Re use a copper bullet?

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Bavarianbrit

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was at the IWA show in Nurnberg last Saturday and the Barnes table was showing off the expansion of their copper bullets after firing into their vertical water chamber the rep said "take one" so I did.
Today I looked at it and thought WHAT IF? so with my junior hacksaw I sawed off the four petals of the .264 inch 120 grain bullet then I measured the shank diameter and all was ok as it measured at .262 inches until at the front area just behind the bottom of the hollow point which had expanded to .280 inches. Off to my drill press and with some careful filing I took the front area back to .265 inches and added a chamfer at the tip. I think it will go into a 6.5x57R case with less powder loaded acc to GRT for 94 grains and use it as a fangschuss/finishing off cartridge for close range work. See the pictures.
 

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Like a mountain, because it is there.
I am a retired engineer with mucho spare time and a curious nature. So why not?
At 1,09€ + delivery for each bullet it might be worth the craic.
Normally they pass through the beast and get lost in the vegetation and so normally nobody would do this test.
 
Coz I have it and I am curious, don't you get that?
I do shoot a muzzleloader .45 Hawken too so ballistics are and have been for 40+ years a hobby of mine and this one as being a copper bullet at only 94 grains is lightweight and blunt but should work. I will not use it as my main ammunition only as a finisher.
 
i don't really no ?

you've picked up a freebee fired bullet at a show and turned it back to the correct size ish after cutting off the expanded petals to make a weird kind of one off 'finishing' bullet because for some reason your normal ammo isn't suitable as a dispatch round ?

and you for some reason tell me that you have a .45 hawken muzzle loader as if that explains why you are modifying .264 fired bullets?

i'm not trying to be obtuse but i am struggling to join the dots here?
 
Cool project, and yes, why not. :) To me at least that sounds a more interesting and skill developing/maintaining project than far most of the things a lot of ends up doing with our free time.
How do you expect the bullet to behave terminally ballistically, after this process? Should it still have ok expansion, or will it now more act like a solid dangerous game projectile, and power through more or less as is, size wise?
 
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I’m not so sure this is a great idea. The used bullet has been subjected to extreme forces in its first firing. There might be internal defects and cracks that are not evident on visual inspection that might cause it to catastrophically fail when you try firing again.

If you fire this, on your head. Don’t do it with anyone else around especially if shooting through a moderator or brake.
 
Jagged77 said:
I’m not so sure this is a great idea. The used bullet has been subjected to extreme forces in its first firing. There might be internal defects and cracks that are not evident on visual inspection that might cause it to catastrophically fail when you try firing again.

If you fire this, on your head. Don’t do it with anyone else around especially if shooting through a moderator or brake.
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No,I bet its fine.

Bullets have to be malleable in order to be pressed into the Rifling and spun to a billizion RPM,then to keep mostly together once they travel through a medium.
 
norsk said:
No,I bet its fine.

Bullets have to be malleable in order to be pressed into the Rifling and spun to a billizion RPM,then to keep mostly together once they travel through a medium.
Click to expand...
quick fag packet calculations come up with 129600 RPM for a 1-10'' rifling (but i could be wrong)
 
dunwater said:
Penny wise, pound foolish.
Price the labour and that’s one expensive cartridge.
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What do I do else with my time?
FFS I am retired now the last 6 years and keeping my brain busy is important to me for keeping alts/dementia etc away. With my income buying new copper ammo/bullets is no problem but as I do not use copper and after 8 years in total spread over 35 years of working stateside I have built up a mega stash of cup & core bullets that will see me well out. I am a ballistic experimenter.
Now I am trying out some .222 inch airgun lead pellet solids with a dished base that I bought at IWA from the makers stand to try using in my Hornet. I took out the pull back sizing pin from the Lee sizing die and it leaves the case just the right diameter to hold the slightly undersized bullet at an OAL of 1.615". I will use according to GRT VV N320 pistol powder left over from the way back ban to get 2638 fps and see how they group.
Like I wrote above I am a ballistic experimenter.
 
Bavarianbrit said:
What do I do else with my time?
FFS I am retired now the last 6 years and keeping my brain busy is important to me for keeping alts/dementia etc away. With my income buying new copper ammo/bullets is no problem but as I do not use copper and after 8 years in total spread over 35 years of working stateside I have built up a mega stash of cup & core bullets that will see me well out. I am a ballistic experimenter.
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I’m also retired, and I’m well aware of the mission creep that can occur when the inclination to do something coincides with an ill defined timeline. Thats why I have more walking sticks than any sane man would ever need and still obsessively collecting shafts and hoarding antlers to make more.
I’ll make a gentleman’s wager with you.
Theres far more chance of me wearing out all those sticks than there is of you actually firing that cartridge.
It’s worth far more to you as a conversation piece, you could fire it but I bet you wont.
I wouldn’t fire it either.
Bavarianbrit said:
Now I am trying out some .222 inch airgun lead pellet solids with a dished base that I bought at IWA from the makers stand to try using in my Hornet. I took out the pull back sizing pin from the Lee sizing die and it leaves the case just the right diameter to hold the slightly undersized bullet at an OAL of 1.615". I will use according to GRT VV N320 pistol powder left over from the way back ban to get 2638 fps and see how they group.
Like I wrote above I am a ballistic experimenter.
Click to expand...
This promises to be almost the ultimate work creation/ time killer scheme for anyone with a loading bench.
Lead bullets don’t behave well going down a barrel over around 1,600FPS.( It might be a bit less.) Thats why bullet makers squash them into jackets for high velocity cartridges.
Lead melts in the bore ( and in the air enroute if you drive it fast enough ), leaving a layer firmly welded to the interior of your barrel. This can take days of very boring effort to remove, and it happens quite quickly. Once the lead is deposited, the rifle won’t group with any ammunition at all until the lead is removed and the barrel fouled again with jacketed bullets.

Maybe have a little search on the interweb before you commit to this particular project, or maybe keep your velocities around .22lr levels.
 
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