I'm sorry that I was too sharp, and will give you a better idea where to start. -- My problem is that I have a sore, and it can gt bumped all too easy, mentally of coarse. Just like a physical sore. Cut my left index fincer to the bone about a month ago and it is raw as all get out yet. Guess where the dogs teeth land most often if I play with him, and guess which finger gets skidded accross or whacked most when I'm working!
Try 3 grains. If you run them too fast you'll get leading, which will stop the lapping until you get it scrubbed out, so it is easier to knock a stuck bullet out than to mine out some lead, or shoot several lap bullets before you realize the bore is leaded and progress has stopped.
I like to be able to see the bullets in flight, which is probably around 200 to 300 fps. If they are going faster than that they are hard to see, so the above velocity is a guess, based on shooting low velocity airguns.
If you stick a bullet, use a cold rolled steel rod that will slip down the barrel freely, which would be a 1/4 inch. Most hardwares sell it in three foot lengths. Shorten it to the length of the barrel so you don't have a long chunck whipping around to pound on. Drop it into the barrel, and tap it VERY LIGHTLY with a BIG hammer, or swing the gun straight on as you can hold it, so the rod hts a concrete or other solid wall. VERY GENTLY is the key. The slug will slip out easily if the bump isn't sharp enough to upset or obturate the lead out tight against the barrel. If you put a piece of tape on the rod at the muzzle, with rod setting on the bullet, you can see how much it moves and when it moves. Take your time and bump lightly, as long as it's moving a little. It will lap some as it is backed out. Easy, won't hurt the gun at all.
About the throat wear. It will last longest if you use a ball powder because they burn cooler, and if you back off from maximum velocity a hundred fps or so, the lower pressure and flame speed as the burning powder rips from case into the throat is mulified considerable. These two things could easily double throat life.
When the throat gets worn enough that those lightening fast middle and light weight bullets won't shoot accurate any more, go to the heaviest, longest bearing bullets you can find and it will shoot accurately again. To make accuracy peak with these, crimp them with the Lee Factory crimp die. Experiment with amount of crimp until a bullet fits the crimp area tightly on a fired case. This will pilot the bullet base straight while the rifling is getting hold of the front part of the bearing. You might raise the useful life of the gun again by a thousand rounds with this trick.
For the record, you'll get just as much throat wear with cast bullets as with jacketed, if both are shot at equal velocities. Burning powder does the dirty work.
