Powder coating and Glocks

[jerry p.]

I know you are not supposed to shoot cast bullets out of a Glock, but can you shoot powder coated bullets in them? I am thinking about trying to start powder coating. Thanks - Jerry

[ioon44]

How do you know that you are not supposed to shoot cast bullets out of a Glock?

[Brass&Lead]

These might be helpful:
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...s%20was%20born.


https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/th...llets.1507453/

[jerry p.]

Thanks guys.

[rickiesrevenge]

Glock also says you're not supposed to shoot reloads either.

[rockshooter]

to answer the question- yup, you can shoot PC bullets in Glocks.
Loren

[kevin c]

Coated bullets (HiTek, specifically) have been all my OEM Glock barrels have seen for years. PC or HiTek, so long as the coating was cured properly and there's no mechanical damage (scraping during seating) there shouldn't be any alloy exposure and therefore no barrel leading. It's the leading that caused the high pressure concerns in polygonally rifled barrels used by Glock.

[Driver man]

I cast and shoot 4 different boolit types in my Glocks . I powder coat and size to .358 with excellent results . I have zero leading and clean up is a simple pull through. By last count of primers I have shot about 15000 rounds of powder coated cast boolits. When I initially began shooting cast I did check for lead build up very often but found no problems. My lead mix for 9mm is range lead and wheel weights 50/50.

[6622729]

There are two issues with shooting reloads and cast boolits in Glocks. The factory barrel rifling is prone to leading and the chambers are partially unsupported to aid chambering reliability which lends itself to the greater potential of a ruptured case from a reload. The powder coating can take care of the leading issue but it does nothing for the unsupported chamber. I replace all of my Glock barrels with KKM stainless steel match barrels with fully supported chambers. KKM actually advertises these barrels as suitable reloads and cast lead. They're about $170 each but they are one time, lifetime purchases and worth it to me to try to prevent a weak case from potentially injuring me.

[nicholst55]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...locks-and-Cast

[ioon44]

The best solution I found for issues with Glocks was to replace them with Walther PPQ's, .

[farmbif]

put a non poly angled rifled barrel in the Glock was my forever solution and no longer deal with bulged brass either

[wrench]

I only shoot 9mm and .45ACP Glocks so the .40's may be different. I've shot many thousands of PC and Hitek coated bullets with exactly zero issues.
No problems with bulged brass, either.

[kevin c]

My understanding and personal experience is that the "guppy bellied" brass mainly happened in 40 S&W Glock barrels of a certain vintage. I didn't see much of it in my 40 loads, which admittedly never pushed the envelope velocity or pressure wise, and didn't see any in 9mm (all Gen 3 models with factory barrels). I've heard that the barrels were redesigned to prevent the problem. I don't know that for a fact, but do know that I haven't seen much bulged brass like that in many years.

[Dragonheart]

I cast and shoot 4 different boolit types in my Glocks . I powder coat and size to .358 with excellent results . I have zero leading and clean up is a simple pull through. By last count of primers I have shot about 15000 rounds of powder coated cast boolits. When I initially began shooting cast I did check for lead build up very often but found no problems. My lead mix for 9mm is range lead and wheel weights 50/50.

Driver, when you say "Excellent Results" are you referring to the PC fired and the bullet left a clean barrel or do you mean accuracy. PC bullets do leave a clean barrel even in polygonal rifled barrels.

But, I have not done Ransom Rest Testing, although not extensive with several different, but identical loads, with only the bullet sizing different I have found no increase in accuracy by over sizing bullets. If fact to the contrary as bullets were over sized the group size increased in every case.

[Conditor22]

I'm not sure you can powder coat plastic

[Chris S]

I shoot PC'd 9mm slugs in both a 9mm aftermarket barrel as well as a 357 Sig aftermarket barrel in my Glock. No issues at all and no more bulging. I hate that...crappy way to make a barrel, don't care if they think it's better for reliability. No one else does that and thier guns are plenty reliable. I do like the fact that I can change from 9mm to 40S&W to 357Sig with just a barrel and mag and one minute of time...pretty stinkin' neat.
Chris

[Driver man]

Driver, when you say "Excellent Results" are you referring to the PC fired and the bullet left a clean barrel or do you mean accuracy. PC bullets do leave a clean barrel even in polygonal rifled barrels.

But, I have not done Ransom Rest Testing, although not extensive with several different, but identical loads, with only the bullet sizing different I have found no increase in accuracy by over sizing bullets. If fact to the contrary as bullets were over sized the group size increased in every case.

Dragonheart, I get excellent results in every way with powder coating. Zero leading with excellent accuracy. I size to .358 through habit as when first casting and loading 9mm my CZ75 and Glock 17 I had keyholing and leading until getting alloy right, size to .358 and dropping powder charge a tad. When I tried powder coating I have just followed on with what has worked. I check my accuracy at 25metres from a rest and the most accurate 9mm is the Glock 34 shooting a 125grain conical pc and sized .358 with a 4.7grain charge of Unique. I use powder obtained from smoke and really like the translucent copper.

[Dragonheart]

Dragonheart, I get excellent results in every way with powder coating. Zero leading with excellent accuracy. I size to .358 through habit as when first casting and loading 9mm my CZ75 and Glock 17 I had keyholing and leading until getting alloy right, size to .358 and dropping powder charge a tad. When I tried powder coating I have just followed on with what has worked. I check my accuracy at 25metres from a rest and the most accurate 9mm is the Glock 34 shooting a 125grain conical pc and sized .358 with a 4.7grain charge of Unique. I use powder obtained from smoke and really like the translucent copper.

I understand why, but I had to adjust my thinking when I got into powder coating because I was no longer greasing bullets and depending on the alloy to seal and withstand the torque of spin-up. I was now making jacketed bullets. A properly coated & cured PC bullet is a jacketed bullet and the polymer jacket does what a copper jacket does, with the exception there is no copper fouling. Alloy is also no longer a big deal if you PC for handguns. I use the same reloading data for jacketed bullets whether they are copper of PC.

Attached is my 25 yard test target for my IDPA 100 grain Glock 34 load.

[kevin c]

That's great shooting, there, Dragon heart!

100 grains? Light and fast, that one. I use plodding great 148 grain slugs.

I kinda thought that polymer coatings, whether PC or HiTek, were acting mainly as a barrier (and dry lubricant, maybe?) between bullet and bore. Isn't the engraving by the rifling deeper than the coating? I was thinking the alloy of the bullet still was the major player in obturation by upset and in spin up?