[FMarlon]

Not real sure where this post goes, move it if you see fit mods.

I am looking for a "Gag gift" for my shootin buddy.

He got so irritated about people always askin why he has so many different kinds of guns, that he tells them he is a "Werewolf and Undead Hunter". Kinda like in Van Helsing.

Anyway, I am looking for someone who can make me some silver bullets for his carry gun, a really nice chromed Norinco with custom grips made for him by his dad, a woodworker.

I can provide the silver for the bullets. Anyone here able to make a few(about 25 maybe) 230 grain fmj 45auto cartridges?

How much would something like this cost?

Would it be cooler to make em jhp?

[Hemicuda]

I have , in my pocket as I type, a speed-strip of silver colored Winchester Silver-Tip hollow point .38 Spl+p rounds... these things are all silver bullets in a nickel plated case...

these MAY be available in .45 also, and would save you a WHOLE lotta time and money!

[FMarlon]

Hmmm, never even crossed my mind to look for commercially availible cartridges. Thanks!

Seriously, I never did think of that LOL!!!

[grendelbane]

Warning!!!!!!!!!!! While Winchester Silvertip bullets are excellent projectiles for use against both humans and animals, they do not contain any real silver, and are worthless against the undead.

I have done a lot of research into this area, reading numerous vampire novels, and watching many re-runs of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Still, I have not determined what actual quantity of silver in a bullet is required to dispatch any example of the undead, or even a common were-wolf.

Personally, I think that merely silver plating the conventionial jacket of any number of normal bullets would do the trick. An alternative would be one of the cast bullet manufacturers who advertize a significant amount of silver in their product. (They don't add it in, it is present in the lead from which their bullets are cast.)

I have more questions than I have answers. For instance, would gelatin made from the hooves of undead cattle be an appropriate medium for testing the terminal ballistics of silver bullets?

Which lube works best with silver bullets? Them suckers are hard to cast! Have to keep both the pot and the mold blocks maximum hot! Sometimes I think that it would be easier just to turn them on a lathe.:D

[Hemicuda]

no, Silvertips have no real silver, but they DO look like sterling silver, and the effect that he is asking for can be acchieved at a MUCH lower price than casting real silver, and silvertips are good ammo to boot...

[Bullet]

Silver plating normal bullets will work for the Undead but Werewolfs and Vampires definitely need pure silver bullets. Silvertips won't work.

[grendelbane]

Silvertips are good ammunition!:)

If you want the purely cosmetic effect, you will have to avoid the lower pressure versions. Both the .380 and .45 ACP versions have aluminum jackets, which are quite dull in appearance.

On the bright side, however, the 9mm, .38 Super, .357 magnum, .41 & .44 magnum versions are nickel plated copper jackets.

They look nice and shiney!:D

I do believe that a silver bullet through the heart will kill any thing, undead, alive, walking, or crawling.

Still, it would not hurt to rub a little garlic on the nose, for added lubrication.:D

[Murphster]

If werewolves ever become a problem, my money's on Oregon Trail's bullets. I believe they actually do have a bit of silver in the alloy.

http://www.laser-cast.com/Laser_CastBullets.html

But for sheer eye appeal, and that Lone Ranger "perhaps this silver bullet will give you a hint" kind of thing, I agree with everyone regarding the Silvertips.

[MLC]

You best bet for the real deal would be:
A. Find a handloader that casts their own lead 45ACP bullets.
B. Go to a jeweler , or the web (http://www.ccsilver.com/silver/scastg.html), and get some silver casting grain(little silver pellets).
An ounce of silver would be more than enough for 25 230g silver bullets though I don't know how much waste there is in bullet casting.

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Before WW@ it was common to have in 45acp cartridges cupro-nickel bullets common known as German Silver that were in effect silver colored bullets. I have some but don't know where. Search for old timers who may have some.

There used to be some silver and gold plating kits on the market for hobbiests.

I think that to melt silver to cast bullets it would take a torch and a crucible that a jeweler would have if someone wanted to volunteer a mold for the high temperature experiment.

Fitz

[ClarkEMyers]

The world is full of ammunition with wooden bullets for everything from grenade launching to true dummy including short range in pre-plastic days - they are cartridge collector material in .45 ACP but easy enough to emulate - possible even to match the book descriptions.

Never tried it myself but Gun World did, some years ago now, following up on the Lone Ranger's stories of silver bullets. The report was that conventional bullet casting techniques produced bullets that were terribly wrinkled and irregular - such that if lead they would have been thrown back in the pot but as silver were as good as they could do.

For myself I'd go with shot capsule and drop shot - Speer or the T/C .45/.410 supplies which themselves are probably collector material now.

[Black Snowman]

Pricey but the Aguila IQ ammo (http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Aguila__45acp_IQ_Hollow_Point.html) looks silver. A bit dull but a quick run through the tumbler might fix that.

[JollyWhiteGiant]

I recall seeing a web stie some time ago for a company that does make ammo loaded with silver bullets. Most are dummys but they can make them into live rounkds if required. Being real silver they were very pricy, out of the realm of a gag gift for a full 6 of them.

[pauli]

for werewolves and vampires, i'd lean towards silver buckshot, myself. for zombies, i'd stick to buckshot, but use regular old lead - you've got to disarticulate them, and silver is a waste on most zombies anyway.

of course, the problem with silver buckshot is that it doesn't show well. :/ i guess it's back to the search for silver bullets!

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Considering that silver melts at 1716 degrees which cannot be obtained by a lead pot which is normally assumed. Another problem is that I would not want to try and bring up one of my excellent Saeco bullet molds up to a temperature to acommadate that hot a silver metal so that the silver would fill the bullet cavity properly and also that silver would be rather hard to size and lube properly, it seems that nickle or silver plating a jacketed bullet would be the best option.

Fitz

[Johnny Guest]

Obtain a box of Win Silvertip JHP cartridges. Measure the hollow cavity. Go to your neighborhood jeweler and ask him(/her?) to order you some sterling silver beads the next size LARGER than the HP. Carefully ream out the HP to where it will just barely accept the bead as a press fit. Use epoxy or SuperGlue to secure the bead in place.

Hypothetically, the bullet will serve as a non-discarding sabot to carry the sub-caliber sterling silver projectile to the target. Far easier and simpler, not to mention MUCH less expensive, than having the entire proper-diameter bullet fabricated from silver. I'd wager it will be a lot more accurate, as well.

There. No charge for this introductory consultation. I'll have to charge a fee for future "Fighting supernatural beings" projects, though.



:D
Johnny

[Black Snowman]

I wonder if this novelty market could be expanded with jacketted cold iron rounds for fighting the fey and oak shotgun slugs as "get lucky" anti-vampire item for your friendly neighborhood Streetsweeper, Jackhammer, or CAWS.

[grendelbane]

What about vampires wearing body armor?

Dracula in Kevlar!:eek:

[HankB]

Doesn't Glaser - the maker of the famous pre-fragmented Glaser Safety Slug - make a load called Glaser Silver?

Anyway, if you follow the do-it-yourself route, I found that if you drill out the hollowpoint, fill the enlarged cavity with holy water, and seal it up with wax from a blessed candle which was first lit on Christmas eve, the bullet works just fine against the undead. :rolleyes: