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Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability in Semi­ Automatic Pistols

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Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability in Semi­ Automatic Pistols 4/12/2015 Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability This page was first published online 7­16­2010 Bullet Design And Feeding Reliability In Semi­ Automatic Pistols by http://38super.net/Pages/Bullet%20Design%20and%20Feeding%20Reliability.html 1/20 4/12/2015 Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability Brad Miller, Ph.D. A modified (and newer) version of this article has been published by Guns and Ammo here: Miller, B. Keep that gun running; An in­depth look at bullet nose design and feeding reliability in semiauto pistols. Guns and Ammo 2013 Annual, 171­176. The original version of this article is being published here. Bullet design features can contribute significantly to reliable feeding in semi­automatic pistols. Not all guns are particular about what you feed them. They run reliably with everything. Other guns are picky eaters. The picky eaters are frustrating, but can highlight what design features contribute to reliable feeding, and small changes in bullet design can make big differences in reliability. It is sometimes difficult to dissociate gun issues from bullet issues. In many instances it does not matter which one you blame for the problem: the bullet or the gun. It boils down to compatibility: does that particular gun feed that particular bullet reliably? If it doesn’t, something has to change. Sometimes the bullet is the guilty party. Finding a reliable feeding bullet is sometimes simple, but sometimes a complex and multifactorial problem. What should we look for when selecting a reliable bullet? The principal features of bullet design that influence reliability are their construction and nose design. The bullet’s composition and construction can influence its relative integrity and lubricity when interacting with surfaces during the feeding process. Nose design can significantly affect how the bullet interacts with the feed ramp, and cartridge overall length, another critical factor in feeding reliability that is discussed below. This article highlights important features of bullet construction and detailed features of nose shape that are often overlooked but can make the difference between a smooth running pistol and a jam­o­matic. Real­ world examples are given for illustration. Let’s begin with the basics, bullet construction. Bullet Construction There are several ways to manufacture bullets. The methods and materials define relative hardness, an important variable in feeding reliability. Handgun bullets are swaged, cast, plated, jacketed, total copper and frangible (Figure 1). Lead is the common element, except total copper and frangible bullets which are lead free. http://38super.net/Pages/Bullet%20Design%20and%20Feeding%20Reliability.html 2/20 4/12/2015 Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability Pure lead is soft and tends to deposit lead in the bore from friction (leading). Pure lead has a high friction coefficient and does not slide along or bounce off surfaces well, and this can produce feeding problems in semi­automatic pistols. Consequently, lead alloys that include tin and/or antimony are often used when lead is in contact with the barrel bore and feed ramp. Swaged bullets are formed by pressing a soft lead alloy into a mold at room temperature. Their hardness can be regulated by changing the alloy, but it must be relatively soft to remain malleable enough to fill the mold completely and form the proper shape. Swaged bullets for semi­automatic cartridges are then generally lubricated with a dry lube, often waxy or something such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2; a.k.a. moly). The lubricant enhances feeding reliability and reduces leading. Because swaged bullets are relatively soft, the general rule of thumb is that they should not be driven over around 1000 feet per second (fps) to reduce leading. Cast bullets are made by pouring molten lead into a mold and allowing it to cool to a solid. The casting alloy can be much harder than the alloy used in swaged bullets because it fills the mold as a liquid. Cast bullets generally have a groove (or several) around the body for lubricant, often made from a waxy material. Some manufacturers coat the entire bullet with moly or other material, even copper plating. Since cast bullets are relatively hard, they can be driven to 1500 fps or more if made of the proper alloy. Plated bullets usually start out as swaged bullets. Then a thin coating of copper is applied electrochemically a molecule at a time (think powdered donut) to form a layer adhered to the lead core. The copper layer’s thickness can be controlled and varies depending on the manufacturer and their intended use. The plating is very thin compared to the usual copper jacket of jacketed bullets (Figure 2), so the bullet’s hardness is determined by the lead alloy core. Berry's, Rainier and Speer plated bullets are the more common brands in the U.S. Some premium hunting and self­defense bullets are plated, for example, Speer’s vaunted Gold Dot bullets. Copper plating fully encapsulates the lead core resulting in a seamless covering of copper (Figure 3). These bullets are often referred to as having a Total Metal Jacket (TMJ). This greatly reduces airborne lead molecules because there is no exposed lead at the base that can be melted by hot gases from the burning gunpowder. Some plated bullet manufacturers (Berry’s, Rainier) suggest that their bullets not be driven faster than around 1200­1250 fps. These velocities do not always make Major power factor when used in 38 Super caliber open class competition guns, so these shooters often turn to jacketed bullets. However, Speer does not indicate a speed limit with their plated bullets (Reloading Manual #14). Berry's recently added a line of http://38super.net/Pages/Bullet%20Design%20and%20Feeding%20Reliability.html 3/20 4/12/2015 Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability bullets with a thicker plating that allows them to be pushed to 1450 fps. Jacketed bullets are composed of a lead core inside a sheet of copper, often gilding metal (95% copper 5% zinc) or other soft metal. Montana Gold bullets incorporate a brass jacket, as does Remington’s Golden Saber. Brass is a copper alloy with a higher percentage of zinc, around 10%. Brass jackets can be harder than gilding metal jackets, but this is somewhat unpredictable because the alloys can be work hardened (Norm Bjelland, Montana Gold Bullets). For comparison, cartridge brass is generally a 70/30 copper/zinc composition (www.brass.org). Jacketed bullets start out as separate components (lead core, copper alloy jacket) that are later combined into the final shape. The hard external jacket starts out as a plug or sheet that is pressed into a cup shape, then filled with the soft lead core, and shaped to its final form. This process leaves one end of the bullet with exposed lead, either the front (soft point, hollow point) or the rear (full metal jacket (FMJ)). Hornady and Montana Gold cover the exposed base of some of their FMJ bullets with an additional copper cap, and rename them Full Metal Jacket Encapsulated (Figure 3) and Complete Metal Jacket, respectively. This effectively reduces airborne lead. Jacketed bullets can be driven to over 4000 fps, and therefore have no velocity limits in handgun cartridges. http://38super.net/Pages/Bullet%20Design%20and%20Feeding%20Reliability.html 4/20 4/12/2015 Bullet Design and Feeding Reliability Solid copper bullets are made from pure copper or copper alloy and consequently are inherently hard. They are formed principally through swaging. Barnes Bullets machines some of their crimp grooves1. They have no velocity limits in handguns. Frangible bullets are formed from powdered metal or metals such as copper, tin, tungsten, zinc, bismuth, iron, and steel and sometimes include a polymer compound. The material is compressed into the desired shape. Sinterfire’s frangible bullets are made from copper and tin and incorporate a proprietary lubricant. Their composite bullets are “sintered” (baked) to enhance integrity and performance (www.sinterfire.com). Frangible bullets are hard and brittle – by design. They are intended to disintegrate into powder (its original form) on impact when encountering something harder than itself, reducing the ricochet hazard. (Frangible bullets should not be confused with pre­fragmented bullets like the Glaser Safety Slug.) This design is ideal for steel targets since they produce smaller fragments that make them safer to use than lead based bullets. Frangible bullets have no velocity limits in handgun cartridges. Bullet Shape: The Nose Knows The bullet nose interacts with the feed ramp and chamber entrance during feeding, and its shape can be critical for reliability. Nose design also affects cartridge overall length which determines when it hits the feed ramp and the cartridge’s angle when it is released by the magazine’s feed lips and when it encounters the chamber. Thus, bullet nose design affects feed timing. Some nose shapes are inherently more reliable feeders than others. Generally, round nose bullets feed more reliably than flat nose bullets. Some flat nose bullets feed more reliably than others because of small but significant differences in their design. These features are discussed below. Nose Shape The principal distinction in bullet geometry is the shape of their nose. Pistol bullet nose shapes fall into two categories, round nose and flat nose. Round nose bullets are distinguished by the shape of the ogive (the rounded curvature of the nose). They vary from being somewhat pointy to downright blunt. Flat nose bullets for semi­automatic pistols can be broken down into shape subcategories. The common shapes are shown in Figure 4A. The shape of the shoulder and sides of the nose vary in design. (The terms flat nose and flat point are used interchangeably.) Round Nose (RN) bullets have a slight change of angle at the shoulder and curved sides of the nose leading to a round point.
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