What materials could you use other than lead to make bullets at home? Is there something that isn't toxic, or is perhaps more more economic?
Are steel bullets a thing? They seem like they should be.
Cooper with an steel core. Or also some zinc allow but it wouldn't be cheap.
>>30353003
Could you melt that at home?
>.gif
>not animated like i expected
Fucking autism mode engaged
Ceramic
>>30353096
funfact: the gif format was originally meant for compression of pictures with few different colors and is doing a pretty good job at doing so
people just don't give a fuck about this anymore because you can buy a terrabyte hd for 50 bucks
>>30353037
Yes, but barely. Melting steel to a liquid state is VERY hard and requires a lot of charcoal and a special furnace. I wonder, however, if you could use thermite to make the iron that you'd cast into bullets...
>>30352983
just wear a respirator
>>30353168
I think you're on to something there
>>30353193
I meant that you could use bismuth or an alloy containing bismuth for less toxicity, didn't mean to imply edginess. It'd be a lot more expensive, but the melting point is there. It's used in some lead free solders.
Zinc, but it is not as dense
>>30352983
Buy target loads of 12 gauge or birdshot and melt it down. Cheap source of lead. Same amount as a slug.
>>30353330
It will match my fedora
But that's interesting I've never worked with bismuth before, didn't know it had those properties
Could you use Titanium?
wax bullets are actually pretty popular for gallery loads.
>>30352983
Tungsten :^)
>>30352983
>Is there something that isn't toxic
Sharpened stone for the projectiles, wood for the sabot. Crimp gently.
What about polymer core mixed with sand to give it weight?
>>30353384
What's ":^)" worthy about tungsten, exactly?
>>30353357
bonus:
gut-shots ease indigestion
>>30353366
Wouldn't that fucking your barrel up? I'm not sure but isn't titanium harder than steel?
>>30353003
>Are steel bullets a thing? They seem like they should be.
No! And no they shouldn't. IF your barrel doesn't explode on the first shot steel bullets would erode your barrel in a few hundred rounds max.
>>30353366
see>>30353414
different metal same result.
>>30352983
Really, why use anything but lead? It's cheap and works. That's why we use it. It's not nearly as dangerous as people think.
>>30352983
I think i've seen meat bullets on TV, but they carry a specific type of larvae if they you dont freeze them fastest enough and thats traceable to you so be careful.
>>30352983
rocks, if you could carve them down. polymer from 3d printers. silver
>>30353428
Chrome plated barrel maybe?
>>30353462
No.
>>30353470
Chrome is much harder than titanium, why not?
>>30353144
Interesting
Thanks anon, I learned something today. I hope you're still around to see this
>>30353490
#1 most barrels are already chrome lined #2 no it's not, #3 The Chrome lining of a barrel barely half the thickness of a finger nail and they're still shot out after enough rounds with copper jacketed bullets. #4 the barrel would still likely explode.
>>30353561
I meant Chromium. Moh's hardness is much higher. Perhaps an entirely chromium (or alloy) barrel?
>>30353401
It's better for high velocity rounds meant to pierce thick armor. As a denser metal than lead or steel, it is more shatter resistant which is important when you're trying to make rounds that can punch through armor through purely kinetic means.
Of course, it's also expensive and has an extremely high melting point to boot so while an excellent material for making bullets, it's probably not what OP had in mind.
>>30353589
>what are barrel harmonics
#1 there are reasons barrels are made of steel
#2 It would STILL explode.
>>30353589
just make the barrel out of diamonds you dumb nigger.
>>30353604
Alright m8, you obviously know much more, I give up. Thanks for entertaining my thought process.
>>30353602
Maybe mix tungsten powder into aluminum (cheaply available) to add in the weight, while the aluminum retains its ability to be easily worked at home?
>>30353707
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't both metals need to be liquid to alloy them?
>>30353602
>As a denser metal than lead or steel, it is more shatter resistant
(not true, by the way)
>>30353168
Okay anon.
Take a cast iron pot outside and drop it on something hard. See what happens.
I'd say it's probably too brittle.
>>30353414
What if they were still jacketed with copper?
the whole reason you use lead/copper plating is because it's a relatively heavy, soft metal. Rifling bites down into the bullet to force it to spin so that you get all that nice accuracy. Given that gun barrels are made from steel, you would wear it down to uselessness in pretty short order if you shot steel or iron out of it. even steel core ammo is plated with something else to ease the strain on the rifling.
>>30353798
>dude had a decked out grave for his battle buddy
>tfw I never asked for this
My pupper is young, I'm not ready to think about that day.
>>30353629
diamonds are hardest metal
Any projectile must be or have a driving band softer than the barrel material.
Polymer over steel has been tried.
Failed due to polymer heat tolerances.
Solid copper has been tried.
Sort of successful but fails on cost.
Nylon sabot for tungsten projectile was successful as a specialist round.
>>30353037
Yeah, I just use jet fuel
Zinc, aluminum, wood even although the projectile will suck.
>>30353003
The Nazis used steel bullets towards the end of WW2. They sucked horribly but they did kill people.
Use a copper jacket or you'll fuck up the barrel
>>30353131
You might as well call it "Metal"
>>30353330
It's got a good density to it but that's about it.
>>30353462
We already do that. Chromium is relatively soft.
>>30352983
>Is there something that isn't toxic
Unless you're a retarded 5yo, you're far more likely to burn yourself than give yourself lead poisoning.
>ctrl+f for silver
>only single hit
ya are all bunch of secret furry fuckers, that's what you are
>also
brass
>>30353413
No, I don't think so.
Titanium is harder than aluminum but weighs about as much.
I could be wrong though. Titanium would not be dense enough.
>>30354489
silver is a bitch to cast
and while harder than lead it is softer the copper
>>30353856
They weigh 16 grams a gram, I heard
None of the common metals remotely approach lead's density. So what the hell are they using in monolithic copper alloy bullets to achieve the mass/bullet length of lead bullets?
>>30352983
Sodium
>>30354503
>They weigh 16 grams a gram
If it wasn't so rare and valuable, gold would work pretty well IMO.
Soft and dense.
>>30354571
16 liquid grams per actual gram, yes. For water 1 gram = 1 gram but diamonds are much denser.
>>30354571
>60% of the time, it works EVERY TIME.
>>30353707
>>30353399
Both of those would wear the barrel. The harder material will still be exposed to the bore. You could have a heavy core without wear, but it's not as easy to make at home
Aluminium costs as much as lead by weight, but you get four times the volume. That means 1/4 the cost per bullet in materials that are more easily acquired and non toxic. Semi autos likely won't cycle properly due to the lower bullet mass, but they'll fly fast as fuck, shouldn't fuck the rifling too bad and would still be plenty effective against soft tissue.
>>30354712
So you have 1/4th the sectional density? That would mean a stardard 55gr .224 bullet would remain the same size but only weigh ~14gr.
That sounds absolutely atrocious for both resisting drag or achieving any penetration on target.
>>30354557
it's good for cooking
>>30352983
steel, with aluminum jacket.
easy as shit to cut steel chunks to bullet size then refine them into bullet cores. then you melt down a bunch of soda cans and start dipping bullets.
I wanna see what a solid aluminum bullet would do at close range though. When you don't need accuracy or the ability to shoot farther than fuckin birdshot, why not try to hit 4000fps with super cheap boolet?
>>30354735
>what is civilian world self defense
>criminals wearing body armor to break into your house
>>30352983
Tin.
It's already a commercial option.
>>30354735
That's why I said soft tissue. With the same powder charge, you'll get ridiculous velocities. Most defensive gun uses are within seven yards anyway.
>>30354795
> The .223 is only for fighting the government
> I tried to shoot a coyote but the 20mph wind pushed my bullet to the left by 6" at a measly 200 yards
As >>30354858 saif, you could market it as a home defense round. But personally, I use my .223 more for pest removal than guarding my house, so I don't know how big of a market for aluminum bullets there would be.
>>30353401
Tungsten and "do it at home" don't go together.
It has one of the highest melting points, if not the highest, of any standard element.
If you have the ability to cast tungsten from home, I applaud you.
Use aluminum, it has a low melting temperature so you can melt it in your backyard and it is relatively soft.
It's cheap if you know someone in your family that consumes lots of alcohol or soft drinks.
>Pic related is some aluminum ingots and some lead pellets.
>>30352983
The Germans used sintered iron powder to make 9mm at the end of the war. It still had a copper jacket.
>>30354489
>"I'm going to kill that prancing faggot one of these days I swear"
>>30352983
Cellulose
Get shitloads of pencil sharpeners, cut and hammer them into bullet size pieces. Enjoy your magnesium bullets. Wonder if there'd be a way to make some really badass tracer and incendiary rounds out of this at the same time.
>>30353096
Posting static gifs should be a bannable offense
>>30354557
Cesium
>>30355999
Francium. boom AND radiation.
>>30353798
pupper sleep tight
>>30353003
Poly coat steel core. They are, but good fucking luck in the expense department. The polymer coating is actually easier on a barrel than copper or straight lead, but the cost per bullet is enormous.
>>30354601
What alot polymer core mixed with sand, but give it a copper jacket?
>>30352983
>not toxic
why not extremely toxic?
Depleted uranium
It sounds retarded but gold is pretty soft, like lead.
Would you be able to shoot golden bullets out of your casual barrel without problems?
Also
>not Teflon
>>30356531
I think gold would make a solid lead substitute for bullets if it were more common
>>30356515
How about enriched uranium?
>>30353414
Steel bullets exist though... I have plenty of combloc rounds that are copper washed steel.
>>30353414
>they shouldn't be
Sergei Mosin and his 70+ year rifle would like to have a word with about how steel core bullets are a thing
Lead is easily obtainable from tire wheel weights.
Zinc too.
Thats what I use for casting exclusively.
Because I'm a cheap bastard.
>>30353430
Bro, they make bullets out of that stuff. It's gotta be dangerous, right?
>>30356630
>Lead is easily obtainable from tire wheel weights.
Not anymore. All the ones I see are some ultradense polymer blend now.
Germanium. It has a low melting point and is about as dense as lead- you can cast it on a stovetop.
They sell it as environmentally friendly birdshot.
>>30356721
Where are you?
I get lead all the time from local tire shops.
Its 50/50 Lead and Steel/Zinc where I am in DC metro
>>30353353
>cheap source of lead
whutusaid?
>'bout all them ol' wheels layin round, cannit we just steal dose balance weights
oh my sweet Jeb, he likes them french fried taters
>>30356721
You can't make bullets from that?
>>30356566
How about 100% Plutonium-241?
>>30357127
How about a solid mass of protons?
>>30357342
Neutrons would be better.
I used to pour lead sinkers. In places where lead sinkers were illegal, tin was a popular alternative since it wasn't too pricey and it was heavy and soft.
Bismuth might work but I think the bullets might deform too easily because it's melting point is really low, but I remember seeing a video of a guy making bullets out of sodium and potassium and they were more or less OK, so bismuth would probably work. It is (slightly) harder than lead, don't know what difference that would make.
>>30356763
Isn't Germanium really reactive?
>>30357550
It's pretty stable at usable temperatures. It's smart to have ventilation when melting and casting it, though
>>30352983
brass, copper, bronze,
>>30353003
you can make brass jacketed lead and steel core bullets using spent 22 casings
steel bullets should ideally be milled though, it would be dangerous to cast them
>>30355319
No it doesn't have a copper jacket.
It has a black steel jacket.
I have a round of the stuff, and it's pretty much all steel.
Steel primer cup, steel case, steel jacket, steel core.
Supposedly they work and shoot fine, but they wear out barrels like 20% faster.
They Swedes still make steel jacketed 9mm rounds that are approved for NATO use and are reasonably common within NATO. Although those bullets are plated with an alloy called tombac, and have a very thick steel jacket with a lead core. An interesting feature of these bullets is that the steel jacket deforms very little when hitting a target and hence has much better armor piercing capabilities than regular gliding metal jacketed 9mm NATO ammo.
>>30356721
They're all made of Zinc here in Europe.
But if you work in industry or know someone that does, lead is still quite easily available.
>>30353168
>not making a cheap arc furnace
Are you even trying?
>>30357600
No, you would turn them, not mill them...
>>30354499
yes, it will fuck up your barrel.
you are wrong. Titanium is harder than steel and melts at a much higher temp.
>>30353366
No. Titanium isn't the easiest to work with and the density and weight would make for a poor bullet anyways.
>>30353413
No, Titanium is relatively soft. It has great strength relative to its weight, but it still only has a tensile strength of around 48,000psi.
would it be possible to melt down a bunch of pennies and use them to make bullets?
>>30353096
kekd. good one!
>>30352983
Other than lead? copper.
anything else will be pretty shit or not good for casting.
silver is shit ballistically and expensive, gold too. steel needs more than just a simple furnace, is awful for casting anything useful and would be murder on your bore.
>>30358108
Pennies made after the '82 are more zinc than anything
U 235
>>30354777
Solid Aluminium bullets actually works pretty well.
This is with a shotgun, but still.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjfaDKKdEl8
I had a friend make a few rounds for my mosin and I didn't notice a big difference between them and my MFS stuff. Though the range I shot them at only went to 150 yards.
>>30354795
>>criminals wearing body armor to break into your house
>ATF agents aren't criminals
>>30353144
Damn that's cool anon.
>>30353798
goodbye doggo
>>30354489
>/k/
>furries
who would have guessed
>>30353798
Fuck that picture man, you got me
>>30353342
Zinc oxide fumes are highly toxic when related by melting. Under a fume hood or outside with a respirator thats appropriate.
Frangible Cadmium rounds, anyone?
>>30354983
>> The .223 is only for fighting the government
>> I tried to shoot a coyote but the 20mph wind pushed my bullet to the left by 6" at a measly 200 yards
Tula has handgun ammo that is aluminum with a lead core. Its pretty much the cheapest stuff Ive seen around. Shoots well through my SIG too, never had a failure of any kind with it.
>>30356531
You Bond Burgered my gun last night?
>>30353144
Gif or jiff
>>30354314
Too soon.
>>30361331
No, he Bonded with your buns.
>>30353414
Steel ammunition? Never been dun before.
>>30356332
>The polymer coating is actually easier on a barrel than copper or straight lead, but the cost per bullet is enormous.
Speculating about things you don't understand is bad, it makes you look stupid to everyone who knows better. PTFE coating can be done at home and there's a certain irony to having actual armor-piercing, Teflon-coated bullets.
What kind of information do I need to transfer firearms from one state to another and from one owner to another?
If the seller is family can they just be gifted?
>>30361761
Step 1: fuck off
Step 2: go ask in QDDOT
Step 3: lurk more, retard
>>30353413
Titanium has more strength/weight ratio, but overall it's weaker
It was talk of the month like 5 years ago when someone made a revolver with a titanium frame, because everyone thought titanium didn't have the strength to handle it
>>30361517
its too dense a material to be pressured though a rifled barrel
>>30352983
let's explain a bit about WHY bullets are made of a lead alloy.
Lead is literally the heaviest non-radioactive element, period. More weight means more force for an equal velocity. This isn't everything, though, as a lighter projectile can carry more force if it has more energy put into it.
Lead is ALSO soft, but not TOO soft. This is also important, because a softer projectile can be forced into the grooves of rifling to impart stabilizing spin. Harder projectile materials like steel are more difficult to do such with, and will wear the barrel quicker.
A soft projectile will also deform on impact, which is ALSO important. This means more energy is transferred as it enters the target, whereas a hard, quick moving projectile could conceivably pass entirely through a soft target, transferring little energy.
Finally, lead is RELATIVELY COMMON. You mention the economic factor but honestly most materials that would be worth trying as a projectile will likely be MORE expensive than lead. Honestly, the price of lead is driven by the fact that it's USEFUL, not that it's uncommon. Though the fact that we've been mining way way WAY less of it as time goes on doesn't help either.
>>30362834
>Lead is literally the heaviest non-radioactive element, period.
No it isn't you double nigger.
>>30362849
Bismuth is radioactive faggot
it's half life is just longer than the predicted lifespan of the universe. By about a billion times.
It's still radioactive. And also much less plentiful than lead.
>>30362849
fine, it's the heaviest that's cheap and abundant
>>30362874
You fucking retard, lead IS NOT the most dense non-radioactive metal, not by a longshot. Gold and mercury are both significantly more dense.
>>30362919
I didn't say it was the most dense. I said it was the heaviest.
Au - 196.97
Hg - 200.59
Pb - 207.2
also making bullets out of gold sounds perfectly economical, and good fucking luck casting mercury bullets you retard
>>30362834
The new M855A1 is copper jacked steel, replacing lead rounds for American military use.
>>30362849
Yep. Gold and tungsten, rhodium, mucery are denser then lead at standard state, while irridum and osmium are more then twice the density of lead. Of them, really only tungsten is worth considering for projectiles, as the rest are just too damn expensive and several have undesirable physical properties.
He's right about cheap.
>>30362984
"heavy" doesn't mean jack shit, son, DENSITY is the key here, weight as it relates to volume, nigger
>>30362984
>implying molar fucking weight is relevant when you're looking at making a small object heavy.
>>30362874
You're still wrong.
Tungsten and Osmium come to mind.
>inb4 b-but they just have very long half lives
yeah, the proton is also unstable by that measure
>>30362608
>Steel
>Denser than lead
I.....what?
>>30362834
>Lead is literally the heaviest non-radioactive element, period.
No.
>Lead is ALSO soft, but not TOO soft.
Completely irrelevant in modern firearms that have jackets.
>Harder projectile materials like steel are more difficult to do such with, and will wear the barrel quicker.
Jackets.
>A soft projectile will also deform on impact, which is ALSO important.
Really subjective on what the bullet is for, but,
>whereas a hard, quick moving projectile could conceivably pass entirely through a soft target, transferring little energy.
This is entirely based on bullet design, lead-core, copper-jacketed rifle rounds pass right on through.
>Finally, lead is RELATIVELY COMMON.
It's extremely common.
>Honestly, the price of lead is driven by the fact that it's USEFUL, not that it's uncommon.
It's driven by safety and industrial processing costs, the primary source of lead is silver and zinc mining.
>Though the fact that we've been mining way way WAY less of it as time goes on doesn't help either.
With current reserves and growth in mind we have four decades before we run out, but since lead usage is highly, highly stigmatized it's being phased out of more and more industries and the recycling of lead is easy and commonplace.
>WHY
>ALSO
>TOO
>ALSO
>RELATIVELY COMMON
>MORE
>USEFUL
>WAY
Somehow this has made your post even more unbearable.
>>30362874
>Bismuth is radioactive faggot
Nobody cares.
>>30362984
>I didn't say it was the most dense. I said it was the heaviest.
It's like your posts get progressively more retarded as we go along.
>>30363030
... no.
>>30357441
What about photons, they'd be 100% lighter.
>>30356531
Gold's super heavy, you'd probably have way increased pressure curves over a longer period of time which I imagine is bad for the gun
>>30356600
>56600▶
That's entirely different m8. Steel core is fine, pure steel would not be
>>30364283
Given it's value I imagine you'd just reduce the volume of the core relative to the jacketing material in order to reduce the cost while creating rounds with the same mass as more familiar lead rounds.
Or maybe you wouldn't, if you are shooting gold bullets it's likely because you are the blackest rapper in blacktown.
>>30356487
Yeah, that sounds like it'd work
>>30364283
You could make some very short bullets of the same weight. Subsonic 5.7 when?
>>30364563
oh right I know it exists already but the current stuff is shit, not enough energy to cycle a PS90. Overall cartridge length is limited so the bullets can only be sooo long, then they hit a length limit (and thus weight limit) and have to keep reducing powder charge. Gold could solve that.
>>30354489
Silver hurts the undead (Ghosts and Vampires), not werewolves. Wolves bane hurts warewolves.
Silver hurting werewolves is hollywood. You would be able to kill skinwalkers, probably, though.
>>30352983
gold would make good bullets. soft enough not to damage the barrel and heavy.
Gallium motherfucker, do you speak it?
>>30353798
>I just had to help my pupper off the floor after her hips gave out and she panicked
i didnt fucking ask for this tonight
>>30365247
>gun is now a squirtgun
>>30364517
We're not talking about value, just about how well it'd perform in theory.
>>30365247
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veKr6NRRXOY
>>30365933
>Gallium alloy that is designed to melt at, say, 105°
>heated "squirt gun"
>coat the enemy in metal that quickly hardens
We Boba Fett now.
>>30367031
>>30353189
no need, lead isnt dangerous unless in a dust or vapor form. lead wont vaporize anywhere near normal casting temperatures. Just wash your hands after casting and you are safe.
>>30353353
wut? that works out to $4 per pound assuming one ounce loads for $6 per 25rd box. lead ingots can be bought on armslist or ebay for $1-1.25 per pound.
>>30353846
only answer so far worth anything.
>>30356588
just because it has a mild steel jacket or core doesnt mean there isnt lead in there. the lead is maleable allowing the bullet to take to the shape of the rifling and not just fucking blow the barrel off of the gun.
OP- lead is used for a reason, it is the cheapest and densest malleable metal out there. If gold were $1 a pound, it would probably make for better bullets being slightly more dense than lead. You could cast bullets out of tin, zinc would work too but it has poor mold fillout. I suppose aluminum would work but its way too light. You could mill solid copper or brass bullets.
OP- NO, there is nothing better than lead. you can powdercoat your bullets if you really wanna reduce lead exposure when reloading, handling ammo and shooting.
Yes, but pretty much everything else is inferior. Lead is used for a reason.
If you are concerned about toxic fumes then you should simply wear a respirator. 3M makes industrial respirators for that reason.
>>30361517
steel shot in a plastic shot cup will never touch steel on steel. Way different than trying to shove a solid steel bullet down a steel rifled barrel...
>>30361354
The creator says pronounce it with a J, so I say Hiff as in Jose
Silver. It's not as accurate as lead but I cast a 7.62x39 slug and cartridge at work and fired it after reading about a guy who made one out of a fork,had it blessed then shot himself with it. Strange story but Even at 75yards it was way low
>I kept the casing
>>30353414
There are different types of steel, idiot. Some much harder than others. That's what makes it so great and gives to so many uses.
hey I have a dirty trick you use jb steel weld and put it in a mold go to a hobby shop buy tungsten weights used for balancing model helicopter rotors.. figure out the rest
>>30353366
Shits not dense enough
>>30353384
Carcinogenic as fuck. Worse than depleted uranium.
>>30352983
Tin/bismuth with a little copper or zinc or whatever will prolly be your best bet
>>30353389
Actually, how about a very dense ceramic with a polymer jacket? Tungsten carbide is nearly 25% denser than lead. Only problem is that its brittle af, like all ceramics compared to metals.
>>30370100
>Only problem is that its brittle af
Better jhp's lol
