Lead Fouling from cast bullets.

[Harold357]

I shoot a ton of rounds through one of my pistol caliber rifles. I have always used copper coated bullets from some of the larger manufacturers. Recently, I stopped in a shop where the guy has been casting bullets for almost 30 years. I am really tempted to try his casts as they are from a small, local producer and much cheaper. They are wax coated I think. I know there are variables associated with this such as how hot I load but should I be worried about lead fouling if I start to shoot a lot of cast bullets?

 

[BackofBeyond]

Just keep them in the slow side, if you do get some fouling it just takes a little elbow grease to fix the issue.

 

[p_ham]

As long as your bullets aren't undersized you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[PopcornSutton]

Ask him to sell you his cast bullets without the lube. Then powder coat them yourself. It's very easy to do, not expensive, but you won't get any leading using them. After coating, get a LEE push through sizing setup of the right diameter (usually 1 to 2 thousandths bigger than groove diameter) and have at it. Just use quality powder, not Harbor Freight stuff.

 

[antelopedundee]

Also the harder they are the less they foul. IIRC the harder they are the more they are likely to be somewhat undersized after casting.

 

[Harold357]

Thank you for all the help. Sounds like if done right, it will be fine. Now, I just have to decide if it's worth the time for like 5 or 10 cents a bullet.

 

[std7mag]

I usually shoot cast in my 1911, 45ACP.
But with my M1 Carbine I was shooting jacketed.
Bullets for it are hard to come by!
Local wholesaler/distributor turned me on to 115gr Missouri cast bullets made specifically for the M1 Carbine.

After doing some digging I found data for them. Shoot just fine!
Hitting a steel turkey at 150meters 3 out of 5 times with open sights.

So I say try them!
If the do start lead fouling, you can always put a gas check on them.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I have shot thousands of rounds out of 44s and most of those have been with cast bullets. If you see a little lead build up after shooting, just put a little extra effort into cleaning.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Powder coat….