Solid copper bullets vs lead core bullet and barrel wear.

J

Jbordi

Guest
Does anyone know if solid copper or lead core bullets wear out a barrel more rapid then the other. Don't know if it makes any difference at all?
 
Probably won't make any difference in hunting bullets and hunting rifles. For hunting rifles we may not have any choice in a fews years anyway. For target rifles there will probably be lead core available for a longer period. For me at 75 probably no problem either way. I hope pure lead bullets will be available for .22LR target loads for the foreseeable future. The non-lead .22LR bullets sure don't show any target performance yet. Max
 
FOLKS; The laws of Physics continue to be valid in rifle barrels. Lead is malleable, solic copper and derivitives are not. The early attempts to shoot solid bronze and solid copper bullets resulted in obvious over pressure, even firearm distruction. This should enlighten all. The solid non-malleable bullet, hereafter refered to as solids,create more friction within the barrel, creating more heat. The more often you shoot thru the barrel the more it heats. This in turn creates a situation where stress cracks and erosion can accelerate barrel wear. Note that the tables supplied by the suppliers of the solid bullets do not specify how valid their tables are for elevated chamber and barrel temperatures. Those who wish to prolong barrel life need to shoot conventional bullets. Those with match grade rifles need to petition their game and fish folks NOT to forbid the use of lead and jacketed lead bullets. Futhermore, loading solids to maximum velocity might surprise you on a hunt. Consider the high friction situation exaserbated by a dirty barrel on a hot day. You cannot be too cautious with this technology, either old or new. Of course, if you shoot 6 rounds a year, 3 for zero and three on a kill, you may never notice barrel wear. That is likely what the solid manufacturers are counting on. Your interests are reliability and longevity. Theirs is profits. Amen.
 
There have been solid hunting bullets available for some time. Never shot them but I seem to remember they tend to copper foul much more than jacketed. Then there is the density factor; copper is 8.9 and lead is around 11.4, so a bullet would have to be 28% longer to maintain weight, requiring a faster twist.

Lead bullets don't wear barrels appreciably but when pushed, they foul badly. There are very low pressure limitations when shooting lead.
 
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DR FLOSSY said:
FOLKS; The laws of Physics continue to be valid in rifle barrels. Lead is malleable, solic copper and derivitives are not. The early attempts to shoot solid bronze and solid copper bullets resulted in obvious over pressure, even firearm distruction. This should enlighten all. The solid non-malleable bullet, hereafter refered to as solids,create more friction within the barrel, creating more heat. The more often you shoot thru the barrel the more it heats. This in turn creates a situation where stress cracks and erosion can accelerate barrel wear. Note that the tables supplied by the suppliers of the solid bullets do not specify how valid their tables are for elevated chamber and barrel temperatures. Those who wish to prolong barrel life need to shoot conventional bullets. Those with match grade rifles need to petition their game and fish folks NOT to forbid the use of lead and jacketed lead bullets. Futhermore, loading solids to maximum velocity might surprise you on a hunt. Consider the high friction situation exaserbated by a dirty barrel on a hot day. You cannot be too cautious with this technology, either old or new. Of course, if you shoot 6 rounds a year, 3 for zero and three on a kill, you may never notice barrel wear. That is likely what the solid manufacturers are counting on. Your interests are reliability and longevity. Theirs is profits. Amen.
Click to expand...

FOLKS;

I believe this to be speculative BS

Solids are malleable and have been in common usage for half a century.

IMO the Barnes TTSX is quite simply the best hunting bullet ever made for North American game.

Amen

al
 
Those boys and girls that shoot the 50 BMG for fun use a lot of solid bullets. Mostly bore-riders. I don't think they would do anything that hurts their $1000 barrels.:rolleyes:

Ray
 
The alloy used is what has made the difference..

Bullets both jacketed and monoliths have advanced considerably. Having talked with Randy Brooks (Barnes) Lonnie Hummel (Hornady) and Bill Hobert (Swift) all have said they have spent considerable time and expense researching the right copper alloys. Many of the older bullets were too hard and too brittle for good bullets. Barnes has expanded from the original its original idea of the Zippido(sp) bullets to the true grooved bearing surface. Thus reducing the friction and pressure issue originally encountered.
Nat Lambeth
 
Hot gases and cleaning rods are the primary culprits in barrel wear. The former causes throat erosion (worse in some cartridges than in others). The careless cleaning without a bore guide is the worst offender. I don't think that there is a dime's worth of difference in the wear of a barrel shooting monolithic bullets or lead cored ones. Good shooting...James
 
I would have to agree with JD. and Nat. I have not had any wear related or hard coppering issues in my benchgun trying solid bullets, however, I have not shot thousands of them yet, but will plan to in one of my older barrels. I can say in a barrel that has no copper issues, it still has no copper issues when using the solids. Loaded to typical cup and core bullet speeds, no pressure issues have been noticed whith my experiences. Bullet compound, shape and diameter all are factors in design to prevent pressure issues. The right combination can be quite/very accurate. Hopefully we will continue to have the choice, it is likely we may not if things keep going the way they have been. There are some good explinations on this topic on several solid manufatures web sights. Also see P/S article from June 2011 pg. 28
Andy B
 
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