So whats the word on all lead bullets in a Glock?
- Thread starter Power Pill
- Start date
If you only have one box you should be fine. Basically it's only not recommended 'cause the rifling tends to smear lead more than usual, it builds up and makes a pressure spike (bore size going down, bullets the same size)
fire a round, examine bore, brush it out if it's smearing. If you had like 1000 rounds, then it would get tedious.
Don't need to brush every time, just check it every magazine or so I guess. Should really be okay for 50 rounds, you won't spring a glock with wolf unless you don't clean it and run thousands of rounds of lead without cleaning
Last edited:
My first IPSC Race gun in the early 90s was a Glock 17L - ported original barrel in which I shot 9x19mm Major. I fired 10s of thousands of rounds of practice lead through this barrel and had absolutely no problems. When I 'upgraded?' to a Chip McCormick STI frame custom (one of the first ten serial numbers), the Nowlin barrel and comp required much more cleaning than the Glock did when firing lead bullets.
Polygon rifling makes a great deal of sense for a great many reasons as compared to traditional rifling.
Polygon rifling makes a great deal of sense for a great many reasons as compared to traditional rifling.
I shot lead through my G21 with a stock barrel. A single box should be no problems. Where you would run into problems is shooting cases without cleaning, leads to leading the barrel.
A friend shoots lead bullets through his G17 most of the time, 100 to 200 rounds per range visit, cleans it well at home and hasn't had any problems.
Depends on how hard or soft the lead is for fouling though....
A friend shoots lead bullets through his G17 most of the time, 100 to 200 rounds per range visit, cleans it well at home and hasn't had any problems.
Depends on how hard or soft the lead is for fouling though....
I don't think I have ever shot anything but lead in my Glocks. Thousands of rounds. I clean them once in awhile. Don't seem to lead up any more than other pistols.
I do find that pistols shoot better after being cleaned.
I do find that pistols shoot better after being cleaned.
I've read that there could be problems if you shoot lead and don't clean the barrel and then switch to jacketed. Also has to do with the hardness of the lead used. A lot of people say .40 cal Glock kabooms come from shooting lead and switching to jacketed ammo without cleaning the gun.
Most of the issues with leading in polygon barrel can be avoided by good bullet fit,good lube and using a hard bullets. My friend Andy shoots the Lee 95 gr. RN cast from water dropped WW alloy in his CZ82 all the time.
HARD CAST BULLETS IN POLYGONAL BARRELS
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=59
HARD CAST BULLETS IN POLYGONAL BARRELS
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=59
I went through this when I bought my Glock22 back in 1992...I called Glock, spoke to a Techie, and his response was quite simply to clean your barrel every couple of hundred of rounds and you will not have a problem.....Of course, if you have a Ka-Boom, the warranty will be voided if you say you where using leaded reloads.....
After 18 years of shooting lead reloads, my Glock has not gone boom....
After 18 years of shooting lead reloads, my Glock has not gone boom....
Bingo!
This question seems to come up every two or three months... Back in the dark ages before the creation of the WWW (late 80's and early 90's), we used to shoot lead reloads through our 9mm Glocks with reckless abandon. Lead reloads were pretty much all anyone shot through any handgun other than factory ammo back then. No one ever had problems with their Glock 17s or 19s blowing up on them. Polygonal rifling has been around longer than Glock and no one ever considered it a problem until the internet forums came along. Is it prone to lead fouling? Sure. But any barrel can foul. That's why we clean our guns regularly.
Clean you barrel when you notice fouling starting to build and you will be fine. You can still shoot hundreds of rounds between cleanings and not have to worry. Don't believe everything that you read on the internet. Believe it or not, some of it is just hype.
Have fun shooting lead through your gun (gasp!) and don't worry!
