Why bother with lead bullets?

persona non grata · May 14, 2009

Boats wrote:

High Power Silouette rifles in 308 or 7mm o8 Shooting match jacketed boat tails last about 3000 rounds It's big bucks to re-barrel either one not to mention months out of service waiting out the gunsmith.

Would buying a Savage rifle with their quick barrel nut changing system be any quicker/cheaper?

Yeah, stop laughing, I know it is a Savage and their cheap and their bores aren't that perfect and a little lapping helps with that. Just curious if having a Savage is advantageous in that regards.

Baer45 · March 25, 2010

Sarge- I like shooting lead Laser Cast and/or local lead bullets because I get great accuracy out of my Kart barrel with them. The softer lead bullets "expand" and catch the barrel rifling real well and the Laser Cast just shoot great...as you probably know, the smoke is from lube burning off and not lead. Primers residue coming back in our face (look at some slow motion film of someone shooting a pistol)is a far bigger hazard then lead will ever be. I use to clean my 1911's after every shoot because I kind of enjoyed it but now I shoot thousands of lead bullets between cleanings just using a bore snake and a little oil on the slides...bottom line I like the accuracy and feel of lead...good guestion..C

DougCarden · March 25, 2010

It comes down to your disposable income and what you can afford to shoot. I have shot lead for 20yrs, and it has not harmed my health, so I have to laugh at people that poo poo lead bullets as really harmful. If you shoot with good venilation and use good handwashing you will be fine.

I shoot lead because it is cheaper and I get to shoot more for my money, so I can afford to practice. For important matches I shoot jacketed, but for club matches lead is just fine.

For open guns, steel guns with comps, etc....I use jacketed, but for production guns, revolvers, stock guns, limited guns, etc. there is no problem with lead, and lead bullets are usually a bit more accurate as others have noted, and less wear on barrels. I have a buddy that has shot over 100K of lead bullets through a .45 limited gun, and it still shoots 2.5inches at 50yds like it did when it got built....

Pros and cons, do whatever you like, but I, thanks to mining berms last year and a buddy who is a commercial caster, now have close to 80K of lead bullets to load and shoot for short money. Dare I say.....more bang for my buck...

Good discussion!

DougC

JimmyZip · March 25, 2010

I guess you have to look at the overall. I shoot outside which minimizes lead exposure. (Note I said MINIMIZES, and not ELIMINATES) At $288.00 for 2500 180gr MG CMJ and $203.00 for2500 180gr Black Bullets LTC, the difference is 85.00. That is enough money to buy powder to send all the moly coated bullets downrange. I can wash my range clothers and keep my lead out of the house well enough.
Or you could buy more bullets, or some primers should you come across any.

What powder do you use? What kind of build up do you get? How much smoke is produced?

I never had good luck with anything moly coated, but I know others do. When I shot them, and I tried everything suggested, I always got build up in the chambers, smoke, and sometimes even tumbling bullets. With lead at least all I got was smoke but it gets worse the faster I tried to push it so .45 was the only thing I use it for.

I shoot 180gr BBI or Bear Creek moly coated bullets over solo 1000. I think my load is 4.7 and the OAL is 1.130 for .40 out of a CZ TS. This load has given me good accuracy, and almost no leading. I also use the mixture to clean my barrel, and that takes all of five minutes and therefore I use it often.

In 9mm I shoot the BBI 130gr LTC with solo also through several 9mms including a G17, and that load I got off this forum. I can't remember that load right now, but I do remember that it makes minor, and is really clean through the G17 with not only no moly residue, but little if any soot or anything. Last time I pulled that barrel, I would have sworn that it hadn't been fired that day. It was kinda weird really.

All kinds of bullets, lead, bare or coated, can be used with good results. What you get with jacketed, in my opinion, is the ability to push the bullets faster. The greatest barrel wear comes not from the fricton of the bullets in your barrel, but the flame cutting of the high-pressure explosions shockwave as it moves behind and around the bullet. That is why jacketed wears the barrel more. Not so much the friction of the harder material of the jacket, but rather the super-hot jet of gas that bypasses the bullet. Lead projectiles, properly designed, obturate and more effectively cut off the jet behind the bullet therefore decreasing barrel wear.

Plus, I can get the lead on short notice from the local Bear Creek distributor. One call does it all.

JZ

twodownzero · March 25, 2010

Also make sure when you do your comparison your comparing GOOD lead bullets not some wheel weight back yard stuff to jacketed bullets. In 9mm it isn't worth the cost to shoot anything but jacketed in my mind. In .40 maybe if you shoot enough. .45 I still shoot lead as the cost difference is there and I don't shoot a lot of it to worry about the exposure factor. With the way prices are I don't see why people even use moly bullets either as they are close enough to jacketed sometimes. Just me, though maybe I've hung around bullet snobs for to long.

I shoot (and sell) Bear Creek bullets and they are about half the cost of jacketed bullets in all three calibers.

I'd have been using jacketed bullets a long time ago if I thought there was any legitimate performance benefit. I'm still not convinced that there is, especially when shooting outside.

Moly coated bullets are barely more expensive than a good cast lead/lubed bullet and shoot like jacketed. I know a lot of people love jacketed bullets (especially here) but they're just too expensive for me and not worth the increased price.

I have never seen even a single leaded barrel with Bear Creek bullets. This includes factory Glock barrels. As long as moly shoots well, I see very little use for jacketed bullets for shooting targets. Perhaps if I was hunting or something, I'd feel differently.

I always thought people were shooting jacketed bullets because they hadn't heard of moly bullets yet.