lead in usp

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OPTIC1

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I will be receiving a stainless usp anyday now, and I am confused as to whether I can use lead reloads in it or not. Will it foul the poly barrel and what should I use to clean properly?
 
how much lead do you think it would take before you ended up over pressurizing the barrel?
 
Is the issue here lead build up, or damage to the rifling? Also I am about to begin reloading for the first time, are jacketed rounds way more expensive or what are my options as this is a popular gun?
 
Polygonal barrels should not have lead shot thru them. Something about pressure and junk...etc.... conventional land and groove barrels are ok.

BY seriously, by using lead ....how much can you save.....? Plated is a good alternative.
 
yeah the lead builds up and can cause the barrel to become overpressurizing..possibly causing a burst barrel. Although I am not sure it is possible to burst a USP barrel this way, as I believe they are tested to hard shoot out squib rounds without failure.
 
I had a squib load out of my 2nd USP. Poked it out, and kept on shooting. No accuracy lost. Although the few lead bullets I shot out of my 1st USP were very accurate. That being said, plated bullets may tumble out of a USP barrel, although I have shot frontier 124s out of my USP with no problems.
 
yeah odd, I had two squib loads..couldnt get them out, had to have both drilled out by gunsmith. Also when the gun was new barrel was so tight it would strip jacketing off rounds..leaving copper chips and shavings all over the place..
 
Ive heard all of the controversy surrounding shooting lead bullets in the USP's polygonal rifled barrel. I own one and went by the most accurate source, the owner's manual. It does not breath a word about NOT shooting lead bulleted ammo in their pistols. I would suggest a good barrel cleaning after every 100 rounds or so, that is what I have done and never had an issue. I must admit however that lead is a pain to remove from the rifling of this barrel.
 
REDNEK44 said:
Ive heard all of the controversy surrounding shooting lead bullets in the USP's polygonal rifled barrel. I own one and went by the most accurate source, the owner's manual. It does not breath a word about NOT shooting lead bulleted ammo in their pistols. I would suggest a good barrel cleaning after every 100 rounds or so, that is what I have done and never had an issue. I must admit however that lead is a pain to remove from the rifling of this barrel.
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why? what are you saving compared to jacketed bullets?
 
REDNEK44 said:
I would suggest a good barrel cleaning after every 100 rounds or so, that is what I have done and never had an issue. I must admit however that lead is a pain to remove from the rifling of this barrel.
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.....or.....don't shoot lead, and clean it after every 1000 rounds or so, without any pains. ;)

Your manual also recommends that you NOT use reloads, and we all follow that rule..:rolleyes:
 
It really might depend on the caliber of USP. I've put 10,000+ rounds through .45 caliber USPs (8k+ regular USP, 2k+ USP Tactical) and barrel leading has been quite minor.

Shooting lead means you have to clean the gun more regularly but I've gone more than 1000 rounds between barrel cleanings and had no problems with accuracy. Melting the lead out isn't a real pain either, I use 50/50 peroxide & vinegar. Fill the barrel for 40 min and it all comes out with a patch.

As far as savings, for a .45 it's about $60/thousand lead vs plated.
 
Thanks very much for the info. There seems to be a lot of opinions on the subject. Purchasing jacketed ammo seems to be hard in my area, so I will try the reload method. As far as plated ammo, pardon my ignorance but what is this?
 
I shoot nothing but factory and Frontier bullets from my USP, no problems with either. I 've seen what happens when lead is shot down a poly rifled barrel. I think I still have a blown up .45 casing around my shop as a reminder.
 
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