Copper resin bullets

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Richard93

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What do you think about bullets made of copper powder held together by epoxy resin?
Some companies have been selling them for a while now. I think they are also easy to make at home, you don't even need a stove. You can also use a plastic mold because you don't need other temperatures.
One benefit could be that they destroy on impact and release all the energy on the surface. High velocity and energy transfer are the basis for a good defensive bullet. What do you think?
 
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I actually worked for one of the companies that manufactured frangible projectiles.
And later a company that produced live frangible ammo.

It’s a good deal more complex than mixing copper powder with resin.
It’s an injection molding process and the parameters to get a consistent reliable product very precise and requires a considerable capital investment and specialized talent.
 
Lacks meaningful penetration so not good for defensive use.

The only version I have tried is the CCI Copper .22 lr load, and it is very disappointing. Wild velocity swings and very poor accuracy beyond 25 yards (but pretty accurate at 25 yards and closer). It is better than having zero lead free options, but needs development.

The main problem is that they are too light for caliber and barrel twist.

I would like to see a bismuth .22 lr load (or ideally a bismuth/tin jacket with tungsten core), which is much closer to the density of lead and so should be more accurate, but even with tin added the bismuth is very brittle and would not be good for anything beyond small game.
 
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Interesting...

Richard93 said:
What do you think about bullets made of copper powder held together by epoxy resin?
Some companies have been selling them for a while now. I think they are also easy to make at home, you don't even need a stove. You can also use a plastic mold because you don't need other temperatures.
One benefit could be that they destroy on impact and release all the energy on the surface. High velocity and energy transfer are the basis for a good defensive bullet. What do you think?
Click to expand...

I think that the energy expending by a bullet for defense needs to be internal as to cause internal damage. A bullet that fragments on the surface would tear up skin and break ribs, not disable the perp.

I'm going to invent epoxy/lead powder so that I can cast lead bullets without a smelter. I see RobertWalsh has pointed out that it's already been done.:)



PS: Do epoxy/copper/lead bullets need to be lubed?
 
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While frangible bullets are deadly that’s not the purpose for which they were intended.

They’re intended for reducing lead contamination, ricochets and over penetration in confined training environments or indoor ranges.

There’s also growing military interest in heavy caliber projectiles for combat in urban environments to minimize collateral damage. A 50 caliber frangible will penetrate 3/4 of mild steel but exit as basically sand.
 
They are mainly marketed as "Frangibles" ... they disentegrate on impact .
Best used indoor range and outdoor range when shooting at steel targets .
The good pionts are ... No Lead , no ricochettes , no damage to backstops or steel targets or bullet traps .

I would not use them as defensive or hunting ammo ... you want / need penetration to get to the vitals ... large surface flesh wounds are not desireable . Consider them frangibles .
Gary
 
While there are frangible bullets out there that are made of atomized copper and some sort of binder, they have a mixed record in significant use. One of those issues is/was fragmenting during the feed cycle with seriously bad results. Some sources may be better than others, but......

This led to the development of bullets with a core of atomized copper (or maybe some other stuff for different uses) and a binder, but with a copper jacket. They'd go through the feed cycle without issue and still reduced steel target damage at close range in training processes. They also reduced ricochets. And, reduced the possibility of poking holes in stuff you don't want to, like on oil rigs, natural gas farms & refineries. Most of the piping in nuke plants (does depend upon reactor design) that's REALLY important is too thick for small arms ammo to penetrate. But steam at those temperatures isn't any joke either.

Tissue penetration of the frangible ammo with jackets can be significant and effective. Sierra makes an RRLP (reduced ricochet, limited penetration) bullet, somebody must make ammo with it, but don't know who. Besides training and special contract usage, maybe used in "green ammo"? Does penetrate well, destabilizes passing though drywall interior partitions (might not with 1-7 twist) but stays intact.
 
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Frangible handgun bullets are generally of two types. Either sintered copper and tin powder or copper powder in a polymer matrix. There are several types of plastics that can be used as the matrix but the best is Surlyn, the stuff used on the outside cover of golf balls. I have never heard of using epoxy as a binder, and I cannot imagine it would be suitable for several reasons. The actual detail of the frangible bullet technology is not that simple, but that is the basics. I was the USAF’s project manager for lead-free frangible ammunition development until I retired in 2008. The USAF’s interest was for training use, not in combat, and it is now widely used by all services. Not a sanctioned military use, but frangible 5.56 ammunition is extremely effective against living targets at close range.
 
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This is funny because my wife is a resin artist so I have access to plenty of resins. I have experimented with this topic but never did much testing, here’s some pictures of 12ga 45acp I created.
 

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