Glock .40 question

[fatelk]

I have started casting .40 boolits for my old Glock model 22, factory barrel. I know this is a very controversial subject, and I don't mean to stir things up.

I know some will say "I've shot millions with no problem", others will say "Glocks blow up if you get a lead bullet near them", and others will say "buy an aftermarket barrel".:)

My questions are fairly specific, and I won't be buying a barrel. If my specific load that shows no sign of leading is still not safe, I will just not shoot the darn thing. I have other guns I like to shoot, and I don't shoot anywhere near the volume that a lot of you all do, just a box or two once in a while for casual target shooting.

I'm using boolits cast from wheel weights out of the Lee 6-cavity 170gr SWC TL mold. I size them to .401 and alox/jpw lube them before and after sizing. Using a fairly mild charge of AA#5, there has been no trace of leading in the barrel. I will be using Unique also, but haven't tried it yet.

Of course, a search for "Glock lead bullets" turns up tons of stuff on google. Some folks seem to indicate that there is a pressure danger from cast bullets even with no sign of leading.

My question is: with properly sized and lubed boolit and the right load (no trace of leading), cleaning and watching for leading regularly, is there anything I'm missing here? I think that with these precautions, I'll be fine, just thought I'd ask for opinions or experience. Thank you.

[dubber123]

I'd say you are good to go. I suspect the major contributor to the Glock Kabooms is brass that has been fired multiple times at high enough pressure to get the "Glock Bulge" near the case head. I believe the repeated bulging and ironing out of the brass when resized weakens it at that spot. If you keep the loads on the mild side, I would expect no problems. A pair of fellow shooters at the range do just that, and are quite content.

[trooperdan]

I agree with Dubber; I've shot a fair amount of lead reloads through my Glock 22 without any problem. I say go for it!

[HORNET]

Also make sure that you've got enough case tension & crimp to keep the OAL from changing. Check it once in a while while loading so lube buildup in the seating die doesn't change it. Pressures go up FAST in short fat cases when that happens.

[Shiloh]

I shot that load with 5.7 grains of AA #5. Had the bevel base removed, they drop at 158 gr.

Use 6.3 gr. of AA#5. I have an aftermarket barrel. KaBoomed a Glock 22 with lead and a factory barrel.

Shiloh

[gasboffer]

Only problem I've had with lead in a Glock was with a G19 several years ago. The shoulder in the chamber had an abrupt angle that would build up a ring of lead. If I didn't clean it after every session, the case would not quite chamber all the way. Once I noticed the firing pin hitting the primer but not firing the cartridge, thank goodness. The barrel was not quite in battery. I have a G36 that I shoot lead in, no problems. But I do pay attention and clean often.
Clyde

[gray wolf]

My questions are fairly specific, and I won't be buying a barrel. If my specific load that shows no sign of leading is still not safe, I will just not shoot the darn thing. I have other guns I like to shoot, and I don't shoot anywhere near the volume that a lot of you all do, just a box or two once in a while for casual target shooting.

I can understand your desire to cast, it is very rewording hobby. But from your statement
" one or two boxes once in a while" Perhaps you could just by 500 or so jacketed bullets
and put the whole thing to rest, and cast for the other pistols.
Just a thought.

[gwilliams2]

I'm using boolits cast from wheel weights out of the Lee 6-cavity 170gr SWC TL mold. I size them to .401 and alox/jpw lube them before and after sizing. Using a fairly mild charge of AA#5, there has been no trace of leading in the barrel. I will be using Unique also, but haven't tried it yet.

Sounds like the very same boolit I put through my Glock 27, put a few (maybe a couple hundred one day) through my stock barrel without any leading or trouble. Since have installed a LW barrel and a thousand or so later, still no problems. These are straight wheel weight, are sized at .402, run right at 172 gr, tumble lubed and I don't have my notes right now, but I believe it's preceded by 5.5gr of Unique.

[9.3X62AL]

I recently added a Glock 23 to the toy box, and at some point I'll do The Tale Of The Tape on its OEM barrel like I did the Glock 21 a couple years back. I did get a Storm Lake barrel for this pistol, just to see what differences it made with brass cases and with lead boolits.

So far, no real brass problems with the OEM barrel and WWB 180s. I can't see a difference between brass fired in the SL barrel and the OEM tube. Brass fired in my CZ-75 and the 2 Glock tubes are within .002" of one another ES, just as with the Glock 21 and 2 other 45 ACP pistols. I cannot discern which pistol fired which casing, once the casings are mixed together--other than the primer strikes.

No lead bullets through the OEM barrel yet, but the new SL barrel got a few lead slivers at the rifling edges during its first firing with Lee 175 TC atop 4.7 x 231. I should have run some j-words through it first, but got in a hurry. Since then, I gave it 50 of the WWB rounds and have 200 j-word rounds loaded for smoothing both barrels.

[wallenba]

[QUOTE=dubber123;808449]I'd say you are good to go. I suspect the major contributor to the Glock Kabooms is brass that has been fired multiple times at high enough pressure to get the "Glock Bulge" near the case head.

Redding has a new die that eliminates the "bulge". check it out at> http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/grxpushthru.html

[yobohadi]

I'm using boolits cast from wheel weights out of the Lee 6-cavity 170gr SWC TL mold. I size them to .401 and alox/jpw lube them before and after sizing. Using a fairly mild charge of AA#5, there has been no trace of leading in the barrel. I will be using Unique also, but haven't tried it yet.

Are you heat treating these bullets with water or are you letting them air cool?

[dubber123]

[QUOTE=dubber123;808449]I'd say you are good to go. I suspect the major contributor to the Glock Kabooms is brass that has been fired multiple times at high enough pressure to get the "Glock Bulge" near the case head.

Redding has a new die that eliminates the "bulge". check it out at> http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/grxpushthru.html

Thats my take on the case failures. A warmish load will put the bulge right back, you iron it out, fire, bulge is back, so on and so forth, until that section of case gets weak from all the working. A fully supported chamber, or just doing as the OP does, and keep your cast loads below the "bulge" level. Cycling out brass after a certain # of firings would also work.

[trooperdan]

[QUOTE=dubber123;808449]I'd say you are good to go. I suspect the major contributor to the Glock Kabooms is brass that has been fired multiple times at high enough pressure to get the "Glock Bulge" near the case head.

Redding has a new die that eliminates the "bulge". check it out at> http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/grxpushthru.html

I don't subscribe the the use of this die and similar; I think once the brass has expanded to look like a pregnant guppy, it is headed for the brass scrap bin. I firmly believe the cause of so-called Glock kabooms is fatigued brass that has been work-hardened and eventually cracks just ahead of the head. Brass is cheap, a new barrel is $125 the last time I checked.

[mooman76]

I shot them in my glock 22 no problem. I kept the loads light to medium and I never shot more than 100 rounds at a time and usually only shot 50. Keep a close eye and you should be fine. I do think it's from a combination of things so keep an eye on the bulge near the case head. I also heard they don't have as much of a unsupported chamber as they used to, to help with the problem. I shot as cast with LLA and used Unique powder mostly.

[randyrat]

I found, using Unique in the forty, it worked better with hotter loads. Not max, but closer to max. Just keep your eyes open for any problems using lead, like a sharp shoulder leading up and preventing complete chambering. Unique will give you a good Bang in the forty. Fun

[Bwana]

Between my G19,20,23,30, and 32 I've fired about 50,000 cast bullets through my Glocks. They have all been ww Lee bullets, water dropped and some Kead hard cast (they are very hard) bullets that I got "raw", that is unsized and unlubed.
I size mine at .358", .401", and .452" and use my pariffin, bees wax, and vasoline mix lube.
I have had zero leading problems with those bullets. I did have a great deal of leading with the swaged and moly coated bullets (I forget what brand they are). But, even those did ok in the after market 40 S&W bbl.
I also don't push any of them faster than 1200 fps.
My 9mm load is 3.6 grs of Tite Group with a Lee150 gr rn (they don't make it anymore). The 40S&W load also uses 3.6 grs of Tite Group with a Lee 175 gr TC. These are my general practice and IPSC loads.
So, in my experience, use hard cast, bore filling, well lubed, moderate speed bullets in your Glocks and you won't have a problem.

[fatelk]

Are you heat treating these bullets with water or are you letting them air cool?
I drop them out of the mold onto a soaking wet cloth. My mold is oversize (probably should have sent it back) and casts at .405+, so when I run them through the Lee sizer, a lot of the micro grooves are made pretty small. I've been told that sizing like this can soften the lead.

I do like the load I tried. It seems to cycle just fine, for the 50 rounds I've tried so far. The nice thing is not chasing brass; it all drops in a pile at my feet. They do shoot high for some reason.

The mold is supposed to make 170gr. bullets, but they come out at 180gr.. My 230gr .45 bullets come out at 240gr as well. I would wonder about the alloy if I wasn't melting the wheel weights myself..

I have no real interest in making hot loads. As long as they cycle the action and hit the target I'm happy. Looks like what I'm doing should be OK.

I'm just too cheap to buy j-bullets, especially right now. If something doesn't open up around here soon I could end up losing my house.:(

[fatelk]

BTW, I have to wonder about this whole "polygonal rifling" thing. What real purpose does it serve? Are Glocks inherently more accurate because of it, or something? If not, I almost see it as a design flaw because of the problems with cast bullets. Not really a design flaw, I guess, because you could say they weren't designed for lead. If you re-engineer them with good old-fashioned rifled barrel they seem to work fine.

I shoot lead through my CZ82 all the time, and it has a polygonal bore; no rifling at all. No problems.

[truckmsl]

I made the switch to a Lone Wolf barrel mainly because the tighter chamber is easier on the brass and also makes the press run smoother. Other than that, I never had any problems with leading using the stock .40 glock barrel (generation 3). Use common sense and you'll be fine with the stock barrel, especially with target loads rather than full power.

[prs]

I have a 23 that I just don't shoot because of this very thing. I am too damn cheap to buy replacement barrels when the factory barrel is not worn-out! Same reason precludes buying much factory ammo with them danged condom pills --jest don't set rgiht with me. I jest mite get me a mold and cook-up something to feed that plastic pistol.

prs