[Snowdog]

A friend and I will likely go shooting in the morning as he just picked up his S&W .460 S&W magnum and a few boxes of Hornady 200gr SST rounds.
He'll also bring along his dearly beloved Glock 21 as he always does. I plan to bring along my RIA/Twin Pines 1911A1 and Kahr, both of which I have ample reloads for.

However, the only reloads in .45acp that I currently have on hand are 200gr lead SWC with a Brinell hardness of only 13 that are loaded to about 900 FPS from my 1911 (5.7gr of Win 231) which are not gas checked. Though a little hotter than I would've liked for a target load, they are quite accurate from both my Kimber and RIA and haven't proved challenging to feed for either. The next batch will be loaded under 5grs of Win 231 I do believe.

Will he be able to safely fire around 100 rounds of load from his G21 (that, to my knowledge has polygonal rifling) if he does not fire any jacketed load afterwards before cleaning.

I ask as I have read conflicting reports on the safety of lead bullets from Glock handguns.


I planned on loading 1,000 Winchester FMJs last weekend... I shouldn't have procrastinated I guess.

Thanks in advance!

[Crosshair]

No, get an aftermarket barrel and save the worry. This is the reason that Glocks are known to blow up because they can't take lead bullets. Some people (like me) consider this to be a design flaw that is easily fixed with the proper barrel.

[Joe D]

Here we go again with the Glock/lead bullet myth. I and others have shot lead bullets through Glocks for years. The only bullets I use are from Valiant. They run in the 18-20 range. Over the years I have put well over 20,000 lead bullets through Glocks. My G21 leads less than my Kimbers. Matter of fact I get no lead in my G21 barrel.
I don't know which is the oldest Glock myth lead bullets, kabooms or firing out of battery.

[Snowdog]

Joe, I'm glad you've had no problems first-hand with your lead reloads. However, this "never-to-do" unwritten rule is so well-known and wide spread that it's practically common knowledge.

As demonstrated here so far, half seem to say "heck no" while the rest seem to say "go ahead". I've been leaning towards the "go ahead" crowd as I could find not warnings against the use of lead bullet on the literature I have that came with my Glocks, nor could I find any on the Glock website. However, it's nice to get some first hand info from those who have actually fired lead rounds and have come away unscathed.
I listed the Brinell hardness and velocity as I find these rounds do lead a 1911 barrel in short order.

[Technosavant]

If in doubt, stop by Wal-Mart and pick up a couple boxes of .45ACP. It will give you some more brass to use. $20/100 is a whole lot cheaper than maybe wrecking a good gun.

[middy]

This is the reason that Glocks are known to blow up because they can't take lead bullets. Some people (like me) consider this to be a design flaw that is easily fixed with the proper barrel.
Polygonal rifling is now a design flaw? Quick, someone call H&K!

[Crosshair]

Polygonal rifling is now a design flaw? Quick, someone call H&K!

That is not what I meant. I have no problem with Polygonal rifling. It is the issue of case support I was thinking of. Sorry, I should have been more specific. My bad.:o

[Rockstar]

This probably seems elementary, but nobody seems to have made the point: Shooting soft lead at high velocities through a Glock barrel isn't the same as shooting hard lead at lower velocities through a Glock barrel.

[Snowdog]

I felt compelled to post an update since I apparently felt compelled enough to post the question in the first place.
That buddy had no qualms with lead from his G21 and after we wrapped up our range trip, I asked to inspect the barrel of his G21 before he began cleaning. After 100+ rounds of hot (and somewhat soft) lead SWCs, there was absolutely no evidence of leading in his stock polygonal, though there was evidence of mild leading in my RIA's barrel which saw near the same number of rounds.

I will say that he couldn't get as good of groups with these reloads from his Glock as he could with the commercial WWB FMJ he typically uses. However he could get nice tight groups with my reloads when using my RIA. Essentially, he was doing quite a bit better with my 1911 than his treasured G21... something that surprised me and obviously irked him This is something I'll have to roll around in my noggin' to figure out. However, I no longer have any issues about using lead in a barrel with polygonal rifling.

[Lennyjoe]

If he's wanting to shoot more lead and increase accuracy then why not spend the $135 for a Storm Lake aftermarket barrel. Just a thought.

If there wasn't any leading or issues with the Glock barrel, then press on sir.;)

[Rockstar]

If he's wanting to shoot more lead and increase accuracy, then why not spend the $89 for a Storm Lake aftermarket barrel? (Brownell's)

Before your friend takes your eyeballs' opinions as to whether his barrel is leaded, he ought to try a little elbow grease with a Lewis lead removing system to see what comes out. ;) The leading that causes problems in Glock barrels occurs just forward of the chamber...easy to miss with an eyeball inspection, particularly if you're looking from the muzzle end.

[Lennyjoe]

Oops, the G21 barrels are only $89.

OTOH, the G20 barrels are unavailable thru Brownells. I called them Wed and they said no go. :(

[duncan]

If he's wanting to shoot more lead and increase accuracy then why not spend the $135 for a Storm Lake aftermarket barrel. Just a thought.

If there wasn't any leading or issues with the Glock barrel, then press on sir.;)


Or a KKM, Barsto or an old Federal Arms SS barrel.

You can carefully shoot lead in a Glock barrel but I don't recommend risking it.

Go with the man above - aftermarket barrel;)

[mrmeval]

http://www.topglock.com/info/faq.htm
http://www.glockfaq.com/reloading.htm
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=172607

[Snowdog]

I have absolutely no intentions of shooting lead from my G19 or K9, both having polygonal rifling. I don't because I find for nearly as cheap one could buy plated bullets and even jacketed bullets such as from Zero (which I've seriously stocked up on, to the point of overkill I might add). The only attraction towards lead, in my opinion, is if I were to cast my own. Only then would I even think about lead for all my guns.

I only posted the question as I was quite low on .45acp ammunition, having only 400 rounds left, all of which were 200gr lead SWCs. I find this bullet quite accurate from my 1911s, but they do lead at higher velocities and are a bit smoky to boot. Had I had any jacketed rounds loaded for my .45acps, I'm sure I wouldn't have bothered to ask. Then again, I suppose he could've bought some fodder before hand or at the range, but I've been using much of his ammunition lately and wanted to return (some) of the favor. For whatever reason, he never bought into the "no-lead-in-Glocks" so he asked me to bring some along.

However, I now have around 3,000 .45acp loaded with either plated or jacketed bullets. Mostly Winchester 230gr FMJs over 7.0gr of Power Pistol and WLP in mostly Win brass. All of my 9mm loads are jacketed as well, with Zero brand JHPS, 5.5grs of Power Pistol, WSP and assorted brass. I find these loads exceptionally accurate and comfortably in between hot and mild. I did enjoy Win231 and plan on another purchase of that for future .45acp loads.

He's known to clean his firearms festitiously (to the point of stripping firearms much more than need be, IMHO) and mentioned nothing of leading, which I'm certain he would've if he found otherwise. However, we're both under the impression his G21 didn't like my reloads and failed to provide the accuracy he's come to expect. Maybe it was due to the speedy soft lead, maybe not. Regardless, I sincerely doubt he'll ever use lead through any of his Glocks unless there's nothing else and I'm happy enough with jacketed fodder to switch for any reason.

Thanks for the replies all the same though, it was an interesting read.

[Joe D]

Snowdog, my hat is off to you. At least you questioned the Glock/lead bullet myth. Most folks don't. They just "parrot" something they heard or saw on the internet. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say you can't shoot lead bullets through Glocks. When I ask them why not they either say their Glock manual says they can't or they "heard" that it would blow up their gun.
My wife and I use lead bullets for cheap practice. I pay $54m for jacketed 180 gr .40 bullets. Lead bullets are about $24m. Her practice load is a 125 gr 9mm bullet. Cost is $18m, 147 gr jacketed is $44m.
There is an "expert" that is often quoted as to his "pressure tests" that prove lead bullets will cause sudden and dangerous pressure spikes. You know I am still waiting for his documentation. Am yet to hear about the brand and model of the equipment that was used to perform these tests. Did he use a CUP tester or a peizo electric strain gauge? Me thinks he used neither.