Cast Bullets for a Glock?

[The Blackhawk Kid]

:arrow: Howdy! I have a G21 and alotta brass. I was wondering IF I should shoot jacketed bullets or 230 gr RN cast bullets. Typically some of my 1911's don't feed cast bullets well. I'd like to hear some ideas. What would you do? I ain't selling my Glock! :mrgreen: BhK 8)

 

[5of7]

:arrow: Howdy! I have a G21 and alotta brass. I was wondering IF I should shoot jacketed bullets or 230 gr RN cast bullets. Typically some of my 1911's don't feed cast bullets well. I'd like to hear some ideas. What would you do? I ain't selling my Glock! :mrgreen: BhK 8)

I don't know much about Glocks, but I have heard that the type of rifling in Glock barrels is not compatible with cast bullets. 8)

 

[DeletedMember275]

There is a long thread (21 pages) at The Cast Boolits forum about the use of cast bullets in Glocks. It seems that they work well with the factory barrel for some, not so much for others. It is generally recommended that you install an aftermarket barrel in your Glock for the use of cast (and jacketed, of course) bullets. I've never tried cast in any of the Glocks that I have briefly owned.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?33855-The-Truth-about-Glocks-and-Cast

 

[RSIno1]

I've shot cast bullets out of my 17L and 19 Glocks with no problem

 

[WESHOOT2]

If the Glock has non-traditional rifling in its bore lead bullets are proscribed.

Catastrophic lead build-up has been noticed at rd-cts as low as 100 rds fired.

Most highly recommend barrels from KKM and Jarvis.

 

[clayflingythingy]

If you were planning on buying commercial cast bullets dump that idea and buy Rainier or Berry copper plated bullets.

I have strongly come to prefer the copper plated bullets even for such as 148 grain 38 wadcutters!

 

[The Blackhawk Kid]

Thanks Guys! I'll go with the plated or jacketed. I talked to my Glock buddy and he had the same issues with leading, FTF, etc. He went with a KKM barrel and the G21 shoots good with cast. We got a deal on 230 gr jacketed, so fire up the Dillon! BhK

 

[Flash]

I had a first generation 19 that didn't know it wasn't suppose to love cast bullets.

 

[stevemb]

I put a Storm Lake 9mm barrel into my G23(.40cal). It seems to shoot everything well. If you go with the aftermarket barrel route, you may have caliber options. You'll need different mags.. You can get a 10mm. Options as to finish, porting, extra length, threading for silencers,etc.. Just went tot he Storm Lake website for this info.

 

[mhblaw]

Brian Pearce has an article in the current issue of Handloader magazine about reloads for a Glock in 40 S&W. He used 180 gr. Oregon Trail cast bullets with no problem but suggested that velocities be kept around 800fps.

 

[WESHOOT2]

OT bullets are very hard.

Doesn't change the proscibed nature of lead vs Glock poly-bores.

 

[m657]

I read the extensive book by some Glock hot shot, who claims expertise in forensic ballistic matter.

His data was extensive, his argument was persuasive, and his warning were quite clear.

Some kabooms in Glock obstructed barrels from lead swagging in the polygonal rifling occurred in as little as 15 rounds.

I liked his non-argumentative, just-the-facts presentation. It changed my behavior, from using lead, to not using lead in those circumstances. The after-market barrels, including Wolfe and those named above, seem to be without issue.

 

[Bryan]

I had( got tired of chasing brass) a 41 that I shot a lee 230 TCTL bullet out of with factory barrel with zero leading and it was super accurate to boot. I just hated chasing that brass.

 

[Sixer]

Here is something from Buffalo Bore

Hard Cast Bullets in Polygonal Barrels
HARD CAST BULLETS IN POLYGONAL BARRELS

True hard cast bullets (as opposed to lead swaged bullets) that are properly lubed will not lead foul polygonal barrels any more than any other type of rifled barrel. Ever since Glock Corporation warned to not use lead bullets in their pistols with polygonal barrels, a myth that hard cast bullets will lead foul polygonal barrels has become wide spread in some parts of the firearms world. However, the myth is untrue. Hard cast bullets are not "lead" bullets. (See my article on "Dangerous Pure Lead Cowboy Bullets")

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 fouling build up from shooting pure lead bullets, Glock issued a warning not to shoot lead bullets in their polygonal barrels. From that warning, the myth that you should not shoot hard cast bullets in polygonal barrels was born.

Provided you use real hard cast bullets with good lube, you can shoot them all you like in polygonal barrels without causing lead fouling deposits at the front of your chamber or anywhere else in the barrel. If you are concerned about lead fouling from hard cast bullets, all you have to do is to clean your barrel after firing hard cast bullets and before firing any jacketed bullets. However, in my experience, quality hard cast bullets won't foul a Glock polygonal barrel or any other type of barrel but lead bullets normally will.

 

[protoolman]

I witnessed the aftermath of a glock kaboom on a low round count 1st gen 40sw. It was firing Winchester Black talons after firing a couple of boxes of hard cast bullets cast by hand from wheelweight alloy. It wasn't no myth and scared heck out of us deputies and policemen who had been issued the guns a couple months before. It peeled the back of the barrel open, blew magazine out the bottom and cracked the front of the magwell ejecting the trigger. The rear of the slide also jumped the frame rails. It was what I would call a catastrophic failure. With the polygonal rifling I would stick with jacketed or at least plated.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Ever since Glock Corporation warned to not use lead bullets in their pistols with polygonal barrels, a myth that hard cast bullets will lead foul polygonal barrels has become wide spread in some parts of the firearms world. However, the myth is untrue. Hard cast bullets are not "lead" bullets.

Hi,

Ok, so if cast, soft or hard, bullets are not "lead" what the heck are they? Magic mysterium metal? Did Glock say "Don't shoot pure lead bullets?" Or did they say "Don't shoot lead bullets" without any adjectives describing "what kind of lead?" This looks like the gentleman's working a semantic twist more than giving good advice...

Now, one should ask oneself this question:

"If I shoot Buffalo Bore's 'whatever they are' lead-based bullets in my factory Glock barrel, and there are problems, who's gonna pay for the damage? Glock? Nope. Buffalo Bore? Not bloody likely. Me? Yup!"

Taking that into account, the decision is up to the individual what they're gonna do next. For myself, an aftermarket barrel seems pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things, and removes a whole lot of doubt about what it will shoot! But that point's really moot as I don't shoot Glocks... so for those who do, please think carefully about what you're gonna feed 'em!

Rick C

 

[1ruger]

Back in the late 80's we used to shoot thousands of cast bullets out of factory Glock 17/19 barrels and never knew it was dangerous. Today I still shoot thousands of cast bullets using Glock barrels and never had a problem.
I usually shoot 147gr cast bullets in 9mm pistols and 230gr in 45ACP and keep the velocity to around 850 fps. Never noticed any excessive leading in the barrel and they are accurate.

 

[Idaho Spud]

I had a first generation 19 that didn't know it wasn't suppose to love cast bullets.

I have a G23 Gen 3 with the exact same proclivity. The Glock barrel loves my boolit, accuracy-wise, also. I will say I do clean after every use no matter what goes down the tube.

 

[Tom W]

I just bought a new mold for both my Glock Model 30, my model 19 and my wife's model 17. If my pistols won't shoot lead, I won't have them. 4.4 grains of Herco with the Lee 356-120-tc do really well in my 19, with no leading, demons or space aliens hovering about...

 

[OldePhart]

Back in the day (20+ years ago) I loaded and shot about 10k 180gr "copper washed" hard cast bullets through my first G22 with no problems. I don't remember the chrono figures now but these were basically commercial-level loads ("made major" with lots of room to spare and sometimes falling plates would slam down so hard they would actually bounce back up and that wasn't happening with any of the other calibers that guys were shooting). Never had an issue and accuracy was good enough to keep me competitive. Oh...and I'd had the G22 magna-ported, too (this was back when the G22 was first introduced, no G22C at the time). I'd occasionally see a little bit of lead around the port but nothing terrible and nothing that didn't come off pretty easily with lead remover.

 

[dwayne]

I have a G21SF that I occasionally use in some local "action pistol" matches. I put in a Storm Lake barrel and it shoots my home cast H&G 68 LSWC's (2/8/90 alloy) with no problems. They feed fine. I load them to an OAL of 1.240" with 4.5 grains of WST, a Winchester LPP and a crimp of 0.469". They will regularly shoot under 3" at 25 yards if I do my part. Your experiences may vary.

 

[Tom W]

Got to go to the range today. Shot my Ruger BH with both the .45 and .45 Colt cylinders, as well as my Golcks, both with hand loaded cast bullets. They all three did really well, altho I was really out to see how the Glocks performed with the cast loads. I found that Red Dot smokes like hell, but I did get acceptable 10 yard accuracy with the .45, and the 9mm was using a Lee 356-120-T/C bullet lubed with Johnson's paste wax, loaded with 4.4 gr. of Herco. I ran 100 rounds through the 9mm with nary a bobble, and while both of the pistols were dirty with powder residue, there wasn't a trace of leading in any of the guns. Didn't see any devils or evil things happening to either pistol, either.

 

[mikewriter]

When I first got my G20, 10mm Glock, I had an early "kaboom" that was pretty much traced to the Glock design and a poor after-market barrel letting it fire out of battery, and the unsupported barrel letting a case rupture close to the base. I consulted both with Tim at Buffalo Bore and Mike at Double Tap. Both assured me they developed their 10mm Hard Cast loads in G20 Glocks WITH GLOCK BARRELS. Both also suggested only using Glock barrels on Glock pistols. I sent my 6" Lone Wolf barrel back and replaced it with a 6" Glock barrel, and had no more trouble, and was mostly shooting hard cast loaded "hot" from both those companies. I did check for leading often, and cleaned after every shooting session. I like that Glock a lot better, though, since I sold it to buy my .480 Ruger!