Question Re: Non-Lead Bullets Help

[elalto]

HI All,

I have not hunted in Kalifornia since the non-lead bullet regs came in so I have never had to deal with it. Now I want to start hunting here again and need to know how the non-lead bullets will affect my reloading.

I will be reloading for a .204 and a 6X47Rem I am not worried about the 204 as I have plenty of room in the Remington 600 mag box. The 6X47 is built on a Sako L461 and the mag box is tight. I have been using Sierra 60grn hollow point and Nosler 55grn sp in the 6X47, they just fit. My question is will the non-lead be longer? if so how much longer? What problems might I encounter?

Appreciate any and all help I can get as I want to start reloading as soon as possible, thanks in advance.

Marcos (elalto)

[Divernhunter]

It depends on what non-lead bullets you plan to use. For squirrels and such I load Barnes VG 26gr in the 204R.
For your 6mm if you plan to use Barnes(or other brands like them) TTSX remember to seat them deep. They like and are more accurate if they have a lot of jump. Also push them fast as they get more accurate the faster they are pushed. Finally choose a lighter bullet for those reasons and the TTSX will preform like a lead core bullet 30% heavier. Now if you want a fragile bullet for varmints then you will also have no problem.
Also remember some of the heavier bullets require faster twist rifling to stabilize

So yes they are longer for a given weight but read the above and you will not have trouble.

The only other problem in using copper bullets is you need a super clean barrel to start with. That means something better than #9. I use wipe-out and butches bore shine or Barnes CR-10 or Sweets 7.62. Then you are fine until you shoot regular jacketed bullets and need to super clean it again. I have rifles with 200+ rounds of Barnes TTSX thru them that have not been cleaned and are still very accurate. So if you do as I said fouling will not be a problem.

[Whiterabbit]

If you are hand loading, then you can design and compensate for OAL limitations.

my two cents on the barrel cleaning thing. My experience is kinda the same, but different. IME, can't mix bullet type and get the same performance. In other words, mixing jacketed and barnes loads, my barnes loads end up all over the place. If I settle down and dedicate a gun to one load and use the barnes bullet, it's settled in and the cleaning issue goes away. Performance stays nice and uniform from range session to range session.

I have this issue with nearly any bullet, such as mixing E-tips and barnes, or jacketed with different materials for the jacket.

It's the primary reason I have since gone to a one-gun, one-load system.

[JackEllis]

I had lots of trouble with group sizes out of a .30-06 because I didn't clean it properly and because I had no idea what the problem was, I nearly got rid of a perfectly good shooter. It required a rather expensive trip to a gunsmith to reveal the problem and a solution.

Now I use wet patches and a bronze brush until there's no more black crap on a clean, dry patch, then use a copper solvent (Sweets or wipe-out) until there's no more bright blue. Groups that were often three inches or more from the bench became 1 inch groups, and that's with cheap Wolf Military practice ammo.

I need to work up a lead-free load for that rifle but I'm hoping I can use leaded rounds with a similar BC for practice and save 50 cents a shot. The key will be making sure the barrel is free of both powder residue and copper.

[NapalmCheese]

The only other problem in using copper bullets is you need a super clean barrel to start with.

I have this issue with nearly any bullet, such as mixing E-tips and barnes, or jacketed with different materials for the jacket.

This has been my experience too, I was clued into it by Divernhunter a couple of years back and it has changed my expectations and procedures.

I think the issue is gilding metal vs. copper and I suspect that switching from e-tips to a guilding metal jacketed bullet would be fine, or switching Barnes to Swift copper jacketed would be fine; but switching copper to guilding metal (or the other way around) would be problematic. I've not tested this theory.

At any rate it's just something to keep in mind and doesn't stop me from shooting whatever bullets so long as I remember to remove the copper fouling when changing from one bullet/jacket material to the next.