Lead Bullet Problems?

[Auburn1992]

I was wanting to soon reload for my 9mm handgun. I'm looking to get the cheapest costing bullets, so I want to pick up some cast lead. What types of barrels can lead be shot out of safely?

The pistol I want to use is a Magnum Research Baby Eagle in 9mm. Will these be safe to shoot lead out of?

 

[machinisttx]

IIRC, the baby eagle has polygonal rifling like a glock. Quite a few glocks have been destroyed(kabooms) by the use of cast bullets.

 

[bluetopper]

Just clean the barrel regularly and you'll be fine.

 

[kingpin008]

As Parisite correctly noted - it's not the type of rifling that a barrel has (or doesn't have) that causes the KB!, it's the build-up of lead in the barrel. As long as you're careful to make sure to keep the lead from building up, you can shoot lead projectiles in any type of barrel.

 

[armoredman]

I cast a 124gr lead round nose out of a Lee .356 124 2R mould, wheel weight lead, and it works great in my CZ P01, traditional rifling. No real extra cleanup, using Accurate Arms #7 powder and Lee Liquid Alox lubricant. REALLY saves money.

 

[mtngunr]

how to explain such a subject to an Auburn graduate?....firstly, the SMALL end is where the bullets come out.....(wink)

Seriously, most commercial hard cast shoot OK out of most guns, but a flatbase 20:1 alloy with good lube will shoot best this side of 1400fps...but start with the easy-to-load/cheap-to-buy commercial stuff first, as they might suprise you....don't use lead with any gas-ported designs unless cleaning lead out of impossible places is something that interests you.

 

[lazyeye]

I've always drank the koolaid that shooting lead in a Glock is bad... but I just changed camps.

I just loaded up 100rds of Oregon trail 9mm's and shot them through my Glock. Any fouling they left behind was almost unnoticeable. Your results may vary.

 

[loop]

Don't sweat it.

I recently sold a Glock 19 that had at least 10,000 rounds through it. Very few were jacketed. I just cleaned it every time I shot it.

It was very accurate for a Glock and by tuning the round to the gun it was even more accurate.

Lead bullets are generally more accurate than jacketed. They mold to fit the rifling more readily than jacketed rounds.

I've been shooting about 1,500 rounds a month out of a number of guns, including ones with poly rifling, and don't even consider what kind of rifling it has when I load the gun.

 

[jad0110]

The pistol I want to use is a Magnum Research Baby Eagle in 9mm. Will these be safe to shoot lead out of?

My father has the same pistol, also with polygonal rifling. He read the whole manual, and though it spoke against using reloads for warranty purposes, it mentioned NO prohibition on use of cast bullets.

So in that regard, cast bullets should not be a problem (just clean after each range trip). If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

 

[gaowlpoop]

I have two weapons that are alike in most specs except one has polygonal rifling and the other does not. I shoot the same load in each, even the same batch in each. I have noted a SIGNIFICANT difference in the amount of lead that the polygonal barrel builds up. I solve the problem by careful cleaning after each shoot. I must say also that a "shoot" for me is usually less then 100 rounds.