Who says that you can't shoot lead from a Glock

[Centaur 1]

I've built up to today with several trips to the range where I only shot a few rounds, then inspected the barrel for lead. I haven't seen any lead so I shot 100 rounds today. The barrel was spotless to the naked eye and when I forced a very tight patch through the barrel it came out very clean. My boolit is the Ranch Dog TL358-100-RF, sized to .356" and lubed with recluse 45/45/10. My load is 5 grains of Unique and o.a.l. is an even 1.00". In the last pic you can see a few small smears of lead, but I think that it might be there because I never cleaned the copper from the barrel. I'm pretty happy that I don't have to buy bullets just to shoot this one gun.

[HammerMTB]

Don't believe 'em. I have a couple Glocks and they shoot lead from their stock bbls just fine. The caster needs to do their part to keep the lead out, but if you do, polygonal rifling is NOT a problem.
Good fer you!

[ColColt]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=33855

I have two Glocks and don't intend on shooting lead through them...personally.

[35remington]

Congrats......you are now of the same mind as most of the guys on this board who have actually tried it.

[milprileb]

While I believe you can do this and only if you properly clean lead out with a Lewis Lead Remover or some other aggressive method, I respectfully submit running a patch thru a bore and assuming you got no deposits is flawed. If there is lead, its there and in a layer a patch is not going to pull off the metal.

I think shooting lead in poly barrel is working the margins and the better solution is buy a replacement barrel and not take the risk. However that approach most likely will get zero attention by those lucky so far in shooting lead in poly barrels.

If you going to do it, aggressively take out the lead. A barrel that fails is alike a parachute: the failure is usually BIG and NASTY.

I learned long ago: LUCK IS NOT A PLAN. Thus if you are lucky shooting lead in a poly barrel, its not a good plan. One can do a lot of things in shooting
but there are somethings that ought not to be done. You only get away with it till you don't get away with it.

[Bwana]

Centaur 1, good for you. As one who regularly shoots cast booilts in my Glock bbls I'm glad you found out yourself and didn't listen to those who don't know and won't know because they are unable to think for themselves.
I have always said that I'd rather be lucky than good any day. Then again having done something over 50,000 times over a period of 11 years says it may not be luck after all.

[Ausglock]

G'day All.
Here in Australia, We mostly shoot coated lead projectiles through handguns.
I'm running cast bullets through a G34, G35, Kimber 38 Super and S&W 586.

The G34 has the std Glock barrel as well as a Stormlake barrel. no leading with either barrel.

The G35 has the STD 40 barrel and a HPB (Lissner) 357Sig barrel. Both of these barrels shoot cast/lubed bullets again with no issues. The 40 barrel actually shoots the Lee 401-175-FP bullet with better accuracy than with Berry's plated bullets.

[Jailer]

Nice work. I'm going to be trying some cast in my 26 here soon. My MP molds 359-125 mold gives me plenty of options in boolit size so I'm hoping I find something that works well in it.

I didn't have much luck with my stock 21 barrel so I got a KKM barrel for it that I am very happy with. I've since acquired a couple of new molds and I am going to re visit the stock barrel and cast boolits soon.

So many projects, so little time.........

[Sprue]

While I believe you can do this and only if you properly clean lead out with a Lewis Lead Remover or some other aggressive method, I respectfully submit running a patch thru a bore and assuming you got no deposits is flawed. If there is lead, its there and in a layer a patch is not going to pull off the metal.

I think shooting lead in poly barrel is working the margins and the better solution is buy a replacement barrel and not take the risk. However that approach most likely will get zero attention by those lucky so far in shooting lead in poly barrels.

If you going to do it, aggressively take out the lead. A barrel that fails is alike a parachute: the failure is usually BIG and NASTY.

I learned long ago: LUCK IS NOT A PLAN. Thus if you are lucky shooting lead in a poly barrel, its not a good plan. One can do a lot of things in shooting
but there are somethings that ought not to be done. You only get away with it till you don't get away with it.

I too have a Glock but I won't be shooting lead thru it. I've read enuff about this subject, and I'm comfortable with my own decisions.

I only shoot Pistols/ Revolvers with scopes so I see no real need in casting for Glocks. I have various fun shooters to choose from.

We all can make our own decisions Yea or Nea about this, what ever you're comfortable with... have fun chasing brass.

I'm not out to prove anything, Scoot over milprileb, I'm ride'n with you.


Best of Wishes & Luck

[NickSS]

I have a glock 17 and a Baby Desert Eagle and they both have polygonal rifling. I shoot cast from both and have had no issues with leading in the last 10 years since I started shooting them.

[Springfield]

Maybe mine are just different but that doesn't look like a polygonal barrel, plus I can see lead smears on it. Might want to try a chore boy pad or a lewis lead remover to get that barrel really clean. Or a Foul-out unit. Never had any trouble with the poly barrels in my Jericho.

[TCLouis]

From what I see in the picture (Lands and Grooves) I don't think his is a Glock barrel . . .

at least not the polygonal rifled barrels that they warn about using lead.

[Jailer]

From what I see in the picture (Lands and Grooves) I don't think his is a Glock barrel . . .

at least not the polygonal rifled barrels that they warn about using lead.

It's a Glock barrel, trust me.

The rifling isn't shaped like a "polygon", more so like a speed bump. The lands are a smooth rounded over protrusion if that makes any sense.

[milprileb]

For those whose minds are made up on this subject, so be it.

I only note this: When I was on MFF status and packing my own square parachute, the rigger check personnel would shake their heads and say: its not a great pack job but its not out of bounds either so if you want to jump it and you packed it, happy landings. Yeah, it was a imperfect pack but it grabbed air slowly for a softer opening and I always pulled 300 ft early so it all came out in the wash.

That said: If you control the margins then you take your calculated risks and off you go.

Same is here with lead in poly barrels: you got to control the margins if you do it but you better know what you are doing.

Only difference was: I always had a reserve chute and the barrel you have has no back up system for running out of luck.

So, if luck is your only plan, then you got drama if you RUN OUT OF LUCK

Be safe.

PS. I had shot over 800 rds of lead bullets in my HK USP 45 until I heard about lead in poly barrels: This had me blinking
and I figured I had pushed my luck a bit. I am not real proud of not knowing about this issue with HK pistols.

[prs]

I decided to accept the risk and make my Glock 23 a regular shooter instead of a dresser drawer resident. I cast Lee TL 401-175-SW with a lead, antimony, tin alloy air dropped at about 11 or 12 hardness, I tumble lubed with the touted LLA + JPW mix and let it cure well. I loaded up a batch of relatively light charged rounds that cycled the action well. Over the past several weeks I've shot several thousand of those and the only rounds that gave me any leading were some I cast of a softer alloy just to see. Cleaning after every 100 rounds with soaked bronze brush and tight patches with Shooter's Choice (will be going to Ed's Red soon). I was gonna buy an after market barrel if it showed a tendency to lead, but why bother if stays this clean? I don't see how luck is involved in any greater degree than shooting other guns with carefully prepared reloads. I was never a very lucky person, except in love, and Vegas has no appeal to me.

prs

[MBTcustom]

Nobody says that that is an actual shooter. They would love for you to believe that their pistol is more than a pressure chamber with a twisty sort of pipe on the end but a gun is a gun and I haven't run into one yet that cant be loaded for. They put their britches on one leg at a time just like the rest of us.

[Doby45]

I also shoot lead through my stock G35 barrel to no ill effect. If there is nothing in the barrel then there simply is nothing in the barrel.

[stana]

I've shot alot of cast through 2 Glock 45"s, several 1000 each, with little leading and easy clean up. My G23 and 27 in .40 were a different matter, they leaded badly and quickly. I've heard the 9mm's aren't bad, but have no personal experence.

[22Short]

I notice a trend here. There are a lot of "I hear it will blow up after shooting lots of lead boolits" and then there is the " I shoot cast in my Glock with no problems" group. There is a very small group of " I shoot Glocks with properly made and sized cast and have problems just like the factory rep says"... Oh wait! No there isn't!


As for me, I shoot cast in my Glock 21SF. Hot loads. A lot. And no problem at all. Good tool, the Glock 21. Easy to load for. I like the 200 gr. Lee SWC. in mine, wheel weight lead sized .452. 6.3 gr. of 231 and Winchester primers. No problem for my gun, but start lower!

[milprileb]

We all know the manufacturers that say reloads fired in their weapons will violate warranty is pure BS. The lawyers make them do that as law suits are prevented.

However, GLock and H&K are not about to isolate lead bullets as a safety issue unless there is a safety issue.

Now can you mitigate the risk of that safety issue ?

Do you know how ? Running a patch down the bore is NOT a preventative measure and won't hack it for reducing lead build up.

I hope some of you with no idea of what you are doing are not hurt.