Who Here Shoots Lead Through a Factory Glock Barrel?

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  • Last Post 26 April 2016
paulfrehley posted this 23 June 2011

I know this has probably been beaten to death, but my 'search-fu' isn't all that great. Is it just a myth that shooting lead bullets through a Glock Polygonal-Rifled barrel can lead to a blown-up gun? I'd like to hear from some actual folks who shoot lead regularly through their Austrian pipes and any/all tips on the practice of doing so. My hopes are that someday I can cast a super-hard 200-220-grain 'hammerhead-style', gas-checked slug to load up in my 10mm. Right now, the only lead 10mm I have shot was some Double Tap through my Colt 1911, but the factory-advertised velocity was nothing but BS hype. I want to load something that will match (or exceed) the “supposed” DT “power” but that I can shoot through my Glock. Even though I know the 1911 is a strong action, something about super-hot 10mm loads makes me want to use them “sparingly” in the steel-framed pistol, but I know for a fact that the Glock can take much more of a beating than most conventional pistols. I have a “pet load” right now for my G-20 that fires a 200-grain XTP JHP @ 1350+fps. That's a freaking POWERFUL load, let me tell you!....Ooops, sorry for the long-winded post. Something about the 10mm Auto just tends to make me drool and foam at the mouth like a mongoloid!:P

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leadhead308 posted this 23 June 2011

I have used linotype 170 grain tumble lubed with alox in my glock model 23 .40cal ,haven't had any trouble with leading , actually seems to clean easier than my smith & wesson. But I do not shoot alot at any one time probibly 50 rounds or less at range, to many other cast bullets of other calibers that I shoot. Probibly hard bullets make the diff. The load is approx. 950 FPS not fast ,just plinkers , but for 25 yrds it works.

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Ed Harris posted this 23 June 2011

My belief is that if the barrel leads heavily, it becomes a partial bore obstruction and raises pressure. Also, the Glock pistol does not support the case head well, and if cases are reloaded multiple times, they may become brittle in the head region, causing failures in the K and L regions. Fouling accumulations may also impede complete chambering, which could cause “kaBoom” issues if a pistol were to fire only partially locked or “out of battery.” The only Glock “kaBoom” I have personally examined appeared to have resulted from an out-of-battery or partially locked firing in which the repeatedly reloaded, work hardened case head let go. I do not know for sure this was the cause, but these are contributing factors.

I am not a fan of the Glock pistol, but for other reasons unrelated to the above. For people who are thoroughly trained on the Glock, it seems to be reliable.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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schreibwy posted this 17 July 2011

Okay glock says don"t use cast bullets. Years ago I used cast bullets in my H&K P9S 45 and the shot very well unsized and lubed with Lee Tumble Lube.   The polygon barrel leaded to a point, but then it stopped.  I think if I had cast the bullets softer there would be no leading.

I use cast in my model 36, but my understanding is that fouling at the throat can prevent the cartridge from fully seating.  Since Glocks will fire out of battery there is the distant possibility that the case can rupture and rocket gas down the clip.  I have never seen when go kaboom or know anybody that has had one go kaboom.  

All I know is that I keep the gun relatively clean primarily if it gets dirty it jams.  Secondly, if there is lube outside the case, I wipe it off with mineral spirits.  

My 36 is a finicky little witch as far as bullets (it likes round noses) and seating depth (just past the driving band).  However it shoots really well.   My practice loads are always cast.  My carry loads are always jhp's.  If it would feed flatpoints I might even use cast flat points for everything.

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delmarskid1 posted this 17 July 2011

My Glock .45 leaded badly. I just had to remember to clean it well and often. The poly barrels do scrub out pretty easily. It was accurate though. I used to shoot it at 100 yds.

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Wayne S posted this 18 July 2011

delmarskid1 wrote: My Glock .45 leaded badly. I just had to remember to clean it well and often. The poly barrels do scrub out pretty easily. It was accurate though. I used to shoot it at 100 yds.   "DITTO” on this, OR get an aftermarket Bbl., cast from WW or range scrap alloy, shoot and be happy

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codarnall posted this 18 July 2011

Bad Idea unless it a rifled barrel. Glock say don't do it . Hard Ball ammo only.

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codarnall posted this 18 July 2011

paulfrehley wrote: I know this has probably been beaten to death, but my 'search-fu' isn't all that great. Is it just a myth that shooting lead bullets through a Glock Polygonal-Rifled barrel can lead to a blown-up gun? I'd like to hear from some actual folks who shoot lead regularly through their Austrian pipes and any/all tips on the practice of doing so. My hopes are that someday I can cast a super-hard 200-220-grain 'hammerhead-style', gas-checked slug to load up in my 10mm. Right now, the only lead 10mm I have shot was some Double Tap through my Colt 1911, but the factory-advertised velocity was nothing but BS hype. I want to load something that will match (or exceed) the “supposed” DT “power” but that I can shoot through my Glock. Even though I know the 1911 is a strong action, something about super-hot 10mm loads makes me want to use them “sparingly” in the steel-framed pistol, but I know for a fact that the Glock can take much more of a beating than most conventional pistols. I have a “pet load” right now for my G-20 that fires a 200-grain XTP JHP @ 1350+fps. That's a freaking POWERFUL load, let me tell you!....Ooops, sorry for the long-winded post. Something about the 10mm Auto just tends to make me drool and foam at the mouth like a mongoloid!:P

Yeap five years now. The mag blew out with cartridges. Bottom the the chamber gone. Little injury if none to the shooter hand, lucky. 45 ACP totaled. Warrantee voided not mine. Seemed he should have lost his index finger knuckle. Impossible to know if it was lead bullet or over charge w/ Dillon 650 press. Charlie

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delmarskid1 posted this 18 July 2011

I'm sure that you would be happier with an aftermarket barrel than an aftermarket hand.

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Michael K posted this 19 July 2011

I ventured down this same road a little over a year ago and appreciate and understand your quest. I shot several hundred rounds of lead through my .40. However, in the back of my mind I always had the hint of concern, even though I kept loads on the low end and leading was not an issue, it was the unsupported chamber that bugged me. After several months of searching and trying to find the answer that I wanted, One day I said to myself “stop being cheap and stupid, buy an after market barrel and be done with it. They are only $100 - $150, which is alot less expensive in many ways, and less painful than a new pistol or trip to the ER. I picked up a Lone Wolf bbl through Top Gun, one note, the chamber is much tighter than the factory bbl requiring me to seat the bullets deeper and apply more crimp to getting reliable feeding, chambering and lock up.

This may not be the answer you wanted to hear, but having gone down this path, I thought I would share with you my thoughts and feelings. Now I spend more loading, shooting and less time searching for answers.

All best, Michael.

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curator posted this 08 August 2011

I have a new Glock 23 Gen 3 which has the chamber modified to give better support to the case head. Fired cases do not have the “Glock belly” of earlier models. I have been shooting the Lee 40-175TL bullet cast from air cooled wheel weight alloy over a moderate charge of Unique (about 950fps) I am getting a bit of leading but no problems with accuracy up to 100 rounds. What leading there is scrubbed out easily with bronze wool wrapped around an old bore brush. The two Glock Ka-Booms I have witnessed were both with jacketed bullets possibly driven deeply into the case as they were chambered. Fatigued brass may have contributed

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codarnall posted this 08 August 2011

Yes, I have witnessed hugh pressure jumps with slugs pushed deep into cases also. I consider it quite dangerous.

Charlie

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Vassal posted this 09 August 2011

I am not a fan of Glocks but got a 10mm about 9months ago becuase it was the best offering in that caliber. I thought they had fixed the chamber issues-they did not. I shot a box of PPU ammo that was VERY underpowered, checked and reloadded the cases, only to find that the third shot shattered my gun and sent the full magazine slamming to the ground. The brass failed. After a three month wait I recieved the gun back from glock, installed a Lone-Wolf barrel and have had no trouble since. (if you don't count the fact that I have a gun I didn't much like in the first place and now have to look at each time I fire it to make sure it didn't fall to pieces again!) I wouldnt use a Glock barrel for ANYTHING other than 1st fire ammo that I had no intentions on retrieving brass from. Barrels are CHEAP. Why risk it? A friend of mine “Ka-Boomed” his 45 by shooting lead. I wasn't there nor do I know how many shots he fired before it happened; but my relationship with him let me rest assured that it did, and knowing him, there wasn't much warning. Glocks blow up. There is even a well recognized name for it. that doesn't happen by accident. That being said, they do seem to contain the explosions relatively well, so I say give it a go; and when yours blows up you can just ship it to Glock with $50 and wait for a new frame, like everybody else.

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HammerMTB posted this 29 November 2011

I have shot 1000's of rounds of lead ammo thru my Glock 20 and 30. As a rule, they do not lead. At one time I had to work thru a slight leading problem. It was MY problem. I decided to tumble lube once instead of twice. That was enough. I have not had any problems with guppy-bellying of cases. It seems every time a Glock K-booms it is blamed on lead bullets. While that may be the case sometimes, I find it improbable that it is consistently the problem. It's always easy to armchair quarterback the issue from the comfort of the computer chair. Why would polygonal rifling be less acceptable to lead bullets? Why would a slightly loose chamber make lead bullets more dangerous than jacketed? I think there are other potential answers as to why a Glock might go kaboom. Not to mention that pretty much every brand of gun will go kaboom if the reloader screws up. Just some things to think about......:idea1:

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Little Debbie posted this 29 November 2011

For Pete's! There is nothing inherent in the Glock pistols that cause them to “kaboom” with lead bullets. Poor reloading practices can cause blow ups and usually this is the culprit; improper crimps that let bullets be pushed back into the case, an over charge of fast pistol powder, improper inspection of cases. My experience with Glock pistols letting go have both been over charges. Luckily because of the ” unsupported” case head caused by the feed ramp generally all that happens is the case is ruined and the magazine is ejected from the gun. This is especially so with the design of the Glock. I have fired 10 s of thousands of lead bullets through 9mm and 45 ACP Glocks with no issues. The bores lead lightly and brush clean easily. They are accurate, especially the .45. The .40 is less known to me with lead, but with hand loaded jacketed ammunition I witnessed one of the two Glock blowups. No injury was sustained and no damage to anything but the case. The other was with a 9mm and the owner trying replicate 9 mm +P+ with mixed cases. He was asking for it and got it. Again no damage or injury. Reloading is serious business and loading top end ammunition needs good cases of one make, that should be retired at a certain point, careful construction and a chronograph. If you are getting higher velocity with your hand loads than factory you are not a ballistic genius you are operating at pressures higher than factory and it will catch up with you

My 2 cents

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armexman posted this 09 December 2011

I for one would like to experience this so I can write a response to all that ask this perennial question.

That being said. I have fired 1000's of lead boolits through my Gen. two Model 17 all or most have been the Lee 120 RN and the 115`ish TC (or vice versa). In the begining they were sized to .355 as I was told in the first instances of reloading and casting. After logging posts and reading in the “Cast Boolit” website (and its predecessors) I started to size at 356 then 357 and ended my search for accuracy at .358 as the perfect size for the Glock and the Feg P9R. I use WW with some BHN 12 Range lead, and 4.2 AA-2 and Lee mule snot. My boolits generally fall between 10 and 13 in BHN and I have not had any problems with leading, chambering, or long shooting sessions. This pistol is perfunctorily cleaned as this is my Night-side weapon. In some sessions with new shooters that are willing to shoot 9MM we have fired close to 500 PB loaded cartridges.  Nary a problem. And no, My belief in God is so great that I will not worry about a problem with this course of action. Thank you with the frightful warnings.

Nah I am really tired with people that believe with everything they read in books, the net and rumor mills.

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Clod Hopper posted this 10 December 2011

I have never noticed leading in my M17, M 30 or M21. But I haven't shot lead much until I got a bbl for the M21. I have always wondered if the smooth poly rifling(?) does not act like an over sized barrel. As we know, the surest way to get leading and poor accuracy is with an undersize bullet. Note armexman's experience with the 9mm. Also, schreibwy brings up an excellent point that I had never thought about. If a piece of lead is left in the chamber and the gun can fire a little out of battery, that would sure cause a Ka-Boom. Remember, a Glock has no throat and has an almost knife edge at the front of the chamber. That edge could and would cut off a piece of lead very easily. Good post!!

Dale M. Lock

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armexman posted this 26 April 2016

I am now buying a 10MM glock 20 barrel for my model 21. It will only see lead bullets; the same ones used in my 22. I will again strive to prove that shooting lead through a polygonal barrel is no more of an issue than other types of rifling.

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billglaze posted this 26 April 2016

Hoping to not be too far out of the corral, but I can't remember ever firing jacketed bullets out of my .44 Magnum Desert Eagle. Never had problem one; pistol doesn't lead or even get particularly dirty. Lyman 429215 cast from COWW, Remington cases, LP primers, 22 gr. 2400. Hope I'm not too far afield for this thread.

Bill

In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is. My fate is not entirely in Gods hands, if I have a weapon in mine.

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