swc advice

boatdoc

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 9, 2018
Messages
969
thanks to some of our members and Steve Kelley of WC fame, I bought some WC swc reloads with very light recoil. These will serve to break in my hand after I progress from 22 lr> 9mm>.45 acp

NOW a patient of mine( ex LEO and long time shooter) is claiming that SWC(lead bullets) ammo will F up my guns and barrels.

Steve told me it should not be an issue. he suggested shooting some 230 gr hardball every so often to clean out the barrel.

I methodically field strip and clean every gun w ith breakfree or kroil every 100 rounds shot. wipe everything down a nd relube--due to my OCD I guess.

what advice do you fanatics have pertaining to this kind of ammo and what kind of post shooting clean up issue s I may have--and how to solve them without damaging the guns?

as an aside--I am NOT going to use metal bore brushes a s they would really do a # on the barrels and rifling IMHO. I prefer gentle cleaning to keep the guns functioning well
 

apipeguy

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Sep 12, 2018
Messages
90
Location
Michigan
First off, Steve really knows his 1911's and I have huge respect for him. If you are shooting a lot of lead, you may need to use a bronze brush and possibly a bronze brush with some copper ChoreBoy wrapped around it to gets built up lead out, if you get any.

Back in the day we used to shoot jacketed .357 duty rounds after shooting .38 lead wadcutters to clean out the bore. I'm sure we vaporized some of the lead but then just melted and rearrange most of it in the bore. A Lewis Lead Remover was really the only way to clean out the lead.

Wilson's reloads should not lead much, if at all. Just don't shoot it if you have copper residue in the barrel as I have found that the copper residue will grab the lead and cause leading that you would not get with a clean bore.

I like to clean my bores the gentler way too, but find that there are times a few runs through with a bronze brush is kind of needed and I do not see any harm from judicial use of them.

Hope the hand is progressing well, I'm still stuck with left hand .22 bullseye shooting but hope to be able to switch to righ hand .22 soon.
 

david_root2000

Fanatic
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
14
The only way to be sure is shoot some and inspect the barrel for leading. Every gun is different. All I shoot is lead for the last 30 years.

David
 

boatdoc

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 9, 2018
Messages
969
First off, Steve really knows his 1911's and I have huge respect for him. If you are shooting a lot of lead, you may need to use a bronze brush and possibly a bronze brush with some copper ChoreBoy wrapped around it to gets built up lead out, if you get any.

Back in the day we used to shoot jacketed .357 duty rounds after shooting .38 lead wadcutters to clean out the bore. I'm sure we vaporized some of the lead but then just melted and rearrange most of it in the bore. A Lewis Lead Remover was really the only way to clean out the lead.

Wilson's reloads should not lead much, if at all. Just don't shoot it if you have copper residue in the barrel as I have found that the copper residue will grab the lead and cause leading that you would not get with a clean bore.

I like to clean my bores the gentler way too, but find that there are times a few runs through with a bronze brush is kind of needed and I do not see any harm from judicial use of them.

Hope the hand is progressing well, I'm still stuck with left hand .22 bullseye shooting but hope to be able to switch to righ hand .22 soon.
glad to see your hand is on the mend too. you seem to be WAY ahead of me healing wise--good for you.. thanks for the well wishes. I am getting itchy and have 5 more weeks to go before I am cleared for most activities. Might break loose and try a 22lr rifle next week and get my MRS to shoot her carry= S+W Shield 9mm.
still babying my left hand as it is the earner for now

I guess I will try these out on a Sig first. I agree that Steve knows a lot and you confirmed what he said about shooting FMJ round to clean out the barrel. I will keep your ideas in mind if I get fouling in the barrel

happy thanksgiving and thanks
 

Mike Galway

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Nov 5, 2018
Messages
1,671
Location
East Central Missouri
I shoot LSWC a lot . When I get a little leading I put Butch's Bore Shine on a patch and leave it in the barrel near the forcing cone (where most leading occurs ) , for about half an hour . Lead comes right out with a normal cleaning brush . Also pay attention to bullet hardness .
 

Bad Wolf

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
237
Location
I'm here, you're not
As long as your bullets are cast and not the garden variety swaged you should be just fine. I shoot cast 200 lswc in my guns and have no issues. To speed up the cleaning process I run a may of jacketed ammo through at the end of a range session. I've had shooting session longer than 400 rounds (Bob Rodgers built Colt & LB P2) and the guns continued to run without a hiccup, didn't lead up much and cleaned up almost as easy as the ones that get much less use.
My favorite load is on the light side, enough so that it barely functions a friend LB P2 in stainless. I eventually got tired from shooting but not due to recoil.
Best wishes.
 

41 Charlie

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
819
Location
East Missouri
As long as your bullets are cast and not the garden variety swaged you should be just fine. I shoot cast 200 lswc in my guns and have no issues. To speed up the cleaning process I run a may of jacketed ammo through at the end of a range session. I've had shooting session longer than 400 rounds (Bob Rodgers built Colt & LB P2) and the guns continued to run without a hiccup, didn't lead up much and cleaned up almost as easy as the ones that get much less use.
My favorite load is on the light side, enough so that it barely functions a friend LB P2 in stainless. I eventually got tired from shooting but not due to recoil.
Best wishes.

^^^ This ^^^
 

boatdoc

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 9, 2018
Messages
969
I shoot LSWC a lot . When I get a little leading I put Butch's Bore Shine on a patch and leave it in the barrel near the forcing cone (where most leading occurs ) , for about half an hour . Lead comes right out with a normal cleaning brush . Also pay attention to bullet hardness .


thanks for this idea
 

boatdoc

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 9, 2018
Messages
969
As long as your bullets are cast and not the garden variety swaged you should be just fine. I shoot cast 200 lswc in my guns and have no issues. To speed up the cleaning process I run a may of jacketed ammo through at the end of a range session. I've had shooting session longer than 400 rounds (Bob Rodgers built Colt & LB P2) and the guns continued to run without a hiccup, didn't lead up much and cleaned up almost as easy as the ones that get much less use.
My favorite load is on the light side, enough so that it barely functions a friend LB P2 in stainless. I eventually got tired from shooting but not due to recoil.
Best wishes.


thanks badwolf. good to know
 

Rob Biedermann

Active Fanatic
Joined
Jul 24, 2018
Messages
26
Agree with most of the posts -- the LSWCs won't harm your handguns at all... I also shoot LSWCs in my 45 ACPs almost exclusively -- whatever hard cast 200 gr LSWCs I can find at a reasonable price reloaded with Bullseye. No matter what brand, they shoot very accurately in my WC Colt Combat Commander. If I have any leading problems, I follow the advice in Bill Wilson's manual I received when I got my Combat Commander back from WC in 1997. Take a .50 caliber bore brush, cut apart a brass kitchen scrubbing pad and wrap a piece around the .50 brush and use any quality bore cleaner -- I use Hoppes (because it works!). The lead comes out in a few passes...
 

boatdoc

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 9, 2018
Messages
969
Agree with most of the posts -- the LSWCs won't harm your handguns at all... I also shoot LSWCs in my 45 ACPs almost exclusively -- whatever hard cast 200 gr LSWCs I can find at a reasonable price reloaded with Bullseye. No matter what brand, they shoot very accurately in my WC Colt Combat Commander. If I have any leading problems, I follow the advice in Bill Wilson's manual I received when I got my Combat Commander back from WC in 1997. Take a .50 caliber bore brush, cut apart a brass kitchen scrubbing pad and wrap a piece around the .50 brush and use any quality bore cleaner -- I use Hoppes (because it works!). The lead comes out in a few passes...
thanks Rob
 

rr1911

Fanatic
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
5
ive had my colt for 4 years never had jacketed bullets thru it cast my own with lead tin solder and antimoney never had a problem since the first 50 rds or so . light loads. with unigue and blue dot . lee 230 molds. ( this is my regular carry)
 

Bad Wolf

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Messages
237
Location
I'm here, you're not
I'd really like to know how much powder is in these cases. I currently use HP38 and will continue to do so until I run out. The load they have is probably cleaner and just as accurate.
Best wishes on this ammo choice. I'm looking forward to hearing it works out for you.
 
Top