Is Lead better than plated?

[xmikedentx]

Specifically in regards to handgun rounds, my research is showing that it takes less powder to achieve the same velocity for the same round.

Say it takes 5.3g of Win 231 to get a 230g LRN to go to 830 fps, it will take 5.6g of Win 231 to get a 230g FMJ to do the same. What's interesting is all the Lead bullets are .452, and the Plated are .451.

So less powder means less recoil on the gun and the shooter, so is lead really superior?

[hylander]

Specifically in regards to handgun rounds, my research is showing that it takes less powder to achieve the same velocity for the same round.

Say it takes 5.3g of Win 231 to get a 230g LRN to go to 830 fps, it will take 5.6g of Win 231 to get a 230g FMJ to do the same. What's interesting is all the Lead bullets are .452, and the Plated are .451.

So less powder means less recoil on the gun and the shooter, so is lead really superior?

Superior in what aspect ?
What are you trying to achieve ?
Also plated is different than FMJ.
It takes less powder to get the same velocities with lead, due to less friction in the barrel with lead bullets, generally they are softer then Jacketed.

[J-cat]

Accuracy is what matters, not a minuscule difference in velocity or powder charge weight.

In the 45 ACP lead is superior.

In the .40 S&W plated is superior.

In the 9mm gliding metal jacketed is superior.

Generally speaking, of course.

[Jet Setter]

I am still new to reloading but the immediate advantage is cost. For plinking or training, it is definitely the way to go.

[Raralith]

Fouling is an issue for some polygonal barrel guns, Glock to name one specifically. You can run higher velocities on jacketed though.

[CGT80]

Accuracy is what matters, not a minuscule difference in velocity or powder charge weight.

In the 45 ACP lead is superior.

In the .40 S&W plated is superior.

In the 9mm gliding metal jacketed is superior.

Generally speaking, of course.

Do you have any sources that state such? That is a new one to me.

I have found that a 155 lead semi wad cutter is far more consistent in my xd 40 than any load I have made up with plated or jacketed bullets. It could be that the stars aligned so that my bullet, powder charge, seating depth, and sight adjustment all worked very well, or maybe I have an unusual barrel. I run 4.6 grains of win 231/hp38 in this load and use it for pistol competitions and 3 gun. I haven't shot for groups, but it is very consistent even on small steel plates, it is accurate on IPSC targets, and it maintains accuracy for mid range shots.

I don't see why there would be that much difference between different size pistols.

The guys on castboolits will swear by lead over anything else, for most loads and guns. Jacketed from montana gold were the best in my 9mm barsto barrel. I have read that 9mm can be more picky with a cast boolit, but they will still work great if you find what it likes.

To respond to the OP........It takes less powder to push a lead or moly coated lead bullet in my pistols than it does jacketed or plated. Lead bullets have to be big enough to seal the bore when fired. The right hardness, or lack of being too hard, will expand to seal the bore. Too hard and it won't expand enough. Jacketed bullets are too hard to be swaged down to the bore size, if they are a bit big. lead bullets will deform if too big.

The biggest reason for lead bullets is the lower cost. Others like them because they wear the barrel less. I can cast 30 cal rifle boolits and load them up with pistol powder for some cheap and low recoil rounds. Using jacketed bullets for that is just a waste. Some people have luck with pushing 30 cal cast and gas checked boolits up to 2700 fps (the owner of white label lube).

I started with cast bullets as a teen, then moved to plated and jacketed, and now I am running cast again and making more and more of my own. They aren't the best for everything, but they do well for many.

I cast lead boolits (different than bullets or Jwords) for my x frame 460.



Some 30-30 with cast boolits. Cost to me is 4-8 dollars per 100 loaded rounds.

[oddjob]

OP,

There are lead, plated and then jacketed (JHP or FMJ for example) bullets.

I shoot USPSA and use lead bullets for my 9mm & .40 guns. They are accurate for my needs. I'm not sure what shooting discipline your intending to load for, but lead is good for me. And its cheaper!

[CGT80]

There are also different grades of plated bullets. Some are good to 1200-1400 fps and some are said to work well to almost 2000 fps. Jacketed bullets are the same. Hornady only has about 3 different 45 cal pistol bullets that are said to be good for pushing to 2,000+ fps. I use the non magnum jacketed bullets from sierra or hornady for my mid velocity (1400 fps-240 grains)loads. A plain base cast boolit is only good to 1200+ fps depending on fit and lube and hardness. After that, a gas check is required. I just got some plain base aluminum gas checks to try on my 270 cast boolit and I plan to try it at 1400-1600 fps at first.

I have also tried frangible bullets in my 9mm. I had to shoot those at 1200 fps to get my xd to cycle (30k+ rounds on the gun and recoil spring-but a 40 cal recoil spring). It took 5 grains of hp38, which is really getting on the high end. The gun got hot very fast. They cycled fine but accuracy wasn't that impressive. The bullets were cheaper than lead when I bought them and they didn't have any sticky lube like cast bullets. They weren't good for knock down power at only 90 grains, so it effected my competitive shooting. It probably would be less than desirable for hunting or self defense as well, other than the fact that they turn to powder when they hit hard objects. Actually that was a really great thing about them. I never got fragments back from steel plates. Even cast lead boolits will send fragments back towards the shooter.

[J-cat]

Do you have any sources that state such?

Why yes.

Me.

[JagerDog]

Specifically in regards to handgun rounds, my research is showing that it takes less powder to achieve the same velocity for the same round.

Say it takes 5.3g of Win 231 to get a 230g LRN to go to 830 fps, it will take 5.6g of Win 231 to get a 230g FMJ to do the same. What's interesting is all the Lead bullets are .452, and the Plated are .451.

So less powder means less recoil on the gun and the shooter, so is lead really superior?

FYI, other than a measely 0.3 gr. of ejecta, recoil cosists of mass (bullet weight) nd velocity. Same weight bullet and same velocity = same recoil.

Lead is generally faster as less of the energy is spent engraving the bullet with the rifling.

[Whiterabbit]

is lead really superior?

IMO, yes. For all cartridges.

CGT80, why is it I never get tired of seeing pics of HP cast next to your X-frame? I don't even like the DA vs the SA.

[Lifeon2whls]

IMO, yes. For all cartridges.

Speaking of, I love shooting lead cast through my 1911. I would like to use them on my Glock but has anyone had any luck with lead rounds and the octagon rifling?

[GeoffLinder]

Lead is a good match for .45ACP because the low velocity keeps lead fouling at a minimum. For 9mm, heavier lead works best (147gr) as it keep the velocity down to similar range as .45ACP. Lead shoots just fine in polygonal barrels as long as velocity is kept under 1000fps to minimize leading.

CGT-80 is correct about jacketed needing more powder for similar velocity because of more force required to get it down the bore. Lead bullets always want to be .001 larger in diameter than jacketed. Example, correct jacketed diameter for 9mm is .355" whereas you want .356" diameter for lead in the 9iner.

[Abenaki]

Nothing wrong with lead!

Forget all of the old wives tales that ya hear from folks who do not know what they are doing.

The secret to lead boolits, is that you have to learn a whole new ball game. Once you learn to master lead, it opens up a whole new world of shooting!

99.9% of every thing that I shoot is lead! And I shoot a lot!!!!!

Take care
Abenaki

[stilly]

Specifically in regards to handgun rounds, my research is showing that it takes less powder to achieve the same velocity for the same round.

Say it takes 5.3g of Win 231 to get a 230g LRN to go to 830 fps, it will take 5.6g of Win 231 to get a 230g FMJ to do the same. What's interesting is all the Lead bullets are .452, and the Plated are .451.

So less powder means less recoil on the gun and the shooter, so is lead really superior?

Sounds like you are new to reloading.

This is why you want to shoot lead vs plated vs jacketed:

Lead is cheaper, soft, dirty, and generally needs that extra .001 to hug the walls or else you get leading where the hot gasses melt down the sides of it and it leaves skidmarks in your barrel... Normally you can shoot this stuff to about 1200 fps or so, maybe a tad more, but you might need GAS checks also. This is straight lead, rather boring looking and it will make your fingers dirty because it is LEAD.

Plated ammo is lead with a copper coating (not a jacket, but more like a spritz of copper to give it a nice shiny coating) Plated does not generally melt as fast as the lead and generally speaking does not leave lead skidmarks in your barrel, but it is like shooting an egg down the barrel, if you crimp it too hard or damage it while reloading, you can possibly cause it to leave skidmarks down the barrel just like lead. (SUPPOSEDLY, but I have not really seen it happen, and if it does, make like you usually do and clean it out) This stuff can usually be shot to about 1700 FPS or maybe even a bit faster, but to be safe you are told not to exceed 1200 fps or in some cases, 1400 fps. This is the CHEAP way to shoot NICE looking bullets. A very good compromise. This is really all that I load up for the most part. For pistols that usually never see much past 1400 fps this stuff works GREAT. Especially in 44 mag.


Then there is jacketed. Jacketed has a THICK copper tube that gets filled with lead and then shaped into the right sized bullet. You can shoot them as FAST as you want. They can get shot 4000+ FPS. This stuff is the expensive stuff to shoot, it looks nice and can take a beating. But it can do crazy things and you will certainly pay for it.

THEN there is special coated bullets that are being developed. These coatings encapsulate the lead bullets just like the copper plating does, the difference is that these coatings are tougher than copper plating and after coating a lead bullet, you can size it to proper size and shoot it up to 2000 FPS-3000 FPS (supposedly) + and it will not only stay intact, but will also clean your barrel out and leave no residue or anything behind. Until I see this first-hand I call BS but we will see I guess... These are best to shoot because they are CHEAP and you can coat them with whatever color you want. SO, black and green camo for my OD Deagle if I can...

And that is what little boys are made of...



Oh and Chris, I hope you don't mind, but I am gonna be taking a shower with your X-frame later tonight...