Smith & Wesson Forum

Go Back   Smith & Wesson Forum > Smith & Wesson Revolvers > S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961

Notices

S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #51  
Old 08-08-2017, 10:56 AM
Dave T Dave T is offline
Member
"Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear"  
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Mesa, Arizona
Posts: 2,556
Likes: 882
Liked 1,719 Times in 549 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBill View Post
If you cut a jacketed bullet open or shoot one into wet sand it's a copper steel coated jacket. There's no way that a soft copper jacket is going to wear out a hardened steel barrel. I did a lot of wet sand ballastics testing and found out every copper coated bullet has a thin steel jacket.

Now I use moly coated leadcast bullets. I do not wash the moly out of the barrel. I run some full power jacketed bullets at the end of the shoot just to keep the feel of the full power loads. The moly eliminates wear of the forcing cone and barrel.
Bill,

Maybe we shot different kinds of jacketed bullets but all those I dug out of dirt banks, sand piles and even baffle boxes showed no evidence of a steel jacket under the copper jacket. I've even seen slide shows depicting the making of jacketed bullets and nothing but a copper alloy jacket with a lead core was ever shown.

YMMV,
Dave
__________________
RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

Last edited by Dave T; 08-08-2017 at 10:57 AM.
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
  #52  
Old 08-08-2017, 12:25 PM
steelslaver's Avatar
steelslaver steelslaver is online now
US Veteran
"Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear"  
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Central Montana
Posts: 13,627
Likes: 12,745
Liked 39,105 Times in 9,969 Posts
Default

If you suspect steel, try a good magnet on it. Copper is so much more malleable than steel I don't know why they would use any steel unless special application for penetration or form retention.

But, will hold to my belief that some powders are harder on a barrel than a soft copper jacket. The area right behind a bullet is a very nasty environment.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #53  
Old 08-08-2017, 07:19 PM
BigBill BigBill is offline
Absent Comrade
"Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear"  
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Planet earth
Posts: 13,869
Likes: 2,079
Liked 13,353 Times in 5,549 Posts
Default

Try to bend the jacket when you remove it from the sand. I find shooting into clean sand the jackets look and feel like shrapnel. Very tough to bend leads my to believe it's a copper coated thin steel.
Reply With Quote
  #54  
Old 08-08-2017, 07:42 PM
steelslaver's Avatar
steelslaver steelslaver is online now
US Veteran
"Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear"  
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Central Montana
Posts: 13,627
Likes: 12,745
Liked 39,105 Times in 9,969 Posts
Default

No, it becomes work hardened copper. Working metals like copper and brass hardens them considerably. That why some people annealing their rifle brass after multiple reloads. Take that copper jacket outside, hold itin a pair of pliers and use a torch to get it red hot and drop it in water. It will become dead soft copper again. Kind of the opposite of steel which would hardening if heated red then quenched
Reply With Quote
The Following User Likes This Post:
  #55  
Old 08-08-2017, 08:10 PM
DWalt's Avatar
DWalt DWalt is online now
Member
"Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear" "Jacketed bullets accelerate barrel wear"  
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: South Texas & San Antonio
Posts: 33,486
Likes: 236
Liked 28,950 Times in 14,015 Posts
Default

"Copper is so much more malleable than steel I don't know why they would use any steel unless special application for penetration or form retention."
Copper alloy coated steel is a very common bullet jacket material and has been used for military ammunition since WWI. Maybe even longer. Steel is much cheaper than copper. Much of the 150 grain .30 M2, .50 BMG, .45 ACP, and some .30 Carbine ammunition made during WWII used steel-jacketed bullets. And later, so did some 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition. The Lake City Product Guide shows many cartridges specified with steel-jacketed bullets.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
1911, 223, 44 magnum, browning, colt, glock, gunsmith, ipsc, kimber, m41, military, model 25, model 29, model 41, model 625, ppk, prewar, sig arms, smith and wesson, walther

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
coated bullets Vs jacketed bullets Mikeinkaty Reloading 32 12-19-2016 07:43 PM
Good starting bullets for 38/357 plinking out of 5" barrel? Gorenut Reloading 12 11-22-2012 07:19 PM
Barrel Wear and Jacketed Bullets Pastprime Reloading 8 06-28-2012 07:26 AM
Lead bullets vs jacketed bullets mudflap123 Ammo 8 03-18-2011 09:34 PM
Remington .38 Special "steel jacketed" Andy Griffith Ammo 6 03-28-2010 05:11 PM

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
smith-wessonforum.com tested by Norton Internet Security smith-wessonforum.com tested by McAfee Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:59 PM.


Smith-WessonForum.com is not affiliated with Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC)