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Old November 16, 2012, 12:01 PM   #1
HAMMER1DOWN
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Who shoots lead bullets for their Semi?

hey ya'll, I am gearing up for this coming 3-gun season and want to get a jump on it and load a ton of .45 ACP up to practice and compete with. My grampa and Old Man used to load lead bullets up for .44 mag with good results.
What I am asking here is does anyone use lead bullets and what kinda performance / issues do you have with them?

Thanks,
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Old November 16, 2012, 12:06 PM   #2
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I use lead (cast) bullets in ALL my pistols and revolvers, and most of my rifles.

You get the right load they work as well as any jacketed bullet. Feeding in semis can sometime be tricky, but with a tad bit of work you can get reliable feeding.

Sure cuts down the price of shooting.
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Old November 16, 2012, 12:44 PM   #3
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I load Missouri Bullets 200 Gr LSWC for all my competitions. Works well and 5.6 Gr W231 averages 870 FPS.
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Old November 16, 2012, 12:47 PM   #4
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It's what I used for match ammo for my Colt 1911A1 match 45 ACP. Either LRN or LSWC in front of 4.6 gr of bullseye. Works for me.
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Old November 16, 2012, 12:57 PM   #5
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Usually load 200 grain cast SWC over 5.6 to 6.0 gr of W231 for .45 ACP. Use 4.7 to 5.0 grains of the same powder under a cast 125 grain lead round nose for 9mm luger. And 255 grain lead SWC under 8 to 9 grains of Unique for .45 Colt in my 'New' Vaquero.
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Old November 16, 2012, 03:45 PM   #6
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I shoot lead in my .45 and 10mm 1911s. Mind you when I say lead, I mean hard casted lead. I've only shot the butter soft stuff once with some low powered .45 reloads and even that leaded up the barrel so much that I've never done it again.

I don't even like shooting the soft stuff in revolvers, although my choice carry load for my jframe is the traditional 158gr +P LHP.
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Old November 16, 2012, 03:48 PM   #7
scsov509
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Quote:
It's what I used for match ammo for my Colt 1911A1 match 45 ACP. Either LRN or LSWC in front of 4.6 gr of bullseye. Works for me.
Ditto, exact same loads here.
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Old November 16, 2012, 09:46 PM   #8
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My Dad has always reloaded with regular lead and he is teaching me how, but I would rather have jacketed.

I recently had some feeding issues with some older reloads in my brand new Glock 17 and now don't really want to load lead anymore.

Should I not use in Glocks.
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Old November 16, 2012, 10:04 PM   #9
factoryrat
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I use lead in my Sig .45. My HK P7 sees only fully jacketed bullets for 2 reasons, the polygonal rifling(as in Glocks) but more because of the gas retarded piston used for the recoil. I use Missouri Bullet Co. for my lead. I like the Bullseye #1 200gr SWC. I have used their harder bullets, but had leading issues with them. I really liked Oregon Trail Lazer Cast also, but just couldn't afford them as much as I shoot.
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Old November 16, 2012, 10:37 PM   #10
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I've run a pile of Bear Creek Moly coat 230 gr 45 RN's through
a couple of 1911's. It's what I shoot in USPSA Single Stack
competition. Just under 10¢ per bullet.

230 gr Bear Creek
4.2 gr Solo 1000
WLP primer

About 750 FPS, runs 100%
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Old November 17, 2012, 09:50 AM   #11
dean1818
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200 grain missouri bullet

Bullseye powder

A great combination for 45ACP!
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Old November 17, 2012, 10:06 AM   #12
g.willikers
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Some caution about the loading data could be needed here.
Two of the examples in this thread are very different than what I get with the same powder and bullet designs.
How about keeping it general and letting the actual info come from the loading manuals?
Otherwise a member who is new to reloading could get into trouble.
Just a thought.

bitttorrrent, if your Glock is having feeding problems, it's probably not so much the material the bullets are made of, but something else, like bullet shape, amount of crimp, 'etc.
While the manufacturers of some guns say not to use lead bullets, many folks satisfactorily do just that.
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Old November 17, 2012, 02:32 PM   #13
wild cat mccane
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Nope. In fact i like TFMJ.

Vaporized lead in the air just doesn't appeal to me.
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Old November 17, 2012, 03:31 PM   #14
drail
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Vaporized lead in the air isn't going to hurt you anywhere near as badly as the lead styphnate in the primers so I wouldn't sweat the bullets too much.
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Old November 17, 2012, 03:41 PM   #15
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I shoot lead almost exclusively in my handguns, cast by myself. 100 rounds of 45acp are currently costing my about $4. Not too shabby. It makes for a dirty gun but for the price that is an after thought.

200gr LSWC in front of 5.3gr of Accurate #2, meters perfectly, shoots soft and makes major PF. More competitive shooters use Hodgdon Clays than probably most powders combined. Very low charge weight and very soft shooting. If my swamp cooler didn't affect flake powders that's what I'd use too.
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Old November 17, 2012, 03:42 PM   #16
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For Kimber .45 ACP, I use S&S Casting 200 gr. SWC and 230 gr. RN, and Bayou Bullets 200 gr. SWC and 230 gr. RN. For M&P Pro 9mm, I use S&S Casting 124 gr. FN SWC and Bayou Bullets 124 gr. FN SWC. All work great!
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Old November 17, 2012, 03:49 PM   #17
Mike38
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I use lead bullets in both my M1911A1 .45acp. Also in my Beretta 92FS 9mm.
200 grain LSWC over 4.0 grains of Titegroup for the .45acp.
124 grain LTC over 4.0 grains of Titegroup for the 9mm.
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Old November 17, 2012, 08:46 PM   #18
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I shot lead for a number of years - Penn, Grier, Redline, Lazercast - but have switched completely over to polymer-coated "black bullets". I'm using Bear Creek now, but have shot thousands of Precision, too. Most of the upside of cast and jacketed, without the downside of either.
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Old November 17, 2012, 09:32 PM   #19
chris in va
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Lead is more complicated to load in several regards. I just do it because it's a lot cheaper than FMJ.

Dirtier
Smoky
Leads the barrel
Custom sizing to your barrel
OAL is more critical
Less accurate (for me)
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Old November 17, 2012, 09:58 PM   #20
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I shoot lead in my 1911's and my 625 rev. The only thing I don't shoot lead in is my 9mm guns. I could probably come up with a load for the 9 if I tried.
Leading isn't an issue but I clean them after about 200 rounds.
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Old November 17, 2012, 10:33 PM   #21
lee n. field
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Quote:
hey ya'll, I am gearing up for this coming 3-gun season and want to get a jump on it and load a ton of .45 ACP up to practice and compete with. My grampa and Old Man used to load lead bullets up for .44 mag with good results.
What I am asking here is does anyone use lead bullets and what kinda performance / issues do you have with them?
All the time. I didn't know there were supposed to be any issues (which is to say, outside of the known issue with Glocks, I have no problems whatsoever, for my purposes).
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Old November 18, 2012, 12:34 AM   #22
TennJed
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100% lead
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Old November 18, 2012, 08:58 AM   #23
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My Gold cup hasn’t had more than a box of jacketed and well over 5000 lead.
With the right selection of bullet and diameter that matches the gun I find it to be the most accurate for my gun.
As others here W231 has always been the most accurate load.
As far as diameter with .451 being the normal size for 45 ACP I use hard lead in .452 and the gun will hold 2 inch groups at 25 as long as someone else is shooting since my eyes aren’t what they used to be.
There are a lot of bullets makers available, I would suggest you try samples of each. Most will sell small lots of 100 to 200.
Penn bullet has been my choice for over 15 years and so far in that time I have purchased over 15000 bullets of all calibers. His 200 RNFPBB is a great bullet that can be used in all 45 guns but I prefer the old tried and true the 230 round nose.
I know I will catch heck for suggesting this but if you’re planning on shooting a lot of anything and this is not a carry gun like mine. Get yourself a recoil buffer. It will save wear and tear on the frame.
http://www.pennbullets.com/45/45-caliber.html
Recoil buffer.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/241...e-package-of-6
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Old November 18, 2012, 12:10 PM   #24
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I have been shooting them in my .38 special, 9 mm, and .45 for over 50 years without any problems at all.
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Old November 18, 2012, 01:04 PM   #25
HAMMER1DOWN
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Well alright! I appreciate all the responses and have an idea of a few bullets, weights, and loads to start working up. Pretty excited to start a new chapter in my hand loading endeavors!
Thanks for all the input guys!
-Hammer
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