BHN Number

[Hogstir]

Does using a bullet with a gas check affect what diameter bullet will be best utilized?
I see people at castboolits saying to slug your barrel then use a slightly larger diameter bullet than your bore size.
Does a bullet with a gas check at all change this?
Also when using a bullet with a gas check can a softer lead be used than without a gas check and still not create a leading problem?

[JEBar]

Does using a bullet with a gas check affect what diameter bullet will be best utilized?
I see people at castboolits saying to slug your barrel then use a slightly larger diameter bullet than your bore size.
Does a bullet with a gas check at all change this?
Also when using a bullet with a gas check can a softer lead be used than without a gas check and still not create a leading problem?

being fairly new to the wonderful world of firing lead bullets, I've spent a good bit of time reading and trying to figure it out .... what I have learned is, you can make the process as complicated as wish .... your understanding about slugging seems to be recommended by a bunch of folks .... if you plan to mold your own bullets, I can see it being beneficial .... the relationship between hardness and lead buildup isn't as clear as it was before I started researching it .... a case of the more you learn the less you know .... I found this link to info from a good manufacture of lead bullets helped to clarify it for me : https://www.missouribullet.com/technical.php .... one of the issues for me has been lead bullets usually come in large lots .... if you by 500 and don't like the way they perform, you've still get a bunch of them .... thankfully, none of our Henry rifles (357/44 Mag/45-70) have proven to be finicky

[Hogstir]

JEBar, do you have any trouble cycling SWC bullets in your 357 Henry?

[JEBar]

JEBar, do you have any trouble cycling SWC bullets in your 357 Henry?

none whatsoever in 357 casings .... we have fired well over a thousand .357 Action! - Hi-Tek http://missouribullet.com/details.php?p ... &keywords= and well over a thousand more standard .357 Action! http://missouribullet.com/details.php?p ... &keywords= bullets from Missouri Bullet Company .... we have 700+ loaded and ready to go ... in addition we have fired a couple of thousand similar bullets from Oregon Trail .... we have decided that once we need to restock we will be going with the Hi-Tek ones in the first link .... no problems with cycling .... have no clue if it would be the same in 38 casings .... early on we did experiment with 38 Special wadcutters .... did have some cycling problems with some of them

[clovishound]

I shoot coated SWCs through my BBS in .357 all the time. I prefer the Xtreme plated HPs, but the coated can be had every day for much less, and perform similarly.

[tx gunrunner]

I make my own bullets and molds for my matches . Wheel weights I keep under 900 fps and no leading . 25 lbs lead to 1 lbs tin I keep under 1400 fps and no leading . I use the pure lead for muzzle loaders and I can drive them over 1600 fps but pure lead cast like crap . I find the harder the bullet the faster they lead . Here is the BEST book you can get below if you can find one and the Lyman book is a good one too

[DAVIDF]

Does using a bullet with a gas check affect what diameter bullet will be best utilized?
I see people at castboolits saying to slug your barrel then use a slightly larger diameter bullet than your bore size.
Does a bullet with a gas check at all change this?
Also when using a bullet with a gas check can a softer lead be used than without a gas check and still not create a leading problem?

I have no experience using gas checked bullets but here is my understanding. The gas check should help prevent or decrease the leading with improperly sized or softer lead as it should provide a seal, but not sure if it will provide any better accuracy. Beartooth recommends proper sizing of the bullets whether they are gas checked or not, and they sell both gas checked and plain base bullets.

[Hogstir]

I've read lots of warnings NOT to shoot jacketed bullets after shooting lead bullets unless you have cleaned the lead deposits from the barrel first.
Does this hold true when shooting coated lead bullets as well?

[DAVIDF]

I shoot plated bullets all the time after shooting lead. There is one theory that it can clean some of the lead. Not sure if it does or not.

Polygonal rifled barrels, like Glock barrels can have issues if a lot of lead is fired thru them and then a jacketed bullet. If lead deposits are extremely heavy in the polygonal barrel then a jacketed bullet is shot thru it, pressure can spike and cause damage to the barrel or worse. But, that is after quite a bit not a few rounds.

[tx gunrunner]

Plated bullets are cast bullets with a thin coating of copper alloy LIKE sprayed on them . They are NOT copper jacket . Plated bullet were design too shoot in indoor ranges to cut poisons gasses down . For $100 you can get a Lone Wolf barrel to shoot cast or plated bullets and keep the Glock barrel for jacket bullets only . I'm not going to write a book on do's and don't of cast or plated bullets in Glock barrel . I know people who shot 1000's cast bullets in there Glock with no problems and I know 2 people in Tn that weren't that lucky . That is why I have a Lone Wolf barrels for cast bullets for my Glocks .