# Lead ammo



## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

I know not to shoot lead ammo in a glock. I am wondering if there is any advantage or disadvantage to shooting lead bullets( non jacketed ) in a S&W .44 mag or .357 mag. I have had the opportunity a few times to buy it in bulk and have always passed it up cause I was not sure. I always shoot the jacketed bullets.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Lead bullets for a .44 or .357 Magnum must include gas checks: a small copper base on the bullet, so that the heat and pressure of powerful loads don't melt the bullet's base while they're going up the barrel.
If the bullets aren't gas-checked, the load will be of relatively low power, much like those for the .44 Special or the .38 Special.

Bulk reloads from the local gun shop will most often be both low-power and of uncertain quality. Most likely, no gas checks will have been used.
Commercially-loaded, lead-bullet rounds also do not use gas checks, because adding them to the bullets is a finicky operation. Commercial rounds of reasonably-high power will use jacketed or half-jacketed bullets.


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

Thanks , I appreciate the info.


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## Smitty79 (Oct 19, 2012)

Do plated or coated bullets usually need gas checks?


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Smitty79 said:


> Do plated or coated bullets usually need gas checks?


I believe not. I think that plated and coated bullets can't be made to accept gas checks. The gas check has to "bite into" the base of the bullet, in order to hang onto it, and plating or coating would keep this from happening properly.
Also, plated and coated bullets are normally formed by swaging, while a gas-check bullet normally must be cast in order to form the sharp-edged base recess required to let the gas check properly dig into the bullet's metal.

I believe that magnum-velocity loads would burn through bullet plating and coating. No magnum-velocity loads are factory-made with plated bullets. My bet would be that bullet platings and coatings are not normally made thick enough to withstand magnum loads.

I note that websites discussing this issue state that the velocity limit for plated bullets is around 1,250fps.


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## TurboHonda (Aug 4, 2012)

Magnum velocity lead bullets have been a big part of my shooting for over 30 years. The casting of lead bullets is cheap and fun, but there are things to be aware of. For starters, pure lead melts at about 620 degrees but it is soft and will gall on the rifling. Tin is much harder but it melts at about 450 degrees. By combining the two a non galling compound with a high melting point can be produced. I use a 15-1 mixture (15 lead/1 tin) cast in bullet molds. Then I swage and lubricate the bullets to the exact diameter desired. Gas checks are pressed on to the bullet base during this operation. I have shot hundreds of rounds of 44s and 357s in pistols and carbines. I never see leading. What I do see occasionally is a barrel literally dripping lubricant with lots of smoke and fumes. Like I said, it's fun.


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