Lead VS FMJ for gun cleaning.

[Model19man]

I'm sure this has been asked multiple times, but I'm having issues with my search option. I just purchased a .357 Magnum revolver off of Gunbroker and I have been checking ammo prices. I guess I didn't know that lead ammo was still available for larger caliber revolvers. I saw that it's substantially cheaper than FMJ. How much tougher is it to clean a revolver after shooting lead ammo compared to FMJ ammo?

I used to think along those same lines but that was 45 years ago. Since then I realized I was mistaken. You need to read up on lead bullets and alloys - there is a lot to learn. Reloading has many advantages the most important one is the ability to ignore shortages and keep shooting.

 

[max503]

Something I've noticed since I started powder coating is the smoke from lubed lead boolits will gag a maggot.

 

[Greyman50]

This is the ammo forum, not the reloading forum. I don't believe the OP reloads and is asking about factory ammo.

Just a comment and reloading is the way around most ammo problems. Most gun guys know someone that reloads.

 

[chief38]

Personally I think the only reason to shoot FMJ is if you are shooting at an indoor range and the range insists on it. I have shot lead in all my pistols and revolvers as well as my .30-06 with great accuracy. Staying below 5 gr of unique in my 9MM keeps the leading away, actually 4.7 gr is my favourite load with 124 gr lead bullets and I get NO leading in any of my nines. Once I went to a hard lube I eliminated leading in my .45acp as well.

I cast my own which just adds to the enjoyment of my shooting sports.

Stay Safe

As car as accuracy is concerned, lead bullets are extremely accurate - IMO even more so than jacketed. I have found over the last 5 years that the happy medium is the use of polymer coated bullets. They are very accurate and while they are lead inside there is none exposed so you need not handle lead. They do not require the use of any lubricant (the polymer itself is quite slippery) and so the smoke, dirtiness & clogging up of reloading dies are virtually eliminated. They are not a whole lot more expensive either, so there is no longer any excuse not to try them. They have been working fantastic for me for over 5 years in many different calibers.

 

[gubber7181]

I clean my pistols after each range trip, if you stay on top of it with a good bore cleaner, it shouldn't be any harder to clean the leading.

 

[Wdbutcher97]

This is the ammo forum, not the reloading forum. I don't believe the OP reloads and is asking about factory ammo.

I don't reload right now, but I've thought about it for some time. This is all good information.

 

[DR505]

Here is a thread I put together a few years ago with sources for cast bullets if you ever decide to load your own. I am going to have to update this and check for new businesses.

https://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/343279-online-bullet-sources-updated-05-21-20-a.html#post137526457

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

Early seventies I had a brand new model 19, a reloader and was reading to much Elmer Keith. Loading soft lead to high velocity = lead build-up.

Yeah, the only way to clean it was that Lewis Lead Remover tool. Still have it somewhere. Haven't used it in forty plus years. I stopped trying to push wad cutters to Magnum speeds. YMMV.

The coated wads are the way to go. Mid range are better for old arthritic hands. I shoot mid range and carry Underwood.

 

[glenwolde]

Here is a thread I put together a few years ago with sources for cast bullets if you ever decide to load your own. I am going to have to update this and check for new businesses.

https://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/343279-online-bullet-sources-updated-05-21-20-a.html#post137526457

FYI Brazos Bullets is probably a goner. They posted they were shutting down for a month... last January. Everything but the .38 148gr wadcutter is "not available". I have emailed them and got no response.

Edit: You can add Bayou, Black, and BNB to the extinct list. Their websites are parked. I went through them up through "D" if anybody else wants to pick up where I left off....

Others may not be long for this world given their pricing and lack of coated bullets.

This is why I just took up casting again after a 40 year hiatus. These guys come and go, though some have seemed to thrive. I also shoot .41, and if they have an offering at all it's the 215gr SWC and that's it. Good bullet for sure but choice is nice.

 

[mtgianni]

If your goal is to have immaculately clean guns they should never be shot.
If it is to have fun they will need some cleaning. I own well over 20 handguns and most have never seen a jacketed bullet.

 

[Wdbutcher97]

If your goal is to have immaculately clean guns they should never be shot.
If it is to have fun they will need some cleaning. I own well over 20 handguns and most have never seen a jacketed bullet.

I've never minded cleaning a handgun. I find it kind of therapeutic, I just don't want it be overly therapeutic

 

[glenwolde]

I've never minded cleaning a handgun. I find it kind of therapeutic, I just don't want it be overly therapeutic

It's a trade off. I find revolvers more work to clean than autos. But with autos you're picking up (and losing) brass. Given the choice of picking up brass or cleaning, I'll take cleaning.

If you take up reloading, the current crop of coated cast lead bullets offered by companies such as SNS Casting and Acme Bullets are pretty much the best of both worlds.

 

[tom2]

Some say shooting lead .38s will build up lead in the chamber and make using 357 ammo difficult. I have not had that problem. But I clean my guns. Some say that don't bother cleaning the lead out, just fire some FMJ ammo and it will blow the lead out. Not iron it in to the bore. Cannot say about that either. The only bad leading I ever had was with dead soft lead factory ammo. I also get it more or less with cast bullets. But alot of factors affect the extent and you probably won't know till you try a specific load. While avoiding dead soft lead loads. Some target loads use softer lead wadcutters but they are low velocity so that does not account for the leading that may occur. I used to have a Lewis lead remover. A cleaning rod with brass? screen instead of a brush to clean out lead easier. I don't know if they still make it but it worked pretty well as compared to a regular brush. No steel brushes of any sort should be used.

 

[chief38]

I clean my pistols after each range trip, if you stay on top of it with a good bore cleaner, it shouldn't be any harder to clean the leading.

Yes I agree and I shall use up all my lead bullets. That said, I will not buy them again - the polymer coated (lead core) is the modern ticket! No handling the lead, all lube smoke gets eliminated and the dies never get clogged up with lube.

They are not really more expensive, they are what casters seem to be producing these days and after using thousands of the polymer bullets I can see absolutely no reason at all to return to exposed raw lead bullets. They also make cleaning the barrel and cylinder much easier.

"try 'em - you'll like 'em".

 

[bobsguns]

How much tougher is it to clean a revolver after shooting lead ammo compared to FMJ ammo?

Using soft lead bullets in a fast velocity will lead a barrel quickly. The trick is, find a company that uses (for lack of a proper word) "good" lead bullets, i.e. harder than wheel weights.

But yes, soft lead involves some scrubbing to get out. A good cleaning brush is critical to good cleaning. I use the tornado brush style & it works well.

I used to use the Outers Foul Out kit, which was an electrical-process lead & copper removal type of deal. It worked wonderful on my 681, removed all sorts of junk even AFTER I cleaned the gun. Works on copper too.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1564592832...91862dee4a40b683f3cfa&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0