Cast bullets for 9mm

My son has a stock Glock 17 he loves that we've been feeding 115 jhp's. Am I crazy to think we could run a cast bullet through that modern marvel without having to scrub the lead out every 50 rounds? I just recently received some great looking 185 gr bullets from Bob's Bullets and couldn't help but notice they offer a 9mm bullet at half the price of jacketed range fodder.....
 
 It doesn't hurt to ask

We use the Xtreme plated 115RN with 5.4 gr CFE Pistol as a combat training round.  Shoots well in just about anything.   Just about the same price as cast.

Coated bullets may work, you would have to try them.

David

I shoot coated all the time. My G34 has never seen a jacked or plated bullet and it has 15K through it. You need to keep an eye on the barrel but you should be doing that with any gun. On the other hand Glock tells you not to shoot lead and just like everyone else don't shoot reloads.

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Just ordered 500 to try.

Thanks
David

Nothing beats first hand experience, so glad I asked. 

Thanks everyone for getting me headed in the right direction.

If you have access to a chronograph I'd be curious to see if there would be any change in velocity after a couple hundred rounds.  In the armorer's class they indicated that the pressure would creep up until there was a point where it would take off.

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My question is, Dang, how is there room left for powder in the 9mm case for a 185 gr. bullet? I personally wouldn't shoot lead cast or swaged bullets in a polygonal barrel, without constant cleaning. There are too many reported cases of Glock "kabooms" while shooting lead bullets through stock Glock barrels. If you want to save money, my opinion is to do like the others say and go with plated or coated bullets or buy an after market barrel with standard rifling.

My question about the chrono would be for lead only bullets, coated & plated are a different set of variables.

As far as Glocks going grenade, I feel that it be traced back to sloppy reloading & fouled chambers not allowing the gun to go fully into battery (the striker can release without the barrel  & slide in lockup).

STEVE SAMELAK wrote:My question about the chrono would be for lead only bullets, coated & plated are a different set of variables.

As far as Glocks going grenade, I feel that it be traced back to sloppy reloading & fouled chambers not allowing the gun to go fully into battery (the striker can release without the barrel  & slide in lockup).

There are limitations on how far the barrel can be out of battery and still have the gun fire. Keep in mind that if the barrel is not in full lockup that the cartridge might not be sufficiently aligned with the firing pin to allow it to fire. If the primer is too far off center with the firing pin, it won't ignite. 

Can a Glock fire out of battery? Yes, but only if the primer is close enough to center for a sufficient hit to set off the primer. 

See this article for details: https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/8/14/firing-out-of-battery/

Another thing about 9mm is sizing.  I'd suggest slugging the bore and shoot for a lead bullet that is 0.002" over bore.  I use a 124 gr TC hand cast that throws .359 and then size them according to use for my guns which can vary from .356 to .358.  That bullet seems pretty versatile and I use it for 38 special, light 357, and 9mm.  I mention  sizing consideration since using under size bullets can cause leading especially with 9mm loads since they tend to run pretty hot.  In my experience the 9mm bores seem to vary a bit across different manufacturers.

David R wrote:Coated bullets may work, you would have to try them.

David

I bought some from Missouri Bullet Company. 125gr SWC coated. Just loaded 500 for my son. He just called me from the range and said they were very accurate. Granted, he is shooting from 15yds but he is making a ragged hole with a Beretta 92fs. I remember way back when I had good eyes. FWIW the load is 5.0gr True Blue, 1.12 col, and .375 crimp.

Bill

messenger wrote:

"....very accurate. .....ragged hole with a Beretta 92fs....."

↑ That's an oxymoron right there!  Haha.  All kidding aside, that was my first center fire pistol and I couldn't hit anything with it. I'm sure it was all the guns fault.


I'm glad you found a load that works well for it.

I loaded 1000 115gr Coated Bayou billets and ran them through a G17 Gen4, G34 Gen5, SW MP Pro5L.  Maybe a few leftovers through my CZ Shadow 2 (shhhh....don’t tell anyone). Never a feeding issue or accuracy. I don’t profess to be a BE Distinguished, but those that shot with me and are more adept tried and did fine. I have had wonderful success with Brazos Coated 45’s and may order some 9mm if I run out of FMJ. I personally think that the HyTek or similar coated lead bullets are more accurate than some of the plated...

I used a variety of powders including Unique.  Almost a compressed load.

As they say...your mileage, results, etc may vary.

messenger wrote:

David R wrote:Coated bullets may work, you would have to try them.

David

I bought some from Missouri Bullet Company. 125gr SWC coated. Just loaded 500 for my son. He just called me from the range and said they were very accurate. Granted, he is shooting from 15yds but he is making a ragged hole with a Beretta 92fs. I remember way back when I had good eyes. FWIW the load is 5.0gr True Blue, 1.12 col, and .375 crimp.

Bill

I am surprised they feed.      I load mine to 1.1" this leaves the shoulder in the case.  

I have a package of Brazos 150 SWC sized to .356.  Going to try them.  

I just finished loading 1,000 of the Missouri 125 SWC coated with 3.5 grains Bullseye.   These have proven  to be dependable and accurate out of my Dan Wesson PM-9.    

To get them to shoot in my Spring field Armory RO Champion, i need 4 grains of Bullseye.   Makes a huge difference.

David