Jeez, this is becoming a more complicated.
For my latest round of testing, I made 100 rounds using 11.0 grains of 800x (down from the prior standard of 12.5 grains), AND I lube-sized my boolits to .429 instead of the prior standard of .430.
BTW, 11 grains of 800x under a 250 grain bullet is still pretty snappy and hits hard.
Well, the leading was not nil, but it was was greatly reduced and what I would consider to be totally acceptable. In the past, cleaning the bore
required the use of Chore Boy. This time, the bore cleaned up with a couple tight fitting patches soaked in brake cleaner. I used the Chore Boy to get the last bit of lead but it was no biggie. I should note that the bit of scaly lead that did remain was very close to the muzzle and that typically indicates that the lube is petering out, but it's a really minor thing, correctable by altering the lube recipe.
As for accuracy, I would consider it to be excellent....right on par with the best 44 mag loads I've shot from this gun and others.
But, here's the problem. I made the mistake of adjusting two variables at the same time (reducing the load and sizing the bullets smaller than normal). Therefore I cannot say which change accounts for the improvement, or if it was a combination (I hope not).
Next step is to make 50 rounds of the older, hotter load, using the newer, smaller sized bullets. Likewise, make 50 rounds of the newer, lighter load using the older, larger (.430) bullets. In the past, 50 rounds has been enough to trigger serious leading.
I'll shoot the first batch, then inspect and clean the bore while at the range. I can then load of the second batch, shoot them up, and inspect and clean the bore. Comparing my observation between the two batches should give more meaningful results, I think.
Thoughts?
Might owe S&W an apology.....