Cast lead or copper plated .45's

[amboy49]

I've started to do some reloading for my .45 and 9mm. I found some copper plated .45 bullets. It seems the lead cast bullets are more available. Is there an issue or concern re: barrel leading, lead shaving, or other issues shooting the lead bullets. Is bullet speed an issue or can I be safe shooting lead bullets at lower fps ?

My handgun inventory currently consists of:

S.A. Range Officer.45
Glock 26 9mm
Colt Defender .45
S.A. XD 9mm

Will any of these guns handle different cartridges differently ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jwh20]

I've started to do some reloading for my .45 and 9mm. I found some copper plated .45 bullets. It seems the lead cast bullets are more available. Is there an issue or concern re: barrel leading, lead shaving, or other issues shooting the lead bullets. Is bullet speed an issue or can I be safe shooting lead bullets at lower fps ?

My handgun inventory currently consists of:

S.A. Range Officer.45
Glock 26 9mm
Colt Defender .45
S.A. XD 9mm

Will any of these guns handle different cartridges differently ?

Thanks in advance.

Unjacketed bullets are dirtier and tend to foul up the barrel with lead much faster than jacketed. Some manufacturers, like Glock, recommend against unjacketed bullets.

But I believe it's safe if you avoid shooting jacketed bullets after lead (until you've cleaned the lead out).

 

[swanny]

1) With cast lead bullets I got a bunch in that the lube was extremely messy, and therefore I had to spend hours cleaning the lube off of the bullets.
2) Some ranges won't let you shoot cast lead bullets, whereas they are ok with a plated bullet.

 

[wolfman]

Unjacketed bullets are dirtier and tend to foul up the barrel with lead much faster than jacketed. Some manufacturers, like Glock, recomment against unjacketed bullets.

But I believe it's safe if you avoid shooting jacketed bullets after lead (until you've cleaned the lead out).

Please refrain from giving out false information when you have no idea what you are talking about. I shoot "NOTHING" but cast lead from my .45's (4 of them), .40 (1), .357's (2), 357sig (1) .480's (2), with NO barrel leading or fouling as you call it, and nothing I shoot is nearly as dirty as UMC or Remington Green box. In fact, if you look down the barrel of any of my guns after a couple hundred rounds, you would swear that they have been polished, they are so shiny and clean.

The only thing you said that is true, is to refrain from shooting "soft" lead in a Glock, and when shooting hard lead at close to max powder loads, it is wise to examine the barrel interior every couple of hundred rounds or so.

 

[billybob44]

Cast IS Good to Go..

Please refrain from giving out false information when you have no idea what you are talking about. I shoot "NOTHING" but cast lead from my .45's (4 of them), .40 (1), .357's (2), 357sig (1) .480's (2), with NO barrel leading or fouling as you call it, and nothing I shoot is nearly as dirty as UMC or Remington Green box. In fact, if you look down the barrel of any of my guns after a couple hundred rounds, you would swear that they have been polished, they are so shiny and clean.

The only thing you said that is true, is to refrain from shooting "soft" lead in a Glock, and when shooting hard lead at close to max powder loads, it is wise to examine the barrel interior every couple of hundred rounds or so.

You're right on there wolfman. There seems to be a lot of miss-information out there lately. I like you shoot my cast lead, and MBC lead in a large # of pistols/revolvers.
For ME, I just try to keep my loads under 1200 fps.
Also for ME the key is proper bullet size, and type/quality of lube...Bill.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I pretty much only use lead cast bullets in my .45ACP pistols these days. No leading to speak of.

 

[45-70]

Nothing but lead bullets here, no jacket or plating necessary.

 

[exbrit]

35 years of lead says YES

Been reloading virtually all handgun calibers for over 35 years and have loaded many thousands of rounds of cast with nary a problem. Accuracy is great and leading is non existent if I keep the velocities below 1200fps.
Cost is much, much lower for cast than copper plated or jacketed. I had a friend give me some Berr'ys plated to try. The plating is so thin, (It is only a few microns thick) that it really doesn't do much of any thing, except make it LOOK like a jacketed bullet. you still have to keep velocities down around the same 1200 you would use for cast.
One look at cost and there isn't much to figure. I buy 45 cast 230g for Just over $80 a thousand and the smaller calibers such as 9mm, 38spl etc cost me about $50 a thousand. I always use lead alloys with a hardness of around 18 Brinell, works great.
Go with the cast and just keep velocities below 1200fps. and SAVE A BUNCH OF CASH!
PS saw several comments in this thread about the lube used on the cast bullets, its there for a reason and if you are loading correctly there is no residue and no additional cleaning required. One post said that he REMOVED the lube. Not a good idea. Its therefor a reason

 

[red_zr24x4]

I shoot both and have no issue with leading in a Sig 226 and a RIA in 9mm. As for the comment about avoiding shooting jacketed bullets until after you've cleaned a barrel thats shot lead, never had an issue with that. Most of the reloading forums I visit recommend to shoot a few jacketed to loosen/ remove any lead fouling that might be forming.

 

[Cat-Herder]

I cast, load and shoot lead bullets almost exclusively. Anyone that tells you it's harmful or bad for your guns has no idea what they're talking about.

 

[warthog]

I shoot lead. As long as they are made to the right hardness to prevent leading I don't see any real reason to pay extra for a jacket...
oif course I still am trying to get myself into swaging but not so much because I NEED jacketed bullets all the time.
More so because I am the sort who wants to know all things I can about feeding my firearms.

I just posted about shooting lead in Glocks.... the NRA thinks it's fine but Glock will void your warranty. At least this is what the article says.

Boolits in Glocks