So he loves them for deer hunting. He says the purpose of copper bullets is to avoid poisening your meat with lead pieces.
The purpose of all copper rifle bullets is to have a bullet that won`t shed its core and retain maximum weight for deep penitration on large game. There are other boards where I`ve read questions on useing them on deer size and smaller game. The bullets are very tough and have been reported to fail to expand properly unless large bone is struck in some cases. It has been hinted the lead cored bullets are a better choice unless Elk, Moose or other larger game is the target. I don`t know if this is true as I`ve never felt the need for one (all copper) and have been happy with std constructed Hornady, Noslers, ect, on deer.
Think it over it over for a moment though. The purpose of a bullet in a defence handgun is to stop an attack. I don`t give a rip how much "lead" or other debris is left in the wound. I want the bullet to do as much damage as possible and stop the attack NOW. I want a bullet that expands fast in the "body" not on the other side, and penitrates reliably through clothing while doing this. I`m fine no matter the material it`s built from if it does this.
If you have a copper bullet that's the same weight, it's shorter. This messes up stability and accuracy in super sonic rifles. I don't know about handguns, but I wonder
Copper bullets are acually longer then lead for equal wgt. I think you`ve got a typo here.
The longer bullet can pose problems in some rifles as the twist needed to stabilize them can be faster for the heavier wgts then with the same wgt lead cored bullet. they also intrude on powder space and can make it difficult to find safe loads without the proper data from the BULLET manufacture. They aren`t interchangable as to loading data with lead core. They do serve a purpose in magnum rifles and on large game in rifles I must admit. The best use for them I feel is to use a lighter bullet in place of a heavy one, say a lighter 165 gr 30 cal bullet in place of a 180 gr lead core and drive it at a higher velocity for game you expect to have to take long shots at. This will flatten your trajectory and still give good penitration/performance at longer range in fast flat shooting cartridges.They aren`t the best for every situation but work pretty much as designed and do have purpose.
As far as all copper bullets in handguns, I`ve no idea how well they`ll work. I can see the need in some cases for increased penitration. The short barreled guns lower velocity might reduce penitration some and the copper bullet improve there, but other bullets styles would do as well IMO. I would worry about good expantion at low velocity though. I`m sure the designers have worked on this and it should be reliable, but I`ll wait for the street reports to come in first.
The accuracy of a self defence round is moot in my eyes. If I can keep hits on a 10" square at 15yds they are much more accurate then I need to defend myself at 5 ft. If the attacker is farther I`m probably better off trying to escape then have a shoot out.
