Hammer copper bullets are machined in CNC lathes to apparently very exacting tolerances.Why do some believe copper bullets are machined?
Are they not just cast or cut and then swaged?
Machining them seems daft to me, an average engineer....
Yeah, I stand corrected.Hammer copper bullets are machined in CNC lathes to apparently very exacting tolerances.
Pretty much every copper/copper alloy bullet on the market is machined. The most practical process when you think about it and really what has made them possible for the mass market. Facilitates the creation of different diameters (common with these bullets), the cutting of the driving bands, drilling of hollow points or turning of other tip styles. Modern CNC machines means you can turn them out in high numbers very economically, with very high accuracy and excellent surface finish.Yeah, I stand corrected.
I'm surprised they are not swaged.
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fangschuss/finishing off cartridge for close range work. See the pictures.
Done, now to fire it.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.
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.

Who gives a ....Will it achieve the 1-2000 joules of energy at 100 meters required in your neck of the woods?![]()
GRT gives for this weight of projectile these figures.Will it achieve the 1-2000 joules of energy at 100 meters required in your neck of the woods?![]()
Hi Miles.Not sure punching small diameter holes through something with a reduced velocity solid copper bullet, no matter how lovingly crafted, would fit the definition of "humane despatch".
Most professional codes (veterinary, commercial slaughter, livestock production etc) recommend humane destruction by a frontal or temporal shot to the head to destroy the cerebral cortex/stem. Usually recommended is a soft lead bullet in the slower or pistol type calibres like ,22LR/WMR, .357 or .38. A shotgun just inche from the skull is also very effective (and prefered by many) and accommodates non-toxic where required. Not as messy as it sounds.
Miles
Hi Miles.
You mention .22lr. Would this cartridge reliably penetrate the skull of various livestock?
Thanks Miles.Absolutely. As Smelly has responded, been doing it for a hundred years. Older cattle require thoughtful placement and something a bit bigger would be preferred.
if it ever gets slow on here, you can always just do another oneGlad it got a few folk talking, my experiment is finished.