Glock 17 9mm, cast boolits and my oblivious father!! HELP!

[Animal]

So, while having some father-son time at the range today I found out that my dad is shooting cast boolit factory ammo through his Glock. I didn't realize he was doing that until he offered to let me shoot a few. I picked up a round to load it in a mag and noticed the boolit. I stopped, pulled out my flashlight, inspected the barrel and noticed long slivers of lead in the rifling.

I had a moment of moral anxiety. He isn't a reloader so he isn't familiar with a lot of what I am, but he is a proud retired Army Ranger and former Marine. I, on the other hand was kicked out of Navy boot camp for medical reasons. I'm simply civilian Joe and he eats concertina wire and pisses napalm!

So, you can see where I would hate to act for a minute as if I'm more familiar with his weapon and ammo of choice. I turned to him (with hesitation) and warned him about the impending danger of his choice while showing him the lead mine building up in his high pressure 9mm.

He just sighed, said "well I bought a thousand rounds and haven't had any trouble yet". I handed the gun back to him because I didn't want to be the guy to pull the trigger on the KABOOOOM round. I felt as if I had insulted him and snubbed his weapon. He continued to shoot. Thankfully, he isn't hurt and the gun functioned ok.

So, now that I feel horrible because he might be thinking "wow, I didn't know my son would become such a snob simply because he reloads," I'd like to get him a good barrel for christmas. Perhaps a Lone Wolf. I don't know much about these barrels or the various manufacturers, so I'd like some input from a few Glock fellas that prefer a different barrel for their cast boolits.

Any particular advice or options? or is Lone Wolf a safe bet? I don't want him to regret the money he spent on the ammo. I'd like for him to enjoy every bit of it and be safe. Thanks guys!

[FergusonTO35]

The leading may not be the fault of the gun at all. I have found that commercial 9mm lead boolits, whether purchased as loose slugs or loaded ammo, tend to have leading problems. The boolits are undersized, the lead is too soft, the lube is too hard/not enough of it, or all three. You could get your dad a new barrel and it would still be leading the same. Do you have another gun that you could try your dad's ammo in? Do you have any lead boolit 9mm ammo of known quality that you could try in his gun?

[Animal]

Ferguson, my concern isn't that he is having leading issues, it is that Glocks have a bad reputation being dangerous with lead rounds due to the unique rifling design. If it were his .40 S&W, I wouldn't be concerned. I may not have explained that correctly. I know many people have worked up very good cast boolit loads for their Glocks, but he isn't going to do the homework and load his own... this is what concerns me.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

well you could get Dad a new wolf barrel for Christmas

[FergusonTO35]

Friend, my understanding is that rapid lead build up is what causes the pressure spikes that cause KB in Glocks due to lead boolit use. I dont own a Glock so I can't help you with actual experience on that gun. I can tell you from experience with several 9mm pistols and many different boolits, both commercial and homemade, that conventionally rifles bores can get caked with lead and suffer pressure problems just as bad if the boolits are undersized, too soft, lube issues, etc. once I started casting my own slugs, water dropping out of the mold, using a soft 50/50 beeswax alox lube, and sizing to .357 my leading problems vanished. Not saying that will necessarily work in a Glock or any other gun that's not mine but I wouldn't be so quick to assume the gun is causing the leading.

As an aside, the .40 S&W runs at the same or higher pressure than the 9mm so it has the same problems as the 9mm with lead boolits. The .45 Auto runs at much lower pressure and is generally recognized as a very good choice for cast slugs.

[exile]

I would recommend a Storm Lake barrel.

[olereb]

I have a Wolf barrel in my G17 and it shoots cast fine,Stormlake barrels are also good.

[Animal]

Fergusen, I understand what you are saying. He isn't going to dabble into reloading or casting. I'd rather see him shoot a traditional barrel with severe leading than him shoot a Glock barrel with severe leading. I chose a 1911 over a Glock for that reason.

I haven't heard of Storm Lake. I have heard of Lone Wolf. Can anyone tell me why one would be preferred over the other? He doesn't care about winning competitions, just being proficient enough for defense.

[300savage]

heck i would just let him shoot it as is, if it blows up he may have a little more respect for you.
and if it dont you may end up with a little more respect for a glock.

either way its not the gun its the soft undersized bullets.

[FergusonTO35]

In that case, yes, a conventional barrel would likely be more safe but he still needs to watch for leading. I can't imagine shooting and not reloading. Geez, what's wrong with some people?;)

[RED333]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?33855-The-Truth-about-Glocks-and-Cast
A bit of good reading.
We have 7 Glocks, 2)23s, 5) G22, and a G35.
All shoot lead cast just fine.

[Animal]

In that case, yes, a conventional barrel would likely be more safe but he still needs to watch for leading. I can't imagine shooting and not reloading. Geez, what's wrong with some people?;)

Agreed. I can't imagine not reloading either. I'm going to hook him up with some Lewis Lead Remover and a box of Chore Boy to take care of the new barrel.

[Animal]

I settled on a Lone Wolf barrel that I found on Ebay last night. Free shipping, hopefully it will be here by tuesday. He doesn't like things to be more complicated than they need to be, but maybe I can talk him into letting me slug the barrel and casting some decent boolits for him.

[Animal]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?33855-The-Truth-about-Glocks-and-Cast
A bit of good reading.
We have 7 Glocks, 2)23s, 5) G22, and a G35.
All shoot lead cast just fine.

Red, that is an excellent thread. I admit, I haven't read the whole thing. I did read a great deal of it back in aug-sept when I was researching my next gun purchase. I was debating over 1911 and Glock .45acp. Glock has great programs for military personel. I like the higher capacity mag and the undeniable reliability by people who make a living with these weapons (blackwater and a few others). A good friend of mine who also likes Glock just as much as the other fellas suggested that I look into the 1911 also. I found out that Glock has this reputation for "exploding" with cast lead. I came across the thread that you posted and found out that this isn't really a problem if you reload your own ammo, understand how to select and use the correct boolits.

I hate to say it, but my dad is in no way capable of being patient enough to take proper measurements and perform accurate testing of selected alloy, lube, fit and proper charge weights... (sounds crazy to guys like us on this forum) So... for my peace of mind, his hands, life and firearm... keeping his shooting simple with an aftermarket barrel helps me sleep a little more soundly. :smile:

[scattershot]

If he has 1,000 rounds of the lead bullet ammo, I think you made the right choice with the new barrel.

[RED333]

I will agree about the new barrel, good call.

[Animal]

The Lone Wolf barrel just came in today. It looks like its been fired a little. Is this normal? I was expecting a clean barrel.

[dmize]

I find it difficult to believe a person can get a commercial lead bullet that is too soft.

[RED333]

I have a LW barrel that was new, looked like it was fired as well.
I think maybe a few test rounds.

[Animal]

I have a LW barrel that was new, looked like it was fired as well.
I think maybe a few test rounds.

That is what I was hoping it was.

[6bg6ga]

You don't need a aftermarket barrel to shoot lead in a Glock. You just need the right diameter bullets.

[Love Life]

Lead is fine in the Glock 17. Correct alloy and size does a world of difference.

See below for my guidance on how to avoid a KABOOM due to lead boolits:

[6bg6ga]

I don't think the Glock is any more prone to leading than any other gun is. Have shot lead in mine with good results and have seen others shoot lead in theirs. As pointed out the correct diameter is needed as is a harder alloy. I use WW lead which works fine. Have seen a lot of loading errors blaimed on lead when some were the lack of a tight crimp.

If you read the information that a lot of gun manufacturers put out they don't recommend the use of hand loads at all nor will they warrenty the gun if used with hand loads. Its what smart lawyers put out to cover their clients.