barrel leading

[Andrew Quigley]

Howdy ya'll

I cast my own bullets and have for the last 13 yrs. Just started shooting a glock a couple years ago and used lead bullets with my 9mm and had no trouble. Traded it for a Glock 23 and started having trouble with bullets tumbling almost immediately. Weird thing is it only leads in the middle of the barrel and not down the whole barrel. I now have a g30 in 45 acp and have no leading issues at all with the same lead mix I use in the other 2. Don't have a lead hardness tester but have never had a leading issue in any of my other pistols, just the g23 in 40cal.
With it only leading the middle of the barrel could it be a bad barrel? One that's tight in the middle? Is that possible?

[Bullshop]

I would think the oposite would be the problem that there is a loose spot in the middle.
The loose spot would cause blow by at that point if pressure was below that required to obturate the boolit to keep the seal. The blow by could gas cut the boolit and cause the leading at that point.
Thats my guess.

[RobS]

Tumbling is typically a sign of a small for bore cast boolit. As to the leading..........I think what Bullshop mentioned could be a possible and reasonable cause. More information may help as to what load you are shooting i.e. boolit/powder combo. Other things could help regards to barrel diameter (slugged bore), sized diameter of boolit etc.

[OregonCaster]

Here's a thought and that would be "Soak your barrel" in some Hoppes or Shooter's Choice for a few days and then clean the rest of G23 and try again, good luck my friend.

[Theunsb]

When casting for my Glock 22C I drop my casted bullets in a bucket of cold water straight from the mold. My leading and tumbling problem allmost none existant after the "water" treatment.
It worked for me maybe it could for you.

[prs]

My G-23 is very well behaved with cast boolits. I use both the TL and SW 170g Lee designs. I think BullShop hit the nail right on the head, maybe a slightly bulged barrel. Slug it from end to end and you feel for a "free zone" or even use a very tight patch and feel for easier to push area in middle.

prs