armoredman
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Exploding Bullets - whatever happened to these...
- Thread starter Skans
- Start date
Capt. Charlie
Moderator Emeritus
This deserves repeating...
[Moderator hat on]
Any explosive material, whether it's a primer, black powder, or RDX, loaded into a projectile, is done with no small amount of risk. While this thread is an interesting read, I strongly suggest that all the readers here keep it at that level only, and if you insist on doing otherwise, make sure your health insurance covers a visit to the emergency room.
[/Moderator hat off]
That said, I have very little experience with black powder, and all of that was decades ago. Still, I seem to recall that one of the biggest risks involved an improperly seated ball. While burning black powder usually increases pressure at a relatively safe rate, any air space between the ball and powder allows a buildup of gases that will detonate. (Detonation being a true explosion, not burning.) Depending on the amount of space between ball and powder, the result can be catastrophic. This is the reason that black powder shooters notch a bench rod at the proper depth for a properly seated, specific load and ball. Admittedly, a drilled-out or hollow point bullet doesn't leave much room for an air space, but I don't think it's worth the risk to find out.
[Moderator hat on]
Any explosive material, whether it's a primer, black powder, or RDX, loaded into a projectile, is done with no small amount of risk. While this thread is an interesting read, I strongly suggest that all the readers here keep it at that level only, and if you insist on doing otherwise, make sure your health insurance covers a visit to the emergency room.
[/Moderator hat off]
That said, I have very little experience with black powder, and all of that was decades ago. Still, I seem to recall that one of the biggest risks involved an improperly seated ball. While burning black powder usually increases pressure at a relatively safe rate, any air space between the ball and powder allows a buildup of gases that will detonate. (Detonation being a true explosion, not burning.) Depending on the amount of space between ball and powder, the result can be catastrophic. This is the reason that black powder shooters notch a bench rod at the proper depth for a properly seated, specific load and ball. Admittedly, a drilled-out or hollow point bullet doesn't leave much room for an air space, but I don't think it's worth the risk to find out.