I recently acquired my fathers old 44 mag in SHR.
After much scrubbing, I managed to get most of the lead fouling out. Most was built up in the back of the barrel next to the cylinder. I received quite a bit of ammo with it. some of it is blazer lead wadcutters. Very soft lead, easy to crease with a fingernail. I also got some of what I believe are hardcast. These, I could not really mark up with my fingernail.
My questions are, is hardcast about the best thing going for penetration, and will hardcast foul up the barel, like I found it, or was the fouling more from the soft blazer stuff that came with it?
Thanks,
Mike73

Hard to tell. Even hardcast will lead if you drive them over 1300fps or so. The wad cutters should not be driven over about 900 fps or so. Sounds like he didn't clean his gun very often? Some people get fixated over lead fouling. I do not. I do check the barrel and if it needs cleaning I clean it. If you keep on top of it, it is no big deal. Some folks recommend shooting a few jacketed rounds to get rid of lead fouling. I have not done this myself. Hope this helps.
To answer your question about penetration, yes hardcast will penetrate better than bullets that expand (obvious I know, but worth stating). For optimum penetration you also need a wide meplat (basically as wide a flat point as you can get). This reduces the risk of the bullet either tumbling, or deviating off course when it hits a medium other than air.
Peter.

The explanation is just too long to go into.
Go to the cast boolits site and research all I have posted under "44man". I just posted pictures of hard V softer boolits.

The hardcast bullets are one of the best for penetration, with bullets from turned brass or bronze being better. If you drive too soft a bullet too fast or too hard a bullet too slow; you will experience leading. There are a number of variables, but it is not hard to handle. Also, the bullets work better when sized properly for the barrel.

The leading you found was most likely from the Blazer ammo.

I've always thought hardcast bullets to be unmatched for hunting --

But, if you want to ensure that you never have a leading problem, always use gas checks whenever you're exceeding ~1000fps -- which, for hunting, is always.

Hardcast is simply an alloy of lead that is hard (usually 16 brinnel or higher). Hardcast bullets are less likely to deform, which allows for deeper penetration and less deviation (bullet goes in a straight line). Gas checks have been well covered. For 44mag I have good luck with cast performance wide nose flat gas checked 300 gr bullets pushed by w296.

John

quote:

Originally posted by MS Hitman:
The hardcast bullets are one of the best for penetration, with bullets from turned brass or bronze being better. If you drive too soft a bullet too fast or too hard a bullet too slow; you will experience leading. There are a number of variables, but it is not hard to handle. Also, the bullets work better when sized properly for the barrel.

The leading you found was most likely from the Blazer ammo.

+100

I drive my 420s at around 1,350 from my .475 SRH and I get no leading whatsoever. Aside from a specialty (read: expensive) bullet, like the Punch, you cannot touch a good flat-point hardcast bullet for penetration, period. Look at my thread "Impromptu Penetration Test" below and you will see what I am talking about.

Lubricant is also important. A lot of commercially cast bullets are lubed with nothing more than paraffin, which does a poor job. The bullet diameter should be at or very close to cylinder throat diameter, and yes, gas checks will help cover a multitude of sins.
If you are shooting a wax lubricated, plain base bullet at 1300-1400 FPS, You will almost surely get leading

quote:

If you are shooting a wax lubricated, plain base bullet at 1300-1400 FPS, You will almost surely get leading

Hogwash! I cast all my revolver bullets with plain bases and run them well above 1400 at times. Leading is virtually non-existent. The blanket statement you make above is just flat out not so.

Doubless,
do you lube your bullets with straight pariffin wax?

Wow, I assumed that lead fouling was nothing more than too soft a lead. Didn't realize velocity, lubrication, and gas checks all play into the equation.
I did manage to read up on the hardcast with the wide meplat being the best. But even velocity plays a part with penetration with them. Too much or too little is no good. I imagine the biggest thing i'l ever take with the 44 is a black bear, and even thats a maybe.
I was checking out the garretts earlier, they give some impressive details.
Mike73

Mike73, if you don't reload, Garrett makes some good loads, as does Buffalo Bore, but a personal favorite factory .44 load is Double Tap Ammo's (www.doubletapamom.com) 320 grain WFN. They clock right around 1,300 fps from one of my 6.5-inch Model 29s during a session with the chronograph. I have used them on a number of wild hogs, and they are effective.

Hi Whitworth,
I will keep that contact in my favorites. I'm excited to find a good hunting load. Hunting season is just a few months away here in NY.
Mike73

Another thing about Double Tap's offerings worth mention is cost. They are considerably cheaper than other ammo and not lacking in quality in the least.

No, kaboom, because wax is not a lube... And the commercial lubes are not all paraffin. I would suggest you do a bit of research; call one or two commercial lubricant manufacturers and ask them what they put in their lubes. I can guarantee you will never find a commercial bullet with "pure" paraffin on it!