Found in bullet trap. Did this boolit shear in the bore?

[vogironface]

I was shooting these wad cutters into a bullet trap. This one was different than all his buddies. My immediate thought was that it was struck and broke in half from another bullet. Upon closer look this could not be true, there is no smashed and smeared part of the bullet like you see when two of them collide in the trap. Upon looking at the broken end it appears to be sheared, or better stated, pulled apart along the long axis. I never did find the second half. I have never seen this before. Thoughts? Below is a normal boolit and the broken one. Both fired from the same batch.

[uscra112]

Space aliens. Needed the lead for their infinite improbability drive. Just didn't need it all.

Seriously, I haven't a clue.

[tomme boy]

It was cracked before firing. Came apart after firing.

[P.K.]

Maybe a slight pause in the casting process? Where one portion cooled before the other was added? Enough heat to "weld" the portions togeather but not bond.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Can you tell us what the alloy was? It doesn't appear to be a clean break. There is a slight deformation on the lower left like it got hit but that is very strange looking.

[btroj]

I would also like to know the alloy. Looks to me it was way hard for a wadcutter. Only way a bullet breaks like that is for it to contain mucho antimony.
Cast them softer and that will never happen.

I bet it cracked in casting or lubing process and came totally apart in the bore or in the air. Weird.

Big thing is to learn from the event. Observe what happened, figure out why it happened. Then change that.

[Case Stuffer]

Looks to me it was way hard for a wadcutter.

Perhaps harder than necessary for WC loaded to normal .38 levels however consider that most all commercially cast WC are cast from alloys around Brinell 17 to 19. During my sideline casting / reloading business days I cast everything from same alloy which was a blend of COWW and Linotype or Monotype . Back in the seventies and early eighties CCWW were plentiful and around 20 cent a pound ,Lino,Mono and other hopt type casting (printing) material were les than 75 cents per pound delivered to my door.

I still have several thousand rounds of .38 Wad Cutter rounds with boolits that are 18 to 20 Brinell .

[375RUGER]

Are you sure it wasn't struck by another boolit? Until you recover the other half I don't think you will know.
What kind of trap is it?

[nhrifle]

Any possibility of zinc contamination in the melt?

[runfiverun]

it broke right in a lube groove.
really common for high antimonial boolits.
it could have broken going into the throat or coming out the muzzle.
or in the crimp die or was dropped on the floor or it hit a back stop and flipped sideways.

[mdi]

It was cracked before firing. Came apart after firing.

My thoughts too...

[popper]

common for high antimonial boolits

Agree, possible pause in pouring that one. Broke on firing and you probably won't find the other part - it went off to some weird place. Left side of the broken one shows it expanded some in the trap.

[vogironface]

"Maybe a slight pause in the casting process? Where one portion cooled before the other was added? Enough heat to "weld" the portions togeather but not bond. "

This is a strong candidate for the cause. This is a new mold for me and I am still trying to find a good rhythm for it. I think the alloy may also be hard. Thank you for commenting.

[vogironface]

I would also like to know the alloy. Looks to me it was way hard for a wadcutter. Only way a bullet breaks like that is for it to contain mucho antimony.
Cast them softer and that will never happen.

This is some alloy I purchased as clip on ww. It was from a local guy who is a shooter and caster so I am pretty confidant there is no zinc but could not be certain of course. If I see more of this in the future I think I will hold the alloy suspect, if not then my vote is on hesitation in the casting. It is interesting isn't it.

[vogironface]

Are you sure it wasn't struck by another boolit? Until you recover the other half I don't think you will know.
What kind of trap is it?

I will never find the other half. The trap is a bucket filled with bits and pieces of tire. kind of like crumb rubber only larger pieces. no handgun I shoot penetrates near the bottom so if it were in the bucket i would have it. I am sure it is firmly embedded into the berm awaiting discovery by another shooter and destined for someone's pot.

[btroj]

Even wheel weights can break like that during casting. Too hot a mould will do that with antimony alloys.
Personally I would cut that alloy in 1/2 with pure lead. For wascutters at a reasonable velocity, something around 800 fps in a 38, you wpuld even go softer than that.

I don't think zinc is an issue, it causes flow problems that give poor fallout, it doesn't generally cause a brittleness like that.

[vogironface]

it broke right in a lube groove.
really common for high antimonial boolits.
it could have broken going into the throat or coming out the muzzle.
or in the crimp die or was dropped on the floor or it hit a back stop and flipped sideways.

I am leaning in this direction as well. If I have high antimony I suppose I could mix this alloy with some pure lead to bring it down. I also saw a topic of using pencils to grade relative hardness of lead. I will have to back and read that and then put this guy to the test. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts as well.

[vogironface]

Personally I would cut that alloy in 1/2 with pure lead. For wascutters at a reasonable velocity, something around 800 fps in a 38, you wpuld even go softer than that.

How funny. I was literally just typing that as a response to runfiverun. It was something of a guess for me but nice to hear that from someone more experienced than myself. I will mark that batch so I remember next time to mix it and see what happens.

[Shiloh]

It was cracked before firing. Came apart after firing.

That would be my guess. It could have been an interrupted pour in casting. The shear looks frosty though.

Shiloh