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Jacketed vs lead

Colt Super
Just about everything I won in the Reloading outfit giveaway has shown up, and I want to get started.

Is there any reason NOT to use lead bullets in semi-autos?

What caliber do you all think I should start with - .40S&W, 9MM, or .32ACP????

God Bless America and...
NEVER Forget WACO
NEVER, EVER Forget 911
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • chunkstyle
    Heavy use of lead bullets in autos can cause barrel leading. Vigorous application of a bronze brush fixes this problem. For which to load, .32 will give more rounds per unit of lead, but the real savings is on the cases. Load whichever you have cases for. These days, 9mm is so cheap it's hardly worth the effort. Most reloaders for handguns go with the big bores, as you realize the most savings this way, provided you can get cheap lead.

    "Go to Lakedaemon, stranger passing by;
    And say there, that in obedience to her law, here we lie"
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  • bobski
    do the 40's until you get the hang of it. 9mm isnt worth the effort. 32's will make you go blind,(small.) stay with jacketed bullets, unless you like your supper tasting like bullet wax. lead bullets come two ways: greased and ungreased. dont do ungreased! it will drive you nuts wit hjust another stage to do. besides, youll need a greasing station! trust me...ive spent whole nights watching videos wearing my hands out, while wiping excess grease off my bullets when they were done, before putting them in boxes, only to fill the range up with smoke when i shot them! the bbl tilted down on the range use to look like a dripping candle! stay with jacketed! i give you 30 days and youll buy a dillon 550.
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  • tapwater
    Don't know what you are loading for, but info with my Glock .40 says do not use cast bullets. The rifling leads up badly. For low vel. plinking and target loads, in anything else, go right ahead with lead but you will get leading in any gun.

    The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
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  • Throckmorton
    One trick to loading lead bullets is to seat and crimp in 2 seperate operations..saves plugging up the die with shaved lead and lube.Not required,but but reccomended.
    Us cowboy shooters shoot zillions of lead rounds per year,and leading is not much of a problem at pistol or carbine velocities.
    The Sportsmans' Warehouse in Salem and Porland carry lasercast lead bullets,the are very good bullets to try.Their reloading section is a candy store.:)
    If youfe loading foe semi-autos,go for round nose bullets for better feeding.
    Holler if you have questions,we've all been there.

    Throckmortons' the alias,cas is the game.
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  • king999
    Everything above is really correct. You can shoot lead forever without problems at LOW velocity. High velocity produces too much heat for the lead and it melts into your bbl grooves. Brushing will take it out, but it's work. For HV carts jacketed is easier, albeit somewhat more expensive.
    Years ago I used to shoot lead .357's but every 50 rds or so, I woud fire a few Jacketed. It helped, but I still had to scrub.
    Morty
    Have fun, be careful!
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  • beantole
    Wow, I wish I had know that. I bought a ton of lead nosed bullets (LRN) (158 grains) to shoot in my .38 special revolver (5.5 inch barrel). They are made by Sellier & Bellot. So am I stuck with a lead problem? What should I do? Thanks for any help.

    Bruce
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  • bambihunter
    One other point about lead is that in some semi-auto's (probably not in the calibers listed however) will mushroom a lead bullet upon the slide coming forward. The main guns I've seen this with were Desert Eagles, they specifically recommend at least semi-jacketed bullets.
    I'd load the .40's, that should be your biggest value savings of the calibers listed.
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  • roysha
    First a word to beantole, NO you don't have a problem, unless you have an extremely rough bore. 38 Special factory loaded cartridges with lead bullets are on the low end of the velocity. Second, there is more NONSENSICAL CRAP about lead bullets floating around, perpetuated by so called "experts", then can be absorbed by most normal human brains. A good quality lead bullet, shot within the velocity limits of the hardness, with a proper lube,(not grease except for black powder) will lead VERY little! I have shot literally tons of lead bullets over the last 40+ years in everything from 32 through 44 Mag and 45 ACP. Primarily straight wheel weights because they are cheap and cast fairly well. This is in revolvers and semi-autos. My brother has 2 HK USPs and my son-in-law has one, all in 45 ACP and they shoot fine. Have no experience with Glock but have shot lead in S&Ws, SIGs, CZ, and Colt. It may take a little bit to slick up barrel but once done, leading is a non factor. My M-29 S&W will eventually need the charge holes in cylinder cleaned before the barrel needs scrubbing,(I'm talking 500-600 rds.) and a couple passes with the Lewis Lead remover and a couple patches, voila, clean. If lead bullets are so bad, why is it that 22RF high speed ammo, pushes the bullet in excess of 1200fps with a VERY soft bullet and I have yet to hear of anyone having a leading problem (except in very rough bores). I shoot a cast PB 98gr. SWC from my 32 Mag. at chronographed 1295fps. It is accurate and cast from, practically speaking, straight wheel weights. If any leading occurs, I sure have not been able to find it. I don't mind if someone has had a bad experience with cast bullet in a particular gun, but usually I find that all the "experience" is old wives tales and "information" has been passed down from people that heard it from someone who heard it from someone, etc. Try the lead bullets. If you don't like them, fine, but don't reject them just because some "expert" says they are no good.

    BEER IS PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US AND WANTS US TO BE HAPPY!
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  • beantole
    quote:Originally posted by roysha
    ...A good quality lead bullet, shot within the velocity limits of the hardness, with a proper lube,(not grease except for black powder) will lead VERY little! It may take a little bit to slick up barrel but once done, leading is a non factor...


    Thank you for that information. I have been happy with my .38 special lead bullets and have had no problems. What do you mean by your quote above? I thought the barrel was supposed to be totally dry when shooting and contain no lubricants as they cause "flyers" (or so I am told.) Do you shoot with some type lubricant in a revolver barrel? Should I if I shoot mosty lead bullets? Thanks.

    Bruce
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  • rsnyder55
    The exceptions are Desert Eagle and HK P7's which are semi-autos with gas ports. The manufacturers specifically state no lead bullets.
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