Aluminum Jacket Bullets Back...?

J

JeepHammer

Moderator
I just got an advertisement for pistol bullets that have aluminum jackets.
Didn't this die back in the 70s? A quick, violent death...

For anyone that doesn't remember that short, but stupid fad...
Aluminum is crazy hard to get out of a barrel!
Being young & dumb, I tried it, but a chisel is about the only way to get aluminum out of rifling!

I hope this is new/old stock someone stumbled on to and they aren't being produced again...
 
Can you share who you got the advertisement from? I don't want any, I'm just curious. I wasn't reloading back in the '70s and had not heard of aluminum jacketed bullets until now.
 
There was a post yesterday in the revolver section on this forum with someone advertising a new aluminum bullets. According to their website it is a aluminum bullet with a molybdenum coating.

The loaded rounds are about $3 each or you can get the bullets for about $1 each. I'd assume they won't become popular at this price point.
 
I've been loading for over fifty years and I don't recall any aluminum bullets. Doesn't mean they didn't happen, just wondering if you're confusing them with aluminum cases, not bullets? Aluminum once it's oxidized is one of the hardest abrasives there is. It would not only be difficult to remove from a barrel, it would simply eat one up in short order.
 
Yup, nasty bullets were a bad idea.
The ONLY effective use for aluminum bullets was in a sabot to protect the barrel.
That's why they died quickly and should have stayed dead...

As for the advertisement, it popped up on facebag, one of this targeted ads that pop up when you post something about reloading, even if it's in a private message to someone.

Aluminum oxide is horrendously abrasive, the base for most sandpaper out there, and once it's imbedded in the barrel, it just keeps cutting.
There is a reason we use lapping/grinding compound that DOESN'T use aluminum oxide for the abrasive in a lot of applications...

Didn't click on the ad, don't know if it's new/old stock that's for sale or someone is trying to revive this stupid idea, just thought I'd ask, and maybe warn people it's out there again...

Reddog 81 said aluminum was advertised on this forum, so maybe this is a thing again, and I'm SURE that some fanboy will pump them as the second best invention since gunpowder...
I don't care what coating you put on aluminum, it's not got enough mass to make a good projectile, the coating will have to be thicker than the rifling is deep to keep aluminum from building up on the rifling, and from the sound of it, they want WAY too much money for such a bad idea all the way around...

...And I'm STILL mad about my 7mm-08 barrel from 40 years ago! :mad:
 
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A new member named "4-sigma" joined the forum the day before yesterday and has posted 5 drive-by spams (so far) with link to a website for his all aluminum "training" bullets and ammo. Not aluminum jacketed, but all aluminum apparently, with a magic coating. Claims less recoil for training youngsters to shoot big boy rifles without flinching. I quit reading at that point.
 
JeepHammer said:
Reddog 81 said aluminum was advertised on this forum, so maybe this is a thing again, and I'm SURE that some fanboy will pump them as the second best invention since gunpowder...
I don't care what coating you put on aluminum, it's not got enough mass to make a good projectile, the coating will have to be thicker than the rifling is deep to keep aluminum from building up on the rifling, and from the sound of it, they want WAY too much money for such a bad idea all the way around...
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You are correct - very low mass at moderate velocities. They were marketed as training loads. Most calibers have about 40 grain bullets doing 1,000 to 1,400 FPS. A novel idea but very over priced and apparently bad for your barrel.

I believe there is a market for training loads in the common calibers but I'd use light powder coated lead bullets. A 100 grain powder coated lead bullets doing 1,000 FPS out of a .30-06 is something just about anybody could shoot all day and if you can't handle that you'd never be able to shoot a full strength .30-06 anyways.
 
The loaded rounds are about $3 each or you can get the bullets for about $1 each. I'd assume they won't become popular at this price point.
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And they will die a fast death again at that price!
 
5.7x28mm FN Ammunition SS195LF is a 28 gr copper jacketed aluminum core bullet. I find it hard to believe that anyone would ever make a non coated aluminum bullet other than some home hobbyist who has zero formal education in metallurgy.

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness and scratch resistance. It is a measurement of a minerals ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material.

Copper scores a 3 on the Mohs scale while Aluminum oxide scores a 9.

I have heard of people who have successfully made zinc bullets, perhaps that is what some here are thinking of
 
When introduced in about 1980, Winchester's Silvertip Handgun bullets had aluminum jackets. Within a decade or two the Silvertips had one of two silver colored alloys (depending on the cartridge). Not sure what alloy(s) Winchester uses today in the handgun Silvertip bullets and ammo. But at one time (and perhaps even today on some calibers) Winchester has successfully used handgun bullets with aluminum jackets.
 
"When introduced in about 1980, Winchester's Silvertip Handgun bullets had aluminum jackets."
I used those in 38 and 44 SP and they worked like gang busters.
 
When introduced in about 1980, Winchester's Silvertip Handgun bullets had aluminum jackets. Within a decade or two the Silvertips had one of two silver colored alloys (depending on the cartridge). Not sure what alloy(s) Winchester uses today in the handgun Silvertip bullets and ammo. But at one time (and perhaps even today on some calibers) Winchester has successfully used handgun bullets with aluminum jackets.
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I shot thousands of them, and they were not aluminum.
 
i used Winchester Silvertip handgun ammunition in .38 Special in the early 1980s, I thought the jackets were aluminum, but cannot prove it one way or another. I think I still have some in the basement somewhere.

Hits on metal targets at less than twenty-five yards appeared to be a fireball. Something seemingly ignited. It wasn't the metal target, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the lead core. Didn't bother the revolver, didn't leave any (unusual) residue in the case.
 
FWIW, from Winchester’s FAQ: http://www.winchester.com/learning-center/faqs/Ammunition/Pages/faq.aspx#q30

30. What it the purpose of the aluminum nose cap on the Super-X® Silvertip® bullet?
The addition of this nose cap helps to protect the soft lead core of the bullet in the magazine and during the chambering of the round in order to improve magazine and during the chambering of the round in order to improve downrange accuracy, and provides delayed expansion for deeper penetration.
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41. How does Silvertip® differ from other hollow points?
The Silvertip® uses unique jacket materials custom tailored for specific calibers in the line to assure maximum performance. There are actually two different jacket materials used, one for the high velocity calibers, like 357 Magnum and one for the low velocity calibers like 38 Special. This enables Winchester to custom tailor performance for each caliber and ensure rapid energy deposit.
Click to expand...
 
NoSecondBest said:
I shot thousands of them, and they were not aluminum.
Click to expand...

The original Handgun Silvertips (~1980) had aluminum jackets. As the line was expanded, and over time, more than one jacket material was used. So the ones you fired might not have had aluminum jackets. And it's also likely that Winchester hasn't used aluminum jackets for their Silvertips in recent years.

Check out the original Olin Corporation patent for the Silvertips. The patent number is 4,193,348.

Patent title: Projectile for centerfire pistol and revolver cartridges.

From the patent abstract:

"A hollow point lead bullet is provided with an aluminum jacket which allows the cartridge containing the projectile to feed reliably in auto-loading pistols and yet does not restrict normal expansion of the bullet upon impact with the target."
 
The only aluminum bullets I have ever held were in the belt of the late Mr. Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger). At a public appearance he let me and my grandpa inspect one. Grandpa said it sure felt light. Mr Moore said it was because they were aluminum.
 
An old gunsmith I used to know had an aluminum cartridge (fake) that had an engraved 'Lone Ranger' instead of the headstamp, said Clayton Moore gave it to him in the 50s.
One of his prized possessions, and he had a LOT of interesting & one of a kind firearms.
 
"I shot thousands of them, and they were not aluminum."

As initially introduced, yes, Winchester Silvertip handgun bullets had an aluminum jacket. This was later changed to a nickle plated copper jacket.

The hope was that the preperforated aluminum would allow better bullet expansion, but supposedly there were also a lot of issues, among them being that aluminum oxide, which forms on aluminum within minutes of exposure to air, is abrasive as hell and harder than barrel steel.
 
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