Lead first, or plated?

[Gumby]

Hi

I recently loaded up some handgun loads with lead bullets. On my next trip to the range I was thinking of taking them, and some Berry's plated rounds.

Now the question. On any given handgun, does it matter whether you shoot lead before plated, or plated before lead? Will one method be better for the barrel (and easier cleaning) over the other? Should I just stay with one type of bullet, and then clean the barrel before shooting the other?

Gumby

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I do this all the time. It depends on a couple of factors. If the plated or jacketed rounds are near Max. you want to be careful about shooting the plated or jacketed rounds through a leaded-up barrel. You could get a pressure spike that way. In that case I would shoot the plated bullets first. ...But if your rounds are less than Max. you can use the plated bullets to sweep the barrel clean after shooting a few lead rounds. I usually do one cylinder of lead followed by one of plated bullets and maybe a cylinder full of plated at the end of the shooting session. The barrel comes home clean that way.

...Jimbo

 

[Donaldjr1969]

That's how I shoot both types of bullets myself, Jimbo. However, when I switch, I run a dry patch followed by a piece of lead remover cloth through the barrels of my guns. Enough lead, if much is even present in the first place, will be removed so I can shoot jacketed safely without the aforementioned pressure spikes.

 

[Gumby]

Thanks Jimbo

I'm not loading to the Max so I will run a magazine of plated bullets through the gun when I finish. Might even do as Donaldjr1969 suggests and run a piece of Lead Cleaning cloth down the barrel before I shoot those plated bullets.

Speaking of Lead cleaning. A few years ago I was told to clean the barrel of one of my guns (I chose a GP100) with Lead Away after shooting a box of lead bullets. I went the extra mile to clean it a well as possible, until I thought that it was clean as a whistle. When I ran the patch of Lead Away down the barrel, I got a real surprise. You would have thought that I had not even cleaned the barrel.

Gumby

 

[davidj]

Do the"Skeeter or Elmer" loads of 7.5 unique/250 lead much??

 

[WESHOOT2]

Re: Shooting a barrel AFTER running a lead-away patch:

-Don't; the residue acts like a fire-lap. Clean a bore until squeakyclean after using "da cloth".