Reasons for shooting lead?

S

SWIll

New member
Hi all, first time poster, have lurked for a little while. Thank you for all the good information you have shared!

I am new to handgun shooting, having shot shotguns for most of my life. After reading the post on leading, I began to wonder about using lead bullets in general. I shoot a GP 100, and am wondering what are the benefits of lead ammunition? I do not reload, nor plan to in the near future. Does it give better expansion? Is it cheaper (off the shelf)? What are the liabilities, beside the obvious one of leading? I am pretty ignorant when it comes to the technical side of ammunition, so any info would be appreciated.

Thank you all for you help.

Mike

This is in regards to home defense situations-sorry for omitting that.
 
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Lead is cheaper to shoot. Good hard cast lead bullets do no lead that bad at all, swaged (soft) lead does. A good lead bullet is not pure lead, they are an alloy of lead antimony and tin.

Lead Semi wadcutter bullets are good for hunting. Lead bullets are required for shooting in Cowboy action.

For home defense I would only use lead in a revolver, due to bullet design and function. Since you do not reload and do not plan on reloading I would stick to high quality JHP bullets.
 
The biggest advantages of shooting lead bullets is cost associated with reloading and the fact that they are softer than copper jackets, thus easier on your barrels. Provided that you slug your barrel, lead bullets can also be made to fit the diameter of your specific barrel better, providing a better "seal" and theoretically better group size. Most of the concerns about "leading" stem from shooting lead bullets at high velocities.

Consider that lead bullets have been used in revolvers for many, many years. Long before copper jacketed bullets were introduced. You run the risk of problems when you try to make lead bullets do something that they were not meant to do. I reload and shoot lead bullets out of all of my revolvers and semi autos. I use lead and practice ammo and keep velocities low. I've shot thousands of lead bullets and have never seen any leading issues. But for defensive and hunting loads, I use jacketed bullets.
 
Yep, what they all said. A quick review of common handgun ammunition shows that lead bullets are less expensive (generally) than jacketed. The price difference becomes even more pronounced once you begin reloading. Cast bullets will do anything at handgun velocity that you want them to do. A good hardcast bullet can be pushed to about 1500 fps without needing a gas-check which is over the velocity of most common handgun loads. I can load ammo with good cast bullets and use them for practice and hunting and save my jacketed factory ammo for serious social work.
 
When talking about lead bullets out of a revolver for self defense most people are referring to the 158 grain lead semi-wadcutter hollow point +P, or 158 LSWCHP +P and the "FBI Load", all refer to the same thing. They have the reputation of being able to expand out of a snubby and have a long track record of use. The other classics is Nyclads, which while not technically a lead bullet are not jacketed either and have a good service record as well.

So in short people use them because they work. There are newer bullets out there, like the 135 grain Gold Dot in both 38spl +P and 357 Magnum, which is designed specifically for short barrel guns. That's what I keep in my wheelgun. But I'd feel confident using one of the classics also.

The big thing is if you are going to keep these in your gun make sure to shoot some at the range. Get use to the recoil, make sure your hammer is setting off the primers and blow up some water jugs and see if they are expanding out of your gun. Its good to check and will increase your confidence as well.
 
Greetings SWIll, and welcome aboard.

Instead of referring to them as lead and non-lead bullets, cast and jacketed might be clearer. Yes, there are non-lead bullets; but, they are a minority applications. For environmental reasons, lead is prohibited in shot shells and rifle/handgun bullets in some applications (waterfowl and California's condor country). I hand load and cast, so my handguns seldom see jacket bullets. As others have mentioned, with hard alloys and limited velocities, leading isn't a problem and it's easier on the barrels.
 
The only reason I shoot cast bullets ( Garrett Defender ) in my S&W 629 44mag is this particular gun is used only as a defense weapon against a possibe bear encounter.

Cast bullets IMHO are the only bullet to be used for thick skinned/heavy boned animals like bears. They give the deep penetration needed and even if they don't expand a .44 hole into the vitals of an large animal is a pretty big hole and better than a expanding bullet which makes a bigger hole but will have less penetration.

For thin skinned animals ( humans ) and home defense you are better off with a jacketed HP expanding bullet.

Take it for what it is IMHO
 
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1. Cheaper
2. Easier on the barrel
3. Less friction in the barrel, so less powder required to make a particular MV.
4. Often softer shooting (i.e. perceived recoil)
5. A soft lead compound can obturate better in the barrel to produce superb accuracy.

But...lead ammo is dirtier than plated/jacketed and it smokes a lot.
 
Regarding the leading issue, I've come to the conclusion that this "problem" is generally over stated. That's based on personal experience as well as the considered opinion of a number of experts.

Yes, lead leaves more residue in a barrel and soft or swagged lead leaves more than cast or lead allow. But lead is actually a lubricant; in fact, lead bullets will, all other factors being equal, produce higher muzzle velocities and lower chamber pressures for that very reason. And the lead residue isn't corrosive. So leading, on it's own, isn't a negative. Leading does produce two "issues" that may or may not be a problem depending on circumstances and perception:

1. Lead in the rifling. If you scope your barrel after shooting both FMJ and lead bullets you'll see a lot more residue with the lead. BUT, most of that residue is in fact not lead but burnt powder residue that sticks to the rifling more readily because of the presence of a little lead. So most of the visual affect is in fact not leading, but yes there is lead residue too. As long as you continue to shoot lead bullets that's not an issue as the "fowling" will quickly reach equilibrium and not continuously build up. That said, a couple of experts have suggested that it might be unwise to shoot hundreds of rounds of swagged bullets and then, without at least running a brush down the barrel, switch to FMJs as the combination of the jacketed bullet and the pre-existing lead fouling might lead to higher chamber pressures. That makes sense to me and so I don't do that. Some experts have also recommended running a brush down the barrel between boxes of lead bullets, and that seems like a good recommendation (though I rarely do that). I do, however, often run a few jacketed rounds between boxes of lead but I have no evidence that this is a good idea.

2. Cleaning takes longer. Unquestionably true at least for my guns and my shooting habits. I also find that, because it takes longer, I tend to accept a little more residue on the last patch and call it "good" than I do with FMJs. I don't think this is a problem, though. The lead isn't corrosive and all powder residue has been removed almost as quickly as with jacketed bullets. Leaving a hint of lead behind actually lubricates the barrel for the trip to the range. Cleaning for long term storage does require more elbow grease, especially for swagged lead. Most of my guns, though, get regular range trips and don't get that truly deep clean but once or twice a year and, since it's a labor of love, this is a minor point for me.
 
There are some bullet types you can only find in cast lead, not many, but one or two. For example, I'm enamored with Buffalo Bore's new flat wadcutters in .44 Special and .45 Colt (not sure why...but I think it's a really cool idea). Keith semi-wadcutters also come to mind.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the good information. Looks like for my situation I should stay with JHP.

Mike
 
All my revolvers have never had jacketed bullets through them . I reload lead. Missouri bullets have a great read on how to pick out the hardness of the lead bullet for the speed that the bullet is fired.
 
I like casting lead boolits a lot. In the beginning, it was strictly for the economy that I was willing to handle the dull dirty bullets. Now I prefer them to store bought bullets. It didn't take long for me to realize that not only were the bullets cheaper now but they were different and better. Now they are boolits, and being cheap is the least of it!

The guns like them better. They are easier on the gun so that makes it a no brainer right there. the cost...and one more thing, pride. Even though my son had taken his first Elk with one of my hand loads (308/180) and that made me feel real good...later when I finally took my first Deer, it was not only a hand load but my own cast lead boolit that I had cast myself too. That was indescribable! Plus, it's poor man technology. I love doing things the old fashioned way, its a hoot!
 
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Regarding the leading issue, I've come to the conclusion that this "problem" is generally over stated.
Click to expand...

Using the same hardness bullets, I get barely any leading in .38 Special/.357 Magnum but huge problems in .45 Colt. It's so bad with the .45 Colt I've stopped using lead and gone to jacketed bullets exclusively. Since I don't shoot it frequently, it has not impacted my budget much but I won't bother using lead with that caliber anymore.
 
Unless you have something else going on (like an exceptionally rough barrel), if you are getting leading, its because you are shooting the bullet too fast for the hardness of the alloy. Or you don't have any lubricant on the bullets.

Push an unlubed bullet down the bore, it leaves a little lead behind. Push a soft bullet to fast, and it leaves lead behind. Use too hot of a powder charge, and you can melt some lead off the base of the bullet, leaving lead behind.

Don't do any of those things, you don't get leading in the bore.

I haven't put any jacketed bullets through any of my .45 Colts in 30 years or so. Lead give me no trouble there.

I shoot hard cast lead in semi autos too. Again, no trouble. Shoot soft lead in a semi auto, get nothing but trouble, usually. Not only bore leading, but usually feeding issues.
 
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