Why is my gun smoking?

[dsv424]

I started reloading lead bullets for the first time this week. The manufacturer of these bullets is Kead Brand, not sure if this is a popular maker of these bullets since its my first experience with lead. I reloaded 180 grain .40 S&W with HS-6 powder and 125 grain 9mm with Unique powder. In both instances there was a lot of smoke when I shot these bullets. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong when reloading lead?

[woolleyworm]

what is the lead composition and what powder charges are you using?

[Hammerslagger]

Lead alloy bullets usually have a grease and/or wax lubricant in the groove(s). They tend to smoke more than copper alloy jacketed bullets.

I hope you are not shooting these in a Glock pistol. If you are; STOP!

Lead bullets will quickly foul a Glock barrel and create very dangerous pressures in a few shots.

[johnlives4christ]

i smoke coke cans, not guns

[DWARREN123]

The bullet lube, nothing to worry about, mine smoke alot also.

[olehippy]

Hammerslager: Where can one find more info on problems with lead bullets in Glocks? Something I hadnt heard before, but have a couple of Glocks.

Thanks for any help,

Miles

[Claude Clay]

look down the bbl of a glock next time you have it apart and see the polygonal rifling looks rather like soft ocean waves. conventional looks sharply defined.

for 20+ years i and friends have shot hard lead--brinal [sp] of 18+ in glocks. examine the bbl after each 100 rounds and you will see the lead build up in a glock. after about 300 to 400 rounds i will clean it. could go to much further but why push it.
brass and lead solvent and a slow speed cordless drill and 10 minutes.

if you shoot soft lead it can build up to dangerous levels in very quickly-10 or even fewer rounds.

bullitworks works. that i have used for 4 years in 9mm glocks and hk p7's.

as always, disclaimer, what works for me may not be right for you.

the 'search' feature will help you find more on glocks & lead.

[carver]

Originally Posted by dsv424

I started reloading lead bullets for the first time this week. The manufacturer of these bullets is Kead Brand, not sure if this is a popular maker of these bullets since its my first experience with lead. I reloaded 180 grain .40 S&W with HS-6 powder and 125 grain 9mm with Unique powder. In both instances there was a lot of smoke when I shot these bullets. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong when reloading lead?

As has already been posted, a grease and/or wax lubricant could be the culpret, or it could be the powder itself. Usually in a pistol length barrel, all the powder in the load does not have a chance to burn. What is your load? Need more information.

[JLA]

The smoke is good and means your bullet lube is working as it should. Lead boolits that do not smoke either dont have any lube or the lube isnt working properly. The smoke is caused by the lube melting and the residual being burned by the hot gasses behind the bullet.

[red14]

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Lack of parental guidence when it was little???


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[dsv424]

I mis-printed the powder type for the 9mm. It is W231, with 3.4 grains, 125 grain bullet. I got the load data from my Lee book. The gun is a M9 Berretta. The other load is 180 grain .40 S&W bullet with 7.1 grains of HS-6 powder. This load data I got from my Lyman book. The gun is a Sig P226.
Thanks so far for all of your advise. I feel better knowing that is normal for this bullet to smoke. As far as performance goes they are both pretty accurate rounds.

[johnlives4christ]

Originally Posted by olehippy

Hammerslager: Where can one find more info on problems with lead bullets in Glocks? Something I hadnt heard before, but have a couple of Glocks.

Thanks for any help,

Miles

2 words. glock manual

[Hammerslagger]

In response to the 10:07 AM post of "olehippy" concerning (unjacketed) lead bullets in factory original Glock Barrels. Type in "lead bullets in glock barrels" from any major search engine (Yahoo, Google, etc.) and start reading.

I am a firm believer in "Better SAFE; than SORRY"! Some very knowledgeable and experienced persons ( of which I consider myself to be one) can "get away with" breaking prudent rules like "pulling the rip cord at 500' verses min of 1000' when parachuting". Of course "sooner or later" you usually make a mistake in judgment; {I know that I have} often with disastrous results!

I do not a have the space or time for a detailed explanation, here. Let it suffice to say that Glock does not recommend the use of reloaded ammo in its barrels! Let it suffice to say unjacketed lead bullets in a Glock barrel are a recipe for trouble.

If you are going to shoot reloads from a Glock frame and slide; get an aftermarket barrel deigned for producing fired brass suitable for repeated reloading and unjacketed bullets.The Glock barrel is designed for accuracy and combat reliability (like to easily go 6000 shots without cleaning or malfunction) not for producing brass suitable for repeated reloadings!

[olehippy]

Thanks johnlives4, you were soooo helpful! I read the Glock Manual, including the brief warranty disclaimer. I also know every time a camel farts at an OPEC meeting GM tries to invalidate a million or so warranties.

I was looking for additional info on WHY, which everyone else has been wonderfully helpful in guiding me on where to research this.

Miles

[RustyFN]

The main reason not to shoot lead in a Glock barrel is because most people don't do it right. I will use a G17 9mm for example. A normal 9mm barrel will require a .355 jacketed or .356 lead bullet. If you slug a 9mm Glock barrel you will find it will require a .358 lead bullet to fit the barrel. Size the bullet right and use hard cast and it's not a problem. I have many friends that have been shooting lead bullets in Glocks for years without leading or problems. Undersize a bullet for any non-Glock pistol and see how bad it leads. Ask a Glock Armorer and they will tell you the same thing, or at least all of the one I have talked to will.

[Oohrah]

Easy solution is to drop in a Wolf match barrel at around $100, and shoot away! One other kerbang can be caused with the same round being chambered repeatedly until the bullet is driven deeper into the case, causing pressure to rise. Any added or accumulated lead in the Glock poly barrels will add to wrong doing factors. Wolf and some others are conventionally rifled barrels. They can lead, but I suspect not as rapid, or heavy as the original.

[Suwannee Tim]

You could screw a catalytic converter on the muzzle to burn up the smoke. Seriously, I love the smell of vaporized Alox in the morning. It smells like.......well, like vaporized Alox in the morning.