atvantages and disatvantages of cast for revolver shooting.......

[markp]

As I see it......................Please add or delete and add to my understanding.
 
advantages 
1 less expensive then jacketed bullets
2 much longer barrel life
disadvantages
1 can generally only be used in non magnum guns of low or modest velocity
2 possibility of barrel leading...(minor inconvenience )
3 if used in semi auto might not feed as well as jacketed bullets ?

[mauser98us]

Your all wrong on the disadvantages. I have shot nothing but cast in all my handguns pretty much for 40 years. Most of that stuff is old wives tales. I shoot my 44 and 357 mags at full velocities with none of the issues you describe. Matter of fact, after all those years of shooting, my bores have been lapped so they look like chrome. this has just been my experience. Others may differ.

[mechanic]

Your all wrong on the disadvantages. I have shot nothing but cast in all my handguns pretty much for 40 years. Most of that stuff is old wives tales. I shoot my 44 and 357 mags at full velocities with none of the issues you describe. Matter of fact, after all those years of shooting, my bores have been lapped so they look like chrome. this has just been my experience. Others may differ.

I agree.  Just size the bullet to fit the lands and shoot.  Most leading is caused by a bullet sized too small or lead too soft. 

Ben

[sidewinder319]

The cast bullet can be fired at any magnum speed.  The cast bullet can be fired without leading problems. The cast bullet will
work Ok in a semi auto.  Casting bullets like reloading has a long learning curve.  You must study bullet alloys such as basic
Wheel Weights to linotype, monotype, sterotype, plummers lead etc.  It helps to understand the BHN of the different metals.
You will need to understand proper bullet to bore sizes and gas checks.  Or you can like most of us just buy a mold a sizer get
a bucket of WWs which is close to Lyman #2 alloy. And start your on the job training.  Do it long enough and you will know the
answers to all your casting questions.

[bilmac]

The theory that cast bullets will give a longer barrel life may be true, but I doubt that it has any practical application. Whoever heard of wearing out a pistol barrel with any kind of bullet?

[shot1]

Revolver barrels wear out in the forcing cone area because of gas cutting long before you would wear out the bore from bullet friction.

[jhalcott]

As I see it ,IF YOU do the casting it is WAY cheaper than buying from a commercial caster (discounting YOUR time)! YOUR cast bullets will have the correct diameter and alloy for YOUR needs. YOUR lube will be for YOUR needs , NOT for packaging  and shipping ease. I have shot cast bullets from hand guns at over 2200 fps, so a Magnum revolver should pose few to zero problems. As has been said, leading is caused by other problems than soft casting alloys. Proper fit is VERY important when shooting cast!

[mdi]

In my humble opinion, there are no disadvantages to using cast lead bullets in any handgun (I haven't cast for my rifles, yet). The only problem I see is the availability of lead (wheel weights have dried up in a few areas). Not a huge problem, yet...


Edit; Not really a disadvantage or even a minor "problem", but casting is addicting. You can always find a use for another mold or "need" another alloy. I'm relatively new to casting (8 years) and I have 6 molds just for my .44s and 4 molds in 35 cal and only about a half ton of various lead alloys sitting on my garage floor...

[mbopp]

Remember - Elmer Keith was an advocate flat base non-gas checked cast bullets. And he shot them under a case full of 2400 powder. So you can push cast bullets pretty hard.

[Graybeard]

Wal MarkP all I can add is that you sure have picked up a lot of bad info from someone. Ya oughta give them a try and see for yourself what the real truth is.

[Tom W.]

Cheaper? Not if you cast your own, 'cause you'll be shooting more!

But seriously, cast bullets are all I shoot in my pistols and revolvers, and I have no problems with leading in any of  them, from my .357 to my .454....And the .454 pushes them out at 1760 fps.

[irold]

Well here goes......I'm gonna get blasted for this   

First off , I do not cast my own.  So that being said......I have had nothing but trouble trying to use cast in my revolvers.  My SRH in 454......with 45 Colt loads , after a dozen rounds is leaded so bad I can't hit the side of a barn.  I've tried various brands , all flat base , non G.C.ed.  I've tried 2400 , unique , various amounts giving me around 1000 FPS.  With 240 XTPs , it does fine.   My 44 Mags , same way.  I've tried cast in my Contender , Encore , and 2 Redhawks , my sons M-29 , and now in my Bisley hunter.   Again various brands, pretty much same results as with the SRH.  The only difference is the 44s take maybe 50 rounds before they show significant leading. At present I just bought some Oregon Trail 240 gr. cast.......gonna try them, see if they're any better.  I have to admit my 357 Smiths will shot the Hunters Supply 125 gr flat point pretty well.......With 6 grains of Bullseye they're accurate also.  I haven't noticed any major leading .  As far as less expensive......if ya buy from major manufactures.....I can't see that ther're cheaper.   Quality cast form Montanas site run 30 - 40 bucks per hundred.  I don't consider that cheap.  Maybe if ya buy 5000, can't afford that either.   IF you can find the right combination.......cast maybe alright , so far I'm still looking for that combination.  As far as hunting....I'll stick with my XTPs.......they're not a typical H.P.  Far better.        omho

Be kind to me fellows 

regards , irold

[Tom W.]

That'll happen if you gotta BUY cast boolits. If you cast you'll get better results altho it may take some experimenting and tweaking to get things right.

[sidewinder319]

Tom w you are soo right.  You need to slug your bores get the right molds and sizers.  I have had good luck with Nevada Bullet Co. cast bullets in the magnum handguns. Be sure and buy the hard cast bullets.

[Land_Owner]

irold,

Here are some links to some GBO "no BS" information about cast bullets: 

I am not "pushing" Veral Smith or LBT.  However, on Veral's catalog page, under Measuring your Bore http://www.lbtmoulds.com/measurebore.shtml and Premium Moulds http://www.lbtmoulds.com/moulds.shtml , you should read the true "skinny" in regard to the importance of "slugging" your barrel, bullet "fit", and shooting the right size cast bullets.  The information is free.

I have not slugged my bore - yet.  I am on the fence and leaning heavily in Veral's direction.  I am poised to purchase slugging materials for my handguns and lead-based-bullet rifles.  I have one .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk that leads badly.  I had put it away for 10 years.  Now, with the purchase of a .45 Colt Buffalo Classic Handi-rifle, that Ruger is going to get slugged and shot with properly fitted cast bullets so that leading is no longer a problem - as soon as time and motivation allows.

[Graybeard]

Veral is a long time GBO Sponsor so it's OK to push his products.

If ya wanna use cast it really is best to do it yourself and cast them. Your results are more likely to be good that way. Still there are many well made commercially cast bullets but by no means are they all equal.

Bevel base bullets in my experience are almost never very accurate past 50 yards and might or might not even shoot well at 25 yards. Most commercial casters use an alloy much too hard for the application of their bullets that most put them to use as. Light loads do not need hard cast and if the bullet to bore fit isn't properly you'll get worse accuracy and more leading from them than softer bullets which can bump up to fill the bore where as the harder bullets can't.

Flat base bullets again in my experience shoot more accurately with less problems than bevel base bullets but again if they are too hard for the pressures and too small they can't bump up and thus will not be as accurate as they could be and are more likely to lead than if the alloy were appropriate to the pressure levels.

Gas check bullets pretty much never lead and will be the most accurate most of the time in commercial cast bullets. They do however cost more than anything but the premium jacketed bullets and some cost more than premium jacketed bullets.

By casting your own you can choose moulds that drop the bullet designs you want for the individual application and can adjust your alloy to your pressure needs.

I've used and might again use commercially cast bullets for general plinking but since they are most commonly bevel base for ease of casting for the production line I'll not use them beyond 25-50 yards. If I have a need to shoot beyond that or want gilt edge accuracy I'll cast my own and they will most times be gas checked.

Some casters offer their bullets in different diameters to better match them to your bore which you can only know if you slug it. Not all do tho and an undersize bullet that is too hard just isn't going to perform for you.

[irold]

All good info....I did some more looking and reading.  Found some really good stuff on Penns Bullets site.  Very good read , explained most everything very well.  As someone else posted , I need to find the true dimensions of my throats and barrel.  The older I get the more time it takes me to get around to doing the right thing.

regards , irold

[mdi]

Well here goes......I'm gonna get blasted for this   

First off , I do not cast my own.  So that being said......I have had nothing but trouble trying to use cast in my revolvers.  My SRH in 454......with 45 Colt loads , after a dozen rounds is leaded so bad I can't hit the side of a barn.  I've tried various brands , all flat base , non G.C.ed.  I've tried 2400 , unique , various amounts giving me around 1000 FPS.  With 240 XTPs , it does fine.   My 44 Mags , same way.  I've tried cast in my Contender , Encore , and 2 Redhawks , my sons M-29 , and now in my Bisley hunter.   Again various brands, pretty much same results as with the SRH.  The only difference is the 44s take maybe 50 rounds before they show significant leading. At present I just bought some Oregon Trail 240 gr. cast.......gonna try them, see if they're any better.  I have to admit my 357 Smiths will shot the Hunters Supply 125 gr flat point pretty well.......With 6 grains of Bullseye they're accurate also.  I haven't noticed any major leading .  As far as less expensive......if ya buy from major manufactures.....I can't see that ther're cheaper.   Quality cast form Montanas site run 30 - 40 bucks per hundred.  I don't consider that cheap.  Maybe if ya buy 5000, can't afford that either.   IF you can find the right combination.......cast maybe alright , so far I'm still looking for that combination.  As far as hunting....I'll stick with my XTPs.......they're not a typical H.P.  Far better.        omho

Be kind to me fellows 

regards , irold

The bullet needs to fit your gun. For a revolver slug the barrel and cylinder throats. Cast bullets should be the same or .001" smaller than throat dia. and larger than groove diameter. Commercial cas bullets usually are too hard and some have near worthless lube. Some companies only sell one size bullet per caliber. Proper fit +  good lube = accurate no leading shooting...

[markp]

Lots of feedback here.  What mdi said.............Proper fit +  good lube = accurate no leading shooting...
Seems as good as any. Now I know based on the input here this apply's to magnums as well.