The pistol is a P230 chambered for 9x18 Ultra. It has a rifling twist of 1 in 10".

Powder used- VV N330. Bullet- Unique Precision 110 gr. lead round nose with 18 Brinell hardness. Should exit the muzzle at about 1075-1100 fps.

Is that the correct velocity to obtain optimum avoidance of leading? Do I need to go up or down? Cleaning the barrel is not on my list of fun things to do. I rely heavily on the SnakeBore. At most, it will be shot 50 rounds every two or three months to confirm function and foment muscle memory.

Thanks.

Every gun and barrel is a rule unto itself. If your barrel has a bore on the large size you will usuaally get leading with commercial bullets as they may not fill the bore.

If you cast your own you can regulate the bullet diameter to fit those guns with loose bores. Short of sizing your bore and hoping that its at least .001" smaller diameter than your bullets, you will just have to try the bullets out and see what they do. Sometimes with hard cast if you drive them at high enough pressures you can bump up the base to seal in the bore and eliminate or at least reduce leading.

The hard cast 18BNH bullet should be able to take over the velocities you list without leading if bullet and bore size are a match.

Best thing is to load perhaps 10 round batches at increasing charge levels from start load to maximum and go to the range. Take your bore snake to clean between batchs. Check for leading after shooting each sample starting with the lowest charge, clean and shoot the next higher level. Select te best load level for accuracy, function and lack of leading.

Steve is correct, bullet fit to the bore is more important than the vel. I have shot soft cast bulelts to 1200fps w/ little leading & hard cast @ only 850fps & gotten leading. It just depends.
Cleaning is far easier than most think. Go to the grocery store & buy a package of CHoreBoy copper scrubbers, only ChoreBoy. Wrap a bit around an old bore brush & run that thru your bbl. chamber to muzle a couple times & any lead pushes right out. The copper does not hurt the bore.

Thank you gentlemen.

Bore has been measured at a consistent .355 and bullets are .356.

quote:

Select the best load level for accuracy...

Thank you. I understand.

quote:

Originally posted by jehzsa:
Thank you gentlemen.

Bore has been measured at a consistent .355 and bullets are .356.

quote:

Select the best load level for accuracy...

Thank you. I understand.

How did you measure that? The only correct way i sto drive a soft/lubed lead bullet thru the bbl & measure the bullet.

Bore gauge. Measuring at 1/2 inch intervals. And then staggered for comfort. Meaning start at point A, then measure the whole barrel. Then start at point B and repeat the process.

The problem with the lead method is that it will skip changes in the size and shape of the bore. If there are such changes, usually oversized bore, the lead will skip through those changes and make the calibration inaccurate. If undersized, the other way around.

My main problem, though, is measuring the 1,000 bullets that I've ordered but have not yet received. Fun, fun, fun!