Glock Leading

[Maj Dad]

Has anyone had any experience with copper plated lead bullets (a la Rocky Mountain Reloadings excellent slugs) in a Glock 21? I know "regular" lead bullets can cause leading in the octagonal rifling, but I have also heard that hard cast lead bullets are "o.k." Can anyone enlighten me before I spring for a Wilson barrel...

 

[glocks rock]

I use copper plated bullets in my 21. Berry's. I've run thousands through my 21 with no ill effects. I don't run lead of any kind in my Glocks.

 

[Safetychain]

I've been using Berrys in an old Husqvarna 9mm Browning short (380 ACP), S&W 9mm, Baby Eagle 40 cal that has the same kind of barrel as the Glock, and Colt Series 80 .45 with no problem at all. Though I have just read somewhere that the plated bullets should be loaded somewhere around that of lead, I think it said to do it to avoid the jacket separating. The engineer in me says that the molecular bond between the copper and the lead should be the best bond possible though in a plated bullet. I load for the good economics nowdays and load in that range anyway.

 

[sokygunner]

I have seen people shoot lead, yes old fashion lead, bullets through glocks. They will shoot about a hundred rounds at a time then go home and clean them and do it again the next week. No ill effects. I know it says definitely don't do this in the manual, but it seems to work anyway. If you shot hundreds of rounds without cleaning then I could see a problem forming, but a hundred rounds at a time and a good cleaning seem to produce ok results.

 

[ljnowell]

I can shoot up to 3-500 lead rounds out of my glock without having to worry about cleaning. Stock g21 barrel. The key really isnt even the hardness of the lead, its about the velocity. Enough powder to seal up the bullet to the bore, but not enough to push it fast enough to lead. I find that anything in the 650-850fps range and i am good to go.

 

[ROBBY.1911]

leaded glocks can go boom! friends of mine who shoot IPSC religiously swear by Montana Gold as far as bullets for competition and they load them fairly hot. i'm not a reloader, but i don't want to see your Glock--or anybody's--go BOOM!---robby

 

[rcmodel]

Berry says this:
Plated bullets occupy a position between cast bullets and jacketed bullets. They are soft lead, but have a hard outer shell on them. When loading plated bullets we have found best results using low- to mid-range jacketed data in the load manual. You must use data for a bullet that has the same weight and profile as the one you are loading. Do not exceed mid-range loads. Do not use magnum loads.

I would be very cautious if using lead bullet Starting load data with plated bullets. They have higher bore friction like jacketed bullets, then lead bullets, and getting one stuck in the barrel is a possibility if loaded too light.

I have shot pure linotype (Very Hard) cast bullet reloads in my Glock 23 .40 S&W for going on 15 years with no ill effects & no leading.
But I do clean my guns every time I come home from shooting them.

rc

 

[middy]

Plated or hard cast lead is fine in Glocks. Soft lead... no.

 

[Sapper771]

I have been using RMR copper plated 200gr and 230gr bullets through my Glock 21 with out any issues. I have some decent recipes for the RMR bullets if your interested, mostly for the 1911/Sig 220.