Lead vs Copper Plated Lead?
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Lead vs Copper Plated Lead?
Hi Fellows,
I was first lead (no pun intended ) to believe that copper plated bullets wouldn't muck-up your barrel as fast. It seems to me copper is nearly as soft as lead so how does that help
What is the reasoning for using copper plated bullets or is there some reason you would use one over the other?
Thanks in advance.
Don
I was first lead (no pun intended ) to believe that copper plated bullets wouldn't muck-up your barrel as fast. It seems to me copper is nearly as soft as lead so how does that help
What is the reasoning for using copper plated bullets or is there some reason you would use one over the other?
Thanks in advance.
Don
I know nothing.......
Copper has a much higher melting point than lead. This means that lead tends to foul rifling much faster if the powder charge is high or the projectile speed is fast. Copper jackets provide more of a shield for the lands and grooves of the barrel and reduce leading. If a lot of rounds are fired the barrel can heat up tremendously via friction and intensify leading even more.
R,
Bullseye
R,
Bullseye
Yes there is a difference. With a copper jacket the lead is swaged into the preformed metal jacket by a hydraulic press. This method is typically used for manufacturing highpower rifle bullets and some pistol rounds. Copper plating is a form of lubricating finish placed mostly on rimfire bullets as a lubricant for the lead slug.
R,
Bullseye
R,
Bullseye
Besides the fine physics and chemistry lessons given, the copper plate does work to keep a barrel cleaner. I shoot very little of anything but hollowpoint .22LR just because of the copper plate. Round nose plated is harder to find, though CCI and others make it.
* 2 Ruger Bearcat stainless, w/ EWK ejector housings & Wolff springs
* Ruger SP-101 .22LR, w/ Wolff springs
* 2 NAA Guardian .32ACP
* 3 Zastava M70 .32ACP
* S&W 15-22 Sport (.22LR AR)
* 2 Ruger SR22 .22LR pistols
* Ruger SP-101 .22LR, w/ Wolff springs
* 2 NAA Guardian .32ACP
* 3 Zastava M70 .32ACP
* S&W 15-22 Sport (.22LR AR)
* 2 Ruger SR22 .22LR pistols
I only know of one person who has had a shot out 22. It was a Hi Standard Citation Trophy that he got 3rd hand from 2 previous Bullseye shooters (and they shot it a lot). He estimated from discussions with them and with what he shot through it it had somewheres upwards of 750,000 rounds through it. He replaced it with an LSP barrel and continued to shoot it until 3 years ago when he switched to a Dworak 22 conversion on a dedicated frame.
He is still shooting a bunch of military brass, that he shot originally, with a 1966 headstamp. We usually give him a ration of cr@p about being so frugal and not investing in new brass as the headstamps are so worn down as to be nearly unreadable. However even on a bad day he will outshoot me while balancing on a wobble board and a finger stuck in his eye. He is, like nearly every bullseye shooter I have had the pleasure of talking to, a really great guy who loves to share his knowledge and try to teach you how to shoot better than he does.
Back to work.
He is still shooting a bunch of military brass, that he shot originally, with a 1966 headstamp. We usually give him a ration of cr@p about being so frugal and not investing in new brass as the headstamps are so worn down as to be nearly unreadable. However even on a bad day he will outshoot me while balancing on a wobble board and a finger stuck in his eye. He is, like nearly every bullseye shooter I have had the pleasure of talking to, a really great guy who loves to share his knowledge and try to teach you how to shoot better than he does.
Back to work.
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” – George Washington
I shoot 300-400 rounds through my Ruger MKIII within an hour, each week. Last week I used CCI SV ammo (not copper plated) and I noticed the barrel was very......aaaaaahhhh VERY warm. I'm just sayin'Hakaman wrote:Does frequency of rounds shot have something to due with longevity of a barrel? I figure the barrel would heat up more with the higher frequncy.
Haka
Don
I know nothing.......
- Georgezilla
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The integrity of most steels is not compromised until 300F+. You wont achieve those temperatures with a semi-auto .22 pistol. If the integrity of the steel is not compromised, it seems that the period of time that the rounds were put through the pistol in is inconsequential. So I do not think this would have any influence on the barrel life of a Ruger .22 pistol.
I shoot mostly lead bullets. I have two barrels that ever show much leading, the Taurus 1911 and the SR9. The SR9 requires hotter loads to work the slide and the barrel will lead up quickly causing considerable scatter. I use FMJ's in for that pistol. The same lead rounds didn't affect the M&P much at all.
Barrel wear is some combination of power of the round and shooter's perception. I know a bench shooter who says barrels are worn out when the unexplained deviation is a bit more than 1/8". I'd probably be happy with that little deviation. I'd also be pretty happy with his old worn out barrels. I'm also pretty sure, try as I might, that I'm never going to be able to shoot enough to wear out a barrel.
Barrel wear is some combination of power of the round and shooter's perception. I know a bench shooter who says barrels are worn out when the unexplained deviation is a bit more than 1/8". I'd probably be happy with that little deviation. I'd also be pretty happy with his old worn out barrels. I'm also pretty sure, try as I might, that I'm never going to be able to shoot enough to wear out a barrel.