Silver Bullets

billbmcleod

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I have recently been thinking of casting a couple of silver bullets in case a werewolf or two sneak up on me.
I have a double cavity Lyman .357 mold that I have never used. I bought it years ago when I thought I might start casting bullets but never got around to it. I will be using relatively pure silver and do not have a sizer but do have a lathe that I am sure I can make something that would size a couple of bullets. I would not actually put powder behind them as I don't know what kind of pressures I would end up with if they were fired. Although those old enough to remember the Lone Ranger would not worry and I am sure Tonto did not have a sizing die either.
Anyone ever try this or have any advice?

Watching my six,

Bill
 
Mythbusters did a video on silver bullets. Surprisingly, Wiki has an article on the subject:

Silver bullets differ from lead bullets in several respects. Lead has a 10% higher density than silver, so a silver bullet will have a little less mass than a lead bullet of identical dimensions. Pure silver is less malleable than lead and falls between lead and copper in terms of hardness (1.5 < 2.5 < 3.0 Mohs) and shear modulus (5.6 < 30 < 48 GPa). A silver bullet accepts the rifling of a gun barrel.[3]

The terminal impact is somewhat speculative and will depend on a variety of factors including bullet size and shape, flight distance, and target material. At short ranges, the silver bullet will most likely give better penetration due to its higher shear modulus, and will not deform as much as a lead bullet. A 2007 episode of MythBusters[4] demonstrated a greater penetration depth of lead bullets vs. silver bullets. Results cannot be considered conclusive, however, as the show utilized a 250-grain lead slug in a .45-caliber Colt long shell vs a lighter (190-grain) silver slug fired at closer range. Another MythBusters episode, from 2012, showed that silver bullets are less accurate than lead bullets when fired from the M1 Garand.[5] Michael Briggs also did some experiments with silver bullets compared to lead bullets. After making a custom mold to ensure that the sizes of the silver bullets were comparable to the lead bullets, he fired them. He found that the silver bullets were slightly slower than the lead bullets and less accurate.[6]
 
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I recall a similar thread in the past. Guy did have some made. Don't recall details. He had posted his werewolf and vampire slayers kit pictures. Did a great prop set.
 
I recall a similar thread in the past. Guy did have some made. Don't recall details. He had posted his werewolf and vampire slayers kit pictures. Did a great prop set.

I seem to remember he had some problems with proper mould fill. I think if you could get a few feet of silver barstock a machine shop with a CNC lathe with an automatic bar feeder could make them faster than #### through a goose.
 
Sliver is denser than than copper which is commonly used for bullets. With a oxy acetylene torch and a iron of steel bullet mould you might be about to cast a few.
 
From Guns & Ammo mid 1990's IIRC. Silver bullet Vampire gun
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Cast normal lead, then get the bullets plated - or cold plate them yourself. Best of both worlds and no load adjustments needed! If you plate with Argentium they stay shiny.
 
I have a bunch of computer boards that I plan on burning and catching the solder which should have a fair amount of silver in them. pour into bars and then melt into my melting pot to make some pistol bullets.
 
I plan on getting most of the gold out of the boards also so the first step is to burn them at low temps to burn them into a powder.
 
I plan on getting most of the gold out of the boards also so the first step is to burn them at low temps to burn them into a powder.

You know there is a reason why you can't just ditch computer stuff in the land fills these days. It's called saving the environment. Melting down electronics is a big health hazard. Think about it. How much precious stuff are you going to salvage?

M
 
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