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LDBennett · 10-26-2011, 01:35 PM

duck32man:

With bare lead bullets you'll get leading of the barrel if you shoot them much faster than about 1000 FPS. Swaged lead bullets are the worst because they are pure soft lead. Some of the harder cast bullets lead less. The addition of tin and antimony make them harder. But the copper plated (not jacketed) bullets are better still about leading. They are just lead bullets copper plated to protect the lead during firing. They too need to be kept at lead bullet velocities (below 1000 FPS). Jacketed bullets have a jacket cup made out of gilding metal, 95% copper and 5% Zinc which Wikipedia says is technically a alloy of brass. They, of course, leave little residue of anything behind in handguns.

For target work and plinking, plated bullets are the best solution if you keep the velocities below about 1000 FPS. The two most common sources are Rainier and Berry's Bullets. All the major sites who sell bullets have one or the other or both. Rainier, I believe, was the first on the market. I have been using the Rainier plated bullets for nearly 20 years. I found out quickly that I don't like to have to dig lead out of my barrels with a pick.

LDBennett

10-26-2011, 01:35 PM	#8
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,718	Re: 38 loads duck32man: With bare lead bullets you'll get leading of the barrel if you shoot them much faster than about 1000 FPS. Swaged lead bullets are the worst because they are pure soft lead. Some of the harder cast bullets lead less. The addition of tin and antimony make them harder. But the copper plated (not jacketed) bullets are better still about leading. They are just lead bullets copper plated to protect the lead during firing. They too need to be kept at lead bullet velocities (below 1000 FPS). Jacketed bullets have a jacket cup made out of gilding metal, 95% copper and 5% Zinc which Wikipedia says is technically a alloy of brass. They, of course, leave little residue of anything behind in handguns. For target work and plinking, plated bullets are the best solution if you keep the velocities below about 1000 FPS. The two most common sources are Rainier and Berry's Bullets. All the major sites who sell bullets have one or the other or both. Rainier, I believe, was the first on the market. I have been using the Rainier plated bullets for nearly 20 years. I found out quickly that I don't like to have to dig lead out of my barrels with a pick. LDBennett