Turning fmj into hunting bullets

[Bucksnot]

A little while ago I posted a thread about turning bullets backwards for more expansion. Since I don't have any reloading equipment, all I got was a big NO on doing that. So instead of doing that I decided to try out clipping the tips of of bullets. I heard of this but was skeptical.

I went out today with the .223 and Wolf 55 grain FMJ. Distance was 40 yards. On one bullet I filed the tip and on the other I put a countersink bit in a drill press and made a hollow point. I shot these into a stack of magazines. Penetration was about 6 to 8 inches.

If anybody can post pictures of regular soft point ammo (non premium stuff) shot into the same material, that would be cool.

 

[Oklacoyotekiller]

i did this to some back in the early 90s. had a bunch of fmj givin to me to reload. never shot into media but they worked pretty good on varmints. interesting how well they opened up.

 

[rcmodel]

That is a Really Really bad idea too.
And dangerous!

A FMJ bullet jacket is closed on the front, and open on the base.
A SP or HP bullet jacket is closed on the base, and open on the front.

Noticed the "closed" part, which seems to be a reoccurring theme?

By filing or drilling a FMJ bullet tip, you have just made a hollow copper tube with a loose lead core in it.

When you shoot it, the lead core is free to blow out of the jacket and continue on it's way.

Guess where the hollow copper tube stops, waiting for the next shot?

You guessed it!
Stuck in the bore is right!

Give the man a cigar!!

rc

 

[Art Eatman]

This was a common deal in the Depression of the 1930s with Enfield/Springfields and M2 Ball ammo. There was that percentage of clip-offs which were overly enthusiastic and resulted in the lead blowing out.

"Real" ammo is much cheaper than a new barrel or a blown-up rifle.

 

[Oklacoyotekiller]

the bullets i had were totally jacketed. don't know what the wolf are. i do know what you are saying though. bucksnot, can you tell if the base of these are open?

 

[NOLAEMT]

If they are FMJ, the base IS open...

Like has been said, proper hunting ammo is cheaper than a new gun, or a new face...

 

[Oklacoyotekiller]

you might want to check on this. not all fmj are open on the base.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

you might want to check on this. not all fmj are open on the base.

If they are swaged (and 99.9% of FMJ's are) then yes sir they are open at the base. No way to physically close both ends in the process of making them.

 

[bbuddtec]

not open is tmj and it seems a squib is also possible.

 

[Jim K]

Some FMJs appear to be closed at the base because they have a thin copper disc closing the base. Those are tracers, and the disc melts in the barrel delaying the trace ignition.
There are also solid bullets, made entirely of bronze or gilding metal, but those are not common in either military or civilian use (and of course they are not FMJ - there is no jacket).

The military has also issued sniper bullets that are commercial target bullets. These are almost fully closed at the tip and the powers that be ruled that they are effectively the same as FMJ within the intent of the Hague convention.

Jim

 

[788Ham]

You know Bucksnot, I read your other thread, tried to understand your purpose there, then this one comes along......... It appears to me you've got too much time on your hands, or trying to deliberately dick up a good rifle. Why don't you take some real time, study the art of reloading, then decide on which bullets and powder you wish to make cartridges out of, will save you a lot of hassle and grief, unless you're dead set on blowing your fingers off, or worse! JMHO !

 

[snakeman]

i suggest you invest in some loading equipment. If you want to make your own cheap hunting ammo that's the only way to go. Leave the fmj's for practice if you don't want to reload. Otherwise, just buy wolf h.p. it's about the same price anyway.

 

[303tom]

They are cheaper.

 

[goon]

I also don't get why it would be necessary to make expanding ammo from FMJ. There is so much good .223 ammo available and it's really not that expensive. Even if Wolf is your choice, it's still just as easy to get HP stuff and you don't risk making a catastrophic mistake.
I have been told of how old-timers would file or hacksaw the nose off of FMJ surplus ammo back in the day, mostly with calibers like 7.7 Jap or 7.35 or 6.5 Carcano - calibers that they wanted to hunt with but couldn't find commercial ammo at the time. Never heard of anyone getting hurt from it, but the fact remains that in this day there's no reason to take the risk.

 

[caribou]

I make my Mosin's FMJ's into hunting rounds, when I use them to shoot the animals I hunt for Food and Fur ~~LOL!!~~

Accurate ammo ROCKS! doing home alterations to ammo is not a good idea for consistant shooting, and accuracy will suffer. That does not make for a good hunting bullet.

 

[BADUNAME37]

One must also be careful as there are federal laws pertaining to how much core vs. jacket is acceptible. In other words, you could end up accidentally creating a bullet that is illegal to make and illegal to own.

If that is the case, you are talking FELONY!

Can you say PRISON?

 

[goon]

Guess the old-timers down here felt that expanding bullets were preferred, but I agree that with a headshot it doesn't make the slightest difference.
And caribou is right about home alterations decreasing the accuracy. It'd be almost impossible to get a consistent bullet weight so your accuracy would suffer. I've also seen surplus ammo remanufactured by pulling the factory bullet and seating a SP bullet in its place, but that's also risky.
Factory ammo is loaded with a certain bullet, a certain amount of specified powder, and a certain amount of airspace inside the cartridge. If you pull the original bullet and just seat another without taking that into account you might change the amount of airspace, resulting in a round that's creating too much pressure. Too much pressure is known to send rifle components and hands and faces into orbit. It's just not worth the risk.

The best investments I've made in reloading are reloading manuals. They contain so much information that have helped me understand the finer points of ammunition and a lot of general history of different cartridges. I highly recommend that Bucksnot seek out a few manuals and go about manufacturing ammunition safely.

 

[Bucksnot]

Hi all again. I am not going to hunt with these nor am I going to make more of these. It was just an experiment that may need to be utilized in an emergency. I am still planning on getting some equipment as soon as I get some extra $$$. I always check the bore between shots anyways (single shot rifle). These were the only two things I wanted to try so don't worry, you will not be reading any more threads about these experiments.

My next thread will be when I get my reloading equipment. Thinking about a Hornady LNL.

 

[goon]

You might try shopping used for reloading equipment. I've picked an old single stage press for less than $50 on ebay before. I'd definitely go new on a set of scales and stay current on reloading manuals, but otherwise, good reloading equipment seems to last a long time.

 

[Art Eatman]

I have some dies which were already old in 1950. Same sort of thing for scales, for that matter; forty years old, anyhow. As long as there are no scratches inside a sizing die, they're good to go. "C" or "O" press, they all work.

Scales are easy enough to calibrate and check for repeatability. I wouldn't buy any which are so old they don't have the magnetic damper, though.

My preferred loading book is the Sierra. It has by far the best appendices for external ballistics. Newer books of course list the newer powders, but the old powders still work, just as they did sixty years ago.

 

[303tom]

One must also be careful as there are federal laws pertaining to how much core vs. jacket is acceptible. In other words, you could end up accidentally creating a bullet that is illegal to make and illegal to own.

If that is the case, you are talking FELONY!

Can you say PRISON?

In some states (YES) in the state of Missouri (NO). When hunting White-tail & such the bullet must have exposed lead be it PSP. SPRN, or JHP you must be able to see the lead. In some states HP`s are illegal & in some states the bullets have to be lead free. A full metal jacket (or FMJ) is a bullet consisting of a soft core (usually made of lead) encased in a shell of harder metal, such as gilding metal, cupronickel or less commonly a steel alloy. This shell can extend around all of the bullet, or often just the front and sides with the rear left as exposed lead. You should check bullets you are going to modify, here are some more pictures.

 

[Art Eatman]

Enuf...