Sintered (sp?) bullets - lead free- ricochet free

[scottperk]

I just bought a few boxes of 9mm ammo and I got the lead free
sintered bullets only because they were the cheapest and I thought
what the heck if lead free is the cheapest so much the better.
They are only 100 grains so whatever the metal is, it is lighter.

Here is the interesting thing. I wanted to find out how soft the
metal was so I was squeezing on the nose with some wire cutters
to see what kind of dent I could make and the front half of the
bullet broke right off ! I swear, just as brittle as a pretzel or
soda cracker. I wonder if they would stay together in gel
or typical flesh of a mammal ?

My next question is if they are so hard and brittle, could they
be rough on the grooves in a barrel ? Also since they are
claimed not to ricochet I assume because they turn to dust,
how would they act in SD situation especially if driven
at Plus P pressures which because of their super light weight
would be very hi speed. I think it might be like that super expensive
SD ammo that is small pellets glued together inside the FMJ.

The only difference is this stuff is cheap. $10.50 a box.
Bitter Root Valley ammo brand.








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[mete]

These are properly called "Frangible" bullets , meaning brittle .They are designed for target and practice use and are safe as far as richochet is eliminated . They are NOT designed for any other use , not hunting nor defense !!! I believe they are made from copper powder.

 

[tekarra]

The bullets are made from metal powder which is compressed in a mould. After moulding, the bullets are placed in a furnace heated to a low temperature, relative to the melting point of the powder, for a period of time. The sintering process melts and fuses a bit to the powder particles to form a cohesive mass. What you observed when you squeezed the bullwt was not brittleness, but a fracture of the sintered bond. The bullets frangible so that when striking a solid object, they break up into small pices to prevent ricochet of a large mass.

 

[Jim Watson]

Not going to hurt your barrel.
Performance on live stuff like game or criminals would be erratic.
Use for practice only.