This is something that each individual needs to shoot and see for themselves. Everyone needs to avail themselves to the vast recorded history of those who's done this before and then proceed with caution. Everyone has a barrel that will be a law unto itself as to how well it handles cast lead bullets. They need to be. 001 to .002" over for a sure snug fit that will never allow the hot gases to sneak by. Barrels need to be completely free of any other type of fouling. Don't ever try shooting lead bullets in a barrel with copper fouling. Slightly undersized lead bullets leads to large amounts of lead fouling. We can debate the particulars on how or why this happens, but we know that it happens and how to avoid it. In my experience gas checks are often worth the time and trouble because they pay off in spades with accuracy and speed performance.
