Plated 9mm in polygonal barrel

[CMV]

Any issue with ~1200fps 115gr 9mm in an HK pistol with polygonal rifling? I can just use MG TMJ bullets, but have a lot of the plated loaded up too.

 

[oneounceload]

What does your reloading manual say?

 

[GLOOB]

I have gotten terrible copper and lead fouling in a Glock shooting factory 45 ACP ammo that was presumably thinly plated. It was either Rem UMC or Blazer Brass. Can't say for sure which one did it. No permanent harm. It just took a lot of elbow grease to get it out.

So I'd say your HK might have a problem with certain bullets, too.

Lead bullets and Berry's plated, no problem in my Glocks.

 

[CMV]

RTFM? Really?

This is what my manual says:


From Lyman 49 pg 77

Seriously - I don't see anything about polygonal barrels & plated bullets in Lyman 49 or Hornady 8th.

This is a new gun and my first pistol with polygonal rifling.

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know many HK shooters, but there sure are a lot of Glockers shooting plated bullets through their polygonal barrels.

 

[jmorris]

I have shot more than 200,000 rounds using plated bullets out of glock barrels.

 

[Artofgolf]

No problems with plated through my G-19 or G-42

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

Shooting 124 gr. plated flat noses inn my G26 and 100 gr. plated FN's in my Wife's G42...both have Glocks polygonal rifling and the bore is so clean after 150 rounds all I need to do is wipe the gun down. I ran a BreakFree CLP lubed patch thru the bore the first cople time after shooting and got no fouling save a bit a black carbon.

Visual inspection with bright light at one end shows the bore clean and shiny.

No problems with plated and polygonal here.

VooDoo

 

[Captaingyro]

My service weapon is an H&K USP 40 Compact. I practice with plated bullets exclusively, and have never had a problem with barrel fouling. A quick wipe with Hoppe's leaves the bore looking like a mirror.

 

[LiveLife]

Plated 9mm in polygonal barrel\par
Any issue with ~1200fps 115gr 9mm in an HK pistol with polygonal rifling? I can just use MG TMJ bullets, but have a lot of the plated loaded up too.

Plated bullets are rated to ~1200 fps to 1450 fps depending on brand so your results may vary. You may need to use more powder than published and/or your accuracy may not be optimal. Unlike true jacketed bullets like Montana Gold CMJ (complete metal jacket) which is a FMJ bullet with a metal disk covering the lead base, plated bullets vary in lead core alloy/hardness and copper plating thickness (.004" - .015" depending on brands like Rainier Ballistics "leadsafe" vs Speer TMJ - BTW TMJ is ATK/Speer trademark).

True "polygonal" barrels have polygon shaped bore which leak high pressure gas through voids between the round bullet and the polygon shaped bore compared to typical round barrel that leak high pressure gas around the bullet through the lands/grooves. Depending on the amount of gas leakage in a polygonal barrel, you may need to use higher powder charge than published to obtain the same muzzle velocity.

For me, typical plated bullets (.004" - .008") have produced optimal accuracy around mid range jacketed load data and accuracy fell at high-to-near max load data. Thicker plated bullets (.010" - .015") do better but don't always match the accuracy of true jacketed bullets with the exception of Berry's thicker plated hollow base bullets like HBRN-TP with longer bullet base/bearing surface and hollow base that expands better to seal with the barrel and actually produce greater accuracy than jacketed bullets - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=745656

 

[Rule3]

Good grief.

From Berrys Bullets. Yes it says Glock not HK.

http://www.berrysmfg.com/faq.aspx?n=503045

FAQ: Can I shoot your plated bullets in my Glock?

Yes. We have a large contingent of loyal Glock shooters using our bullets. The plating is thick enough that you will not get lead fouling in your bore, which is the nemesis of polygonal barrels.

 

[LiveLife]

Yes, yes. The term "polygonal" and "Glock" kinda stuck over the years while HK owners vehemently protest that their pistols have "true" polygonal barrels ...

But this is the "High Road" and I thought THR members/guests ought to know the difference.

BTW, my Glocks love Berry's bullets! Particularly HBRN-TP bullets.

So even though Winchester makes HB FMJ bullets, I may switch over to Berry's HB bullets to reduce my lead exposure even more (I get my lead level checked again in 2 weeks).

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Not only can you shoot plated bullets in a Glock barrel I have successfully shot bullets coated with the new Hi-Tek 2 coating in a Glock G19. The barrel remained spotless and the accuracy was very good.

I used Missouri bullets, 124gr 9mm coated SmallBall with W231 and CCI-500 primers.

 

[Rule3]

Glocks actually are Hexagon but what is a Hexagon? It is a 6 sided Polygon!

It may also depend on the brand of plated bullets. Used to be Berrys were a tad thicker than some others. Not sure if they still are?? I guess they have double struck now. I thought Rainers were thinner back some time ago. I don't know as I no longer use them. There are lots of them out there now.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Plated work fine in 9mm USPs and .45 auto HKs. (and 9mm & .45 Glocks too).

I've hit over 1,200 fps with a 130 plated RN in .38 Super and over 1,150 in a 9mm Glock 17L.

 

[LiveLife]

Glocks actually are Hexagon but what is a Hexagon? It is a 6 sided Polygon!

I understand but call me nitpicky as for the barrel to be called polygonal, the bore has to be the shape of a polygon (whether hexagon or octagon, etc.) without rifling. Glock barrels have round bore and have 6 or 8 rifling (hexagonal for 9/40 and octagonal for 45) and thus not "true" polygonal barrels.

Look at the drawing below on the right of a "true" polygonal barrel and you will notice that there are no rifling, just octagonal sides that will engage the bullet's bearing surface. Then look at the picture of Glock barrel below and you will notice a round bore with six (hexagonal) rifling that will engage the bullet's bearing surface.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonal_rifling

 

[rskent]

I use plated 115's (whoever is cheapest at the time) in my G19 all the time. Never a problem yet.

I am curious, Why so fast?

 

[TommyD45]

I have the HK45 Compact, not a 9 mm and I have put over 800 cast bullets through it in the last month and a half with no more leading than in traditionally rifled barrels. I can't see why it wouldn't do well with plated bullets as well.

As I said, I have the 45 ACP, not a 9 mm and perhaps there are other considerations in your caliber. Check the manual that came with your pistol. The manual for the HK45 states on page 27:

“NOTE: Currently there are no known .45 ACP ammunition types that are not
compatible with the HK45 pistols with the exception of some light, match
grade wadcutter loads that provide insufficient recoil impulse to reliably
operate the HK45. All HK45 pistols are approved for use with +P and +P+
ammunition. The use of +P and +P+ ammunition does accelerate wear and
reduce the service life on the component parts of any pistol including the
HK45.”

 

[LiveLife]

HK45 Compact ... over 800 cast bullets ... no more leading than in traditionally rifled barrels.

But some of us get "no leading" with land/groove rifled barrels and hill/valley Glock rifled barrels.

My Glocks with KKM/Lone Wolf barrels will shoot over 500 rounds of lead loads in one shooting session without any leading.

I know, this discussion is for another thread.

 

[TommyD45]

Please don't think that I am Glock bashing. I don't own one, but by reputation they are very reliable quality pistols. Some people say cast bullets are a no-no in a Glock, and others shoot thousands and thousands of them with no problem. I don't have any personal experience with Glocks to contribute to that conversation.

I was addressing a specific question about H&K pistols. My HK45 is good to go with cast bullets. I recommended that the original poster check the manual that came with his H&K 9 mm to see if it gave the same recommendation.

Tom

 

[CMV]

Owner's manual says cast lead bullets not recommended. Nothing about plated.

 

[jmorris]

There are more than a few manuals that will tell you to NOT shoot reloads at all.

 

[Blue Thunder]

I have shot a few thousand 200 GR LSW in my G-21 in the 1990's at 1000 FPS with no leading. In the last 10 years I have shot a ton of Copper Wash bullets from various manufacturers in my G-19 and G-35 with no issues. Yes the hardness and type of plating on the bullets does make a difference and YMMV depending on manufacturer. This is why I stick with those that work and don't go looking for others.

 

[DudeRick]

I can shoot plated through my HK's, but I prefer to load hotter than plated will tolerate. Most safe loads for plated are upper end for lead rounds or bottom end of FMJ rounds.

 

[oneounceload]

There are more than a few manuals that will tell you to NOT shoot reloads at all.

I believe that is every manual - all lawyers tend to think alike in that regard