Author Topic: Can gas checks cause leading?  (Read 919 times)

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Offline crabo

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Can gas checks cause leading?
« on: June 17, 2007, 02:46:16 PM »
I know at first the answer is no..... gas checks cut down on leading.  However, I have heard it stated many times that copper fouling is the enemy of lead bullets. 

So the real question is, after shooting gas checked bullets, do I need to clean my barrel before shooting plain based bullets again, or is the gas check so small that it is inconsequential?

Thanks,

Crabo

Offline gypsyman

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Re: Can gas checks cause leading?
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2007, 01:57:55 AM »
Crabo, it's been my experience that the little bit of copper on a gas check, isn't enough to worry about. There were weekends were I would shoot a couple of hundred rounds out of each my silhouette pistols,(XP-Dan Wesson-BF) and when I cleaned them, could not find any residue of copper what's so ever. Just burnt powder. I don't think you'll have any problems. We keep trying peace It usually doesn't work!!Remember(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman
We keep trying peace, it usually doesn't work!!Remember(12/7/41)(9/11/01) gypsyman

Offline Veral

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Re: Can gas checks cause leading?
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2007, 05:21:12 PM »
  Absolutely no.  GC's don't cause leading, nor do they actually prevent it, and they certainly don't check gas blow by to do it.  If you'll read my book Jacketed Performance with Cast bullets, you'll get a detailed explanation of all this.

  At mild velocities where leading isn't a concern the copper is running in bullet lubricant, which prevents copper fouling.  At higher velocities/pressures, where the bullets are leading, the gas checks scrape up the melted lead from the bore, which in turn displaces the lubricant forward of the check, which provides the gc with both grease and lead as a lubricant. (Lead is one of the highest pressure lubricants there is.)   If  gc's aren't keeping the barrel clean, and one recovers a few fired bullets he will find the check shank space forward of the check will be full of lead which stops the scraping action and allows a thin smear of lead on the bore, though not usually detrimental, if pressure and velocity aren't insanely over a reasonable speed.
Veral Smith