[darbo]

Ok old timers don't laugh at me too hard!

As it stands now I'm not finding much in the way of FMJ or Hollow points in 9mm or 45acp. What I want to know is can I and how well do the various lead projectiles work in semi-auto pistols? The 9mm are a Beretta PX4 and Taurus PT709. The .45acp is a PT1911. I simply have not loaded or shot any unjacketed bullets so am completely clueless. Help me out folks!
TIA

 

[guesser]

Let's put my opinion this way. I don't own any Taurus semi auto pistols but I do have Norinco, Para Ordinance, Browning and Walther. 45, 9, 32; all of them get nothing but cast lead bullets. The only one that I have ever fired a jacketed bullet in was the Norinco 1911A1 and that was because I wanted to shoot it the same day I bought it, well over 20 years ago. All my hand guns and many of my long guns get fed nothing but my hand cast lead bullets. I have poked holes in paper, cans and game using them since 1956.

 

[jimb1972]

They work as well as jacketed at half the cost.

 

[44wcf]

given the proper design and hardness they will work beautifully.

 

[gbusmech]

They work as well as jacketed at half the cost.

Ask at your tire dealer for their used wheel weights then the cost of bullets go's to ZERO if you cast your own....

 

[Fishinkeylargo]

I have been loading lead since I started loading. I do not have any problems with it. I don't cast, I do save any lead I can.

 

[darbo]

Great, these are the answers I was looking for. Thanks guys. My local shop has good supplies of lead projectiles. I will be more comfortable loading for IDPA etc. and still having components to work with.

 

[Fishinkeylargo]

Great, these are the answers I was looking for. Thanks guys. My local shop has good supplies of lead projectiles. I will be more comfortable loading for IDPA etc. and still having components to work with.

When I was in Orlando I purchased some 38 spl/.357 bullets from Space Coast Bullets. I really like the product, wish I would have bought some 9mm and .45acp as well. May have my daughter stop there on her way home for spring break and get me some less the shipping charge.

 

[olfarhors]

well I don't cast nor generally shoot lead, so I will leave the majority of this to the ones that do and have more experience in this.
I will say that I don't think that lead bullets are as good as jacketed, simply if they were then jacketed projectiles would not exist.
now to a certain point they are as adequate as jacketed but there is a line that you can cross.
as was noted it depends on the design and Lead ALLOY that is used.
so depends on the use and what that you want /expect the projectile to do or not do.
In my particular case i use plated projectiles for general plinking, they aren't as cheap as lead and are hard to find as well, but as I own 38 supers and 10 MM and expect them to shoot like 38 supers and 10 MM so I do not really download them, i would shoot my 9 MM and 380 if i wanted that performance, again that is up to the reloader.
but i do push 38 super at about 1250 FPS and 10 MM at about 1400 FPS with no probelms , I am not sure that i would want to do this with most lead projectiles.
killing paper steel bad guys a reasonable speeds they might work fine for you though, most of the guys that i know that shoot competition use the FMJ's.

 

[jimb1972]

Ask at your tire dealer for their used wheel weights then the cost of bullets go's to ZERO if you cast your own....

I've got 19 years to go before I can retire and have enough time to cast all my own bullets. I cast some occasionally now, but most of the time I just order them from MO bullet co.

 

[Denton]

Buy Bulk .45 ACP Ammo Online at BulkAmmo.com - Available and Ready to Ship

There is ammo available in .45 ACP

...and 9mm

Buy Bulk .45 ACP Ammo Online at BulkAmmo.com - Available and Ready to Ship

 

[JaPes]

I use hard cast lead projectiles in all the pistol calibers I support. I've had no problems. I just slowly work up a charge that gets the result that I need. I haven't had any leading issues. I own a Lewis Lead remover kit, and haven't had to use it yet.

 

[2manygunz]

Most pistol velocities are well within the working range of lead and its alloys. As someone else here noted, I cast for all my guns. Included are .357, 45 colt,
454 Casull (Raging Bull), .303 British, 9mm, 45-70, 7.62x54, & 7.62x39. Lube is NRA 50/50 Alox-beeswax. I do "load down" for the rifles, but pistol ammo is loaded to factory spec & velocity. Oddly enough, lead alloys seem to shoot faster for the same load compared to jacketed bullets. I just completed $500 worth of ammo (at todays) prices for a total outlay of $173. I can't afford not to shoot lead.

 

[jspdrcrmach5]

I have a PT111 Pro and a PT1911 they both shoot lead bullets with no problem, I also have a Ruger P90 which won't feed anything not covered in copper so it really depends on the particular Gun.
Most suppliers will sell evaluation packs of bullets which are a small quantity, usually 100 so You can test them without a large expenditure in bullets You might not be able to use.

 

[olfarhors]

I just completed $500 worth of ammo (at todays) prices for a total outlay of $173. I can't afford not to shoot lead.

Not trying to be difficult but again it depends on what you load!
I use plated projectiles (that I buy) and likely beat that savings when loading the 38 Super at about 6.25-6.75 per box and about 9.50 - 10.50 per box on 10MM, price factory ammo in these calibers and you will see what i mean.
Now I would imagine that the price would be higher if I had to buy components now, but thats the price of about 3 months ago.
IF you like to cast thats fine, but casting is much like some folks figuring cost of their reloads, they forget a few things like, buying the casting equipment, electricity to run the furnace, gas money to go scrounge lead and alloy, etc.
few things are free in life actually, we may not remember what they actually cost however.

 

[guesser]

Ruger P-90!!!!!! Ah, the bad memories. I had it two years, changed springs, polished, adjusted, loaded up, loaded down, fired the gun sideways, upside down; all to no avail. It would not feed lead, very accurate when it was single loaded but I finally lost patience and traded it for, ,,,, something, I forget, obviously not as memorable as the P-90.

 

[mingaa]

Lead bullets and polygonal rifling

From Wiki but a good summation:

The manufacturer Glock advises against using lead bullets (meaning bullets not covered by a copper jacket) in their polygonally rifled barrels, which has led to a widespread belief that polygonal rifling is not compatible with lead bullets. Firearms expert and barrel maker, the late Gale McMillan, has also commented that lead bullets and polygonal rifling are not a good mix. Neither H&K nor Kahr explicitly recommend against lead bullets in their polygonal rifled barrels, suggesting that there might be an additional factor involved in Glock's warning. Kahr's warns that lead bullets can cause additional fouling[SUP][8][/SUP] and recommends special attention to cleaning after their use. While H&K doesn't insist on a copper jacket, at least one well-documented catastrophic incident in an H&K pistol[SUP][9][/SUP] may be related to this issue. Furthermore, Dave Spaulding, well-known gun writer, reported in the February/March 2008 issue of Handguns Magazine that when he queried H&K about their polygonally rifled barrels that they commented: "It has been their experience that polygonal rifling will foul with lead at a greater rate than will conventional rifling."
One suggestion of what the "additional factor involved in Glock's warning" might be is that Glock barrels have a fairly sharp transition between the chamber and the rifling, and this area is prone to lead buildup if lead bullets are used. This buildup may result in failures to fully return to battery, allowing the gun to fire with the case not fully supported by the chamber, leading to a potentially dangerous case failure. However, since this sharp transition is found on most autopistols this speculation is of limited value. The sharp transition or "lip" at the front of the chamber is required to "headspace" the cartridge in most autopistols.
Another possible explanation is that there are different "species" of polygonal rifle and perhaps Glock's peculiar style of polygonal rifling may be more prone to leading than the particular styles employed in the H&K and Kahr barrels.
Leading is the buildup of lead in the bore that happens in nearly all firearms firing high velocity lead bullets. This lead buildup must be cleaned out regularly, or the barrel will gradually become constricted resulting in higher than normal discharge pressures. In the extreme case, increased discharge pressures can result in a catastrophic incident.

My 3 most used pistols = Glock, Glock, Kahr. :guns:

 

[Cliffdweller]

I have seen one extreme problem with leading and experienced one. Mine was with a new 357 Ruger single action. After firing 50 rounds of factory Lubaloy there was approximately 1/8 in of lead sticking out of the end of the barrel. After cleaning the mess out I did not have any further problems. I have shot a lot of lead after that, but not any more Lubaloy. The second case was a Ruger Mark III. An individual on the range asked me if it was normal for Ruger's to keyhole. I was shooting a 22-45. I checked his pistol and ran a brass cleaning rod through the barren and several slivers of lead up to an inch long came out after I finally got my cleaning rod out of his barrel. This leads me to believe there may be a breaking period for some barrels and for sure there is a check for leading point after a few rounds with a new barrel. Nearly everything I fire through my 44 mag is lead and a lot of the 38 rounds that go through my S&W 686 are lead, I haven't had any problems with leading in either. I am going to load some lead 9mms next week to tryin my P-4 storm. The 9mm will be a conical bullet that I am trying for the first time so I will be watching for feed and leading problems.

 

[mgray]

I have loaded several diff calibers with S & S cast lead for years. Need to experiment and find the fps the gun is happy with. Still need to clean up that barrel after every range visit tho. Cast lead is just so much softer shooting and makes for a joy to shoot the big calibers.....Marty

 

[Bender]

Clean the copper out before shooting lead......ask me how I know.......