Is it bad to use full metal jackets.....??? I heard from someone that it could damage the magazine or the gun i am not really sure if that guy knew what he was talking about Thank you
Your instincts are correct - there's nothing wrong with FMJ ammo, and in fact, probably 95% of popular practice and defense handgun ammo is FMJ. Perhaps he was referring to TMJ (total metal jacket) ammo, but I still think that such ammo will have no negative effects on the gun. Just FYI - Glock pistols do not recommend using anything other than jacketed ammo. Un-jacketed bullets are pure lead, and the lead will foul the rifling of Glock barrels (though some say slower rounds are ok). So in conclusion - get your "friend" some education. He's clueless.
There are some that think steel jacketed (usually copper washed or coated) bullets will wear the barrel faster than copper FMJ and a smaller subset believe that copper FMJ bullets will wear a barrel faster than un-jacketed lead bullets. The difference if any is small enough to not bother me either way.
Not to mention that unjacketed lead bullets will make a mess of your gun and your fingers. On a related note, always wash your hands after a trip to the range and if you have small children in your house, I'd even reccomend having a separate pair of "range shoes" which you leave at the door. Especially if you shoot indoors and/or have "toddlers" crawling around.
Thanks, Mark, for reminding us that lead is not only nasty when shot into you, but also when ingested-- in fact, the extremely fine particles that you track in are probably moere serious than if the kid swallowed a bullet, because the bullet would actually have less surface area for chemical reactions. Lead shot kills ducks both ways, because they keep the shot inside their digestive systems in the place of gravel, but your kids would pass the shot quickly-- not so the fine residue. One more reason to shoot outdoors-- you aren't breathing the stuff.
