lead bullets in glock 22

[220 shooter]

at the range last wkend ro asked me if i knew i should'nt be shooting lead bullets in my glock answered no, is it true? I've shot 180 gr tc w/5.0 gr w231 w/ no issues yet, i give it a good cleaning after every session and pay special attention to the inside of the barrel, have'nt seen any real leading 2-300 rds per session. what gives.think i saw that glocks are prone to fail??? is it the gun the bullet or the combo
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[Remo-99]

Some folks say ya shouldn't shoot lead in a Glock, because of the issues with leading buildup in poly rifled barrel causing higher than normal pressures as well as a condition with some glocks that the disconnector allows the weapon to fire when it isn't in complete lockup/battery, due the rounds not fully chambering for various reasons including lead buildup at the front of the chamber.

And some folks will also say not to use reloads at all in a Glock, for the reason that the casehead is not fully supported and the risk of a hot load being fired in a weakened case (from repeated loading and firing in chamber that is not fully supported).

I've seen many hundreds to thousands of lead reloads put though the work glocks used for training, with very little to no leading before cleaning is done and without issues (to be fair, the training loads were only mild 180gr 40s&w loadings).
And then I've seen a glock lead up very badly only after <50rds (hot 9mm with lightweight bullets).

In my opinion if you're mindful and aware of the possible issues with using lead in a glock then you should be fine. But if your planning on shooting lead alot, then an after market barrel with regular rifling is also something worth considering as well.

 

[rcmodel]

I am of the opinion that barrel leading had very little to do with reported problems.

Chamber leading did!

1st. gen Glocks at least, had a design defect that allowed them to fire out of battery by as much as 3/16" or more.

Lead build-up in the head-space shoulder of the chamber would hold them progressively further & further out of battery, making the unsupported chamber even less supportive!

That coupled with the mistaken belief that Glocks never need cleaning, resulted in case failures.

Check your gun by pulling the slide back slightly and see if it will still allow the striker to fire while beginning to open a little.

If it will, it is not a good candidate for lead unless you clean the chamber with a bore brush often.

rc