photoman
Member
The Barnes all copper bullets are a fantastic design. I just wish one of the major manufacturers would load it. I've given up on CorBon due to major inconsistencies from lot to lot.
Are Copper Bullets the Rave of the Future for Self-Defense?
- Thread starter 147_Grain
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The Barnes all copper bullets are a fantastic design. I just wish one of the major manufacturers would load it. I've given up on CorBon due to major inconsistencies from lot to lot.
pps
Member
Since I found out that Barnes "helped" get the lead ban established in the "Condor Zone" here in Cali...I will not buy their product any more. Once I fire the last Barnes round I have...it's Nosler or Hornady lead free when I hunt in the condor zone.
I'll stick to lead for everything else. If lead ever becomes banned altogether...I'll use lead anyway.
I'll stick to lead for everything else. If lead ever becomes banned altogether...I'll use lead anyway.
Stu Honea
Member
The Corbon loads that I've tested,9mm,45acp,and 38 spec.,all performed great. However at their current cost,which will probably go even higher,I actually can't afford a stock up on them. I have other loads in all these calbers though, that I'm happy with as is,and I can afford to buy them.
You are not the only one!
Expense means nothing to the target audience which is law enforcement, military and government. These people dont care about budgets, they just buy, buy, buy... may be too expensive for you and me.
rojodiablo
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THIS:
Most copper bullets have been shown to be great penetrators because their construction is too rigid and does not allow for quick expansion. In many instances, we saw them shoot straight thru hogs at long distances, with almost no 'hit power'.... In and out, lightning fast and minimal tissue damage. Not a very large wound channel, and when you are talking little bullets like a 243.... it means you chase the hog for miles instead of feet or yards.
Conversely, they break bone with amazing ease, and they will hit vitals on the other side of even a large shoulder blade on a big pig. But, they do not expand really well.
Next complaint; they do not fly the same as regular bullets. My 243 is a 1/2MOA rifle, with Federal ballistic tip ammo. With regular Winchester XPII ammo, it is a .90 MOA rifle. With Federal brown box or blue box, it is a 1MOA rifle. Copper bullets fly high and outside by a couple inches at 150-250 yards, and regardless of the point of impact, they are 1.75- 2.5MOA bullets.
In short; the only way I would want a copper bullet in a pistol is if they can guarantee that it will expand and cut a solid wound channel, or if it will go thru ballistic vests. So far, neither scenario is guaranteed. I will stick to the regular ammo, thank you.
rojodiablo
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Condors are still dying, and being pushed out by turkey vultures, and of all things...... Bald eagles. Condors won't get near the eagles once they get in on a carcass.I think WR Moore touched on the crux of the issue. IMO, the toxicity of lead will eventually be the end of lead in bullets.
I can't see it going any other way.
Interesting coment by Moore is the proximity of your shooting range to any watershed. Ours is "close" and I've often wondered what would happen if this issue would be raised.
Anyway, interesting thread.
I can't see it going any other way.
Interesting coment by Moore is the proximity of your shooting range to any watershed. Ours is "close" and I've often wondered what would happen if this issue would be raised.
Anyway, interesting thread.
rojodiablo
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Let me explain something to you in a way that made me sit up and take a reflection. I was in Va last week for a funeral. We were about 20 miles south of Fredericksburg. Went to see the battle sight, the sunken road. Civil war, all cast lead bullets. CCalibers ran from .58 to .69 for rifles. Pistols were from .30 to .55. Again, all cast solid lead bullets, with NO steel or copper jacket to encapsulate the lead...
So- just HOW MUCH ammo was thrown around there during the 2 battles whech were basically half a year apart?
Well, on the first round, which the Confederacy repelled the Union army- the Confederacy used a whopping 28 TONS of ammunition. And lemme tell you; the town of Fredericksburg can fit in your back pocket. It's a small town, right on the edge of the Rappahannock river. Since 1865, there have been literally hundreds of thousands of bullets retrieved from the soil in the general area. And there is still tonnage in the ground. Wells are very shallow there. The river is RIGHT THERE; they fought from the river, 1/2 mile up to the Sunken road. 28 Tons of lead bullets thrown in 2-1/2 days, in an area no bigger than 2 square miles. Down to Spotsylvania, Richmond, and of course Gettysburg, one can only imagine the sheer volume of lead in the soil. If you eat ham, or corn, or soybean products, or barley, or wheat.......... you have been eating leaded food.
Or have you??
So, put this into perspective; just how many rounds would it take to load a gun range with enough lead to contaminate a water supply? The truth- it's not feasible.
I carried a bullet in me; a 22lr with no jacket, and I did not test positive for lead poisoning. And that .22 was in me for almost 2 years. It was smooth when they pulled it out of my leg.
riverrat38
US Veteran
I don't think the cost of Copper is much of a factor in the price of all Copper bullets. Even if Copper goes to $12,000 a ton, as suggested in post #12 above, the cost of the Copper in a 110 gr bullet would be about 10 cents. Since the cartridges cost more like $2. each, that represents 5% of the total cost for the Copper.
rat
rat
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