Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading Gas check question.....

I've been hand loading .38 special and .44 mag for a few years. However, I've only ever used jacketed bullets. I'd like to start using LSWC in both. Would gas checks be required in either of these? From what I've been reading, it seems like the .38 loads don't produce enough velocity to require them. But, the .44 magnum, maybe so.?

Its not the velocity, its pressure, the bore condition and lube quality. Temperature too.

They arent required in either but they will keep leading out of the barrel and make things easier for you.
If you want easy, I would say yes.

Meh, not necessary unless you want to run real soft bullets. 41 mag to 1400 with no leading using 215 HC.

I would keep it simple and stick with plain based bullets in .38 Special. At "traditional velocities" with even a pretty soft alloy GC's are superfluous (given of course you minded your P's and Q's about matching them to your throats). Ditto .44's as long as low-vel performance is the goal. If you up your game into the realm of "full snot" with either then alloys and diameters become more critical and like Hawk said GC's may well (probably) make things easier.

Another little protocol you might consider is to eradicate all traces of copper fouling before launching into cast bullets. I don't put as much weight into that as some do but it certainly can't hurt.

Buy or make coated bullets - then you don't have as much concern about leading.

I switched to Hitek coated 4 years ago for 9mm, 40sw, and 44mag (still working through a supply of lubed 45acp bullets).

Powder coat your bullets. How to, is down in a forum, bullet casting most likely. Cheap,easy, and it works. You're welcome. miles

Thanks for the info guys. I'll check out the options.

I've loaded thousands of .38spl/.357 mag and .44 spl/.44 mag lead bullets for many years.

For about 40 years my .44 cal loads were only magnums. Wheel weights made great bullets, and I cast two different bullets, one with a gas check that I loaded hottest, and the other with a flat base that I loaded down a bit. I shot these in my Ruger 7 1/2" Super Blackhawks and never had any leading problems.

A few years ago I bought a S&W 4" Model 629 and still carry it full of my full power 240 gr gas checked bullets, but for every day fun shooting I got a Lee 6 cavity 240 gr bullet mold that doesn't require gas checks, and in .44 spl cases with 6 grains of Universal powder, they are a pleasure to shoot.

My .38/.357 experience is about the same. Again, gas checked bullets made from wheel weights shot great through my first CF pistol, a 6" Ruger Blackhawk and later through a 4" S&W Model 19 (which my ex-wife stole), and now through a 6" S&W Model 19. I've never had any leading problems with those bullets.

And, like my .44s, for my every day .38 fun shooting, I bought another Lee 6 cavity mould that makes 158 gr flat base bullets that are easy to shoot over 4 grains of Universal powder in .38 spl cases.

So many variables, but as velocity goes up hardness usually has to go with it. Now with powder coating you can cheat a bit & take the hardness down & the powder coated "shell" will protect the bullet & allow you to shoot a softer bullet at a higher velocity, sometimes much higher. No easy way out, you will just have to try some for yourself & see how they shoot. I do use a GC if I'm shooting a 327 magnum because I lean on it pretty hard & also with my 10.5" 357 maximum I use a GC for the same reason. Not saying you have to use a GC but you will probably get better results using them with these hotrod bullets.
I fired 54,000 40 caliber 205 gr. RN bullets through one of my S&W 610's one year & probably didn't clean the barrel 3 times. I cleaned the ratchet several times & kept it oiled but the barrel didn't need any help, powder coating took care of that. And these were major power factory loads.

Dick

All good advice.

I start my cast bullet choice by slugging the barrels of new revolvers and ensuring my cylinder throats are big enough to pass a cast bullet that is properly sized to the bore.

That reduces or prevents leading from gas cutting. I do, however, tend to run my loads on the hotter side and assume my bore isn’t polished to the point where it won’t prevent some build-up.

If you have a lot if time, your internal dimensions are correct and your bullets are properly sized, GCs aren’t necessary. Just hit the bore with a few strokes of Chore Boy every once in a while.

That said, I went to coated bullets years ago. I can cast, lube and size my own, but I’m not fond of the time it takes, the process or dealing with mess lubes make when I handle the bullets during reload. Thousands of rounds with normal cleaning. Zero leading.

HTH

Good that you mentioned barrel dimensions in the same breath as throat diameters, but I'll submit you have it backwards. I focus first on throat diameters and size a bullet to push through them with moderate thumb pressure (if not actually measure them). Barrel groove diameter is checked, if at all, to confirm that it is at least the same as the throats or preferably a teensy bit smaller. (And if the dimensions are reversed - don't laugh, it can and does happen - then it's time to have a revolver guru open the throats and then you get another mold/sizing die.) Once I had that protocol drilled into my head years ago, along with dumping the "hard cast" notion, my leading issues went away. Can't tell you where my Lewis Lead Remover is and my bore brushes are feeling pretty lonely.

I suppose powder coating is here to stay. I for one though am not afraid to get my fingers dirty by sizing/lubing and have all the time in the world in which to do it. As for accuracy claims of naked vs. PC'ed, I think the jury's still out because rarely have I seen actual side by side scientific comparisons (and then the edge often but not always went to "naked" bullets). Leading issues cured by PC'ing? See above. Cleaning issues solved by PC'ing? Meh. I clean anyway after shooting whether the gun's "clean" or not. To each his own.

Ha! If I didn’t do stuff backwards, what would I do with all the money I saved by doing it right?!

I only start with the bore because it’s the part that can’t be machined. Once I know what that measurement is, it’s all about the throats.

Oh…..and if its a Ruger, the chances of those cylinder throats being undersized is pretty darn good!