lead 9mm

[Guest tlondon]

Hi all, I was wondering who reloads 9mm and uses cast lead bullets? I reload 9 but have only used jacketed bullets. The lead is quite a bit cheaper so I was thinking about trying some. What are some differences I should watch out for between the two?

[Dolomite_supafly]

What gun?

What caliber?

Cast can cause serious leading issues in Glocks and that can cause a spike in pressures.

Other than that cast should work just as well as jacketed providing you get the right brinnel for what you are doing and keep it within a certain velocity range. Based on the brinnel there is a range the bullet needs to fall within velocity wise. Too slow and the barrel will lead at the chamber end and too fast it will at the muzzle end. The bullet needs to be soft enough to properly seal without being so soft it leaves the lead behind.

I have bought and shot thousands of cast bullets. The biggest problem I had is the lube on most commercial bullets doesn't seem to help with leading. I took some Lee liquid Alox and lubed up some commercial bullets and the leading went away. So I would recommend using the Lee stuff on anything you might buy.

If you do get some lead in the bore it is easily removed using a copper pan scrubber. I normally cut it in half and tie something around it then pull it through the bore. After two or three pulls all the lead is gone. This was before I started using the Lee lube.

I now cast my own using wheel weights and so far it seems like it is doing very well.

Dolomite

[Guest A10thunderbolt]

"Lee liquid Alox and lubed up some commercial bullets and the leading went away"

This worked for me as well. I mold my own out of wheel weights also, after adding some tin they were good to go with the help of Alox.

[Guest canebreaker]

I cast 9m bullets, lube with alox. Shot about 50+ 2 times in my smith. They worked great.

[Jonnin]

I actually use hard-cast 380s in my 9mm (90 grain). Soft lead is a no-no in a poly rifled barrel (mostly glocks) but you can use harder lead in those. Hardness of 12-14+ should be OK, roughly. Just check your load data, you will notice that the powder is always slightly different between lead and jacketed (you always use just a little bit less powder for the same weight bullet for lead! typically about 3% less for 9mm loads).

After that, check your barrel after every magazine for lead. If it is not happening, you did it right. If you are getting leading, you will have to tinker with the load or powder until that clears up.

[Guest tlondon]

What gun?

What caliber?

Cast can cause serious leading issues in Glocks and that can cause a spike in pressures.

Other than that cast should work just as well as jacketed providing you get the right brinnel for what you are doing and keep it within a certain velocity range. Based on the brinnel there is a range the bullet needs to fall within velocity wise. Too slow and the barrel will lead at the chamber end and too fast it will at the muzzle end. The bullet needs to be soft enough to properly seal without being so soft it leaves the lead behind.

I have bought and shot thousands of cast bullets. The biggest problem I had is the lube on most commercial bullets doesn't seem to help with leading. I took some Lee liquid Alox and lubed up some commercial bullets and the leading went away. So I would recommend using the Lee stuff on anything you might buy.

If you do get some lead in the bore it is easily removed using a copper pan scrubber. I normally cut it in half and tie something around it then pull it through the bore. After two or three pulls all the lead is gone. This was before I started using the Lee lube.

I now cast my own using wheel weights and so far it seems like it is doing very well.

Dolomite

as my post said, i am inquiring about 9mm. they are going to be shot from a ruger p95. right now that is the only 9mm i have. thanks for the info on the lee liquid alox.

[Guest tlondon]

If you do get some lead in the bore it is easily removed using a copper pan scrubber.

Would a brass barrel brush work also for this? Thats what I use on my .38 and .357 barrels and they seem to do good on those, so i would think that it should work ok on a ruger barrel to... what do you think

[Caster]

Have you slugged the bore so you'll know exactly what size to run? 9mm is pretty picky when it comes to lead. Unlike 45 acp or 45 Colt, the 9x19 takes a bit of effort to get a load that is both accurate and doesn't lead the barrel.

Here is a half aßß attempt to explain some of it. The guy who posted it may be off his rocker a bit, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

[Caster]

Would a brass barrel brush work also for this? Thats what I use on my .38 and .357 barrels and they seem to do good on those, so i would think that it should work ok on a ruger barrel to... what do you think

THat'll be fine and get yourself a good solvent that will help like Montana Extreme cowboy blend. Don't start trying to scrub it out like you're scrubbing off graffiti from a block wall. More damage is done from cleaning than shooting. Carry a handful of jacketed loads to the range with you. If you load is leading, shoot a few jacketed rounds to get a lot of it out. Start going crazy with a brush and the barrel will suffer for it.

[Jonnin]

You might try a "lewis lead remover" which is some sort of hard rubber tool designed to take the lead out. Several folks swear that it is really, really good --- I was going to get one but so far, I have not had enough leading issues to justify a tool for it.

I have shot my ruger p89 or whatever the number is with cast bullets and zero problems. That gun is one of the least picky about ammo that I have *ever* shot, and yours and mine are virtually the same gun. This one I have also shot 115 grain 9mm lead as well as the 380s. I would almost bet money that unless you try to make a stout, hot load, your first try will be a success with that gun.

[krunchnik]

I have had good luck with Missouri Cast Bullets in both my Aegis and RIA.The last batch I got were 127 grain if I remember right,I use Unique for a pretty accurate loading.So far I don't have a leading problem in either pistol.

[Oh Shoot]

Would a brass barrel brush work also for this? ...

No. Not for me. Brass brush wouldn't do a thing.

I've leaded up an XD barrel a couple of times big time with some Amscor leadhead 9mm, must be too soft. I mean, lead strands were sticking out of the barrel, I essentially was shooting a smooth bore toward the end!

As Dolomite says, copper is the trick, not brass.

Real copper, like ChoreBoy pad. The cheapo pads that look like copper are just steel with some kind of coating to look pretty, don't work and rust right away.

Dolomite pulls some strands off and ties cord around middle and pulls through -- I took several strands and wrapped around a worn brass brush and used it that way, but if I have to do it again, I'll use his method, as you only pull one way, probably better on barrel.

The real copper material seems to be the magic trick, though.

- OS

Edited March 9, 2012 by OhShoot

[Guest tlondon]

Thanks guys. As always this is an awesome place for some great info someone might need about shooting.