I am Pissed

Ganderite

Ganderite

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Farm south of North Bay
At one time I was involved making a line of sniper ammo where we had the bullets ahrd coated and waxed. This was to reduce corrosion in ammo exposed to harsh conditions.

After careful discusion with the supplier of the coating sstem, I was assured that the process would not damage the A-Max bullets. I should have thrown a bullet in a bucket of 30 cal bullets, to see how it came out.

But I didn't. I threw a few hundred nice A-Max bullets in the bucket. Apparently the caustic or acid wash used to clean and prepare the bullet surfaces eats aluminum.

The 50 cal A-Max bullet has an aluminum tip plug filling the nose cavity. About half the aluminun tip got eaten.

I have never tried shooting any of these. I get upset every time I see that bucket of expensive bullets.

I am wondering if they could be hit with a cutter in a lathe and made either flat tipped, or cut with a slight point? The rest of the bullets are perfect.

50CalA-MAx1.jpg


50CalA-MAx.jpg
 
as much as that really sucks I am sitting here just pondering how much powder did you save? I know it isn't cheap to feed those pigs.

Any way you can get the rest of the aluminum out and glue in a .22 cal amax in its place :D
 
That sucks! I don't think there's anything you could do to those. With that much metal randomly missing you'll never end up with a bullet that's balanced enough to hit a target pointy end first IMHO. Maybe the coating supplier can buy you a couple hundred new bullets?
 
I leaned on the supplier pretty hard - but nothing. I don't recall how many bullets, but at least a hundred.

I am hoping the bullet can be machined to the bottom of the hollow cavity, to make it true.
 
I'd take it up with the coating supplier -you did discuss it with them prior...they should own up to it and make good.

Incidently, what is the coating?
 
I would drop the bullets in the solution again so all the aluminium disolves. At least that way the bullets would be all uniform and concentric in mass.
 
Bummer. They will shoot better than you think. Sell them here cheap for the boys to plink with or keep them for testing. Send me your price.

Cheers,
Rob
 
Dropping it back in is a good idea. Should have done that. This happened 5 yeasr ago. I have been tripping over that bucket all that time, getting upset every time I see it. Now I want to resolve the problem and see them put to a good use.
 
I have never counted them. Too painful. Might be 500 of them. At the time I was real pissed because it was a significant financial loss and I could have easily avoided it by testing just one bullet in a bucket of 308's.

If any of you who shoot 50 BMG want one to see if you can machine a new nose, just ask. Then you could make me an offer for the balance. If they can be made to shoot well, they would be great 600 yard bullets.
 
Wow, that bites it hard.

Shrapnel makles a good point about letting the caustic solution eat the rest of the nose caps. Or seat a Berger 22 cal VLD in the empty space.
 
Dissolve the rest of the aluminum out of the bullet, it goes in quite deep. The aluminum tip that Hornady uses is 1.50" long and weighs 51 grains.
To have some aluminum tips machined and then epoxied in place would be the best way to salvage them.
Hornady has barbs on the aluminum insert so when the lead is swaged it grips the tip, I don't think this could be done without totally ruining the bullets, but if the tolerances were kept tight some accraglass would work to hold the tips in place.
 
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