Has anyone ever used?

[Donna]

Has anyone ever used powdered metals or other powdered materials for cores or partial cores? If so: what did you use, How did you use it, what was the effects you were after, and what type of results did you get?

Donna :wink:

[wiley]

http://www.westcoastbullet.com/
They have a sinthered bullet product that's pretty interesting.

[Cat Whisperer]

I have several vintage boxes of .30-06 frangible ball rounds.  I think there probably more valuable now as collectors items.  If I remember right they were used for anti-aircraft practice so as not to overly endanger the pilots dragging the targets behind them through the sky.

Donna -  You're probably THE expert in this area.  What do you think of stopping power of a round that is made from powdered materials?  (Looking a such a round for defensive purposes in occupied buildings.)

[Donna]

Cat Whisperer and all,

Even though it is flattering to my ego, I am not an expert in anything just a person that has a great passion for lots of certain subjects. I believe in this definition of an expert very strongly and that is:

An expert:
      Pert is a drip under pressure.
      Ex (X) is an unknown variable.
      Therefore an expert is an “Unknown Drip Under Pressure”.

It depends on just how the bullet is constructed, are you using a solid jacket and a powder core or an all powder jacket and core, of what powdered materials is the jacket and/or core is made from, and how is the powder materials bonded together. I tried making a lead shot hollow point core bullet that had the lead passed the jacket. Well the exposed lead just crumbled with any force applied to it. I had to have the jacket totally surrounding the lead shot core to protect the core, in this case.

Wiley thank you for the website, it is very interesting but I don't think they would talk about their process with us. People tend to be very closed mouthed about something that they think can make them money and that in and of it’s self stifles progress.

I and I’m sure other people out there is probably interested in what other people have done along the line of using powdered materials for cores or even jackets.

[Cat Whisperer]

I tried a few (well - many) years ago the Speer shot shells reloaded into the .357 and .44 mags.  Seemed to me to be OK, but sure could have had a LOT more shot.  

So let's start by identifying the purposes compressing stuff together rather than having one piece of metal.

1.  To have a shot pattern, like for hunting snakes and rats.  Growing up I'd go up to the land-fill to hunt rats - great fun with a .22; but they'd quickly get gunshy if I took the .357 or the M1.

2. To have something that would provide a minimum of penetration, for target or defense purposes.

3. To positively limit ricochets when hunting things like woodchucks.

Now what works for each purpose?