I’ve read of the problems w/cast in Glock barrels, and one caveat almost universally recommended is to use “hardcast”.
My question for you who do shoot cast in your Glock(s) w/o problems - how hard is hard?
I have a Lee Hardness Tester and my alloy runs ~ BHN10, ~ BHN14 if water quenched.
Hard enough?
If not, I have lino I can add.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks.
regards,
Buffalo Bore says:
“Most hard cast bullets will have a Brinell hardness # of 11 to 30 and as such are several times harder than lead.”
Meister says of theirs:
SAECO HARDNESS 8-10
BRINELL HARDNESS 14-16
Montana Bullet Works says (among other things):
“For example, in a 45 ACP, 900 fps is about top speed. A hard cast bullet is not only not necessary at these speeds but is detrimental to accuracy and can cause leading. Therefore, 45 ACP bullets are made at a BHN of 15.”
Looks like BHN11 is about the bottom of the hardcast range.
That’s little harder than straight wheelweights (~BHN 9.5ish).
So guess I’ll try the water quenched and see what happens. 
regards,
I’ve shot thousands of lead bullets through my Glock G22s (.40), and never had any kind of problem. I’ve always bought “hardcast” bullets from Meister or whomever.
I load lead bullets in light “practice” rounds, and I clean my guns infrequently.
FWIW, semi-wad-cutters make nice neat holes in paper…
Bimmer -
Do you also shoot jacketed in this same gun?
I’ve read jacket fouling can increase leading substantially.
Buy a Lone Wolf barrel to shoot your lead; best $125 you’ll ever spend! My best friend had a GLOCK grenade on him for shooting lead through the factory barrel.
Sparky
I’ve read of that too - apparently can come not from shooting lead itself, but (among other reasons) from shooting jacketed afterward thru a badly leaded barrel.
Jacketed bullets don’t “clean the lead out” as I’ve heard said, and trying to force jacketed thru a bunch of lead can raise pressure so you end up with a bomb in your hands. :stop:
But I’m “old school” when it comes to cleaning anyhoo.
I clean after nearly every batch I run thru any gun, lead or jacketed.
Terry
I’ve gone back and forth from lead to jacketed without any problems.
Again, I’m shooting really light loads with lead bullets: 4.5gr of Unique under a 155gr SWC. Even after hundreds of rounds, there’s no visible leading.
Light loads may well be the key to success w/cast in a Glock - don’t think I’ve seen a post about anyone loading heavy (e.g., 230gr/850ish fps) in a factory barrel.
I have run cast (air cooled wheel weights with a little bit of tin added) and Hornady cast bullets (which seemed pretty soft) without an issue in a Glock 30 with a factory barrel. All were light to mid range loads and I was very careful about cleaning.
I also think getting a Lone Wolf barrel is a good idea. If you do have an issue you are pretty much screwed. You probably knew this, but Glock won’t back you up if you shoot cast bullets (or any type of hand loads for that matter).
I pretty much gave up shooting cast bullets in handguns because at the time I didn’t think it was worth the effort in labor as compared to buying bulk components. With the availability of components lately, I am probably going to have to start up again.
That’s the reason for my question - I can’t find any premium HPs, bullets or ammo, locally or online, except in 1K lots which I can’t afford.
But I’m thinking of full-power cast loads, as a possible alternative to hardball.
With that being the case I would definitely spring for an aftermarket barrel with standard rifling and a more fully supported chamber.
More research leads me to think hard cast would have the same sort of defense drawbacks as ball, and I wouldn’t want to shoot cast enough to spend the $$ a Wolfe costs.
Guess mebbe lower velocity HB loads will do 'til good HPs are available again.
Tnx for your input everyone.
regards,
Shooting hardcast can be a finicky game, particularly with polygonal rifling. It is important to properly slug your barrel to determine the exact specs, and then size your cast bullets .001" above the barrel specs. If the bullet is too big you can get excessive leading, if it is too small you will get accuracy problems. Another factor to consider is the pressure of the cartridge versus the bullet’s Brinell hardness. Lower pressure cartridges like softer bullets so that it will properly seal into the rifling and reduce leading. If the bullets are too hard, gas will seep around the bullet and cause gas cutting…which is leading. Higher pressure cartridges are the opposite. Leading will occur regardless of how good of a reloader you are…it’s just a matter of how much of a reduction in accuracy are you willing to tolerate.
Commercially sold hard cast bullets can be a toss up of results depending on the firearm that you use it in. Different powders can produce drastically different results in shooting performance, along with different pressure levels. Shipped hardcast bullets also tend to be overly hard in order to protect them during shipping, and the bullet lube tends to fall off a lot.
I got out of casting my own bullets a while back. I prefer the cleanliness of copper plated or jacketed bullets(reloading equipment is cleaner, firearms are cleaner), there is no leading allowing me to shoot hundreds of rounds at a time with no accuracy deviation, and I have a lot more time on my hands. Making bullets, then sizing and lubing them takes about 3-4x longer for the reloading process then just loading commercial bullets.
If your Glock was manufactured in the last 15 year + or - is has more than enough chamber support. I have been shooting a G35 and G17 weekly in USPSA matches plus training since 1994. Seriously can’t remember the last plated or jacketed bullet used in either.
Haven’t used bare hardcast lead but a black moly coated hardcast bullet produced by Rudy Warren of Billy Bullets in Mesa, AZ. http://www.billybullets.com/ give him a buzz…
No leading or smoke to speak of. There are other bullets casters who use similar coatings. We support Rudy because of his undying support for Area 2 USPSA here in the desert. I don’t mind that he’s a weird revolver shooter as long as he keeps the bullets coming.
I have shot cast lead in glocks for twenty years or so. Any standard commercial cast lead ( as opposed to swaged which are very soft) will do fine. My method is to work up a load starting in the middle of the powder charge range and go up only until I get 100% function. A brass bore brush through the bore a few passes every 100 rounds or so is all that I have needed to get the lead out. As mentioned by another poster the problems start when you don’t get the lead out and shoot jacketed in a leaded bore pressures can go through the roof! Nearly every after market barrel I have seen used has been less reliable than the factory one with lead