From lead back to jacketed

[AJM]

I'm still fairly new to firearms and have had my Beretta 92FS for just over a year now. I've only ever fired jacketed bullets through it. A friend of mine invited me to go to a local gun club where they have metal silhouette targets that you have to use lead-only bullets on. I know that I'm not supposed to go directly from shooting lead bullets back to jacketed, so what cleaning procedure should I follow to safely make the transition back? Should I even consider firing lead-only bullets? Thanks.

 

[rcmodel]

Just run a bronze bore brush through the barrel a few times and shoot it.

Or not.

Unless you get really severe leading, it will come out when you start shooting jacketed again anyway.

I routinely switch back & forth without cleaning in all my guns.

rcmodel

 

[kingpin008]

+1 to what RC said - unless you've got some serious lead build-up in your barrel (which is unlikely, given the length of most shooting sessions) you'll be fine without any special cleaning procedures.

 

[AJM]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Zoogster]

Shouldn't we err on the side of safety for someone we don't know when we don't even know how many rounds he fired during that session?

It is not too difficult to run a bore brush down the barrel. The problems arising from a kaboom can be a bit more difficult.

You should have no issues simply switching back, but we do not know that, we cannot see your bore and cleaning the bore is a very easy simple process.

 

[rcmodel]

It's a Beretta 92.

Leading isn't going to cause a KAboom unless the hole through the barrel is stopped clear up.

rcmodel

 

[machinisttx]

For best accuracy, you need to completely remove all traces of copper before shooting lead, and all traces of lead before shooting copper.

The old "trick" of shooting jacketed to get the lead out raises pressures, and also puts copper fouling over the existing lead fouling--making it twice as hard to get the bore clean.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I've been switching back and forth between lead and jacketed bullets for over three decades without ever encountering a problem.

 

[AJM]

I've shot several hundred rounds through it and clean the bore after every outing. I just needed some realism from people "in the know." The manual says not to shoot jacketed bullets after shooting lead ones because the increased pressure could cause the barrel to rupture. It doesn't really say how clean the barrel needs to be before shooting jacketed bullets again.

My take-aways from this exchange are:
1. It's okay to take my friend up on his invitation
2. If I run a brush down the barrel after the session, I should be good to go for shooting jacketed ammo again.

Thanks.

 

[Jeff F]

Just clean your gun and go shoot. After your done shooting clean your gun.

 

[BlindJustice]

If you have a hard time getting the lead out.... har har

Seriously, a Lewis Lead Remover kit is inexpensive - you
order it specific to your bore size, it has bronze or something
patches to pass through the bore for cleaning
the softer lead, but the Bronze is harder than lead and
softer than the steel bore.

Randall

 

[jetrecbn]

I shoot 20 hard cast lead bullets then follow up with 5 fmj (9mm and 45acp). Should I be concerned?

 

[combatantr2]

Firing jacketed or hardball to clean up a fouled-up barrel will not work. Running a bronze brush thru the bore is still the best option to clean a fouled barrel. Looking at the shape of most jacketed ammo the shape will simply embed the lead more to the bore thereby cleaning or brushing the barrel more difficult the next time. A beretta may not KB, but running jacketed after shooting lead is a bad S.O.P.

 

[Walkalong]

A jacketed round or two will clean most of the lead out, assuming it is just light leading. Proven fact. Nose shape has nothing to do with it. Many folks have been doing it for years. Unless you have a lot of lead build up it is no big deal. It will not Ka-Boom, that's for sure.