Casting your own bullets & exotic metals?
So I read in another thread about the RBCD super bullets being made of an amalgam of metals which delivered all the energy into the target.
An' I got to thinkin' about what would be the legality of casting say, an aluminum/copper or lead/brass or some other alloy for one's own use?
I know absolutely nothing about metallurgy, but I'm sure that if some guy in Texas can make a very effective bullet; I probably could, too.
I saw some individual rounds that had been modified for greater expansion, but they had factory bullets in them.
Just curious about the legality, not the logistics.
If you know it all; you must have been listening.<br>WEAR EAR PROTECTION!
An' I got to thinkin' about what would be the legality of casting say, an aluminum/copper or lead/brass or some other alloy for one's own use?
I know absolutely nothing about metallurgy, but I'm sure that if some guy in Texas can make a very effective bullet; I probably could, too.
I saw some individual rounds that had been modified for greater expansion, but they had factory bullets in them.
Just curious about the legality, not the logistics.
If you know it all; you must have been listening.<br>WEAR EAR PROTECTION!
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I've never seen or heard anything to suggest one couldn't make bullets out of any alloy one chose . . . although somebody might get excited if it involved fissionable materials [;)] . . . .
Definitely wouldn't be advisable to use any such thing for self defense (any handload for that matter) . . . ATLA would have a field day and your tail would be the grass they mowed in that field.
Practically . . . . If you should decide to work on such a project, I would advise selecting a firearm with a bore which didn't much matter to you for the testing. Too soft an alloy and it will smear, too hard and it cause excessive wear. The standard bullet moulds are designed for a known shrinkage factor . . . using something exotic might or might not produce a significant diameter variance from those dimensions. A lot of breakthroughs have been invented in basements and garages, but I suspect you may find it a fruitless search given your lack of metallurgical training. Bet it would be interesting, though.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And DemoCraps" (me)0 -
If the majority of our reloading equipment came from peoples garages and laundry rooms I'm sure you could come up with something, test it, and sell it.
Something I'd like to see is magnesium shot for a shotgun. When you shoot a lawnmower with a magnesium case it gives quite a spark show. Now if you had magnesium shot in a shotgun everyone's 'appliance shoots' would be much more exciting. I think you could cut magnesium up with a band saw and put 1/4" chunks in a tumbler and end up with some magnesium buckshot....
Well I better be quiet now as everyone hates my ideas anyways.
Good luck.
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Red,
Doesn't Magnesium burn really hot, and is very easy to light? Would the ignition of the powder set off the bullet? Remember that British destroyer in the Falklyn (sp) Islands war. I think you might be building a flame thrower bullet.
muss0 -
Red,
What you suggest has already been done. It's called "Dragons Breath".
A one second flame thrower. Available in blister packs of three. Check Shotgun News.0 -
No legal problem in making your own bullets as long as they are of a type that is not banned for civilian use (e.g. armor piercing, exploding, etc.)
Lot's of good stuff has been developed in basements, garages, etc. so go for it and when you make the big time remember the encouragement you got here on the forum.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
Red, unless you want to risk destroying something, forget the magnesium. From my experience with it infrequently over the years (not anything formal), the amount of surface area area affects the ease of ignition . . . smaller particles ignite far more easily than larger quantities. I worked many years for a company which used magnesium extensively in production tooling. The tool and die shop took great precautions with the machining (I vaguely recall them coating some of it in oil for some processes to eliminate the possibility of "rapid oxidation" of the shavings / dust). We had a truck carrying some of these tools between a plant in NH and one in IN. Somehow the tooling caught fire (faulty exhaust pipe?) and it burned so hot it went right through the floor of the truck and through the asphalt until it fetched up against the gravel underneath. They changed the procedures for packaging the stuff after that. [:D] Bottom line, there's a possibility (I don't know how good) the flame and hot gases from a cartridge could ignite such projectiles. Wouldn't do the firearm any good (although possibly no harm) and the down range consequences could be very unfortunate. Many jurisdictions take a dim view of incendiary devices. I personally wouldn't mess with this family of metals in an amateur setting - too much potential downside. And yes, I'm aware of the "Dragon's Breath" loads.
Kirk, if you want to cast silver bullets, feel free to send me a few thousand . . . I'm sure I could find a good use for them . . . although not, perhaps, the same as their legendary purpose. [;)][}:)] But silver is not the same chemical family as magnesium and is far more stable.
v35 - interesting idea! I certainly wouldn't use anything like this in a self-defense load, though . . . man, would some bleeding heart lawyer love to tear into a guy who not only used handloads but made "especially deadly bullets" for the purpose.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And DemoCraps" (me)0 -
ICONOCLAST: Did'nt the Lone Ranger load Silver Bullets...?...jeeeez
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0 -
These frangible bullets may not be cast but compressed in a mould/die and heated enough to fuse the particles. The process is called sintering or powdered metallurgy. Depending on the amount of heat, pressure and time applied, the resultant product will be more or less porous and more or less strong. the process is used for sleeve bearings (porous) and low strength gears (less porous).
I believe you can use a number of different metals and combinations for this process. Sintered bullets would behave like miniature cannister rounds.
You could get the same effect by filling a mould with small steel shot then pouring molten lead into it.0 -
If buckshot is protected from the barrel by the plastic bucket they sit in inside the shell, friction will not light the magnesium.
If the shot is faster than the flash from the barrel that also should not light it, right?
I think dragons breath is magnesium powder and not an actual OO Buckshot size, I'll have to buy some and tear it apart for future knowledge.0
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