Plastic jacketed lead bullets...

[Lanius]

There is this old thread I tried replying to:

Are epoxide composite jacketed lead bullets common in the US?

There is this company I know of that makes them in Slovakia.. and their business is booming. I think they also have it all patented by now. They already have the 500 m/s max speed bullets well researched.

Rifle rounds.. that's harder, as the jacket doesn't stand heat that well, but they are working on that, so I suspect we'll see some epoxide jacketed rifle bullets too.. eventually.

To me.. it seems that this kind of jacketing will be cheaper than copper.

They cost.. dunno. I think 20% more than plain old lead. Epoxide and polymers are cheap.

They stink a little in indoor ranges.. but one review in a good local gun rag said it appears that these bullets... clean the bore.

 

[GLOOB]

I saw those bullets on another thread. They various colors have a way of making bullets look like sex toys. Especially the ones with multiple gas checks.

Copper plated bullets are also very cheap, these days. I'm not sure polymer coated bullets will catch on in the US if they're patented. Polymers might be cheaper than copper, but if you tack on royalties, where are you going to get the savings?

Ranges recycle bullets. There's a plus there for copper, as it's a bit greener.

 

[Lanius]

@Gloob

People around here are not aiming to earn millions. Being a rich basterd is pretty low on most people's list of things they want to do before they die. Blame their commie upbringing...
He invented the process because he was tired of cleaning lead out of bores and had extensive epoxide experiences.

The guy who invented these would be likely happy to sell the process to anyone if he could make a little money out of it and wouldn't feel exploited afterwards.

 

[M-Cameron]

People around here are not aiming to earn millions. Being a rich basterd is pretty low on most people's list of things they want to do before they die. Blame their commie upbringing...
He invented the process because he was tired of cleaning lead out of bores and had extensive epoxide experiences.

ide much rather clean lead/ copper than some plastic/ epoxy resin......

 

[Zanad]

hmm, would a better idea be sell a plastic bullet that was covered by a metal jacket of some sort?

 

[Carter]

I'm new to this idea so...wouldn't the plastic embed itself in the rifling?

 

[Owen Sparks]

Somebody used to marker a nylon coated lesd bullet for indoor range use. The were called Nyclad.

 

[1911Tuner]

Nyclad was first sold under the Smith & Wesson logo. Federal bought the rights, and made some very good ammunition. I considered the .357 158-grain SWCHP to be one of the best defensive rounds for the caliber to come down the pike. Wish I'd bought 10 cases of the stuff before it disappeared. Ditto for the 125 grain Nyclad .38 Special.

 

[hermannr]

There are plastics, and then there are plastics...yes, some plastic would do very poorly in the firearm environment, but longer chain polymers melt at higher temperatures then you might think.

That is why when H&K came out with the first "plastic" gun (the VP70) congress passed a law that there had to be enough metal in a firearm that metal detectors could find it. Why? becasue it is theoretically possible to make a complete firearm out of plastic, and ammo for same too.

Too bad I am retired, but I could see with the "greens" concern with lead, a plastic jacketed bullet could be a good alternate, and compaired to copper plastics are very inexpensive.

 

[Lanius]

I'm new to this idea so...wouldn't the plastic embed itself in the rifling?

Well... people always have a hard time with careful reading. It's not plastic, it's a composite epoxide polymer coating. Epoxide is glue, polymer is like microscopic strings. That's my guess.. the procedure is patented.

The bullets don't foul the bore at all. They stink a little in indoor ranges.

Hah... if someone could make steel ammo out of this.. that'd be cheap, ecological and AP. Too bad steel cores are banned here.. but at least greens are pretty pathetic and toothless in Bohemia and Moravia. That's good.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The ammo in my wife's revolver is Nyclad.

One of the reasons I have heard for using the Nyclad jacket is to reduce vaporized lead in the air in indoor ranges.

Of course the anti-gunners try to paint "plastic coated bullets" as armour piercing cop, nun and orphan killer bullets. The KTW armour piercing bullets (designed by cops) did have a teflon jacket to protect the gun barrel from the hard metal bullet, but while the teflon coat had nothing to do with the armor piercing characteristic of the bullet, some US jurisdictions ban the use of teflon for bullet jacket material, and movies like "Ronin" talk about dipping bullets in teflon to shoot through Kevlar armour.

But to the opening post, plastic jacket material has been used and Nyclad appears to have gained acceptance with some users.

 

[CraigC]

He invented the process because he was tired of cleaning lead out of bores and had extensive epoxide experiences.

Sounds like maybe he should've spent his time, money and effort into understanding how cast bullets work. You match your diameter to your gun, match your hardness to your velocity and there is little to no leading. I shoot cast bullets almost exclusively and can't remember the last time I had to clean lead out of a bore.

 

[brickeyee]

Plastic does not have the density to provide adequate lass for bullets.

There are reason heavier and denser metals are preferred.

Coatings to prevent leading are a solution in search of a problem.

 

[Lanius]

@brickeye

We have cheap and accurate plastic .308 practice ammo. Wouldn't wanna get hit by one .. (German origin of rounds). No cases.. just primer, gunpoweder and a plastic shell.

@brickeye
That was just my guess.. I read an article on the ammo a long time ago.
The idea is neat. Copper is expensive, and I suspect these plastic rounds are gonna be easier on the bore.