How do you justify plated over lead ?

[steveumd]

All are good depending on application

A lot of the smoke from hand-loaded lead can be from the lube. Another factor is the crimp. Powder can have an impact as well.

Please note I said can be.

Make slight adjustments within the standards for load, outlined manuals/guides from manufacturers and other credible sources. Take good notes.

Everyone has their favorite loads. I find half the fun is working one up.

One of my loads, .38 SPL 158 LSWC 2.8 gr Bullseye that is a great target/fun shoot load that is very accurate. The old Carrol bullets were the most accurate, they are now gone. Folks say the Magnus 158 SWCBB is the same bullet and although quite accurate, I don't get the same accuracy in a Ransom rest.

I have tried the plated 158 SWC but can’t produce as tight a group, though they target decent and leave zero leading.

My .40 S&W Sig P226 is very accurate with 165 Rainier RNFP 8.0 gr AA#7.

I could go on and on and put all to sleep.

DO NOT ASSUME THE LOADS I POSTED ARE SAFE. Follow all safety guidelines, reference all loads with published, credible sources, and never start loads at or near maximum charge weights.

 

[steveumd]

Welcome any and all feedback

 

[fmcdave]

I don't reload with lead bullets for two reasons.
1. My range won't allow their use.
2. Big reason, health issues.

Lead is a persistent poison. You have to be VERY careful when handling it. I might be a little sensitive because my mother used to do stained glass (which uses soft lead). She thought she was being very careful. She had a regular physical and after her blood tests came back her doctor asked her if she was an alcoholic (she doesn't drink). Even wearing gloves and washing her hands had not prevented some lead poisoning. Maybe it was from the soldering vapors. Who knows. But it made me very cautious when it comes to lead.

Copper plated bullets need to be loaded (power wise) as if they were lead, but at least you don't have to be worried about damaging your liver. As far as I'm concerned, they don't cost that much more...and I shoot a lot. My last buy for .45ACP bullets was 4000. Luckily, Rainier had some blems which were 60% of the regular price.

 

[SilentVectorX]

Personally, I like plated because they're a tiny bit cheaper than jacketed in medium qunatities, and they are also a bit safer to handle (FMJ has exposed lead at the base). And if I'm lucky, they'll be more accurate than jacketed as well!

 

[cougar1717]

I prefer plated over lead due to cleaning time and the cloud o' burnt lube, but I shoot both. I do want to make a distinction, though. Solid lead (as in bullets) do not pose that much risk to your health in terms of handling. If you swallowed one, it would just pass through - it's not like you will get lead poisoning from that. What is particularly bad is vaporized or airborne lead. The act of firing a gun releases lead from the primer (unless it's NT) and can vaporize lead on the base of a lead bullet (FMJ included). This isn't particularly bad unless you shoot at a indoor range w/o proper ventilation because your exposure is generally limited.
However, I knew a business owner in college who had a lead smelting plant for high end electronic components. He had his workers tested monthly. All passed as usual, except one guy whose levels were through the roof. He had to report it and questioned the worker about safety equipment, procedure, exposure, etc and could not find a source for his high level. That is, until he told the owner he was working on a electronics experiment for a class and was soldering for about 3 hours each night!

 

[GLOOB]

The main things that bother me with cast:
Makes my revolvers smokey and dirty. And they sometimes require more finesse when flaring and seating to avoid shaving or lube rings at the mouth.

Unless the cast cost significantly less, I'll buy plated most of the time.

The ultimate irony is cast bullets shoot great in my 9mm pistols, but they hardly save me anything. But they cause me the aforementioned issues with my .357's, where the savings are great and the crimp groove saves me time!

 

[brickeyee]

I don't reload with lead bullets for two reasons.
1. My range won't allow their use.
2. Big reason, health issues.

Lead is a persistent poison. You have to be VERY careful when handling it. I might be a little sensitive because my mother used to do stained glass (which uses soft lead). She thought she was being very careful. She had a regular physical and after her blood tests came back her doctor asked her if she was an alcoholic (she doesn't drink). Even wearing gloves and washing her hands had not prevented some lead poisoning. Maybe it was from the soldering vapors. Who knows. But it made me very cautious when it comes to lead.

Most likely she was inhaling glass dust from grining pieces og glass to shape.

Solid metallic lea is not a significant hazard.

Fine lead dust, or soluble lead compounds (like the result of firing lead styphanate primers) is a far worse hazard.

The danger in lead paint is lead acetate (AKA 'sugar of lead' for its sweet flavor).
It was used as a gloss improver and hardener long after lead oxide pigments disappeared (replaced by titanium oxide).

Lead acetate is also both soluble and easily taken up by the body.

Soldering temperature are not hot enough to release significant lead vapor (and the use of alloy solder further lowers the melting point of the solder below that of pure lead).

 

[wingman]

I think it depends on the amount you shoot, at one time I used lead only grew tired of the dirt switched to plated and plan on sticking with them as long as I can afford or they are no longer produced.

 

[1SOW]

Boss you might want to look at jacketed bullets also. I don't know if it's still true today but within the last couple of years

I could buy jacketed cheaper than plated. Look at Zero bullets at Powder Valley or http://rozedist.com/. I have been shooting them for a few years and think they shoot very good.

I've been using and really like 9mm Zero 125 JHPs (.355 dia) for a good while. I have also waited as long as 5 mos to get an d@^^ order.
The Berry 124 HBRN (.356 dia) shoots virtually the same and is a tiny bit cheaper and comes in 3 days. It's a hollowed out base 130 grain rn bullet, so it too has the long rifling contact that the Zero JHP has. I also like the MG 124 CMJ.

These are my top 3 for 130PF light loads in my pistol.

When one isn't available, I go to the next.