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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Bullet Annealing
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<blockquote data-quote="Bullet bumper" data-source="post: 698797" data-attributes="member: 17844"><p>That is a very complicated question .</p><p>You could measure the hardness of a mono metal bullet using a standard Brinell hardness test as the material is a solid.</p><p>Doing the same for a hollow thin jacket would be far more difficult as the jacket may give as the test is being done .</p><p>Mono metal bullets like Barnes X are usually cast first into a blank with a segmented front and then swaged to shape in a hydraulic swaging press.</p><p>The strength of the press controls how hard the copper alloy can be and still do a proper swaging job and not break the press or die .</p><p>I don't make solid bullets but I guess that bullet makers most likely responded to complaints about fouling so they went to harder material and stronger press system to try and fix that. </p><p>Trouble is the very hard bullet tends to not let the rifling engrave it as well as the softer one so that can cause extra wear and sometimes pressure but many have grooves and driving bands to reduce this effect. </p><p>I think that mass production could be a cause of variation in material hardness as different stock is introduced into the process and even multiple stations all making a slightly different batch that all get mixed together before packing. </p><p>To precisely control the annealing of a solid bullet it would take some custom gear similar to a rotary case annealer and you would have to use a Brinell hardness tester after they cooled right down . A Webster or other portable hardness tester might work .</p><p>In the end I don't think there is much to gain by annealing any bullet . The physical construction also has a lot to do with terminal ballistics and annealing will not change that to any great degree . </p><p>If I was going to do it after the bullet is annealed I would moly coat the bullet to reduce the extra potential for fouling with the softer solid bullet .</p><p>I think once you enter the area of trying to improve a solid bullet after it is made you are saying that it is not suitable to what you want in the first place . </p><p>Maybe look at other designs , ballistic tips , core bonded etc. etc. </p><p>There is no specific hardness that I like in a jacket as they come they vary quite a bit anyway. The main thing is that during the point forming process that no splitting or excessive wrinkling on the ogive takes place . If that happens they are too hard.</p><p>Now you don't want a very soft jacket all over as it needs some spring back to eject properly out of the dies. So if a batch of jackets is too hard and starts splitting at the meplat then I only anneal about 1/3 of the length from the open end .</p><p>This is very rare to happen as most commercial jackets work ok as is. </p><p>With a core bonded bullet that is heat /solder bonded , the melting of the lead core leaves the jacket soft but it makes it a tougher bullet less likely to split the jacket on impact and again I would moly coat this kind of bullet . Commercial bullet makers don't use this process anymore it is too slow . They tend to use chemical bonding . So the jacket hardness will be what ever it is at the final stage of manufacture . Which will be harder than a heat bonded bullet like the Woodleigh Weld core was . </p><p>In conclusion if you make them softer , moly coat them and then you may get the advantage you are looking for without the drawback of extra fouling .</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bullet bumper, post: 698797, member: 17844"] That is a very complicated question . You could measure the hardness of a mono metal bullet using a standard Brinell hardness test as the material is a solid. Doing the same for a hollow thin jacket would be far more difficult as the jacket may give as the test is being done . Mono metal bullets like Barnes X are usually cast first into a blank with a segmented front and then swaged to shape in a hydraulic swaging press. The strength of the press controls how hard the copper alloy can be and still do a proper swaging job and not break the press or die . I don't make solid bullets but I guess that bullet makers most likely responded to complaints about fouling so they went to harder material and stronger press system to try and fix that. Trouble is the very hard bullet tends to not let the rifling engrave it as well as the softer one so that can cause extra wear and sometimes pressure but many have grooves and driving bands to reduce this effect. I think that mass production could be a cause of variation in material hardness as different stock is introduced into the process and even multiple stations all making a slightly different batch that all get mixed together before packing. To precisely control the annealing of a solid bullet it would take some custom gear similar to a rotary case annealer and you would have to use a Brinell hardness tester after they cooled right down . A Webster or other portable hardness tester might work . In the end I don't think there is much to gain by annealing any bullet . The physical construction also has a lot to do with terminal ballistics and annealing will not change that to any great degree . If I was going to do it after the bullet is annealed I would moly coat the bullet to reduce the extra potential for fouling with the softer solid bullet . I think once you enter the area of trying to improve a solid bullet after it is made you are saying that it is not suitable to what you want in the first place . Maybe look at other designs , ballistic tips , core bonded etc. etc. There is no specific hardness that I like in a jacket as they come they vary quite a bit anyway. The main thing is that during the point forming process that no splitting or excessive wrinkling on the ogive takes place . If that happens they are too hard. Now you don't want a very soft jacket all over as it needs some spring back to eject properly out of the dies. So if a batch of jackets is too hard and starts splitting at the meplat then I only anneal about 1/3 of the length from the open end . This is very rare to happen as most commercial jackets work ok as is. With a core bonded bullet that is heat /solder bonded , the melting of the lead core leaves the jacket soft but it makes it a tougher bullet less likely to split the jacket on impact and again I would moly coat this kind of bullet . Commercial bullet makers don't use this process anymore it is too slow . They tend to use chemical bonding . So the jacket hardness will be what ever it is at the final stage of manufacture . Which will be harder than a heat bonded bullet like the Woodleigh Weld core was . In conclusion if you make them softer , moly coat them and then you may get the advantage you are looking for without the drawback of extra fouling . [/QUOTE]
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