Lead in an H&K USP

[kelbro]

Anybody shooting lead in an H&K USP? Shot lots of jacketed with good results. Shoot lead in most every other pistol but never tried it in the USP. I have a 200gr SWC and 230gr RN mold on the way and was wondering how these polygonal barrels perform with lead.

Straight wheelweights or is a 50% WW/50% Pb alloy hard enough?

[sqlbullet]

Poly rifling and lead are a caution. Some here shoot them fine, others won't dream of it.

I would suggest hard boolits with Poly. Make sure you slug the bore and the boolits are big enough. And check the bore for leading every 5-10 shots until you have an idea how your gun is handling a given load. Leading can build quickly in those barrels to the point of pressure spikes.

[johniv]

I shoot both the Lyman452460 200 gr and the 452374 230 gr cast from ww and sized abour.452 and have no leading issues in my USP up to about 6.5 gr unique. YMMV
John

[Wayne Smith]

Fit is King. Slug your bore and fit your boolit and you will have no problems with the polygonal bore.

[Reload3006]

There are those who say Hell no and those who say why not? I have heard horror stories and stories from those who say whats the big deal. Kahr, USP and Glock maybe others have polygonal rifling supposedly bad for leading. I have heard several people say after they got their lube recipes down no leading at all. Personally I would give it a try. and see you dont have to shoot until you have an obstruction ... shoot a couple inspect your bore. no leading keep shooting if you lead then stop ... you can also get an aftermarket barrel and shoot all the lead you want. My experience tells me that if you get your lube alloy and load right you will have no leading issues.

[kelbro]

Thanks. I'm definitely going to give it a try. Hope these new molds casts fat! First up are some oven heat-treated 50/50 bullets lubed with Recluse's formula. Will post a follow-up.

[Ronbo256]

All my bad experiences were with commercial cast boolits. I would say with enough careful experimentation you should be able to find a lube and boolit size that would work.

[Reaper]

I have an HK USP Elite. So far it has leaded with every load I've tried. I currently use the 260 grain Speer with Herco powder, but would like to use the 255 grain WFN. What lube are you guys using? Does anybody make an aftermarket barrel for the Elite? Thanks

[Walt]

My USP 45 and USP 45 Tactical both handle lead pretty well. I treat them like I do my Glocks and really have no problem. I use hard #68 style SWCs sized .452 at target velocities. Loaded over 4.2 700X, 4.0 Clays, or 4.3 WST gives me good accuracy and only trace leading.

[9.3X62AL]

A couple years back I did my dead-level best to get a Glock 21 to create leading with 92/6/2 alloy and Lyman #452374, 452460, and the BD-45. Sized .452" or .454", I couldn't make the critter form bore deposits. Javelina Alox was the lube used.

The 45 ACP is a lead-friendly caliber.

[kelbro]

Quick update. Loaded 50 rounds. 25 rounds of 200gr SWC and 25 of 230gr RN. Cast with 50/50 WW/Pb + 2% tin. Oven heat treated. Lubed with the Recluse formula (45% Alox, 45% Johnson Paste wax, and 10% mineral spirits). Load was 5.5gr HP38. Very accurate. Brass all landed in a neat little pile. Saw a tiny bit of fouling at the leade. Boresnake took it out in one pass. No leading.

Couple of more tests planned. Next I will shoot 100 rounds of the same and check again. The next test will be with the same bullets, same alloy, but not heat-treated. Also plan to try straight wheelweights.

[FN in MT]

I've done fine with straight WW's in my HK Tactical. H&G #34 230 gr RN sized at .452". Powder everything from Bullseye, Unique to WW 452AA loads.

No leading issues I can detect.