glocks and lead bullets...

[dancinzen]

thanks...very informative..

[Nynvolt]

I never heard about the safety hazards of shooting lead in Glocks or other polygonal rifled barrels until joining this forum. I used to fire it from my glock 19 back 15+ years ago, never had any problems. Is it impossible to clean out or something?

I'm NOT suggesting it's safe by the way. Guess I just got lucky?

[Voo]

I never heard about the safety hazards of shooting lead in Glocks or other polygonal rifled barrels until joining this forum. I used to fire it from my glock 19 back 15+ years ago, never had any problems. Is it impossible to clean out or something?

I'm NOT suggesting it's safe by the way. Guess I just got lucky?

:-)

I wouldnt say lucky, just that people tend to overreact to the dangers..

It's not impossible to clean out..just tedious?

As for why its' tricky- it has to do with the polygonally cut barrel.. The rifling is designed to grip the bullet as it travels the length of the barrel.. In the case of lead, it just smears and doesn't get readily pushed out the gun. Over time, the lead builds up and provides even more resistance.. Eventually this pressure can exceed design specs and "kaboom".. no more gun..

[BMWguy206]

My friends dad went to the Northridge Firing-Line and he mentioned to the range officer that he's afraid their reload ammo will cause severe damage to his new Glock 23. Range officer told him if their reload ammo causes severe damage then they will buy him a new gun.

BTW how can one tell if you're given reload ammo or not? I went to the range tonight in Burbank and fired about 200 rounds on my new Glock 35 but instead of brass ammo it looked like polished steel ammo. Pretty sure they had to be reloads though because of the price.

[BamBam-31]

^^^Are you talking about nickel-plated casings vs. brass casings? Either way, mixed headstamps and/or wear marks on the casings would be dead giveaways. If it's stuff the range is selling you, and it isn't in new factory packaging, chances are nigh near 100% they're range reloads.

[BMWguy206]

^^^Are you talking about nickel-plated casings vs. brass casings? Either way, mixed headstamps and/or wear marks on the casings would be dead giveaways. If it's stuff the range is selling you, and it isn't in new factory packaging, chances are nigh near 100% they're range reloads.

I thought so. Thanks!

[CGK60]

Thats all i shot in my Glock 30. just clean after every range trip.

[Nynvolt]

I wouldnt say lucky, just that people tend to overreact to the dangers..

It's not impossible to clean out..just tedious?

As for why its' tricky- it has to do with the polygonally cut barrel.. The rifling is designed to grip the bullet as it travels the length of the barrel.. In the case of lead, it just smears and doesn't get readily pushed out the gun. Over time, the lead builds up and provides even more resistance.. Eventually this pressure can exceed design specs and "kaboom".. no more gun..

Thanks for that, re-read my post and it sounded somewhat trite. I didn't lube that gun at all but always scrubbed the barrel nicely after shooting it. I had a dud make it half way down the barrel once while shooting reloads. I wonder if the leading was partially to blame or they were just cruddy reloads.

[Army]

Standard manufacturers use lead wire and swaging machines to make their bullets, this requires soft lead. Soft lead is not good for "full contact" polygonal rifling.

If you pour your own, make them very hard, or buy custom bullets of high antimony, hard cast lead. The more hard, the better. Hard cast bullets negate the stripping or smearing of lead in the barrel, making them safe for Glocks.

[SCMA-1]

There's so much misinformation on this forum. I'm another lead bullet shooter; I have been reloading and shooting lead for over 20 years. I've never had a "kaboom"; not even in one of my Glocks which receive a steady diet of tens of thousands of all lead reloads. (shocking!)....

Like the other experienced shooters/reloaders have already mentioned, if you don't know what you are doing, don't understand reloading or have the discipline to do it properly and safely, don't maintain your weapons properly (including keeping the barrels clean of lead buildup); IOW, if you are a Calnoob, then do yourself a favor and stick to factory ammo. Otherwise, shooting lead bullets out of stock Glock barrels is not only perfectly safe, they can be quite accurate with the right lead bullets (with superior hardness) and load. Here are the hardcast lead bullets I currently use; they are exceptionally hard and very accurate:

http://www.uniqueprecisionbullets.com/

[Desert Dude]

I also shoot lead from my Glock with the standard barrel. No problems. You can go to glocktalk.com and read everything there is about all the Glocks ever made. However, be forewarned, you will get about 50% who say go ahead and 50% that say don't do it. Just like in here!

I've shot 10's of thousands of reloaded lead bullets and never had a kaboom. Almost all problems from reloads come from the guy who reloaded them, not the gun.

[dancinzen]

So I just bought 2000 military wcc once fired 9mm brass to reload for my new g19. And most if not all the brass I have looked at have a small bulge towards the base of the case( described previously as being shot in an unsupported chamber) . Will this be safe to shoot? When I put them through my resizing dies will it straighten them back up and be ok in a standard g19 barrel?

[Z ME FLY]

It is safe to shoot, don't worry. You just have to be a smart firearm owner and clean your glock. Glocks are super easy to take apart. I would probably just take off the slide and clean the slide and barrel every 100 rounds if shooting lead. I've done it before. Of course they will tell you it's not a good idea to do it because most people would probably overdo it and not clean their gun and shoot a ton of lead from their glock.

[Dubels]

My friends dad went to the Northridge Firing-Line and he mentioned to the range officer that he's afraid their reload ammo will cause severe damage to his new Glock 23. Range officer told him if their reload ammo causes severe damage then they will buy him a new gun.

But where will they find him a new hand? Just saying if you have doubts stick to your own reloads. I shoot miwall and RMammo reloads with no problems out of my Glock.

So I just bought 2000 military wcc once fired 9mm brass to reload for my new g19. And most if not all the brass I have looked at have a small bulge towards the base of the case( described previously as being shot in an unsupported chamber) . Will this be safe to shoot? When I put them through my resizing dies will it straighten them back up and be ok in a standard g19 barrel?

If you resize all the way then the guppy bulge will go away. I have been reading that dillon dies don't resize the guppy bulge properly but that has been reported mainly in 40 S&W. I know lee dies have no problem with getting rid of the guppy bulge. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/inde...showtopic=5594

[duc748bip]

If the bit that points forward looks black, it is lead

Or Black Talon!! (Winchester SXT ranger )

if the bullet can easily cut, nick, or damage by a key or fingernail then its lead.
P.S. Lead is Toxic so wash your hand afterward