I recently bought my first Glock, a used 40 S&W Glock Model 22. I've reloaded for handguns, rifles and shotguns, but I was surprised to hear that I can't use lead bullets, only jacketed. Is this true?
I bought a aftermarket barrel (KKM Precision) for my G34 when I want to shoot lead bullets.
From another forum: "Pure lead or nearly pure lead bullets have a tendency to foul any barrel, not just polygonal barrels. Years ago, when several Glock pistols experienced cracked barrels because of lead fouling build up from shooting pure lead bullets, Glock issued a warning not to shoot lead bullets in their polygonal barrels."
Order some bullets from Bayou Bullets. They have a coating on them that cuts down on fouling. There have thousands of their bullets shot through Glocks.
The problem isn’t the lead. And many gun manufacturers have similar statements in their warranty warning against reloads.
The problem is firing jacketed bullets after leading up the bore. I’ve seen it happen in a couple of wheel guns. .357 and .44mag. Small swells in the barrel tell the tale. De-lead the barrel before shooting jacketed ammo and you’re good to go.
Or better yet, hard cast bullets if you’re making your own. I don’t know anyone who uses dead soft lead. Harder bullets will still leave some lead residue but it won’t layer up as bad.
At first Glock warned about using lead cast bullets in their barrels due to the type of rifling they used. On the newer Gen-5 guns they have changed the rifling and it’s better for using cast bullets.
Its all really a moot point if you use coated bullets. Coated bullets keep the lead from touching the bore. Many of us have been using them for years without any problems & some bullets casters have said it is safe to use in their adds. Just make sure you don’t scrape of the coating during the loading process. Make sure the bell on the case mouth is enough to not scrape off material.
If it bothers you to use cast bullets, then just load jacketed bullets. You can also get a drop in barrel like Doug said, they don’t cost much, ang just swap out when you want to use cast bullets.