If you are a shooting enthusiast, you care a great deal about the kind of ammunition you use. For example, it’s important to use the right size loads, and the type of bullet you shoot can make a big difference in accuracy, power, and range. Today, many shooters opt for hard cast lead bullets as opposed to standard ones. But what does hard-cast mean and is it the best choice for you? Let’s look and see.
Pure Lead
A pure lead bullet is very soft. In fact, it’s extremely soft compared to most metals. When your ammunition is too soft, it can cause problems with your barrel’s rifling. Rifling grooves are machined into barrels in a precision process when manufacturers create high-quality guns. If you change or alter these grooves, you can have a dramatic effect on the gun’s performance.
Soft metal can create deposits that built up on rifling grooves. In fact, it may not take too long for this to happen and a once accurate gun is not so accurate anymore. All the adjustments you make will do little good in this case, and your only recourse is to get a new gun or replace the barrel.
Hard Cast Lead Bullets
Hard casting refers to a process where lead is mixed with other metals. This makes them harder than soft lead but not so hard that they damage your gun barrel. You don’t have to worry about lead build-up in the barrel either.
Benefits
The process of hard casting creates a bullet that doesn’t deform a great deal, and this is a more humane hunting practice. You get better penetration with a harder bullet, and this provides a more effective kind of ammunition. Hard cast lead bullets can be manufactured to many degrees of hardness, depending on the kind of shooting you do. This gives you many options.
