Copper vs. Lead Bullets for reloading

Cubslover

Can any one give me pros and cons?

I know the lead bullets are cheaper, but can foul my barrel.

Copper won't but is slightly more expensive.

Any other info?

Pearyw

I use a lot of lead bullets. The big reason is longer barrel life. In a good quality match barrel, I get very little leading. Copper fouling can be a lot harder to clean out than lead.

perry shooter

Hello I agree with With pearyw 100% . Lead is much eaiser to get out then copper and lead is EASY on the barrel . and as you said jacketed is higher price . Three strikes your out if you are jacketed pistol bullets. But only if your pistol is not gas operated or does not have a polygon barrel or other make "H&K , Glock" that state not for lead bullets.

Throckmorton

Your barrel will lead a lot less if you get ALL old copper jacket material out of it first.
I and thousands of cowboy shooters shoot zillions of lead bullets every year and I never hear any complaints about leading.NOt enough to worry about anyway.
Scrub your barrel out and give lead a try.NOT swaged lead,they are horrible bullets and WILL lead up a bore.Use hard or medium cast bullets at medium velocities.

nononsense

cubslovers,

There is really no significant difference, that can be measured, in barrel wear when considering a choice between copper or lead. They are both softer materials than the barrel steel by a large amount.

The biggest contributor to barrel wear is the heat from the plasma created by the burning powder when you fire a cartridge. This is like lighting up a blow torch every time you pull the trigger and it is responsible for throat erosion, fire-cracking and the degradation of the lands (all surfaces really) in barrels. This degradation is also what contributes to the accumulation of all forms of fouling and what makes the fouling hard to remove. It gets into all the cracks and crevices created by the heat of the plasma as it erodes the barrel.

Barrel wear is aggrevated by rapid fire (heating the barrel up hot), high flame temperature powders and poor cleaning techniques. If you want to shoot lead, try a design that utilizes a gas check on the base of the bullet. Try slowing your loads down a bit. Then when you want to clean your barrel, use a product that removes the powder fouling first then a product specific to lead removal. Above all, be very careful as to how you clean the muzzle.

There are good reviews of some of the newer cleaning products and procedures over on www.6mmbr.com under product reviews and BLOG topics. You might be surpised at how easy cleaning can be when you use appropriate products and procedures.

Best.