Velvet exploding bullets?

[Kevin G]

In an early 80s publication about handguns I came across a small article about Velet exploding bullets.
Does anyone have actual experience or firsthand knowledge about them?
Thanks, Kevin


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[DWalt]

It is Velet, not Velvet. Have seen some long ago and read about them. I may even have a few 9mm rounds in my collection. There is nothing new with the idea of exploding bullets. There was some British guy named Jacob who was experimenting with them in India in the mid 19th Century. The idea is simple. Drill a hole in the bullet, fill it with some explosive or even black powder, and put some type of primer on top that fires on impact. Remember when Reagan was shot by John Hinkley who used .22 “Devastator” explosive bullet ammunition. I don’t believe any of those bullets exploded. Generally, the purpose is increased lethality but the fact is that they do not deliver performance as advertised. https://americansocietyofarmscollec...ploding-projectile-Civil-War-Carlson-v120.pdf

 

[2152hq]

When we were very young and always trying stupid things, we woud drill the noseof 58cal Minie bullets just deep enough to contain a small amt of BP.
Then a .22rf primed case, bullet pulled from a live round (usually a 22Short when we could get them) was pushed into the hole base up so it was a tight fit .

CAREFULLY loaded with a hollow nose ramrod. The bullet would explode with quite a cloud of smoke and a bang if it hit a suitably hard object/surface.
Usually a plywood target backer would suffice and sometimes dense enough backstop dirt would do it.
Recovered bullets would have the nose shredded open as expected. They were already weakened by the drilling process.

Kids,,always have to blow things up...

 

[stansdds]

Kids,,always have to blow things up...

Yep, and we will not discuss the indiscretions of my youth.

 

[Rule3]

Kids,,always have to blow things up...

I will second that.


Will not disclose any details but it sure was a lot of stuff!

 

[nutsforsmiths]

I have a bunch of Velet in 32 ACP. I've shot some of it and it didn't explode or sound any different then standard ammo.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My B-I-L's kid brother took 12-gauge HP slugs, drilled a 1/4" dia. hole in the HP just deep enough for a "Hilty Gun" nail driver blank to seat with the 22 rim against the lead slug. The "Dead Dog" test (also conducted on roadkill dear) was at 5 or 10 feet to fire the slug into the carcass. The resulting wound was like a hemisphere 6 to 8 inches in diameter. The consensus was while it would be lethal to the animal, if it was trying to eat you, you most likely would get hurt to some degree. Not near as effective as a normal rifle slug. Project dropped!

Ivan

 

[Alpo]

I don't know if these are the same thing. But I had a box of these. $12, which was a lot of money in 1981. Little block a foam rubber holding 12 rounds. I had 45 ACP. Was out shooting watermelons one day. Hardball just drilled a hole through it. Winchester Silvertips cracked the melon into two pieces. But that exploder just put a pink mist in the air. Watermelon scattered everywhere. Very cool. Illegal in Florida now.

 

[Alpo]

The bullets Hinckley used on Reagan - I think the brand name was Devastator - were made by the same company that made the Exploders.

 

[BC38]

I remember reading about exploding bullets in the book Day of the Jackal.
The Jackal drilled his rifle bullets and added a drop of fulminated mercury - then sealed them with a drop of molten lead.
First time I ever heard of anything like that.
I always wondered how an impact-sensitive explosive could handle the violent acceleration of the bullet being fired without exploding in the barrel of the gun.
I never tried it but thought it sounded somewhat feasible - and pretty cool.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

In an early 80s publication about handguns I came across a small article about Velet exploding bullets.
Does anyone have actual experience or firsthand knowledge about them?
Thanks, Kevin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a box of 20 in my shop........357 mag.....Was given to me........Been sitting on my shelf a long time.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Yep, and we will not discuss the indiscretions of my youth.

Me either....We had dynamite and blasting caps.......Today's tannerite doesn't even come close.......Course there was no such thing as tannerite in the mid 60's.

 

[DWalt]

The bullets Hinckley used on Reagan - I think the brand name was Devastator - were made by the same company that made the Exploders.

You are correct.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

There were tests made of exploding bullets with handguns designed for them by the Air Marshal’s Service back in the ‘70s or ‘80s. The thought was the rounds wouldn’t pierce or exit an airplane’s fuselage. They were never adopted as there were too many technical issues to solve.

Colt made a number of Trooper Mark III revolvers with modified cylinders for the rounds. I don’t know how few were made or survived…but whenever one shows up on the market it goes for big bucks.

 

[DWalt]

This is the strange Colt pilot revolver. I remember it was designed to shoot a bullet made out of chalk, Turns out itt was Plaster of Paris. One of the strangest revolvers ever made, right up there with the Tround. I have a few stories about that I won’t go into. Colt’s Special Revolver for Airline Pilots - Forgotten Weapons

 

[venomballistics]

I remember reading about exploding bullets in the book Day of the Jackal.
The Jackal drilled his rifle bullets and added a drop of fulminated mercury - then sealed them with a drop of molten lead.
First time I ever heard of anything like that.
I always wondered how an impact-sensitive explosive could handle the violent acceleration of the bullet being fired without exploding in the barrel of the gun.
I never tried it but thought it sounded somewhat feasible - and pretty cool.

Artillery shells do it every day

 

[BC38]

Artillery shells do it every day

Good point.

 

[venomballistics]

Good point.

Yeah, though a noteworthy underlying issue is effectiveness in the scale of small arms.
There's just better things to put in the cavity of a bullet than boom sauce

 

[rosewood]

......Course there was no such thing as tannerite in the mid 60's.

That is cause you could get Dynamite!

 

[Rule3]

Yeah, though a noteworthy underlying issue is effectiveness in the scale of small arms.
There's just better things to put in the cavity of a bullet than boom sauce

I think I remember you putting hot pepper or something in HP bullets??