Are the lazer cast bullets really hard enough to shoot at jacketed bullet velocities without leading like the box says or is it just a marketing ploy?

Lazer cast bullets are Harder than Your Mother -in-laws heart!!! But they can still lead a bit if they are not quite the right size for your barrel. Push them hard and they seem to do better than "softer" loads.

Never had much problem with leading. Getting them to hit the target is a different story, notwithstanding shooter error.

trekker,

How much jacketed bullet velocity, rifle or pistol?

I'm currently shooting them in .375 H&H.

If de-lubed & relubed they are OK up to 1400 fps but I tried them with SR4759 at 1900-2000 and got buckshot patterns.

Note: I don't have a great deal of experience yet so inaccuracy with the 1900-2000 load could be entirely my fault. The Oregon Trail bullets are cast as nicely as most others I've tried and better than some.

There is a site with extensive levergun shooting data (notice I didn't say loading data) for Laser Cast bullets. The data was shot at 50 yards with a 24X scope in mostly Marlin lever guns.
It appears that the best 10 shot groups were fired at about 950 to 1050 FPS. It seemed the faster the twist the slower the velocity of the best groups.Laser cast bullet data

I will catch some flack I am sure. I bought some of the LC bullets a few years back, 30 caliber. The box said plain base. Yes they were a plain base, but a gas check design. I loaded a few to try in a proven CB shooting 03 Springfield. I have never had such a mess. The only way I ever got them to shoot was to use Lee alox on them then I had to coat them twice in the stuff.
I call Laser Cast as they were guarranteeeeeeeeed not to lead. Long story short, the guy pointed his finger in every direction but his own. They were stated on the box to be sized .309. I have even tried them in my tight bore K31, same thing with the leading.
The above was with very light loads of several different powders, none of which produced acceptable results. I even bumped them up to see if that would possibly change things, nope.
I then had a friend give mea couple of K of 38 and 44 LC. He also said he could never get them to shoot worth a hoot. I didn't even try them. Just threw them in with a bunch of wheel weights when smelting as the lube worked ok for a flux.
Jeff

Those lazer cast 45 acp bullets lead worse than anything else I have shot in my 1911 -- swaged lead bullets hardly lead at all no less.....

The bevel base for pistol use offers absolutely no advantage except maybe reloading into cases that haven't been belled....

Accuracy wise, they were not as good as the swaged lead bullets, so overall, not a keeper for me.

They are HARD, though....

Thanks

John

I am not aware of any commonly available commercial cast lead bullets that are hard enough/big enough diameter for competitive accuracy at over 1,900 fps...I certainly do not believe Laser-Cast are.

I am wrong almost every day about something (just ask my wife), so may be wrong about this too, but if there are some really good, hard rifle bullets out there for sale, I sure as heck haven't found them in the last 15 years.

I have had good accuracy with LC bullets in a 1895 Marlin. My velocities run at 1400fps and leading was not an issue. Fit is perhaps the issue of major concern to prevent leading along with a good lube and proper powder selection for the pressure you need to make the velocity. 1-2 thousanths over bore is usuaally a good place to start. Jacketed bullet velocities are possible, but it requires far more than a hard alloy to attain both accuracy and velocity.

SS

quote:

Originally posted by 1875SharpsShooter:
Fit is perhaps the issue of major concern to prevent leading along with a good lube and proper powder selection for the pressure you need to make the velocity.

SS

Definitely correct, IMHE. For best accuracy, bullet diameter should match throat diameter, but that isn't really practical in many cases (pun intended).

The reason it is not practical is that many times when the bullet does have the same diameter as the throat, it isn't feasible to remove a cartridge, once chambered, without leaving the bullet in the throat and powder all through the action.

So, yes, bullets a tad larger than the bore and a wee tad smaller than the throat are a good practical compromise for hunters. For target shooters, a throat/bullet diameter match is generally quite feasible.

Of course, alloy hardnss is important. That doen't mean it needs to be hard in all cases. In some loads, soft alloys "bump up" quickly enough on firing to acomplish the fit needed to traverse the barrel without leading. If the alloy is hard enough (strong enough) for the velocity at which it is pushed, and manages to accomplish the required fit, all will be well. Really, really hard bullets (BHN 22 and up, for example) often need to be larger diameter than softer alloy bullets, as they will NOT easily and consistently bump up to match the throat diameter.

Laser Casts in the 458 Win. Mag....loading 405 gr. FP around 1,900fps with AA #5744, Fed. 215 primer. Just like the no-name cast, first shot on the paper 2 ft. above jacketed bullet zero, next 9 shots not to be found anywhere. So I dunnno anymore........one more try using Unique & then out of this cast bullet business, no matter what the load manuals say, "shoots cast bullet very good." r in s.

Hi Ray,

In order to get a cast bullet to shoot, it must fit the bore or it will shoot wildly due to gas cutting etc. I was soured on cast bullets by exactly the same thing-lazercast store bought bullets in my .30-06 and some more in .444. I bought the 30 caliber in .308 size and the .444 in a .429 size. It takes .309 minimum to fit to the bottom of the grooves in the rifle I was shooting those in and the Marlin .444 takes a minimum of .430". Those micro-grooves really shoot those lead projectiles-contrary to what some folks may say. Slug your bore & then get a bullet that fits + .001" over and you will be hooked then. lube them with some proper lube (even Lee Liquid Alox will do). You may want to get alot of other stuff as you go along but this will get you started. I don't shoot a .458" but lots of guys do and they can chime in.

On another forum, picked up a link for LBT bullets w/instructions how to slug a bore. Think I'll do that. The 405gr. Laser Casts I fired were .459, so Win. M70 bore has to be something real close to .458 but we'll see.

Ray,

There may be more than just one reason a gun won't shoot cast bullets such as maybe a rough bore but M70's are supposed to be some of the best barrels I am told and the one M70 I have (a .243 Win) shoots cast bullets just fine. So, I mean to say don't give up on one of the most fun sources of shooting you will find. You might want to check out some of the other sources for cast bullet shooting on the web. I don't remember if this site is picky about giving out names of other sites so I won't do that. I wouldn't know why they would be because most of us over there use Accurate powders alot! I am sure osmeone will be able to come up with a decent load for you.