Velet Cartridge Company question

[nutsforsmiths]

Hello all,

I ended up with these Velet Exploding Bullets pictured below that were in with a bunch of other cartridges for other pistol and rifle calibers a friend gave me. I have shot some of their 32ACP out of a pistol I have and they work fine. I also don't think they "exploded" as the advertising says! As I didn't see or hear any difference when shooting these compared to any other factory 32ACP ammo.

I do not have rifles in the calibers pictured below, which are 270 Winchester and 30-30. Two of the packages still contain the Velet Cartridge Company advertising papers, which are interesting to read if nothing else! I am also not a cartridge collector, so I am trying to find out if there is any collector interest in Velet Cartridge Company ammo like the ones below.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

[30-30remchester]

Novelty rounds. I have never heard of them. For us collectors, novelty ammo is a great addition to our collection. Could not imagine what their use would be as both of these rounds are big game cartridges that depends on penetration for effectiveness. Any bullet that would explode would be of very limited use. Have no idea as to the value.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I've never heard of them either. Sorry I can't be any help.

 

[DWalt]

There are many custom loaders that have made stuff like this. They usually make absurd and unfounded claims about how deadly their bullets are. And also sell their products at absurd prices. There are some which are actually loaded with exploding bullets. I have never heard of Velet, but I do have many examples of such rounds in my collection. Go to the International Ammunition Association website and do a search. There is quite a bit of information about Velet to be found there.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

Thanks for the lead to the International Ammunition Association. There was some helpful information found there. Like I said, not a lot out there about this company.

 

[DWalt]

IAA is where the real ammo technical experts and cartridge collectors from all over the world hang out. A very no nonsense forum that has authoritative discussions on virtually anything that can be considered ammunition from .22 Short to heavy artillery, missiles, bombs, and nukes. I know quite a bit about ammunition, but nothing close to what many of the IAA forum folks have. They also publish an excellent bi-monthly journal for paid members.

 

[nutsforsmiths]

Now, if I can just find some people who might appreciate these rounds more than I do that might want to add them to their collection.

 

[DWalt]

IAA also has a want to buy/sell area in the Journal. Not sure if it is on their website or not. All the collectible ammo dealers are there. Not too long ago, probably the greatest ammunition collection in the world was sold there. The Collection for Sale – Woodin Lab

 

[SmithNut]

Wow - A blast from the past....

Interesting ammo, I've been hauling some around over the years when we've moved.
The original company was Velex, but shortly after they started producing the ammo there was apparently an issue with the name so they changed it to Velet. The company was in Spokane, WA.
I believe I bought mine either in the late 70's before moving out of CA, or in the late 80's when I moved back to CA for a year, but my memory is fuzzy.
Made in various calibers, I have some in .44 Mag, 38 Special, 357 Mag and .45ACP.

Here's some pics....

Click on the photos for a larger view.

 

[Venom6]

We experimented with them briefly in the early '80's at the Portland (OR) Police Bureau. IIRC the trick was a percussion cap inserted backwards into the nose. Our hope was to increase the "one-shot-stop" percentage of the .38 Special cartridges that agency issued. Performance was disappointing. On hard surfaces (which needed to be penetrated) they would explode on the surface, and in Duxseal (the primitive progenitor to ballistic gel) they often failed to detonate, and when they did they left a nasty surface wound with inadequate penetration. All of which was rendered moot when the brass found out what we were doing.