Up above I said I load that 358429 bullet with 8 grains of Unique. Actually I loaded it with 8 grains of Herco and 7 grains of Unique. I quit using Herco when a friend on the police department blew the cylinder out and the top strap completely off of an otherwise perfectly good Model 19 Smith using it. But you boys know to check loading data, so I hope no harn was done.
Well Montana, that is a good combination you are shooting there, but you probably can't get the velocity up high enough in a 4 inch barrel to cause any significant leading unless you shoot dead soft lead, or unless the bore is rough in your revolver, and Ruger isn't known for having that problem.
Most of us shoot wheel weights, linotype, babbit, or tin in some combination and even straight wheel weights won't give you any problems at or below about 1200 FPS. I believe Ron mentioned something about shooting in a rifle and you can get the velocity up high enough to cause leading issues in that case. That may be why he chose to go with a gas check design instead of the plain base that is on the 358429 bullet. As a general rule, I stay away from gas check designs unless I am going to shoot that bullet in a center fire rifle or a Contender/Encore. But he has me confused saying he got a 561 mold. I think he meant a 156 and just got the numbers juxaposed somehow.
I usually throw in a one pound bar of pure tin into every 19 pounds of wheel weights in a 20 pound pot because tin makes the metal fill out the mold really well with nice, sharp flats and I like shiny bullets that you get with tin.
Like I said, I like neat, clean stuff. Guys see my loading room and freak out because it is kept neat and clean. It's an old habit I guess, but I don't have to go looking for anything. I know right where it is supposed to be.
