I seem to recall that Glock warned to not use lead bullets in their guns because of the type of rifling used.
What about Sigs? I have several thousand lubed lead bullets that I thought about loading up.

Also have a Stag AR9 1/9 twist that I was thinking about using the lead bullets there also.

Any thoughts or experience out there?

No personal experience, but one of the things I noticed years ago with P220 pistols was that the rifling was shallow as compared with other brands’. Whenever I saw any discussion about the subject, it occurred to me that shallow rifling was probably good for precision with jacketed bullets because it deformed the bullets less. On the other hand deeper rifling is more likely to be necessary with unjacketed bullets to keep them from stripping when fired, and especially with softer alloys and higher velocities. Stripping can of course lead to severe leading and poor accuracy.

And FWIW, I just examined two SIG 40 S&W barrels, one P226 and one P320. The lands of the P226 barrel are noticeably shallower and narrower than those of the P320 barrel. The answer may therefore be partially due to the specific gun and cartridge.

I shot lead in my 220 .45 without any problems.

My P229 shoots .40S&W hard cast lead bullets just fine. Old P6 9X19 regularly handles cast bullets with no problems. Had a P220 .45ACP for a while, it also handled cast bullets well.

When Glock had the polygon barrels that was true...to a point. Barrels would lead foul quicker. So cleaning after a hundred rounds or two was warranted.

The hardness of the bullet affects the number of shots also.

Today poly coated lead is almost the norm which solves most of those issues.

Shot plenty of lead in my 220 just fine. Fired some in my 229 .40 as well.

No, the old wives tale about shallow rifling doesn't hold water as long as you use the proper alloy at the proper speed.

Been molding and using lead bullets on and off for most of my life, including in micro groove Marlins with shallow rifling and they work fine.

But, as another poster mentioned, poly coated bullets take care of that problem and can pretty much be loaded the same as plated.

I've shot plenty of lead bullets in my 226, and 239 with no ill effects whatsoever.

Somebody forgot to tell my Sigs. I have used hard-cast lead bullets for my P229, P226 and P239 forties since 1996. The P229 has over 48,000 rounds through it, mostly lead. No big deal. I clean my guns after each range session. Normal cleaning procedures with a Chore Boy for hard cases. All rifling is in good shape.

Despite what I've heard, somebody forgot to tell my Glocks about this also. My two Gen4 G19's and my G34 lead the LEAST of any pistols I own, using the same hard-cast lead in the poly barrels.

Ready for this? The same hard-cast bullets lead the MOST with one of my junkers. It's a Wilson Combat Pro .45 ACP. I suspect it's due to the tighter barrel tolerances. THAT one needs the Chore-Boy for every cleaning. When I run out of my .45 lead bullet stash, I'll switch to poly.

Note that my vendor makes TRULY hard-cast bullets and I've used him for decades. Also, my loads are mid-range used for practice. As noted, I clean after shooting, regardless of round count.

Finally, I don't know what happens when you run lead out of a PCC with the higher velocities. Manufacturers discourage use of reloads because there are no standards. If you double/triple charge a load and blow up your gun, they rightly don't want to be responsible. Hence the B.S. disclaimers.

The evil of lead in glock and Sig barrels is a myth. Neither a polyagonal barrel such as a Glock or HK, or a rifled barrel such as a Sig, have some magic, deadly propensity to blow up, fail, or excessively lead with the use of a lead bullet.

Leading occurs with a soft lead alloy, and also with cutting, generally with a weak charge, hot charge, or too high a velocity; it also occurs with undersize bullets, for the same reason that a low charge allows gasses to push past the bullet (and case, as evidenced by sooty cases).

If leading is any concern, a coated bullet leaves almost nothing in the barrel. I've fired thousands of rounds through a barrel to find literally no deposits; a few passes with a brush and patch reveal little.

Bullets should be matched to the barrel. A 9mm bullet in my Glock 34, for example, is not the same diameter bullet I use in My P320F; the glock prefers .355, and the Sig works better with .357 or even .357, based on ladders and testing.

I've fired plenty of lead bullets thru a 220, 226, 229 and 239 without any problems.

P290, P226Mk25, P225A1, P365, M11A1 & P220...all shoot more lead alloy than jacketed by far. 5:1 at least.

I cast my own for 9mm, .40 SP&W, and .45 ACP, LSWC's for the most part, but I do have a round nose mold for the 9's. All do very well, accuracy wise...~ 2-3" at 25 yds from a rest and none of them lead whatsoever.

I size to groove..groove dia. plus 0.001" and lube with 50-50 beeswax & alox. I cast using wheel weight alloy, air quenched to ~ 12 bhn, and don't have a problem with leading.

For those of you buying commercial bullets, Missouri Bullet Co. is first rate. If buying, get the target level hardness ~ 12 bhn if memory serves. And keep your velocities down...somewhere around 1000 fps is where the accuracy and no-leading sweet spot has been for me.

Instant fix::: if you're using commercial bullets and they're hard (~18 or more bhn), any you're getting leading, try swirl lubing with Lee Liquid Alox diluted with paint thinner 3 parts LLA to 1 part thinner. It'll kill the leading if you keep the velocities down to ~ 1000 fps or a bit more

I use lead for practice and JHP's for hunting or defense. So I don't press for increased velocity...I want accuracy and function first and foremost....

HTH's btw...for powders: thy Win 231, Bullseye, Unique, WSF, all do well...keep the velocities down, size to groove dia plus 0.001" and you should do Ok. Rod

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rodfac, March 07, 2022 06:08 PM

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
I seem to recall that Glock warned to not use lead bullets in their guns because of the type of rifling used.
What about Sigs? I have several thousand lubed lead bullets that I thought about loading up.

Also have a Stag AR9 1/9 twist that I was thinking about using the lead bullets there also.

Any thoughts or experience out there?

NO, that warning was a GLOCK only thing