I'm loading 5gr. of Red Dot in a 357 with a 160gr. plain base BTB bullet. I'm guessing it will be 1000-1100fps, do I need to be concerned with barrel leading? Maybe a little schooling on the causes of leading with non jacketed bullets... Thanks

Unless that bullet is heat treated, you need to keep the velocity under 1000 FPS. I would venture to say closer to 900 because of the size and even then you still might have leading problems.

I've not shot gas checked bullets before but if you want cast and high velocity you must have a gas check.

Several things.

The hardness of the bullet, as mentioned.

How well the bullet fits the bore. Normally about .001 to .002 over bore size. Cylinder bore needs to match.

The roughness of the bore.

The velocity (presssure/heat) of the bullet. You're using a pretty hot (fast) powder. No mention of primer type.

I'll throw in that a good hard bullet will help along with doing the tumble lube with some of Lee's liquid alox will really help with keeping lead out of the bore.

I shoot a Oregon Trail Laser Cast 158 Gr. SWC at around 1200 fps. out of my 357, no problems with leading. As long as you have a decent bullet hardness at around 20 and proper sized bullet you should be able to shoot at 1200 fps. and under with no problems. If your concerned about leading just stay in your 1100 fps. range. Another source of good quality cast bullets both Hard Cast & Plated bullets is Berry's bullets The cowboy action bullets are the same as the hard cast there just used in cowboy action matches all there bullets are at 20 bullet hardness. Read the FAQ page it will give you lots of info.

http://www.berrysmfg.com/categories/2-0.php

Just throwing in a clinker here, but leading is also caused by bullets that are TOO hard.

Bullets that are too hard will not obturate (bump up) correctly unless chamber pressures are very high. It's always a delicate balance between bullet hardness, bullet diameter, bullet shape and chamber pressure that either causes or does not cause leading. Bore condition can cause leading no matter what the other factors are, too!

I've always used this rule of thumb: if leading first appears at the breech end of the barrel, the bullet is too hard or too small (gas gets by and causes micro-melting). If leading first appears at the muzzle end, the bullet is too soft or the lube is wrong.

Assuming the bullet is the right diameter and we are using the right kind/amount of lube, we can adjust the bullet hardness by dividing the peak chamber pressure by 1400. A load that generates 28 Kpsi thus needs a bullet of about 20 BHN to obturate properly and seal the bore.

That may be more technical than you want, but hard bullets need to be pushed hard, soft bullets pushed soft if that suits you better.

I'm looking for a plinking load/coyote load at 900-1100fps. What is the BHN of beartoothbullets? Specifically the 160gr. plain base...I know that if I push a plain base really fast, I need a gas check.

[QUOJust throwing in a clinker here, but leading is also caused by bullets that are TOO hard.
TE]


I agree! I see more bullets that are too hard and don't fit the bore than bullets that are too soft. You want bullets that are APPROPRIATELY hard. Hard for the sake of hard is going to cause problems, unless the bullet fits the bore properly. Cast bullets are like Goldilock's bear beds...This one's too hard, this one's too soft, this one's JUST RIGHT! You want the one that's "just right"