Cast bullets in a glock

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I also shoot 10mm through my glock 20 just for target practice and just to shoot the gun with cheap loads. I don't push them hard. 10mm has a max pressure of about 37k psi. Mine are soft 40 loads.
You will always have some gas going around the bullet. Increasing the pressure will increase the "cutting"/leading. This is true for all barrels and not just glocks.
 
I have been watching this thread and now I am little confused

Lead can/will foul in any gun without a proper load, I got that.

In a 40s&w load do you want hardcast or softer? I can see where soft is easier to deform from the powder burning, but many are referring to hardcast.

I guess my basic question is what is preferable in a 40s&w for example, hard, medium, or softer lead?
 
Guess I should have read the manual! Just passed 53k of 155gn LSWC Bn 18 bullets from Missouri Bullet in my Glock 35.
str1
 
Do you have a favorite Glock 9mm load for say, 125 RNL using Bullseye or unique
I load 4.5gr Unique behind a 125 gr TC cast bullet.

I have loaded as high as 5 grains unique, and through several hundred shots I had only one failure to extract. The empty stayed in the chamber, so I figure this load was too hot. After backing down to 4.5gr, I have had no problems at all through, well, lots of rounds.

I guess my basic question is what is preferable in a 40s&w for example, hard, medium, or softer lead?

My current alloy for 9mm is pretty soft. I bought the lead with the understanding it was straight WW, and it is easily scratched with a fingernail. BUT, this bullet/alloy didn't shoot, at first. When I pulled a few bullets, I found out why. They were going in the case at 0.357" diameter at the base. They were coming out measuring as small as 0.353". A new expander completely fixed the poor accuracy and full-bore leading after one shot. Since I got this load down, I have not needed to clean a Glock bore for anything. I shoot practically 100% lead out of my 9mm and 45ACP Glocks. (My 45ACP load needed no tweaking).

For 40S&W, you should be able to shoot anything from fairly soft to fairly hard, just watch out for the traps. Too soft, watch for case-swaging. Too hard, and you might not get good results if your bore isn't in good shape. Regarding pistol bulllets, I find that higher BHN for pistol bullets is generally favored by bullet sellers, seeing as it usually produces acceptable results for most customers. People who make bullets for themselves quite often favor softer bullets for the best results. When something is wrong on a softer bullet, leading will generally be worse. When you have your loading process dialed in, a softer bullet will work as good or sometimes better than a harder bullet, because of its ability to bump up and better seal the bore if/when necessary.

Some folks don't seem to believe case-swaging is even possible. Let's just say it doesn't happen to everyone. But everyone's dies, cases, and bullet alloy aren't the same, neither.
 
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In a 40s&w load do you want hardcast or softer? I can see where soft is easier to deform from the powder burning, but many are referring to hardcast.

I guess my basic question is what is preferable in a 40s&w for example, hard, medium, or softer lead

Hardcast in a high pressure round. Look at whats offered from bullet makers. In 9mm and 40 its all hardcast for a reason.
If you look at 38 special and .45 you will see it from 8 to 18 to suite the pressures of the loader.
You can find some softer bullets for 38-40 rounds. They will work in 40 fine but most of those are hard too.
 
Over on Cast Boolits, they have threads on stuff like this. According to some guy named Keith Elmer, 11 BHN is good for up anything up to 1200fps. I gather he did a lot of load development for the 357 and 44 magnum and is famous for it.

You can't use dead soft lead, like what is used in some cowboy loads or wadcutters, no. But if you read and experiment for yourself, you may find that you get the same or better results with a significantly lower BHN than the typical commercial bullet for that cartridge. They choose their specific hardness for important reasons that may not apply to your guns or loads.
 
"over on cast boolits, they have threads on stuff like this. According to some guy named keith elmer, 11 bhn is good for up anything up to 1200fps. I gather he did a lot of load development for the 357 and 44 magnum and is famous for it."

Ya' don't say!
 
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There is lead and then there is "lead". The harder alloys, generally purchased bullets, act more like jacketed and are probably less likely to cause a leading problem. Lasercast by Oregon Trail would be one example.

I expect that those who make their own in soft alloys or pure wheel weights have gone to aftermarket barrels.
 
It's already been mentioned, but the issue isn't lead in the barrel. It's the lead buildup causing a round not to chamber fully that causes the kabooms.

Since lead is softer and gas goes around the bullet, all barrels can lead up.

If you are shooting properly sized bullets no gas goes around it. Size matters folks. ;)
I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt that has had nearly all lead shot through it. I'm talking thousands of rounds. Never had to clean lead out of the bore. Not once. The bullets are sized perfectly for it.

Now if I shot a bullet that was a couple thousandths too small, then gasses would go around it and cause the leading you speak of.

But a properly sized bullet will not allow gasses to escape. At least not if your load is hot enough. Loads that are too light will give you leading sometimes for the reason you mention.

FYI, I use the same alloy for everything. I use a 50/50 mix of pure lead and clip on wheel weights. BHN is probably around 9-10.
The only time I've experienced leading to any degree was in a 9mm and it was my fault. I wasn't flaring the case enough and the darn little tapered case was swaging down the bullet to .355 causing the escaping gasses mentioned above. Leaded like crazy. After 15 shots it was like I had a smoothbore. Gotta flare those 9mm cases enough or lead is a nightmare.
 
Over on Cast Boolits, they have threads on stuff like this. According to some guy named Keith Elmer, 11 BHN is good for up anything up to 1200fps. I gather he did a lot of load development for the 357 and 44 magnum and is famous for it.

You can't use dead soft lead, like what is used in some cowboy loads or wadcutters, no. But if you read and experiment for yourself, you may find that you get the same or better results with a significantly lower BHN than the typical commercial bullet for that cartridge. They choose their specific hardness for important reasons that may not apply to your guns or loads

I would agree with this also! Two of the key words in those two paragraphs is "load development" and " experiment" [experimentation].
I know a bullseye shooter that likes a pure lead bullet sized to .452 with 4.0gr of bullseye. He shoots hundreds of rounds without any leading. But he also knows every variable!
Bullet fit to bore is the most important consideration. Elmer Keith knew that I bet! I'm sure he pushed the envelope by lots of testing.
I've done a lot of testing with 9 and 40 with lead. increments of .2gr variation and bench resting. Had a friend shoot the same loads to confirm my results. Its a never ending experiment. Or you can buy factory rounds and have a life.
 
This is not about leading so much as it is about polygonal rifling. Top of the line Kahrs have polygonal barrels too, and they have always included instructions not to shoot lead bullets.

I just went through this with the Smith 625 (.45 ACP), the JM having polygonal rifling and persistent forcing cone messes, and the 625 Performance Center version with more conventional "match grade" rifling and more groove definition. The leading issue is mitigated by the rifling difference in the PC version, forcing me to find an excuse to buy another gun rather than stop using lead bullets and start using up my stash of FMJ.:D
 
I expect that those who make their own in soft alloys or pure wheel weights have gone to aftermarket barrels.
Might be the case in general, but I'm shooting pure WW in a stock Glock barrel, and I have no reason to clean my bore or chamber, at all. Indefinitely. Thousands of rounds. Actually, I avoid shooting as much with my LW barrel, because the button cut rifling still picks up a tiny bit of leading in the rifling near the chamber. Stock Glock barrel fouls none, at all. And I load well hotter than most, from what I have gleaned.

The harder alloys, generally purchased bullets, act more like jacketed and are probably less likely to cause a leading problem.
I agree that the harder the bullet, the less likely it is to cause a SEVERE leading and accuracy problem. But IMO, they are equally likely to cause a problem, however mitigated it might be. Before I started to expand my 9mm with a 38SW plug (I had the same issue with 9mm as Arkansas Paul in post #36), I was getting much BETTER accuracy and much LESS fouling with harder MBC bullets. But in this case, I was still getting a huge falloff in accuracy past 25 yards and enough leading where I needed to either clean within a hundred or so rounds, or to mess with mixing jacketed bullets in each mag to keep the bore clean.

Once you have determined your gun can shoot cast bullets with no fouling, and you can load them without swaging, and you have figured out at what size, then the extra hardness pretty much does nothing for you. That's if you can reach this point.

This is significant for the reason of cost. While pure lead generally costs much more than "dirty" lead, when buying dirty or alloyed lead, the cost goes up as you increase the hardness, because the alloying elements that increase hardness cost more than the lead. Also in some rare cases, a softer bullet performs better due to its ability to overcome minor constrictions/irregularities of a non-ideal cylinder throat or bore or a minor undersizing. Or, perhaps, the oversized chamber/throat of a stock Glock 9mm/40 bore. (The 45ACP Glock chamber/throat is much less oversized, in my examples!)

Just because MBC makes x bullets with y hardness doesn't mean that's what works best. It's just the best hardness for their particular application which includes selling bullets to thousands of customers and being exposed to some amount of liability and headaches in case said bullets were to cause problems to some of those users.

If the bullet is not big enough to seal the bore, my soft bullets will lead a Glock bore, end-to-end, with one shot, and you would be lucky to hit a barn door at 100 yards. Shoot a mag, and you will be scraping solid lead out with a sharp stick, and you still probably wouldn't have hit that barn door, yet, and you better hope your backstop is 50 feet high. I've been there and done that. So, no. I wouldn't sell or give these to other people and tell them to go ahead and enjoy with no caveats. And I imagine professional sellers of bullets don't have enough time in the day to answer the unhappy phone calls, either. But when loaded correctly they work perfectly in my guns, including and especially stock Glocks. Glocks with stock barrels are my favorite shooters, and one of the reasons is they shoot cast bullets so cleanly and accurately. If you have the time and inclination and methodology (or just luck) to safely get to that point, you will see for yourself. You just might find yourself with zero fouling and soda can plinking accuracy at 100 yards.
 
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Caliber conversions.

Potentially tighter lockup, particularly if you get a hand-fitted barrel.

Different lengths.

Threaded muzzles.

Potentially tighter cut chambers.

Better casehead support in some cases.

According to every manufacturer of aftermarket barrels, you WILL get increased accuracy. :)

(Lower muzzle velocity, in general.)

And, the same way that harder bullets are more forgiving of bad bullet fit, a conventional button-cut barrel will lead LESS when your fit is wrong. In most cases ALOT less. This makes it safer, in general, in the hands of the masses who are trying out lead bullets and who are not expecting or are not prepared to deal with horrendous and potentially dangerous full-bore leading. But there's no benefit over a polygonal bore if the bullet is well-fit, in my opinion. And I don't sell Glocks nor aftermarket barrels.

Glock barrel + lead. When it rains, it pours. You should not take this lightly. When working up a new cast load, you should initially inspect the barrel after the very first shot. Preferably, through the breech end. :) If that goes well, then inspect it in increasing intervals after that. And you should be prepared to retire that gun until you can thoroughly clean it, even if that means you only got to shoot one round thru it. But if you use the biggest bullets you can get your hands on and make sure they don't get swaged by the case, you will give yourself the best chance of getting it right the first time.
 
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