[mattdus]

any opinions on firing cast lead instead of jacketed ammo? good bad orr indifferent, would like to hear all sides

 

[gpo1956]

I've never had any problems other than they're smokey and dirtier than jacketed. 200 gr lswc is virtually all I ever load to shoot in my .45s.

 

[Canuck-IL]

A lot more frequent cleaning needed with lead - both field strip and detailed.
Theoretically the barrel lands last longer than with jacketed.
Bullseye shooters use almost exclusively lead bullets, more smoke with the lube but a lot cheaper to load.
Some indoor ranges don't permit lead or even jacketed if the base is exposed. Due to fears of lead in the air, they want encapsulated heads such as Rainier's or Berry's for reloaders or the WinClean commercial line.
/B

 

[MikeC]

This is from an old fart, years back people mentioned accuracy could be an issue with lots of soft lead in a 1911 because the Browning designed barrel has rather shallow grooves. On 20+ year old Colt's it was an issue, not sure if modern barrel makers still use JMB's barrel design.

What does that mean, use harder alloys. Don't try to make a cast +P load. You have to clean the bore a bit more then if you are shooting ball or JHP's.

If you reload and you don't have to cast the bullets yourself, go for it.

 

[DMiculek]

I use self cast bullets in all my 1911's .45, .40 and 9mm. Over 200K thus far.
If I shot a lot of indoor ranges I would go to a jacketed bullet but otherwise it is cast for me.

 

[sikhed]

Used to shoot a lot of lead, but have switched to jacketed after buying a Glock 7 years ago. (Lead & Glocks don't play well together)

The main reason I got away from lead though, is the clean-up. After shooting a few hundred rounds of cast bullets, especially out of a revolver it's a bear to clean, especially when the lead has plated all over the forcing cone/cylinder gap.

Jacketed bullets don't cost a whole lot more than lead (unless you cast yourself, which I don't) Guess it's just my laziness, but I'll stick with jacketed, thank you

 

[mattdus]

thanks for the input, I have a box of 500 230gr led RN that i picked up for $5 more than my shop/range charges for for 100 230gr jacketed bullets.

 

[2TransAms]

Shouldn't be a problem if ya clean it like you're supposed to!

 

[edpmedic]

Oregon Laser Cast Wad Cutter bullets seem to be user friendly and clean up real good.

 

[Warhorse545]

I have cast and shot more lead bullets in my 1911's then I ever want to try and think about. Dirty, smoky and a heck of a lot of fun I can shoot much much more shooting my cast bullets. If you push the bullet at anything near a normal load your not going to have any problems.

Stacey

 

[mwb]

lead

besides 200 gr swc make nice round holes, and if you put enough of them together it makes a BIG hole!!! lots of fun. Its all I load, and I have shot 10's of thousands with no problems.

 

[hack]

I shoot almost entirely LRN 230 gr thru my springer 1911A1. They work well. Leading in the barrel can be an issue, but I almost always shoot four to six copper jacketed rounds (usually winchester white box stuff) at the end of every range session. It makes barrel cleaning a lot easier.

 

[bumm]

Oregon Laser Cast Wad Cutter bullets seem to be user friendly and clean up real good.

Like he said. Easy to work with, cheaper than jacketed, little or no leading at .45ACP velocities, and accurate.
Marty