cast and jacketed bullets from same gun

[biscot]

I'm just wanting to start shooting cast boolits from my Hi Power - I've only shot jacketed so far. I understand there are concerns about shooting both from the same gun. Is this not a good idea? It's the only gun I have (so far).
Thanks for any advice.

[randyrat]

You need to make sure all the copper fouling in out of the barrel before you shoot lead. Copper fouling ,and there will be some, is a contributor to leading with lead bullets

[biscot]

So, basically, I should clean the barrel before switching from jacketed to cast, and presumably vicey-versa as well?
Can I do this at the range or do I need to soak it overnight to get it clean enough?
I'll do a search on the forum for cleaning suggestions, but would be open to anything anyone wants to throw out here.

[nicholst55]

I'd also suggest that you do a search for 'cast in 9mm,' or something similar, and do some reading. The 9mm cartridge can be a challenge to get good performance from. Definitely slug your bore before you buy a bunch of molds or size a bunch of boolits; many 9mm barrels are closer to .358" than they are the nominal .355 or .356" that the factory specs.

[biscot]

Thanks, nicholst55.
I'm getting a whole bunch of good info here, browsing through the forum.
I've slugged my barrel once, and it came out around .357 - .3575, but I want to do it again and try to get a better slug and read it with a micrometer.

[XWrench3]

i shoot both from all of my pistols, and most of my rifles. i do not have any trouble switching back and fourth between the two. as for getting the copper out, you can use straight household ammonia, or something made for doing that specifiic job, like sweets 7.62 copper remover. whichever way you go, do NOT let is soak over night! it would ruin the barrel. about 15 minutes is all you want it to sit in the bore. if there is still copper left, then reapply the solvent. follow the copper remover, or ammonia up with a couple patches soaked with regular gun cleaning solvent, and then some oily patches. then, and only then, should you slug the bore. slugging the bore with copper still in it, will give you false readings. and bullet fit is THE KEY to shooting lead boolits sucsessfully.

[Gohon]

Just get a bore snake and run it through once when switching from jacket to cast. No need to worry about going from cast to jacketed. Even then I'm not sure it is that much of a problem to begin with. Some people even claim shooting jacketed after shooting cast will clean out the lead if some is present. Not sure I buy that one either. I mix them up all the time and I've never had a problem. I don't even clean the barrels of my guns until the end of the shooting season except to run the bore snake through after each shooting session.

[biscot]

Great info, XWrench3. Thanks.

[selmerfan]

I swap between the two in my rifles and handguns. I was just out this afternoon with my .30-06 M70 Fwt. Classic and the last rounds through it were cast loads. I cleaned it and left it set until today, first 5 shots I could cover with a nickel at 100 yds. I have applied Ultra Bore Coat to all of my rifles and it is the real deal - cleaning is quick and easy!