throats. Both .429 and .430 bullets cause severe leading. Have any of you experienced this? I'm going to try .431 bullets, but I'm about ready to sell it to someone who shoots jacketed and get one with tighter throats.

Just curious, are you using 2400 or 4227?