Non Jacketed Ammo bad for barrel?

[fonz]

I did a quick search with no useful results. Basically, I've had 100 rounds of non-jacketed LRN .38 Special for awhile but nowhere to shoot it cause Targetmaster wont allow it and Ive been nowhere else. Doin some shooting at my dads friends place outside this weekend so i'd like to use them up but have heard that it can cause bad buildup in the barrel. Will clean the pistol shortly after shooting but I wanted to run it by the educated minds here for my own peace of mind.
gracias.

[Robert Kayland]

I did a quick search with no useful results. Basically, I've had 100 rounds of non-jacketed LRN .38 Special for awhile but nowhere to shoot it cause Targetmaster wont allow it and Ive been nowhere else. Doin some shooting at my dads friends place outside this weekend so i'd like to use them up but have heard that it can cause bad buildup in the barrel. Will clean the pistol shortly after shooting but I wanted to run it by the educated minds here for my own peace of mind.
gracias.

So long as your solvent takes care of lead, I don't think there's any problem... I've shot a bunch of non-jacketed reloads through my revolver and it cleans up just find. If a lot of build up is a problem, they actually sell solvents that purport themselves to be specifically for lead deposits.

[bpvet]

And that is different from .22 ammo how. Isn't that LRN? My guys have eaten up thousands of rounds and I haven't noticed any harmful effect yet. But then again, its not a .38.

[dman]

I think they'll be fine,just a little harder to clean.

[hipowr]

You won't cause any damage. I shoot lead ammo almost exclusively. It may be a little harder to clean, you may even have some residue left after you clean if you don't use a bore brush, but it won't cause any harm and will disappear eventually through use and subsequent cleanings. Shoot up the old lead stuff. It will be fine.

later,
AJ

[ar15jules]

Shoot away grasshopper.....

[fonz]

Thanks for the replies. This is what i thought especially since I only have 100 rounds to use up and I dont mind a little extra cleaning if dirtier than usual.

[knight0334]

the problem with lead is:

1. if using too high of pressure loads, hot gases will slip past the bullet while in the bore and melt some of the lead into the grooves. Gas checks on the base of the bullet help keep leading to a minimum.

2. if pushing the bullet too fast even with low pressure loads, the friction melts and/or drags off a bit of lead into the grooves of the rifling.

3. the lead alloy makes a difference. softer and purer lead alloys lead your barrel faster than harder alloys.


If you keep your velocities below 1100-1200fps and below 15K-28K CUP or PSI(depending on alloy), you usually dont have much problems with leading.

[JoeWilliams]

Scrub the barrel after shooting, you'll have no problems. In fact, lead is easier on the barrel than jacketed bullets. I shoot lead bullets almost exclusively in my reloads for .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and 9mm. The latter two are not loaded to anywhere near full velocity (I keep them around 1000 fpm or less) but they are very accurate, cheaper, and plenty good enough for practice.