Posted: 11/11/2006 6:07:36 PM EDT
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I hate to seen ignorant and ask stupid questions, but is there anything wrong with shooting lead bullets out of a Glock? A buddy of mine said not to, but he really didn't have an explanation. I've always shot lead reloads out of my 1911's and other autos, but I don't want to mess up my Glock. Any comments? Nick |
| Basically no, you should not shoot lead from a stock barrel. The polygonal rifling seals better then land & grove. Thus, higher velocity and larger lead deposits. Larger deposits equal higher pressure. It snow balls from their. I've read under testing that pressure can double Saami specs in as little 150rds. |
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Another issue with the factory Glock barrel is the lack of chamber support at the 6 o'clock position. After a few reloadings and the brass being worked, it's a possibility of a case rupture, causing the famed Glock Kaboom. I find it amusing that gunsmiths who throat out a 1911 barrel to the point of leaving the case unsupported on the bottom are called "hacks", but Glock does it and it's "Perfection"? Anyway, I got away from Glocks a while ago. I used to have five of them, and I'm just now getting back into one. I have a G17 on the way to me now. I cast all my own bullets and reload. If I didn't, I couldn't shoot a 10th of what I do now. If you want to shoot lead in your Glock, simply replace the barrel with a quality aftermarket barrel. I know that Jarvis barrels have full chamber support (I had one in .357 Sig for a G22 I used to own), but they are pricy. I have an e-mail in to Lone Wolf Distributors to see if their barrels offer full chamber support since their's cost only about $90. Every brand of the aftermarket barrels I have read about have cut rifling, so that's not a concern. In the past, before I knew better, I shot thousands of cast bullet reloads out of my G19 and never had a problem. But, that was just dumb luck. If you do want to reload, even with jacketed bullets, just replace the barrel. For range use, I'll use the aftermarket barrel, but for CCW use, I'll keep the stock barrel. The issue with the factory barrel is not exactly as posted above. Yes, the polygonal rifling of the Glock does seal better than cut rifling with jacketed bullets, which yeilds a higher velocity. But, from what I've read, it's only around 10-20fps with most loads. That slight increase isn't enough to cause leading, due to a better seal and higher velocity. The leading issue comes into play when the polygonal rifling does not grab the cast bullet. It shears its way down the bore. Not only does this cause a dangerous amount of leading, but it also results in poor accuracy. I've even seen cast bullets out of a G19 keyhole at 25 yards due to lack of spin. |
