Can someone give me a safe max velocity for a 200 grain Round Nose Flat Point hard cast in a 44 magnum Revolver. I am out of jacketed bullets and just want to finish off the rest of the hard cast in magnum cases. I don't believe I have ever seen exact numbers let alone general rule of thumb. I would like them at least 1000 fps. I don't know if I should go any higher or not.

Not an expert by any means, but I think 1000 FPS is doable with the right mixture of lead and harder metals. Someone smarter than I will be along soon to help.

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
Can someone give me a safe max velocity for a 200 grain Round Nose Flat Point hard cast in a 44 magnum Revolver. I am out of jacketed bullets and just want to finish off the rest of the hard cast in magnum cases. I don't believe I have ever seen exact numbers let alone general rule of thumb. I would like them at least 1000 fps. I don't know if I should go any higher or not.

According to AmmoGuide, using 200 grain Bayou Bullets (flat-pointed, cast, flat-based bullets) over 10.0 grains of Bullseye shot from a 4.5 inch barrel, you should be able to get somewhere in the range of 1,150 fps. The author of that load considers it to be an "average" load.

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
Can someone give me a safe max velocity for a 200 grain Round Nose Flat Point hard cast in a 44 magnum Revolver. I am out of jacketed bullets and just want to finish off the rest of the hard cast in magnum cases. I don't believe I have ever seen exact numbers let alone general rule of thumb. I would like them at least 1000 fps. I don't know if I should go any higher or not.

I have shot and loaded many 10's of thousands of cast bullets.

I would think if they hard cast as you say 1300 1400 fps I even shot some at 1500fps with out leading.

Lots depends of the barrel and the true hardness of the bullet.

The only bullets I see lead at 1000 and under are real soft.

Factory swaged are the worse.

Rule of thumb shoot a few look for leading if you see it shoot them slower.

I have been buying cast bullet that have been coated with various coatings like hi tek and even powder coated. I have not pushed them beyond 1200 fps in my 45 colt and I have not experienced any leading.
The guy I have been buying the powder coated bullets offers. 224 and .308 cast bullets that he claims he has pushed to 3400 fps without a lead issue. He swears buy it . I bought some for my .30/30 haven't gotten around to trying them yet.

Two companies I go through are Gallant bullets and Robs bullets both out of Salt lake city and they take the time to talk with you and in my book at this point in time customer service is a huge factor in my spending habits.
I hope I was of some help.
Oh yeah brinnel hardness is not as critical with coated pistol bullets. The powder coated bullets I have been shooting are ~12 and flatten nicely on hard surfaces without the leading.

2 thousands over bore size, good lube, 1200-1400 is doable in the 44. The 250 Keith swc was loaded to that for many thousands of rounds in 44 pistols.

Not sure what your goal is, Here is an old saying that seems appropriate. :A nine millimeter may open up, a 45 sure is not going to shrink."
A 44, 200 grain slug moving at 1,00 to 1,200 should drop most anything that a pistol would be used for.

I run gc .510 bullets well over 2200 fps

As others have stated the answer to how fast can a cast bullet be driven is "it depends". First, the alloy mixture is important and the quantity of tin and antimony in the mix. Second is the hardness or BHN of the bullet and how old they are from the time of casting as hardness changes over time. Finally, the bore is of importance in terms of diameter and quality/smoothness. I'm not trying to make it more complicated in answering your question, but there are many variables, and mostly you have to experiment.

Over the past few years in both my experience and others, I will say that powder-coated bullets can be driven generally much faster and often with better accuracy. In my case, I am driving 240 grain 44 caliber cast powder coated bullets to 1400 fps with absolutely no leading and even reduced fouling. I'm pushing 357 Mag 158 grain bullets to 1200 fps without problems. If your bullets are already lubed you will just have to experiment with increasing powder charges. If they are unlubed it is pretty easy to powder coat them with a little bit of up-front investment.

In my case it is unlikely that I will ever shoot a traditionally lubed bullet again, PC is so much better IMO.

Good luck

It depends...

How hard is the alloy you are using?

What condition is the bore in?

What kind of lube?

I have driven many thousands bullets made from cast pure linotype allow with gas checks to 1950 fps in M1 Carbines with no leading. But I've got soft swaged 230 gr .45 ACP that I don't push faster than 800 FPS and they still lead. SO the only real answer is...go try it and see,

I agree with Paul.
Powder coating and other polymer just plain works.
Get ahold of Robs bullets in Salt lake city he's a very nice guy to talk with and he will tell you about some of the tests he has done with powder coating cast bullets for rifle and pistol.
I forget the exact velocity but I recall him pushing a .224 bullet in a .22-250 in excess of 3000 fps with great accuracy and no leading.
It's worth a phone call to chat with him.

Something else I forget about. Some older casters who have been at it for awhile have recommended a brinnel hardness that matches the velocity.
That being said a brinnel hardness of 12 would be satisfactory for 1200 fps while a brinnel of 9 would be recommended for 900 fps.
It actually makes sense as a rule of thumb as long as they fit the bore correctly as mentioned above.
Personally in a Redhawk I have been playing with a 300 grain powder coated bullet at 1200-1240 fps in a 45 colt and have not experienced any leading whatsoever.and it is a 12 brinnel.

I don’t think there is a true maximum velocity for lead bullets- just what the gun will take, and how much leading you are willing to put up with.

If the gun has really fast rifling, shallow rifling, or you push it past a certain point (as folks above have said, depends on a number of factors) the bullets might stop picking up the rifling and become inaccurate at some velocity point.

So if you are just wanting it to safely fire because you want to get rid of some old bullets, don’t worry about the velocity from the bullet end. Worst case, you spend a few days cleaning gunk out.