My pistols seem to like straight wheelweights with a little tin added. The minimal amount of leading that I get can easily be removed with a chore boy wrapped around a cleaning brush.

I hate to think of a load that could lock up a Model 27. A buddy of mine has the plain-jane version model 28 and it is one stout revolver. I guess there weren't as many lawyers around back then <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Regards, Vince

IMHO copper is about a million times easier to completely remove from the barrel than lead. Granted on a on 2" snubbing with typical rifling it's not so bad but on many other types of firearms removing lead is a major pain. Barrel length and type of rifling of course are the major factors in how hard it is to remove debris but overall copper is easier to remove on any firearm. Yes, lead is softer than copper which is exactly the problem. The way I understand it, that is the reason why lead leaves behind 10 times more debris than copper to begin with.

Brian,

I don't question what your experience has been, but mine is quite different than yours.

I fire many thousands of rounds a year that use lead alloy bullets. Some are plain base and some are gas checked. I have never had problems with lead build-up; what little there is cleans out as easy or easier than copper fouling (I don't normally use the same solvent for copper as I do for lead unless I'm anticipating needing to clean afield, in which case I use an effective multi-purpose bore cleaner). Typically the velocities are relatively high. Several hundred of these regularly fired lead bullet rounds are fired through rifles ranging from 6.5mm to 458 at velocities over 2,000 fps and a little higher (depending on caliber). Bullet designs are all to suit me, with some having as few as one lube grove and some Loveren-designed with more grease grooves than I care to count. Again, I have never experienced leading.

Over the years I have seen badly leaded pistols and helped clean some of them. Hot loads with swaged bullets (soft alloy) were the most frequent culprit and swaged half-jacketed bullets were the other culprit (also hot loads and also soft lead)

I either cast my own or use commercial hard cast bullets, depending on my whim, how the stockpile is, and how much time I have available to reload. I only use fairly hard lead alloys, regardless. I have not found any bullet lube clearly superior to any other in any aspect and normally just use an ordinary Alox bullet lube.

I also shoot plenty of jacketed bullets - plain and moly - in all the calibers and firearms that I use cast bullets in. There are some cautions I could mention, but frankly, shooting moly coated bullets (I do my own coating) thru a moly-conditioned bore is the most effortless cleaning imaginable in my experience - not to mention seriously extending the interval between accuracy-driven cleanings when I'm putting several hundred rounds thru a rifle in one day. YMMV, and there are some potential downsides to moly bullets.

I'm suggesting that jacketed vs cast is not really a polarizing question with black and white answers.

Regards,

Tom

Unfortunately, my gun buying budget is in the sub $100 range right now...and there's three purchases on the horizon...in this order:

1. A .357 Taurus revolver for my wife.
2. A Beretta CX4 in 9mm
3. Another Remington 870, 18" barrel and all that.

But that's more than $100, sadly. I'm working an extra job to save up for them.

FWIW - Glock is pretty darn clear - use ONLY jacketed ammo in a glock. I also have gone only to jacketed, makes cleaning easier and faster.

Martin,

Thanks for reminding us of an important point. Unjacketed bullets should not be shot in guns with polygonal rifling. They are susceptible to heavy leading and consequent catastrophically heavy pressures. AFAIK, Glock, and Heckler & Kock are the only pistol manufacturers using polygonal rifling instead of the conventional groves and lands.

I suspect a lot of us with only conventionally rifled pistols tend to forget about that limitation.

John

Johnbaker:

I thought polygonal rifling was a smoother process than button, broach, or hammer barreled rifling.

Why would it be more prone to lead build up unless the rifling is not gripping the bullets and the bullets are skidding down the bore?

If that is the case, than the bullets are not gettiing a good spin imparted on them for better flight stability.

Bountyhunter

Bounty,

That's a great question, but I really don't know the reason why lead bullets lead to danger in polygonally rifled guns. I have several surmises, but that is all they are.

Maybe somebody else can the mechanism.

Incidentally, thanks for reminding me to check on the availability of long arms in .32 H&R Mag. I have been planning on getting one, but became distracted.

John