The future of bullets

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White Horseradish

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With the price of lead skyrocketing and driving up ammo prices, how long do you think we will continue to use lead in projectiles? And what can possibly replace it? I know there are solid copper bullets, but that seems even more expensive.

I'm thinking we will not be going to energy weapons any time soon for lack of decent batteries, so firearms are sticking around for a while.
 
I spotted an article in (I think) Chemical Engineering News where they were trying sintered/compressed tin powder and tungsten particle bullets. The Sn for the adhesion and lubricity, the W for the weight/density. (The object there was to eliminate leading up the environment.)

I'm sure I can dig up more info sooner or later on this if anyone's interested, but it'll probably be later. I think I posted this a while back, but I've gotta go now.
 
Bismuth is a metal that is very similar to lead in properties, but its already much more expensive than lead. It's fairly benign as well and already used as an alternative in some shotshells.

The only downside of turning solid bullets is the density is less than lead, so the bullets need to be physically larger (usually longer) if you're wanting to keep the same mass.
 
Don't worry about the materials and that cost - worry about all the crazy serialization and micro-stamping nonsense. That will truly raise prices, make it harder to buy ammo, and my favorite twist - you have to police all your brass at the range, or risk having some lowlife pick up your casings and drop them at a crime scene!

Don't think it will happen? Federal legislation is currently in motion, CA passed it, IL has something and I'm sure a ton of other states as well.

FIGHT this, or risk paying $150 for 50 .45's!!
 
I'd be less worried about lead availability than the current control/ban legislation in progress. I had a feeling they would attack the ammo since gun bans aren't working.
 
Well, all that'll happen is that manufacturers will quit selling "serialized" or any other bullets in that state. And hopefully they'll have the balls to refuse sales to any law enforcement or national guard from that state too.
 
I spotted an article in (I think) Chemical Engineering News where they were trying sintered/compressed tin powder and tungsten particle bullets. The Sn for the adhesion and lubricity, the W for the weight/density. (The object there was to eliminate leading up the environment.)
Click to expand...

If you think ammo is expensive now, wait until the enviro nazis require stuff like this!

--wally.
 
If you think ammo is expensive now, wait until the enviro nazis require stuff like this!
Click to expand...

Well, gold is pretty malleable, pretty dense, and is evironmentally inert. Wait'll they start requiring that for bullet cores.

Whoops! I take that back. Don't want to give them any ideas or more chokepoints to restrict the firearms sports.

Hmmmm.... but all we'd need is some Philosopher's Stone and we could each be making our own gold core material...

However, casting it in aluminum mold blocks would be a beotch.
 
They're already making ammo with copper/tin frangible bullets. SBR Greenmatch runs about $22-23 a box. In my limited experience with it, it has worked well.

Winchester sells a tin bullet with a copper jacket, but it's a little more expensive ($31/box).
 
Gold would make an excellent bullet. Nearly perfect, in fact. Denser than lead, soft, inert. How about a 230 grain 9mm load? Hehe.

All we need is a giant gold meteor to crash to earth, making it so plentiful and abundant that it's practically free.
 
I love the environmental argument against lead bullets. The lead comes from a hole in the ground. I shoot it at the range where it buries itself in the ground. The EPA thinks it should be dug out of the ground again and buried in a government sanctioned hole in the ground.
 
ok I have a thought or two on this. With the cost of oil going higher every couple of months has any one thought that lead yes has increased in price but ammunition cost has gone up because shipping cost has gone up?
 
Transportation costs are a major contributing factor to the recent increases in the cost of ammunition. Lead has actually decreased in price recently, but ammo costs keep increasing.

And I agree totally with the post about lead and the EPA. Lead is a naturally occurring substance, yet large deposits of it are deemed harmful to the environment. Seems like we should do a Chernobyl-type evacuation of places like Galena IL, Galena KS, and anywhere else they have historically mined lead!
 
lead is a natural substance... It is hardly an environmental disaster to be compared with 3 mile island.

Plastic will eventually replace most metals anyway.

It isn't the lead prices that are causing the bullets to sky rocket. It is the copper, IMO.
 
I love the environmental argument against lead bullets. The lead comes from a hole in the ground. I shoot it at the range where it buries itself in the ground. The EPA thinks it should be dug out of the ground again and buried in a government sanctioned hole in the ground.
Click to expand...

I agree, but gotta play devil's advocate for a minute.
Petroleum is also a naturally ocurring substance that comes from a hole in the ground, but we don't go dumping oil everywhere.
 
I love the environmental argument against lead bullets. The lead comes from a hole in the ground. I shoot it at the range where it buries itself in the ground. The EPA thinks it should be dug out of the ground again and buried in a government sanctioned hole in the ground.
Click to expand...

Here in CA where the eco nazi's run a muck, there environmental argument was,(which worked by the way) to ban lead bullets for hunting pretty much in the bottom half of the state, because of the ever so precious condor. I read a report on "the condor" and lead poisoning, if I remember right they found three out of a dozen dead condors died of lead piosoning, (not to bad considering there was only millions upon millions of bullets fired in that time frame.) They will find any reason to put more restrictions on firearms, weather it be through the front door or backdoor. Next thing you know they will ban copper for bullets because it has an adverse effect on the female snail population.
 
I spotted an article in (I think) Chemical Engineering News where they were trying sintered/compressed tin powder and tungsten particle bullets. The Sn for the adhesion and lubricity, the W for the weight/density. (The object there was to eliminate leading up the environment.)
Click to expand...
Isn't that what Extreme Shock ammo is made out of? Read an article in a gun rag recently where the author was talking about them. I'm not impressed with their performance nor the price but they may be onto something given more development.

three out of a dozen dead condors died of lead piosoning
Click to expand...
WWDS? (What would Darwin say?)

Maybe Glock will bring out a "perfection" line of polymer bullets :)
 
I am not so much worried about someone coming for my ammo as I am musing about possibilities. Things evolve and I'm wondering where it may take us.

What would really be cool is if we figured out how to make carbon into bullets, since it is truly plentiful. And tactical. :)
 
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