Tom W.

It was still fun.



That is all that matters!

sheepdog

...this space reserved for when Tom re-posts his whole comment...

gunman42782

Tom, I am afraid I accidentally deleted part of your post. I was trying to quote the last thing you said, and I guess I hit the edit button instead. I am sorry. Feel free to correct the original post sir. I will try to be more careful in the future.

Bountyhunter

I read the post and thought, what the hell? I guess this is the post, Tim.

gunman42782

Yep. Got to learn not to post while half asleep!

44s Rock

Ya know, as you get older, some "going" is more often and some "going" not so much, guess the latter could be exciting!

Bountyhunter

Now that's a range report.

Tom W.

Ok , lets try again..
I went last Saturday and it was very hot I took my 30-06 A.I. and some light cast loads to fire form some more brass, and my 30/30 handi rifle.The people before me set the target up at 25 meters, and I wasn't going to move it, as I was just there to burn powder and have fun.

The '06 was shooting about 8 inches low, so I put a paster up as an aiming point and started to put all the rounds into the 10 ring. I know 25 meters isn't much, but the group was fantastic. The Handi was shooting some Lee 160 grain cast and doing the same thing ( but on a different target ) and I was pleased.

I also had my Encore .454 Casull, and two different loads. My normal load was shooting a bit low and to the right, and the load that I wanted to test was doing about the same. It was all enjoyable, until the heat became unbearable when the little bit of wind died down.
I took a few shots with my Blackhawk with a trial load and also put the bullets pretty close to where I was pointing the revolver, offhand.

At home when I cleaned the firearms there was not a trace of leading to be found.

gunman42782

I will try not to mess this one up Tom!

44s Rock

Sounds like a grand time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bountyhunter

I like when there's no leading! I have to get out and shoot a bit too.

sheepdog

...other than the weather, sounds like a great day...leading's usually caused by too hot a load??? I don't remember...

Machinist

The worst leading I have had was from too light a load for the hardness of the bullet, but it can happen the other way as well. In .44 Special I used to load 7.0 grains of Unique behind a 240 grain SWC that was cast hard for use in .44 Magnums. It worked well but when I tried to go lighter at some point around 6 grains I suddenly got very heavy leading in two revolvers from just a few shots. There was not enough pressure to upset the hard bullet base and make a seal at the back so gas was cutting along the side and melting the lead on the cylinder, forcing cone, and barrel. Those few shots meant hours with a Lewis Lead Remover.

I went with softer swaged bullets for light loads after that.

sheepdog

...well, you just promoted me to wimp...I loaded 5 grains of Unique under a 240-gr SWC...no leading problems in my Charter 3" Bulldog (70s) but it still smacked me hard...can't imagine 7 gr...

Machinist

We were shooting them in S&W Mod 24 N frames with 6 1/2" barrels. Makes a big difference. I loaded factory level for the Bulldog and still had trouble keeping the bullets from coming forward. I had to use a taper crimp and a heavy roll crimp. I went as high as 9.0 grains for use in the Super Blackhawk but did not shoot those in the S&Ws.

sheepdog

...I never was an "Elmer" loader...medium to light was fine for me...

Tom W.

If the bullet is too small you'll get some ungodly leading, no matter what the alloy composition is.. I use straight w/w @ .430 for my .44's, .452 for my .45 calibers, and .309 for the .30 cals...And White Label lube's carnauba red bullet lube, or Lee liquid alox..

Machinist

A good point, Sir.

sheepdog

...when I loaded, it was WC and SWC lead...I never understood why they'd lube the lead bullets...so it's to reduce leading???

Cruelshoes

I have recently become convinced that the grip of you gun matters as much as anything else when it comes to felt recoil. I was able to start using my favorite heavy loads with my SP101 once I found the right handle. The size and fit of the grip as well as its material greatly influence my ability to handle heavy loads.