bullet Question

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beehlebf

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i was doing some handloads recently and my unclestopped buy. he showed me how he made hollow points for a 45acp by drilling out the top of a fmj bullet with a drill press, and i thought to myself what if u pre drilled a bullet and put a small metal screw in the top i wondered if that would increase expansion of the bullet or even be safe to try
 
Sure, people try all kinds of wacky things. You can even do it safely if you are an experienced reloader. Probably everything you can imagine has been shot out of a gun.

Be careful about putting steel into pistol bullets though, you might run afoul of federal laws.

Koski
 
I woudln't carry those in a SD gun. You might get accused of manufacturing armor-piercing ammo.

My best guess, though, is you'd just plug up the HP. The only way that would expand is if it hit something hard.
 
The problem is that unless you do this drilling on a metal lathe, then the hole won't be in the dead center of the bullet, along the axis of rotation. That will make the bullet wobble in flight, because these bullets spin VERY fast. Accuracy will then just go out the window.

Ever seen a football when it started to wobble in flight? It didn't go too far did it?
 
Once upon a time there was a tool on the market for hollow pointing loaded 38/357 or 44spl/mag ammo. This device consisted of a bullet holder similar to a sizing die and a second hand held part with a small drill at the end. You simply put the loaded round into the holder and turned the drill bit by hand. It did make excellent HP bullets. I do remember that it came in two sizes for either 38 or 44 bullets. Don't know if this device is still made, but you could search the net for used one. :)
 
A hollow point bullet needs a hollow point to work. Placing a screw in one will prevent it from accepting fluid and expanding.
 
My concern would be having a jacketed bullet open on both ends and the possiblity of shooting the lead core out of the jacket and leaving the jacket stuck in the barrel.
 
My concern would be having a jacketed bullet open on both ends and the possiblity of shooting the lead core out of the jacket and leaving the jacket stuck in the barrel.
Click to expand...

Exactly. If you want hollowpoint handgun bullets, there are some fine moulds being made to produce them.

Don
 
I swage my own hollowpoint bullets for handguns in .357, .41 and .44 calibers. Concentric and accurate, but a slower process than casting. And they do expand.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
What your uncle is doing is not only a total waste of time, but it is Dangerous.

A drilled FMJ simply will not expand at .45 ACP velocity.

As Doug b correctly pointed out in post #7, what you are doing is basically creating a hollow copper tube with a hole in both ends.
With a soft lead slug inside it.

Bore pressure might squirt the lead core out and leave the jacket firmly stuck in the barrel.
The next shot will be a real learning experience in gun repair.

Real hollow-points have the jacket completely enclosing the base of the bullet with the nose left open.

FMJ's have the jacket completely enclosing the nose of the bullet, with the base left open.

rc
 
After WWII, or so I've read, surplus military ammo was just about all that was available, and was often drilled or points cut off to make expanding bullets for hunting. At 45 ACP speeds I don't think you drilled bullet would expand, even with a screw in the nose nor do I think you'd "blow the core right out" of the bullet either. Pretty much everything has been tried by home casters/reloaders; the stuff that worked we hear about, the stuff that didn't work usually gets lost...

FWIW, I just bought 500 FMJ .451" bullets (45 ACP) and every one had a full metal jacket, even the bases!
 
surplus military ammo was just about all that was available, and was often drilled or points cut off to make expanding bullets for hunting
Click to expand...

^^^^
this
at fast, as in rifle fast, you will have a noticeable effect but at slow handgun speeds, what's the point if it doesn't work and produces inconsistent ammo.
 
Quote:
surplus military ammo was just about all that was available, and was often drilled or points cut off to make expanding bullets for hunting

Whether it was done thru necessity or not, it remains an unsafe reloading practice.

Don
 
don, look up 'dum dum' ammo,
interesting read about the advent of the 'civilized' ban on HP and other 'inhumane' ammunition.
MY POINT, this technique has been around a LONG time, but like I pointed out, modern ammo is SO much better, why bother making something inferior when you can buy the accurate stuff.
 
"...drilling out the top of a fmj bullet..." Doesn't work. Just buggers the bullet weight and gives an FMJ with a hole in the end. Cutting the points off ball rifle ammo doesn't work either. Jackets are too thick on either.
 
With the readily available engineered hollow point bullets designed to perform at the velocities of the caliber for the hand loader and loaded ammunition for others, its rather pointless to go about drilling holes in FMJ's.
 
MY POINT, this technique has been around a LONG time
Click to expand...

Know all about the bullets made at the Dum-Dum Arsenal. But, the fact that something has been done for a long time, doesn't in and of it's self mean it's a good idea. Again, this is not considered a safe reloading practice, and since many new reloaders frequent this site, I would never recommend anyone do this.

Don
 
Another consideration is bullet weight. After drilling and putting a screw in, or what ever the modification may be, the bullet weight must be in line with the powder charge. A friend of my Son filled a hollow point with epoxy mixed with steel shavings. What he was trying to invent was a bullet that had some potential to pierce ammor I guess, who knows. But because he increased the weight of the bullet significantly, the pressures went sky high splitting the case and blowing the primer, and fortunately the only damaged was to his model 10 S&W. The cylinder fractured and he couldn't get it to open without using a mallet to beat it open. The 5 unfired rounds still in the gun made it a little freaky. As soon as I heard about his little experiement in the works I sounded the horn, so to speak, and told my Son to make sure he is well back away from his friend when he pulls the trigger!
This is the kind of stuff that gets people hurt. If a guy wants a hollow point go buy one, or use proper methods listed in the books for making your own. But to just drill a hole in a FMJ is risky business at the very least. I can't really believe anyone would inspire such dangerous hourse play!
 
Adding a steel pin to a handgun load almost without exception runs afoul of armor-piercing restrictions.

For that reason alone I would be very hesitant.

You could achieve the same result with ballistic polymer tips inverted into the hole, or an airsoft pellet pressed into a slightly undersized hole.

As previously stated, unless your lead cores were exceptionally soft- and your jacket perforated or exceptionally thin (unlikely in an fmj construction) you will more than likely not produce the results you have imagined.

Hollowpoint bullets are constructed with all of the techniques mentioned in the previous paragraph to function at handgun velocities.

Hope this helps you in your endeavors.
 
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