The Truth about Glocks and Cast

[FergusonTO35]

Nowadays I use the Lee 356-120-TC sized to .357 with Randy Rat's Tac-X. They weigh around 122 grains cast from range scrap. I shot up all the .356 slugs as I now size to .357 for all my 9mm and .380 pistols.

[Walks]

I know this is an old thread but I'll throw in my 2 cents anyway. I bought a GLOCK 23 when they first came out. At that time about '92-'93 nobody said a word about lead bullets in 40 cal GLOCKS. Also FEDERAL Cartridge brought out a 180gr SWAGED LEAD 180GR load. I put 10 boxes thru my GLOCK 40 with just a bit of leading. I cleaned the gun after every 100rds. Shot some Cast bullet loads using the LYMAN #40143 sized .401, neither load gave me decent accuracy. I bought a WOLF bbl when they came out. Not just to try lead bullets again, but to get a tighter & better supported chamber. No more "GLOCK smile". Been shooting that LYMAN bullet & the LEE #401-175-TC, no leading in the WOLF bbl with either bullet & NO GLOCK SMILE. Bought a 9mm WOLF conversion bbl too. I use the LYMAN #356402 & LEE #356-125-2R sized .356, no leading in that bbl either. I must have put 20,000 jacketed & 10,000+ lead through that old model 23. Never a problem of any kind. Good maintenance & good loading practices.

[lazs]

I will say that I am no glock fan. I have no idea what the models mean so bear with me. I don't even like to shoot the things. I do cast a lot of bullets and friends shoot em. Again.. since I will never own one I have no idea what these models are but they are full size... one is 9mm and the other a 45 acp.. These are friends guns. I had heard the whole glock and lead bullets thing and did not want to load any ammo for these guys. Neither one of these guys really knew/knows how to clean a gun even tho glocks come apart pretty easy to clean.

So I get a chance to take down both guns. The 45 had shot lead bullet reloads lately. looking at the barrel I said "see that?" see what he said.. The leading.. nope he did not see it... not unusual for guys who don't shoot lead a lot.. Regular cut rifling is easier to see the buildup. On the glock it was like a thin smear. It was a real bear to get out. It came out in long strips like half an inch in some cases. Not sure if it affected pressure in any dangerous way or not. but it was there. Well.. the guy still had a couple hundred lead bullet reloads. I thought maybe an old trick I used to do where you shoot some jacketed after a session of cast might help so we tried that... it did seem to work fairly well with little leading in the bore.

Fast forward. I got into Hi-Tek coating. Soo... while my 1911's never really leaded anyway they are even cleaner shooting the coated bullets. I had a bunch of 9mm loaded up for my Browning BDM so we tried em with the 9mm glock. So far... I am cautiously optimistic as it did not leave any trace of lead.. Haven't tried the 45 yet. And yes. I realize it is only two guns and I don't even know the models but I have to conclude that if you are not meticulous at cleaning guns then shooting cast and lubed bullets from your glock is ..........iffy? And that shooting a mag of jacketed after a session might just help with cleaning a leaded barrel.. other than that I am in the dark.

Oh... the micro groove Marlin.. not all poly or micro or early black powder versions of this rifling are created equal. The micro groove seems to not lead.. it also is not as accurate with lead bullets tho as cut rifling in basically the same gun. for what that is worth.

lazs

[Catshooter]

" I have to conclude that if you are not meticulous at cleaning guns then shooting cast and lubed bullets from your glock is ..........iffy?"

No. Obviously you didn't bother to read this thread, did you. I'm not going to just hand you the easy answer since you didn't earn it and obviously want to believe your pre-conceived notions about Glocks you wouldn't believe me anyway.

I will tell you this: shooting bare lead in any rifled firearm without paying attention to what you're doing is iffy. Cleaning, meticulous or otherwise has zero to do with leading.


Cat

[lazs]

Sorry if I offended. I did not say that cleaning had anything to do with leading. What I actually said was that lead builds up and if you are not meticulous about cleaning then you may end of with something that is iffy.. by that I would mean pressure. I have no preconceived notions about any gun I do not own or shoot. No idea what you meant by that. It is not me saying that glocks should not shoot cast bullets. it is the manufacturer and it is the thinking of a lot of people.. . cut rifling barrels made to shoot lead in glocks are being made. They are billed as being safe for lead.

Soo... you want to get mad at someone get mad at them for their 'scam' bilking you out of your hard earned dollars or the factory for starting this whole vicious rumor in the first place. Now. if you are angry at me for simply not liking glocks that is understandable but has nothing to do with what I wrote about leading.

I will say this tho... I think that if a person tells others to ignore the warnings of the manufacturer and some real life examples then that may be a little reckless...

the whole thing has become moot to me (so far) since I started HT coating my cast bullets. Just so you can be angry at me tho.... I still won't own or shoot a glock.

lazs

[Tom W.]

Ferguson sent me some cast when I bought my first Glock, a used model 17. I never had any leading with that pistol. Sooo. I got a Model 30 in .45acp. I used the same design boolit, the 230 gr TC, and again no leading. Trading and swapping I got a Ruger LC9s Pro and a while later a Model 19. Same story. I use WLL carnauba Red for a lube. After my cancer struck with a vengeance I could no longer take down my Glocks for cleaning due to neuropathy, and now have a CZ. But never have I had any leading with any of my Glocks using my cast boolits and CR lube.

[Catshooter]

No need to be sorry lazs, you didn't offend me and I'm not angry at you.


Cat

[lazs]

Thanks. I actually did not read every post in this thread tho but skimmed every one. I read pretty fast. I have been shooting cast bullets for ages and have dealt with leading the entire time. There are as many fixes for leading as there are posts in this thread. Mostly tho it boils down to a good bore with no restrictions and a properly fitted bullet.. then the whole alloy thing.. then the whole lube thing. I have been pleased with Hi-Tek and powder coat bullets the last few years tho and find they eliminate all or almost all chance of leading if done properly.

My point I guess is that if I had a gun with poly rifling I would not just dismiss the possibility of leading and that I would HT coat bullets for it and sleep better over it. Since I HT or PC all my cast bullets these days it is no hardship.

lazs

[Outer Rondacker]

I have not posted in this thread in a while nor have I read anything that was posted. I hear all the time you can not shoot lead out of anything. The worst is when I hear it from gun shop owners. I just put my last loaded 260 something 10mm down the pipe of a glock today. Loaded kinda hot too. Both the Glock and I are still doing fine. Well the glock is my hand kinda hurts.

[FergusonTO35]

Ferguson sent me some cast when I bought my first Glock, a used model 17. I never had any leading with that pistol. Sooo. I got a Model 30 in .45acp. I used the same design boolit, the 230 gr TC, and again no leading. Trading and swapping I got a Ruger LC9s Pro and a while later a Model 19. Same story. I use WLL carnauba Red for a lube. After my cancer struck with a vengeance I could no longer take down my Glocks for cleaning due to neuropathy, and now have a CZ. But never have I had any leading with any of my Glocks using my cast boolits and CR lube.

Glad to hear you are alive and kicking, Tom. I think what type and how much lube you use is very important. The Lee designs hold alot of lube, especially if you just barely size them. Tac-X is good stuff, and I honestly cannot recall any noticeable leading since I started using it.

[RedStar Raider]

Ive had no problems with Glock with light loads myself.

[kelseyscooter1]

a very interesting thread. I have shot 1911's for 40 years, and moved into glocks a couple years ago, and have cast my own boolits the whole time. I have been using powder coat on boolits for a year now, and believe it solves leading problems in all pistols. I am curious if someone has seen any problems with powder coat in glock factory barrels and/or rifled barrels. I have not seen any problems surface in any of pistols to date.

[Tom W.]

I squeezed down a bunch of those TC boolits to .357 today just to try them. I didn't load any yet. They were .358, but if they don't lead I'm more the happier... we shall see......

[FergusonTO35]

Are they the Lee slugs I sent you? I find they drop right at .357.

[Tom W.]

Heavens no! Those have gone downrange in an indoor range some time ago. However, it's the same Lee mold. I've found that they all don't drop the same. I may not be holding the mold closed enough or maybe holding my mouth wrong, or just get tired too quickly now. But if I don't like the boolits after it comes from the lubrisizer I'll just put it back into the pot. Being retired has some advantages......

[Outer Rondacker]

a very interesting thread. I have shot 1911's for 40 years, and moved into glocks a couple years ago, and have cast my own boolits the whole time. I have been using powder coat on boolits for a year now, and believe it solves leading problems in all pistols. I am curious if someone has seen any problems with powder coat in glock factory barrels and/or rifled barrels. I have not seen any problems surface in any of pistols to date.

Welcome to the forum. I push 10mm bullets full speed. I have a woods G29. Woods meaning I got it for very little beat to heck and I carry it while working in the woods, well to be honest everywhere as it is my carry. I have had no leading. I use the lee lube on them and powder coat when I have it. My barrel is clean to date as well. Only factory ammo I own is 22lr. I have never shot a factory bullet out of a handgun its always been reloaded.

[P Flados]

Lee 120 boolits bumped up to 0.358" and a custom case expander are being used for both target (3.9 promo) and full power (4.4 tightgroup) 9 mm loads in the Glock 17 that has caused me much frustration.

These loads do not seem (I think we are at a couple hundred down range so far) to accumulate lead build up in either the aftermarket barrel I bought or the factory barrel.

[FergusonTO35]

How old is that 17?

[Slim Chance]

I shot thousands of lead bullets in various Glocks in their GSSF matches. The key was hard cast bullets at moderate velocities. No leading in the bore. I would get a thin film on the front sight of my G24 with its ported barrel.

[Pumpkinheaver]

Just shot up the last of my conventional cast
.45acp bullets in a match two weeks ago,
With my Glock 21. Powdercoated for me now.