A new study led by epidemiologists at Brown University found that among firearm owners, less safe storage was associated with higher blood lead levels in children.
Copper for slugs, while more expensive has a risk level close to 0 in comparison to lead. It also has excellent ballistic properties and will expand properly with designs like hollow points
It’s actually not the projectile that causes most of the lead exposure for shooters. It’s the cartridge primers, they use lead styphnate for their explosive. Copper bullets are mainly to not spread lead through the environment where it can harm wildlife, and to avoid the risk of consuming lead in shot animals.
Per friend: -$35 a person $12 for the second and ammo varies wildly. They start about $20/$30 a box for 9mm 50 rounds, but most people use 1/2 boxes ler trip"
Also, per them, tungsten is a no-no due to its armor-piercing abilities.
It is, the ranges mark up the ammo (what business doesn’t) as they sell small quantities to a captive audience who will pay. Ammoseek represents the other end of the spectrum, ppl buying wholesale in larger quantities. Not represented are the hand loaders, typically sports-oriented going through a thousand a week in practice buying components at cost.
I don’t know about tungsten bullets, but I have heard of tungsten shot.
You could probably jacket a tungsten bullet in a softer metal like copper to mitigate the damage to the barrel, but I feel like that’s also gonna run up against armor piercing regulations
Yeah, that’s basically the gist of it, jacket a hard, dense penetrator in a softer metal so it doesn’t damage the barrel
But there’s some edge cases like with m855 “green tip” 5.56 ammo which has a steel core inside a lead bullet and copper jacket, but generally isn’t considered “armor piercing” even though it does penetrate armor slightly better than most other standard 5.56 rounds
So I’m gonna hedge me bets and say there may be a case where a tungsten bullet may not be considered armor piercing but I don’t know the specifics of where that line would be drawn.
Most traditional hollowpoints aren’t designed to break apart into shrapnel. They’re designed to expand in a controlled manner. The FBI protocol is that it should expand after passing through four layers of cloth (denim, fleece, cotton, and something else), then penetrate between 12 and 18 inches through standardized ballistics gel.
A non expanding bullet might get double that much penetration if it doesn’t start tumbling. Projectiles designed for large, dangerous game are designed for no expansion and maximum penetration. It all depends on what the goal is.
There’s a lot of youtube where people have put that kind of stuff to the test if you want to dig. There are a few results out there that are non-intuitive. For example, a regular 38 special hollow point out of a modern revolver often doesn’t get enough velocity to expand, so the cavity will fill up with cloth and over penetrate the gel even though it’s substantially less powerful than a 9mm.
Copper for slugs, while more expensive has a risk level close to 0 in comparison to lead. It also has excellent ballistic properties and will expand properly with designs like hollow points
It’s actually not the projectile that causes most of the lead exposure for shooters. It’s the cartridge primers, they use lead styphnate for their explosive. Copper bullets are mainly to not spread lead through the environment where it can harm wildlife, and to avoid the risk of consuming lead in shot animals.
Tungsten, too.
The problem is really the cost. To go to the range and spend $30 would instead cost $150. I think the average person would buy the lead.
I’ll ask a friend of mine who worked at a range recently to see what people are spending.
Shooting a gun probably "should* cost more money
Per friend: -$35 a person $12 for the second and ammo varies wildly. They start about $20/$30 a box for 9mm 50 rounds, but most people use 1/2 boxes ler trip"
Also, per them, tungsten is a no-no due to its armor-piercing abilities.
$20 for 50 rounds of 9mm is exceptionally high. 20-25 cents per round for target ammo is closer to reality. https://ammoseek.com/ammo/9mm-luger
It’s probably the cost buying from the range. Might also be regional. I’m going to keep replying to myself.
It is, the ranges mark up the ammo (what business doesn’t) as they sell small quantities to a captive audience who will pay. Ammoseek represents the other end of the spectrum, ppl buying wholesale in larger quantities. Not represented are the hand loaders, typically sports-oriented going through a thousand a week in practice buying components at cost.
That is fair, you can expect to pay double for the convenience of buying on site at a staffed range.
As a company man, he says it “might be a little cheaper elsewhere,” but they are the lowest price around for admission.
Is tungsten a no-no to carry around loaded, or is it simply unavailable?
I’m not a gun guy, but I’ve never heard of tungsten being used in bullets, and AFAIK it would severly damage the barrel, right?
I don’t know about tungsten bullets, but I have heard of tungsten shot.
You could probably jacket a tungsten bullet in a softer metal like copper to mitigate the damage to the barrel, but I feel like that’s also gonna run up against armor piercing regulations
I think, from a report I did in middle school, that you have just described how armor piercing bullets function.
Yeah, that’s basically the gist of it, jacket a hard, dense penetrator in a softer metal so it doesn’t damage the barrel
But there’s some edge cases like with m855 “green tip” 5.56 ammo which has a steel core inside a lead bullet and copper jacket, but generally isn’t considered “armor piercing” even though it does penetrate armor slightly better than most other standard 5.56 rounds
So I’m gonna hedge me bets and say there may be a case where a tungsten bullet may not be considered armor piercing but I don’t know the specifics of where that line would be drawn.
Sounds expensive
Aren’t expanding bullets horrible and should be illegal?
No. They keep the projectile from over-penetrating the intended target.
Isn’t it better to have penetration without a bunch of shards?
Most traditional hollowpoints aren’t designed to break apart into shrapnel. They’re designed to expand in a controlled manner. The FBI protocol is that it should expand after passing through four layers of cloth (denim, fleece, cotton, and something else), then penetrate between 12 and 18 inches through standardized ballistics gel.
A non expanding bullet might get double that much penetration if it doesn’t start tumbling. Projectiles designed for large, dangerous game are designed for no expansion and maximum penetration. It all depends on what the goal is.
There’s a lot of youtube where people have put that kind of stuff to the test if you want to dig. There are a few results out there that are non-intuitive. For example, a regular 38 special hollow point out of a modern revolver often doesn’t get enough velocity to expand, so the cavity will fill up with cloth and over penetrate the gel even though it’s substantially less powerful than a 9mm.