[Super_Virgil]

I am geting ready to use my new press, and was wondering if there was any feeding issues with using LRN with my 995????

 

[waltham41]

I do not remember hearing of any right off hand. People just said to make sure to clean the barrel out more often because of lead fouling.

Good luck on the reloading

 

[Guest]

I had no problem feeding but make sure you get some Shooters choice lead remover. I found this loosens it up the best. I run a wet patch thru and let it sit for 20 minutes and then I hit it with the bore brush.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

the biggest issue is when a shooter fires lead ammo and then tries to fire jacketed ammo without cleaning. the results can be spectacular. In short, dont do it. Pressures can double or more from the bore restriction with leading when jacketed bullets are fired.

SW

 

[Tooguns]

Write that on your cleaning kits.I don't want to see that picture on here

 

[lbreevesii]

from guys who have used lead in their carbines results were mixed accuracy wise. Feeding was okay ircc. I haven't tried any personally.

 

[waltham41]

the biggest issue is when a shooter fires lead ammo and then tries to fire jacketed ammo without cleaning. the results can be spectacular. In short, dont do it. Pressures can double or more from the bore restriction with leading when jacketed bullets are fired.

SW

SW I am not doubting you, but could you please show me a link somewhere that backs up that statement?

I have loosened up years of crud an helped cleared the bore of several milsurps that had crap in the grooves of the rifling by firing them.

I figured that there would be no real difference in pressure between the grooves being full already and the bullet not expanding as much as it went out of the barrel.

Thanks!

 

[andrew241]

I have been told one some guns when you shoot lead to shoot some FMJ though it when your done to help clean out the lead. I have heard it more regarding pistols.

 

[Guest]

a couple days ago after shooting about 500 rounds of LRN I Cleaned out some of the leading with a box of good ole FMJ in my 995 . They shot just like they should not a "spectacular show" or heavier recoil let alone double pressure. This is a myth that has been around for a while spread usually by shooters who would rather throw their guns in the lake than run Lead bullets out of them, no offense to anyone, just some people cringe at the thought of shooting lead bullets.

Anyway's they shot real good out of my 995 with all 3 of my pro-mag 15 round mags, I only had 1 failure to feed. now lead cleanup in the barrel as compared to copper is a different matter. It does take a little longer to clean. But considering that I cast my own bullets from free lead (local tire garage and local scrap dealer friend) I load a box of 50 LRN for well under $2 and they function just as good and flip they steel the same I don't mind the little extra barrel cleanup.

 

[lbreevesii]

you don't do lead in glocks due to the polygonal rifling.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

the biggest issue is when a shooter fires lead ammo and then tries to fire jacketed ammo without cleaning. the results can be spectacular. In short, dont do it. Pressures can double or more from the bore restriction with leading when jacketed bullets are fired.

SW

SW I am not doubting you, but could you please show me a link somewhere that backs up that statement?

I have loosened up years of crud an helped cleared the bore of several milsurps that had crap in the grooves of the rifling by firing them.

I figured that there would be no real difference in pressure between the grooves being full already and the bullet not expanding as much as it went out of the barrel.

Thanks!

Im not talking about milsurps that have had jacketed bullets shot through them. Im talking about pure lead bullets. Pure lead bullets leave far more fouling in a barrel than a copper jacketed round does.

Also im thoughtly confused by what you said about a bullet "expanding". The bullet stays the same diameter from when its loaded in the chamber to when it exits the barrel. bullets are sized to the groove of the rifling in the barrel and the rifling cuts into the bullet to make it spin. When the rifling grooves are full of crap (lead fouling) the bullet fits tighter by a few thousands in the bore and pressure spikes. This is not a big deal when constantly shooting lead bullets because lead has far more give than a copper jacket does. The copper jacket doesnt give when it hits the lead fouling.

To your reference of shooting a gun to help clean it, if you would look down the barrel with a bore scope before and after you would find that any powder fouling may be gone but a close inspection reveals that there are particles of jacket material embedded in the bore. Having the gun hot makes this material easier to remove after sitting in storage for years. You can do the same thing by using a good bore solvent and metal fouling remover.

SW

 

[griff30]

I know of no reason a LRN would harm the 995. I know of one guy who never really cleans his .22 Marlin and shoots all the time. Well, maybe he cleans it once in a while .While I am a advocate of over-cleaning some people get away with rarely doing so.
I shoot lead reloads in my Dan Wesson .44Mag all the time with only a gentle cleaning after it fire reliably every time I pull the trigger and I save big time on ammo. If I ever get a 50 AE that all I will pretty much shoot, is my own lead cast bullets. If magnums can take lead rounds the 995 will be fine.
Now if Hi-point ever makes the 50AE carbine to go along with the Desert Eagle I want, I will surely buy 2 of them. Again I would reload with lead too.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

.22s are a whole differnt animal. I have a ruger 10/22 with 120,000+ rounds though it and ive done more damage to the bore by cleaning than by any ammo i ever shot through it.

Also on a side note if you get a .50 AE thats a desert eagle you CANNOT shoot lead bullets in it. The lead fills up the gas system and you have one heck of a repair bill. I know from expierence on that one. I ended up putting almost 450$ worth of parts into a DE i worked on for a local shooter that the gas system was so clogged with lead after 50 rounds that i couldnt clean it out and had to replace most of the parts. IF you get a .50AE revo, go for it.

SW

 

[waltham41]

the biggest issue is when a shooter fires lead ammo and then tries to fire jacketed ammo without cleaning. the results can be spectacular. In short, dont do it. Pressures can double or more from the bore restriction with leading when jacketed bullets are fired.

SW

SW I am not doubting you, but could you please show me a link somewhere that backs up that statement?

I have loosened up years of crud an helped cleared the bore of several milsurps that had crap in the grooves of the rifling by firing them.

I figured that there would be no real difference in pressure between the grooves being full already and the bullet not expanding as much as it went out of the barrel.

Thanks!

I'm not talking about milsurps that have had jacketed bullets shot through them. I'm talking about pure lead bullets. Pure lead bullets leave far more fouling in a barrel than a copper jacketed round does.

Also I'm throughly confused by what you said about a bullet "expanding". The bullet stays the same diameter from when its loaded in the chamber to when it exits the barrel. bullets are sized to the groove of the rifling in the barrel and the rifling cuts into the bullet to make it spin. When the rifling grooves are full of crap (lead fouling) the bullet fits tighter by a few thousands in the bore and pressure spikes. This is not a big deal when constantly shooting lead bullets because lead has far more give than a copper jacket does. The copper jacket doesn't give when it hits the lead fouling.

To your reference of shooting a gun to help clean it, if you would look down the barrel with a bore scope before and after you would find that any powder fouling may be gone but a close inspection reveals that there are particles of jacket material embedded in the bore. Having the gun hot makes this material easier to remove after sitting in storage for years. You can do the same thing by using a good bore solvent and metal fouling remover.

SW

Sometimes things don't come out the way I intend, but I will try it again. I have bought milsurps that you could not see any rifling in the bores because of rust or years of built up crud.

This would be similar to having the rifling full of lead, correct?

Well I simply shot 100 rounds or so of jacket ammo and when you look down the barrel you can see rifling, which means that the bullets actually helped to clean the barrel.

Being that lead is a soft metal, it would seem to me that shooting jacketed rounds through the barrel would do basically the same thing, which is take some of the lead out with every shot.

As long as the bullet exits the barrel I do not understand how it could build up a lot more pressure or anything of the sort.

I will admit, maybe its just my ignorance, but that is my take on this subject

 

[Guest]

The only "pure" lead bullets are muzzleloader round balls. ALL other bought LRN are a mix of about 2-4% tin and 6-10% antimony. This results in a hard lead bullet, and when combined with a good hard bullet lube (the blue, red, ect. "wax" ring in bullet groove) results in very, very, very little leading in barrels. I imagine that someone casting their own bullets can come up with a very soft alloy that would cause bad leading and/or gas operation problems. But if using a good HARD lead bullet with a good bullet lube leading in a barrel is more of an eyesore to the person holding the bore scope than anything else.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

the biggest issue is when a shooter fires lead ammo and then tries to fire jacketed ammo without cleaning. the results can be spectacular. In short, dont do it. Pressures can double or more from the bore restriction with leading when jacketed bullets are fired.

SW

SW I am not doubting you, but could you please show me a link somewhere that backs up that statement?

I have loosened up years of crud an helped cleared the bore of several milsurps that had crap in the grooves of the rifling by firing them.

I figured that there would be no real difference in pressure between the grooves being full already and the bullet not expanding as much as it went out of the barrel.

Thanks!

I'm not talking about milsurps that have had jacketed bullets shot through them. I'm talking about pure lead bullets. Pure lead bullets leave far more fouling in a barrel than a copper jacketed round does.

Also I'm throughly confused by what you said about a bullet "expanding". The bullet stays the same diameter from when its loaded in the chamber to when it exits the barrel. bullets are sized to the groove of the rifling in the barrel and the rifling cuts into the bullet to make it spin. When the rifling grooves are full of crap (lead fouling) the bullet fits tighter by a few thousands in the bore and pressure spikes. This is not a big deal when constantly shooting lead bullets because lead has far more give than a copper jacket does. The copper jacket doesn't give when it hits the lead fouling.

To your reference of shooting a gun to help clean it, if you would look down the barrel with a bore scope before and after you would find that any powder fouling may be gone but a close inspection reveals that there are particles of jacket material embedded in the bore. Having the gun hot makes this material easier to remove after sitting in storage for years. You can do the same thing by using a good bore solvent and metal fouling remover.

SW

Sometimes things don't come out the way I intend, but I will try it again. I have bought milsurps that you could not see any rifling in the bores because of rust or years of built up crud.

This would be similar to having the rifling full of lead, correct?

Well I simply shot 100 rounds or so of jacket ammo and when you look down the barrel you can see rifling, which means that the bullets actually helped to clean the barrel.

Being that lead is a soft metal, it would seem to me that shooting jacketed rounds through the barrel would do basically the same thing, which is take some of the lead out with every shot.

As long as the bullet exits the barrel I do not understand how it could build up a lot more pressure or anything of the sort.

I will admit, maybe its just my ignorance, but that is my take on this subject

Actually the stuff you see in a milsurp barrel (usually) is porous and there isnt much actual mass there while lead buildup is SOLID. Also you are correct when you say a jacketed bullet will pick ujp the lead as it goes by. it will and the lead it picks up makes the bullet harder to push down the barrel and thus the pressure rises.

I think arent understanding one of the basics behind how a gun works. You said as long as the bullet exits teh barrel the pressure wont build. thats incorrect. The longer the bullet stays in teh barrel, the higher the pressure. You also have to realize were talking about time frames in the thousands of seconds. Bullets and powder combinations are designed to create X amount of pressure over X amount of time to drive the bullet down the barrel. Most factory loads are designed to be the most efficent in teh most firearms possible, and thus they create more pressure in some guns and less in others.

This is why when you look in a load book you see heavier bullets generating more pressure. A 9mm 115 gr load may make 29,500 PSi of pressure while a 147 gr load can generate 34,000 PSI. when you talk about rifles you have anywhere from 40,000 PSI all the way to 80K plus PSi for some of the short mags.

If your statemeant "if the bullet exit the barrel, it shouldnt make more pressure" is correct than should every load be the same pressure?

SW

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

The only "pure" lead bullets are muzzleloader round balls. ALL other bought LRN are a mix of about 2-4% tin and 6-10% antimony. This results in a hard lead bullet, and when combined with a good hard bullet lube (the blue, red, ect. "wax" ring in bullet groove) results in very, very, very little leading in barrels. I imagine that someone casting their own bullets can come up with a very soft alloy that would cause bad leading and/or gas operation problems. But if using a good HARD lead bullet with a good bullet lube leading in a barrel is more of an eyesore to the person holding the bore scope than anything else.

You can cast lead bullets as hard as you like but they will still plug up the gas system of a desert eagle.

Also i was incorrect in saying "pure lead". Its a realtive term used by bullet casters to refer to standard bullet alloy. Most noobs dont get it.

SW

 

[xlh883]

I reload 125gr LRN from Meisterbullets and have shot over 1k with my 995. I juat clean the heck out of the barrel after a shooting session.

 

[Guest]

SW there are two member of my range that shoot cast bullets out of desert eagle pistols, 1 is a 357 and 1 is a 50AE. They both cast their own bullets and neither have had any problems with their gas systems. Individual results may vary between guns, but after only shooting "50" cast bullets and the gas system plugging up, I would say the bullets he was shooting were very soft.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

I dont doubt you. Are thier bullets gas checked? If so they would work. the DE i worked on wasnt using GCs

SW