would there be an interest in a projectile that is up to 1/3 heavier

I think for now I'll try the melt out method.

Does anyone have any lead soft point to donate? I'll send the powder core projectiles back for testing
 
wyldr said:
Hi guys,

Just a question as an inventor type,
Would there be any use for a projectile that is roughly 10-30% heavier than a standard lead projectile if it was the same length as a normal projectile?

This means I could make a 30 cal projectile with the same dimensions as a 180 grn that weighs 200-240 grains

or I could make a projectile with the same dimensions as a 230 grn that weighs 250-300 grains
copper jacket, soft core that will come apart on impact to deliver the energy to the target

any feed back would be appreciated
Click to expand...

A very heavy bullet that will reliably come apart on impact would be perfect for subsonic 300 Blackout. That is kind of the holy grail for this caliber. IF you could make this and make it reliable you'd be rich. Just make sure the core material isn't inherently toxic as that would kill your business quicker than it would kill your customers.

Oh, and I'd be happy to test these out for you.
 
The rounds would be a novel idea, but IMO too expensive to be feasible for commercial operation. Compare heavy-weight non-toxic shot to lead shot and you'll see that it's about 5 times the price, literally.

Edit: just looked at current pricing on ITX-13 Tungsten-containing shot, it's 16 times the price of lead shot at BPI. :runaway:
 
wyldr said:
I think for now I'll try the melt out method.

Does anyone have any lead soft point to donate? I'll send the powder core projectiles back for testing
Click to expand...

Depends on what you are looking for. I have about 150 Nosler Partition in .308 180 grain bullets lying around, however, they aren't a jacketed base. Since the partition is in the middle of the bullet, you would have to consider both the top and base of the bullet, which is open.

One idea could be to either use tungsten in both the front and rear of the bullet, or keep it a lead core on the front section and use tungsten on the rear section. Since the latter would push the center of gravity more towards the rear, I'm wondering how this may affect bullet flight stability. If it could be kept stable, it may be a top notch hunting round for good terminal ballistics, while increasing the BC a bit with about a 15% to 20% in weight. 200 grain BC in a 180 grain package sounds neat... :)

Though, I'm wondering how tough it may be to melt only the bottom core without causing the bonding between the lead and the jacket on the top to come loose... engineering baby... :D
 
Barrel twist rate, bullet stability, with a concerned eye towards accuracy.

If your customer base is looking to merely swap ammo with thier currently used deer rifles, they might become sadly disappointed if they have to rebarrel for a specialty chambering with a specialty rate of twist.

Important factors to consider.
 
Last edited:
Ok guys ive got some donor projectiles now

Just got to find the time to get to the shop
 
Those projectiles are best but would certainly be aft heavy not sure how that would affect the ballistics but I would wager bad things and maybe a full tumble at the super sonic barrier

AlexF said:
I'll find the name of the manufacturer but someone is already make extremely high BC bullet with a heavier than lead core!
The BCs are very impressive and the core might be in compressed tungsten powder !?!?!

Barnes MRX have a tungsten core:
http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/components/rifle/mrx-bullet/
In any case, there is always a market for something different/better.

Alex
Click to expand...
 
I hope that someone will be interested

Suputin said:
A very heavy bullet that will reliably come apart on impact would be perfect for subsonic 300 Blackout. That is kind of the holy grail for this caliber. IF you could make this and make it reliable you'd be rich. Just make sure the core material isn't inherently toxic as that would kill your business quicker than it would kill your customers.

Oh, and I'd be happy to test these out for you.
Click to expand...
 
They very best application for this type of frangible bullet Is a defensive round
as it wont ricochet. The market would be Police or security forces with deep pockets.
I doubt very much it would make an appropriate hunting projectile, but I could be
wrong. What will the powder be sintered with?

http://wn.com/glaser_safety_slugs Good luck with your endeavour.


Marshal
 
Brutus and wyldr raise a good point - stability.

Velocity would be considerably lower than with currently available bullets. A quick SWAG suggests a Vmax for .300 Weatherby Mag of about 2,250 fps and for a .308 Win at about 2,000 pfs. (Not firm on those, but they're reasonable and a point for initial discussion.)

Using a 1:12 twist, the overall length for a Hornady 225gr BTHP Match (1.558") and using the online JBM stability calculator (http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi), it would seem that fired from the .308, it would become unstable much below 5°C. Dropping the velocity to 1,800 fps would make it unstable much below room temperature.

However, rifles for the big rounds often have a 1:10 twist - it looks like it would be stable at most temperatures provided you kept the velocity right up there.

Maybe I missed something. I'd appreciate somebody checking my results.
 
"...the same dimensions as a 180 grn that weighs..." The only way you'll do that is by using a material that is denser than lead. If you use tungsten you'll be spending a huge pile of money for little return. Likely burn barrels if you can even get it to hold together. Brittle stuff, so it is.
 
Battlerifleelitist said:
Hell yes I'd be interested.

Delicious BCs, good penetration for cross sectional area ( plugging moose with smaller cartridges ), wind resistance.
Click to expand...

The sectional density would be better but the BC would be worse given that a heavier (denser) bullet that is the same size as a lighter bullet will be less "pointy" than the lighter bullet. Plus if we're talking about a bullet that expands rapidly as you would expect with a powdered metal core would be less desirable for hunting from a penetration standpoint. It's the malleability of lead that allows for the combined expansion and weight retention. A core that is tool hard (brittle) will tend to come apart thereby decreasing the ability of the bullet to penetrate effectively. For example, the Barnes MPG bullets.

The company that develops a comparably performing lead-free C&C bullet will win the race for the future of sporting ammunition. Bullets with lead cores are on life support as more and more jurisdictions pass laws against their use. Not everyone wants to shoot a copper or gilding metal homogenous bullet nor does every company want to tool up to produce only that kind of bullet. So we shall see where we end up.
 
sunray said:
"...the same dimensions as a 180 grn that weighs..." The only way you'll do that is by using a material that is denser than lead. If you use tungsten you'll be spending a huge pile of money for little return. Likely burn barrels if you can even get it to hold together. Brittle stuff, so it is.
Click to expand...

try reading the thread kay?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom