Jacketed vs. lead in .40s&w reloads

[JamesIII]

I am currently loading my .40 s&w reloads with either jacketed or plated
bullets and gettting along very well. I look at the savings that lead bullets would offer and it gets me to thinking. Am I just being paranoid about leading? I know the right bullet hardness, right diameter and right pressure can come together to make a nice load. Is it REALLY very hard to develop a load that will not cause leading? Are certain calibers more prone to barrel leading? I have been reading the cast bullet forum, but am not completely sold on it yet. What do you high volume shooters use in your guns? Thanks, JamesIII

[calvon]

I use this 186 grain bullet made in a LBT mold and am well satisfied with it.

[Savage]

James,
I use Missouri Cast Bullets in 9/.40/.45, for action pistol games. They are hardness optimized for action pistol velocities. These are used in Glocks, CZs, 1911s, and Hi Powers.  The Glocks have aftermarket barrels. I had leading problems in the 9mm Glock, mostly due to a rough bore and driving them a bit fast (1125fps). I fire lapped the barrel and dropped the velocities down to 1050 and pretty much cured the problem. In the .40 I use the 170 LSWC (Bn 18) with very little leading. It's easily removed with minimal cleaning. I also soak the clean bores in CLP, which seems to help prevent leading as well. No problems with leading in .45 in any of my pistols. At the volume I shoot, I save a lot of money loading cast bullets.
Savage

[gypsyman]

James, you get copper in the barrel from jacketed bullets don't you? If you get alot of lead from cast, sounds like you could polish out the barrel, and that would cut down on the leading. (try J/B bore polish) And switch your solvent to a lead remover, Shooters Choice makes one. I actually use Kroil, and let the barrel sit overnight, and the Kroil loosens up the lead. gypsyman

[KansasPaul]

+1 on the Missouri Bullets!  I shoot them exclusively in my S&W model 4006.  I have not had problems with leading while using these bullets.

Paul

[helotaxi]

Difference between copper fouling and lead fouling is that lead fouling happens even with a polished bore because the powder combustion melts the lead around the edge of the base of the bullet and it redeposits and builds up on the bore.  Any undersizing of the bullet or a sloppy seal between the bullet and the bore will make the issue worse.