Shooting lead reloads in Glocks?

[Mac Attack]

Can you shoot hardcast reloads in Glocks? If not where can I find an aftermarket barrel of a G30?

 

[CountGlockula]

What does your Glock manual say?

 

[ljnowell]

What does your Glock manual say?

the glock manual says no reloads, as most other manuals do. I would suggest going to this forums reloading section and several others and read up. The short answer is yes, but you must maintain lower velocities and pressures, while keeping a serious eye out for leading. .40 is the worst, .45 is the best. no, fmj will not clean out lead buildup.

 

[IdahoLT1]

Glocks come with polygonal rifling which using lead bullets is considered a no-no. The lead fouls the barrel quicker but i think its kinda over exaggerated. If you want to go that route, it would be wise to clean your pistol much more often than you do normally.

 

[Guzzizzit]

If your planning to shoot hard cast lead bullets, i would recomend an after market barrel. I have had very good luck with lone wolf barrels. I use them in several of my glocks. Here is a link: http://www.lonewolfdist.com

This is just my opinion based on my own experiences and not on any technical expertise.

 

[Ken Rainey]

Yep, I got a friend that has shot his own hard cast reloads in a model 23 (.40) Glock for years...I asked him about the leading and he said he just cleans when he's done and has never noticed any buildup or had a problem....guess he's got his lead hard enough!

 

[Onmilo]

You can get a safe to shoot lead bullet loads barrel for less than $150 from;
http://www.brownells.com

Don't shoot plain lead bullets in a Glock factory barrel no matter what somebody in an internet forum tells you, it is NOT a safe practice.

 

[ljnowell]

Don't shoot plain lead bullets in a Glock factory barrel no matter what somebody in an internet forum tells you, it is NOT a safe practice.

Voice of experience? There are lots of us that do it all the time. Its called common sense. Make sure you are not leading. If you dont lead you wont have a problem.

 

[Onmilo]

Voice of experience indeed.
I have seen first hand what happens with lead bullets in Glock factory barrels and it doesn't take much lead build up to spike the pressure curve.

This is especially problomatic when using lead in .40 caliber pistols using polygonal rifling as the pressure curve on the .40 caliber cartridge is very slight between safe and hand grenade.

Glock barrels are not comprised of a uniform structure such as steel barstock.
They are composed of a sandwich of two hard outer shells surrounding a very soft inner core.
Rupture either of the shells and the inner core fragments quite easily.

 

[ljnowell]

Voice of experience indeed.
I have seen first hand what happens with lead bullets in Glock factory barrels and it doesn't take much lead build up to spike the pressure curve.

And you know, I have seen lots of people do it, myself included. If you would have read my post you would have seen the mention of not doing it in a .40 glock. As far as the 9mm and .45, as long as you know what you are doing and know your loads you are fine. Hardcast lead at low velocity isnt a problem. One must use your head if you are going to do so and know what you are doing.

 

[CPshooter]

Glock barrels are not comprised of a uniform structure such as steel barstock.
They are composed of a sandwich of two hard outer shells surrounding a very soft inner core.
Rupture either of the shells and the inner core fragments quite easily.

I find this very interesting. I almost have a hard time believing it actually. Why and how would they make their barrels like this? Wouldn't it be more difficult and more expensive to make them this way? I don't see why they would do this if it will result in a weaker barrel. Is there any documentation on this process that I can read?

I'm not saying you are full of it, but I just have a tough time understanding how anyone could make a barrel like you describe.

 

[ljnowell]

Glock barrels are composed of tennifer treated steel. The tennifer treatment(inside and out) gives the barrels an extreme hardness and rust resistance.