I just got some Denver bullet co. bullets,I do not know alot about lead bullets I have always shot jacketed bullets.I shoot a 44 TC contender. I was told to keep the fps at 900 to keep from leading the barrel, but my books show I can go up to 1200 fps. Then there is gas checks, are they the same as jacketed bullets.

It depends on how hard the bullet is. If too soft you will have a mess.

Those would be a firewall for your bullet's butt.

tc.......,

Welcome to HHM. You may wish to download a free book / manual about cast bullets: "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners" a joint effort by Glen E. Fryxell and Robert L. Applegate, address: http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm. This covers all of your questions and more, and it's free! Can't beat that! These guys are cast bullet gurus.

Doc

tc..,,

Another great article on cast bullets in the 44 magnum. Just a few pages by John Ross. Another cast bullet guru. Address: http://www.lasc.us/RossLoadingthe44magnum.htm. Enjoy!

Doc

Well, I can only PUSH a cast bullet about as fast as I can run but I can THROW them much faster than that. Neither of these have any problem with leading either!

But when SHOOTING them I usually follow this method...soft cast are for slower velocity (under 900fps in my case) and I shoot hard cast about as fast as the cartridge will let me. Never had any problems doing this.

If all the conditions are right you can launch a 130 gr 7mm RN-HC-GC at ruffly 2150 to 2200 FPS. The techs at TC taught me that. But that is the exception and not the rule.

I an currently shooting a 180gr HC-GC out of my 16in 357 Max at 2000 fps and it cutting 1/2 in groups at 100.

FWIW. It is all in the tempering. You can push a hard cast a little more and a gas check a little more than that. My recommendation is to get a casting reloading manul like Lyman and read it twice!

As has been posted, no way to know how fast you can drive them until doing so. You will want to check for leading in your barrel, and check to see if the leading(if any leading) will degrade accuracy.

And if you get to the point of leading, a few wraps of Chore Boy scrubbing pad around your brass cleaning brush should have the lead out in short order. With a single chamber gun (TC v. 5 or 6 cylinders and barrel) you might find the cost and a little leading can be acceptable.

Craig

Lots of different factors to consider. First off, are they .429 or .430 and how heavy are they? What is the hardness "bhn"? A hard bullet that is too small for your bore will lead like crazy where as a softer boolit of the proper size will not. Start with published load data and boolits that are .001 over bore diameter. Do you know the bore diameter of your barrel? Only way to be sure is to slug it.