Mixing Lead/plated/jacketed bullets

[Miseryguts]

Hi I have Lever action rifles in 357M and 44M calibres. My question is:

What is the perceived wisdom of using plated bullets before/after lead, and jacketed before/ after lead/plated.

Am trying to develop reasonably accurate loads for all these bullet types, but am tying myself in knots - there seems to be several ideas of yes/no to the above scenarios out there.

Some times I get good results, the next time out I get crap groups

Ho Hum

M (miserable as ever in sunny?? wales)

[Catch-22]

I too have a 44mag underleaver.

Whilst I don't use jacketed bullets, and have yet to use plated, I've heard that using anything after lead bullets is not gonna work out.

Jacketed bullets really just builds a small amount of copper & carbon which doesn't affect the internal dimensions of the bore a great deal.

Lead does however. It gets right on deep in to the grooves, and together with the deposits of the lub ring, will gradually reduce the internal dimensions of the bore.

I think this is where jacketed and plated bullets have trouble. They'll have a different pressure and different gas seal around the bullet because of the leading. I think the lands aren't pronounced enough for the jacketed bullet to spin properly through the barrel. Imagine the bore almost 'smoothing' out as the lead fills the grooves. It's like the jacketed bullet being fired from a smoothbore (if that makes sense?!?).

[terryh]

Gents,

Why not stick to one type of bullet?

If your lead bullets, cast or swaged, are fouling up and leaving deposits then something’s wrong with either the hardness of the lead or the formula of the lube (or perhaps the lube grooves not being completely  full?)

As to the plated bullets, not sure how many makes there are being use, but folks at my club were getting very poor accuracy, cutting the bullets open revealed the plating was not even, different thickness around the diameter.

Just an observation

T

[MrCetrizine]

I use lead for .38 and plated and jacketed for .357 I've never had any fouling issues with any of them and accuracy remains consistent. I use a bore snake after firing.