Anyone Load for Polygonal Barrels?

[Dozer]

I have a couple of guns with polygonal barrels that I carry and love to shoot, but it gets expensive always loading jacketed bullets. The price of lead bullets and plated bullets is less that half of the jacketed that I load, but I have read about the extream leading in the barrels after shooting lead. Has anyone loaded plated bullets for a polygonal barrel with good results?

[the dan]

I've talked with people about this before, the info I gleaned:

- provided you find a recipe that has proven consistent results, there is no harm in shooting lead out of a poly barrel

- if you DO decide to use lead, be sure to CLEAN your barrel very very thoroughly afterwards. it will gunk up much faster

- if you're talking about Glock specifically, nowhere in any of their literature does it say to avoid lead bullets.


I talked with a couple of local IDPA nuts that are Glock users, both say they'll shoot 200-300 rounds of lead at a time at the range without issue.

[Dozer]

I have researched this a little and found a lot of opinions stating that it could lead to a KB (kaboom) if pressures get too high. I think I will stick to jacketed or plated bullets. It might be ok to use lead, but I want more than might be.

[kodama]

In order to make the pressure go that high, it takes a lot of miscalculated reloading and lack of cleaning your barrel.

If you have ever taken the bullet component of a reload and tried to put it in your barrel, you will realize that it does not fit, but if you fire the gun, it does. This squeezing of the bullet is 50% of the problem with lead in polygonal barrels. Compared to conventional barrels (like those found in 1911s for example), have the slits that usually catch the leading, which allows for more shots off without cleaning. Polygonal rifling doesn't have these slits, which allows for the lead buildup to build more around the path of the bullet in the barrel. All this means is, be sure to clean out your barrel every ~100 to ~200 or so after firing lead or after every range trip. If you don't, think of it like peanut butter on a knife. The more times you put the knife in the jar, the more peanut butter sticks to the knife, because it catches onto the other peanut butter. If you don't clean your leading of the barrel, it sort of grows like that in your barrel as well. If the leading becomes severe, there is not enough room for the bullet to properly malformed in the barrel, which causes more and more pressure in the barrel.

The other 50% comes from improper reloading. Most spec sheets tell you just 1 number for powder. That one number is the MAXIMUM amount. If you read guides, it says to load your first load to 10% less than the maximum load and work from there. People see the number and assume that that is the average powder amount for the round, and usually load slightly over the max amount. The other thing that happens is people trying to "mix" their own loads to make the round more powerful, which usually results in more powder and a lot more pressure.

Now take the two parts of the equation and you have your answer on why people say they have problems with polygonal rifling. Pretty much people just being ignorant about reloading, neglecting maintenance on their guns, or just being plain stupid (in the case of overpowered loads to make a more powerful round).

[Dozer]

I understand what you mean. I have also read that it is not necessarily the same for all polygonal barrels. Some bullet manufacturers state in their literature that their lead bullets need to be loaded and shot while closely observing the cases for signs of excessive pressure and the targets for keyholing. If, when loaded safely, these rounds fire without excessive leading, no overpressure signs and no tumbling, then there is a very good chance that these bullets will make excellent and inexpensive reloads. Different bullets, using different materials and having different hardness ratings will react differently to different barrels. I own a Glock and a Kahr, both in .40, both with polygonal barrels, so good performance in one does not necessarily guarantee good performance in the other.

[capncrunch]

Hey Dozer,

I noticed you're out in Rio Rancho - there's a guy who does loading/reloading as a profession out in your neck of the woods. His name is Rick - and Bear Enterprises is his company. He works out of his home. If you like I'd be happy to drop him an email and put the 2 of you in touch. He has a tremendous amount of experience and could prove to be a useful, and friendly, contact. Let me know.

-Crunch

[Dozer]

Hey Dozer,

I noticed you're out in Rio Rancho - there's a guy who does loading/reloading as a profession out in your neck of the woods. His name is Rick - and Bear Enterprises is his company. He works out of his home. If you like I'd be happy to drop him an email and put the 2 of you in touch. He has a tremendous amount of experience and could prove to be a useful, and friendly, contact. Let me know.

-Crunch

Thanks Crunch.
I've done business with Rick for a few years now - great guy to work with. He is my FFL transfer guy. I have also purchased some reloads from him as well as gotten some reloading advice. He is real close to my house, and that makes him very convenient for my firearm transfers.