Glock's and cast bullets?

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  • Last Post 16 September 2010
K31 posted this 11 May 2009

I'm sure this has been covered before. Glock doesn't recomend using cast bullets. Does anyone use them and do you have any problems with leading? I want to shoot cast loads for IDPA from my G17 9mm and I'm hearing conflicting stories.

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superior posted this 11 May 2009

I have fired almost 1000 rounds of cast 175 and 180 grain bullets through my G23 with no problems. I clean my weapon after every use and have yet to see any leading. For the first 500 rounds I used 3.9gr Bullseye and the rest used 6.8gr HS-6. I hit pop-cans at 25 yards effortlessly. I think the biggest concern with shooting cast in the Glock is making sure the chamber area stays clean so the action will fully close, preventing the gun from firing out of battery. I lube with either LLA or lithium bearing grease/parrafin 50/50 and I do not size the bullets. So far, I've had no leading what so ever. Proper bullet fit and lubing has been the main factor in my success. I see no reason to purchase an after market bbl as long as my load shoots cleanly without leading or lube residue build-up causing a problem. I currently load the Lee TL401-175-swc. My advice would be to fire a box of 50 rounds and then check for leading and lube fouling. If you dont have a problem, you probably wont develop one. Many manufactures do not recommend certain practices as a way of limiting their exposure to lawsuits. If fact, Glock doesn't recommend ANY reloads in their pistols, cast or jacketed.

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K31 posted this 11 May 2009

Thank you for the reply. What alloy are you using? I plan on using 50ww/50stick on with some 95/5 soder mixed in. I have a Lyman 120 gr T point mould RCBS lube and Bulleye powder. I'm going to give it a go as soon as my backordered handles come in.

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codarnall posted this 11 May 2009

Smooth bore Glock, blew the chamber out of the bottom, remaining shells in the mag and bottom out the double stack right next to me.  Sorry only know it was a smooth bore type.  Lead build up! Charlei

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superior posted this 14 May 2009

I use any alloy...straight ww, ww/pure 50/50..etc It doesn't seem to make any difference at pistol velocities.

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codarnall posted this 14 May 2009

My Smiths get enough build up using factory casts and my straight WW castings that I periodically use my Lewis lead remover to get what I can't see out of the  stainless barrel.  From what I experience I have not even considered lead in my 50 AE which has the same smooth bore riflings . Charlie

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K31 posted this 14 May 2009

cod, how many rounds when down to tube before the kaboom? What alloy and mould were used?

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codarnall posted this 14 May 2009

I'm sorry I don't know.  He was so shaken up with parts everywhere I gave my 45 and assured it would happen with this mine and he settled down.  They were experienced shooters but I didn't get the history of  the weapon before it occurred.  Standing there next to them  it was less than 3 mags I believe in my presence. Charlie

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softpoint posted this 16 May 2009

:lovecast:I suspect most of the Glock case head blowouts are not the result of using lead. We have known of a problem with the unsupported chambers in factory Glock barrels for a long time. When a factory load is fired the empty brass will have a bulge near the casehead. When that empty is picked up and reloaded, the bulge is ironed out, but there is a resultant thin spot in that area. Now, if that reloaded cartridge is indexed the same in the chamber again and fired the case in that area can fail.It may not fail on the second, but maybe the third time it's indexed the same. Depends on the severity of the bulge, and the operating pressure of the load. Since virtually ALL lead bullet ammo in .40 cal, 9mm, is reloads, that in itself ups the odds for casehead failure.The .40 is the most often encountered, with the 9mm a close second. The .45 seems to not give much problem because it is a much lower operating pressure. The 10 mm seems to give fewer problems,The several Glock factory barrels that I have had a chance to inspect in that caliber had somewhat “tighter” chambers. Also, there are far less of the 10's in circulation. Only a few days ago, a friend brought some 9mm brass and bullets by for me to reload for him. The brass he had purchased as “once fired",and had been cleaned, deprimed, and sized. I could not tell in that condition if it had been fired in a poorly supported chamber or not. Since he was going to fire this ammo in a Glock, I loaded up 25 rounds and took them outside to my range and put my 9mm barrel in my model 23 Glock. The third round fired blew a casehead, blew the magazine out of the pistol. I picked everything up and re-assembled. fired two more magazines, (10 rounds) and loaded the remainder of the cartridges in the magazine. First one let go and blows magazine out again. This time base pad and spring comes out. This is what usually happens,and doesn't injure anyone. The pistol is designed to vent gas out the bottom, out through the magazine well in case of a failure. Even though that brass looked good, all 500 pieces had to be thrown away. During the mid '90's I owned a public shooting range, and I've seen Glocks have casehead failures quite a few times. I could never pin it on the use of lead bullets, although some of the loads probably did have lead. Most normally accuracy would become so bad you would probably stop hitting the berm before a barrel was leaded bad enough to cause a case head failure. (1) Don't use brass of unknown origin if you reload for a Glock.(good idea with any gun) (2)Stay away from maximum loads in used brass. (3) Even using your own brass that you know the history of, only reload a few times, and throw it away. If you have a casehead failure, inspect everything,INCLUDING the barrel for leading. I'm not saying heavy leading couldn't contribute to the cause, I just could never prove it, because it will happen anyway with reloads. Most of the time only the magazine will be blown out. Sometimes the base pad can be blown off and, of course, then the spring and everything flies out the bottom. You might, on a rarer occasion, ruin an extractor. Okay, I've rambled long enough, this subject was one I just happened to have had some range experience with. All in my opinion, We leave the scientific proof to scientists, and , unfortunately, lawyers!

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codarnall posted this 16 May 2009

Very interesting. I bulged a case in a acp literally by pushing the 200gr round back in as far as it would go. Unsure why it was loose in the first place, I just shoved in after picking it up off the deck. Pressures must have gone sky high with the semi compressed charge. Just a medium load of 4.1 Bullseye too.

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softpoint posted this 17 May 2009

Codarnall, You bring up another point, How many head separations were caused by setback bullets? Lubricated lead bullets might setback easier than jacketed. Another possibility is double charging a case,Most often this is done on a manually indexed progressive loader, although people have come up with several ways to do it!, Charging on a loading block instead of one at a time, and then not inspecting visually,etc.... Usually these are much more radical explosions however. And, of course, there are people out there who would rather blame a mistake on anything, other than taking responsibility for it themselves. And that just makes it harder to prove, one way or the other,IMHO...

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AzShooter posted this 17 May 2009

I had a Glock 17 L that I fired over 65000  rounds of lead ammo through without a hitch.  Unfortunately the comped barrel split at the radius of where the cut was.  I replaced the barrel for free and kept shooting for another few years.

The 9 mms have  no problem with lead.  The problem is in .40 and .45.  The barrel is basically the same size but cut thinner to handle the size of the other calibers making the barrel much weaker.

With a reqular cleaning sequence you shouldn't have a problem.

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WILDCATT posted this 17 May 2009

you buy foreign you takes your chances.I will stick to 1911 and 45 acp.

and I roll crimp .>

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giorgio de galleani posted this 26 June 2010

Though I know of plenty of Glocks in 9,40,and 45 that have shot thousands of commercial bullets ,without problems,I will never buy one.

One reason is they do not fit my hand,the other that with its original trigger system you have to train again with it ,and forget the use of the normal handguns, to master it,otherwise you risk to make  sad mistakes when using it under stress.

My hands are OK with the 911 and the Browning HP9x21.

I use the various K,L,and N frame da revolvers ,all with the same Pachmayr grips and tolerate the peacemaker clones,but John Moses's autos are for serious business.

 

40 caliber double auto pistols are a complicated solution to a nonexistent problem ,for me and my environement..

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Silver224 posted this 16 September 2010

I called Glock and they said using lead bullets would void their warranty. I called Colt and Smith and Wesson, both said shoot lead bullets through their products to my heart's content. So I don't use lead in Glocks, and do with Colt and Smith and Wesson.

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armexman posted this 16 September 2010

Woe is me!! I have shot 80% cast boolits thru my Model 17, Lee 120, 4.5 700X and earlier in its life AA2. I bought this my first pistol in 1989 and have lost count of shots. I made the majority of the boolits with ACWW+36 inches off a roll of 95/5 for ~11-13 BHN. In the begining “I heard” that “some” people had problems with Pb, still waiting. I do maintain my Army ways and clean after each and every time I shoot. I guess either, there is no real problem or I am a GOOD Catholic. Sorry Gloom and Doomers. YMMV

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