Cast bullets

I have had limited sucess with cast bullets. My issue is not penatration but accuracy. I can not get the cast bullets to shoot the same groups the jacketed bullets will. In both my 45 and 44 mag the bulk of the jacketed bullets I shoot seem to be better shooters than the cast.

Let me say some thing about "better" in my 45 Colt Bisley I can get good 1" groups CTC @ 50 yds with the 250 XTP's the cast 250's will be in the 2-3" range.

On the 44 the gap is even less.

I have been working to get my cast loads to shoot the same POI as the jacketed I have found that it takes about 85% of the powder charge to get a cast to shoot the same POI as the copper color bullets.

At the end of the day I will have a practace load that matches my hunting load.

I sure wish the had the same precision.

Any thoughts.

I've had the same issues although I've got one load in my 475 with 425gr CP's and one with 355gr True Shots that are fairly accurate but not as accurate as the 400gr XTP's. I've looked at the hunter specialty bullets that are a fraction of the price of the CP and Oregon Trail stuff as they are marketed as "Hard Cast" but I haven't bought any yet. I can buy 250ct boxes for what I pay for 100 ct boxes of my 458, 475 and 511 bullets but they aren't gas checked but really in my revolvers it shouldn't be a problem if they are true hard cast they should take 1600fps without a gas check so the only problem I'd have is the 458 bullets for my rifles. I'm just tired of trying bullet after bullet and never being able to match the accuracy of the jacketed stuff. I have found with all bullets in my big bores that you might as well start around .5gr under max when using H110 and W296 since max loads have always been the most accurate with those powders in every gun I've used them in from 32H&R to the 475 and 500 Linebaughs although I still have more playing to do with the 500.

Getting cast bullets to shoot accurate takes some time and experimenting but there are some basics that will help. If you don't have to hunt with the bullet and just want a practice round to shoot accurate to the same POA as your cast round, you could try the Hornady swagged, semiwatcatter offering. They are soft enough to conform to the barrel properly. You still may have to adopt a different hold on target to get the bull's eye.

Might have a few tid bits for accuracy. Good read. I got mine right from veral.

Don't shoot naked bullets ;-)

H2OBug,

Check the throat diameters of the chambers with plug gauges. The diameter of the cast bullet should match that diameter as close as possible. If your push a bullet through the chamber from the firewall end you should meet some slight resistance, but not much. Additionally, you should slug the bore and checks its diameter; however, the throat diameter is more important. Also, generally, persons use too hard a cast bullet for optimum accuracy. Autoloaders and revolvers are different here, the autos usually requiring the harder bullet. My cast bullets for the "magnum" revolvers have an approximate Brinnell hardness of 16-18 ( water quenched wheel weights ). Some a gas checked, some are not. I get the same or better accuracy from my cast compared to the jacketed, if I work within the above guidelines. The are additional nuances that come with experience. Also, it involves more work than buying a box of copper; however, for us geek types, there is a subtle pleasure from making the "homemade" stuff work. Veral's book is a "must have" for us "lead" burners.

Amen to harder cast in a semi auto. I tried a comercial 148 grain lead bullet in my 38 Super and it fouled the barrel and hit the target sideways. A home made wheel weight, (water quenced), 150 grn did not lead the barrel and hit the target leaving a round hole as desired.

Almost all store-bought cast bullets fail to perform satisfactorily. Sizing is the issue, for cast bullets, the "one size fits all" mentality will doom you to failure. You'll blame the bullets, but improperly sized bullets is the #1 cause for performance complaints. #2 is bullet hardness. Most "hard cast bullets" are far too hard to perform properly.

Bug you said your practice lead load matches your jacketed hunting load?If that is correct have you chronyed both.With my 44 a 305wfngc bullet over 19gr of H110 will go in the 1250fps range and it takes a few more grs to get a 300XTP to do the same fps.Sizing is everything.My 44 likes .431 and my 45 likes .452.Sealing the throats and barrel will help in accuracy.I had to open my 44 cylinder a little to match it up and I had 3chambers .451 and 3 .452 in the colt and with a little emory cloth and no rush I got all of them .452 now.Just a little food for thought.There are alot more experienced handgunners shooting cast than me.

like cottonstalk said, try a bullet that is a 1 to 2 thousands over the bore size. seems to work well for me.

Bullets don't need to be dressed in jackets! LOL!

Whitworth,

"Bullets don't need to be dressed in jackets!"

True, but like a "fine" lady, sometimes the occasion warrants it!!

Doc

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