Reloading EverythingInline FabricationTitan ReloadingRotoMetals2
MidSouth Shooters SupplyRepackboxWidenersLoad Data
Snyders Jerky Lee Precision
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 31

Thread: Gold bullets

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    West. Aus
    Posts
    139

    Gold bullets

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Screenshot_2017-09-29-12-43-59_1_1.jpg 
Views:	89 
Size:	174.6 KB 
ID:	204835
    So I cast two .457 round balls in 9ct yellow gold and thought I'd share it with you all. And no I will not be shooting them and I wouldn't recommend it as they are waaaaay harder than lead. I'm a goldsmith by trade and needed to make some round balls for a piece I'm creating and needed a shortcut to make them and I thought the steel mold would take the heat okay. I didn't use the sprue plate just poured them straight in the hole in the top of the mold and hand cut the resulting sprue off as the gold is so hard there is no way the sprue cutter would handle it. I think I've got a .36 cal rb mold somewhere too I'll use time to time for this purpose as it saved me hours of time on this job.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Screenshot_2017-09-29-12-44-50.jpg  

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


    Bookworm's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Central Oklahoma, on a dirt road.
    Posts
    1,186
    According to my calculator, 9ct is about 37.5% gold. I wonder what those gold round balls are worth.

    Second thing I thought;
    One takes silver bullets when hunting Werewolves. What would one hunt with gold bullets - chorus girls ?

  3. #3
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    68
    I think, since you've peaked our curiosity, you should show us the actual finished piece! More than one way, to skin a cat, huh?

  4. #4
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    East Central Illinois
    Posts
    4,513
    Chorus girls can be lured into range by baiting an area with a platinum master card. The ethics of that practice is up to the hunter.
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master OptimusPanda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Where every day is Caturday.
    Posts
    504
    Another choice for non-toxic hunting boolits!
    It's only hubris if I'm wrong.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
    sqlbullet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Holladay, UT
    Posts
    1,398
    Weight? Compared to the same mold cast from lead?
    My isotope lead page: http://fellingfamily.net/isolead/

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

    mdi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So. Orygun
    Posts
    7,240
    It would be interesting to actually shoot one of those. You'd need a good bullet trap as a bit o $$$ could be lost in you couldn't retrieve the bullet...
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  8. #8
    Boolit Master Jack Stanley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    South of the north pole in the land of the falling waters
    Posts
    4,070
    Quote Originally Posted by Bookworm View Post
    According to my calculator, 9ct is about 37.5% gold. I wonder what those gold round balls are worth.

    Second thing I thought;
    One takes silver bullets when hunting Werewolves. What would one hunt with gold bullets - chorus girls ?
    NFL players .

    Jack
    Buy it cheap and stack it deep , you may need it !

    Black Rifles Matter

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master



    M-Tecs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    9,563
    Never did gold but for silver having bullets plated was the easiest and most cost effective. What is the melting temp of 99ct yellow gold? How did the blocks handle the heat?

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    123
    Quote Originally Posted by Bookworm View Post
    According to my calculator, 9ct is about 37.5% gold. I wonder what those gold round balls are worth.
    About $15 a gram!

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master
    rockrat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    5,329
    I would think they might work for-----------LAWYERS!!!

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    State of Denial
    Posts
    4,261
    All I can say is that you have one-upped anyone who claims theirs are made of brass.
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Eastern South Dakota
    Posts
    3,662
    Very nice.

    It'd be interesting to know how hard they are. Also what they weigh.

    Thanks for showing us this.


    Cat
    Cogito, ergo armatum sum.

    (I think, therefore I'm armed.)

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    533
    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbcocker View Post
    Chorus girls can be lured into range by baiting an area with a platinum master card. The ethics of that practice is up to the hunter.
    In a divorce a women keep her Gold Mine and the man get the shaft.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    169
    Quote Originally Posted by sqlbullet View Post
    Weight? Compared to the same mold cast from lead?
    Between 9 grams & 10.5 grams depending on the actual composition of the gold.

    The sg given for 9 ct gold is a range and not an number like it is for pure. I assume that's to account for the varying alloy.

    a cubic cm of pure gold weighs 19.3 grams. a cubic cm of pure lead is 11.3 grams

    So to answer the original question, these are probably very close to lead as the sg lead in in this range given for 9 ct gold.
    Last edited by warpspeed; 09-29-2017 at 10:07 PM.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    169
    BTW - the melting point for 9 ct is going to be in the 1600 -1700 F range.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    woodbutcher's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    LaFollette Tn
    Posts
    1,398
    Ohhhhhh yeah.the Numbnuts Football League.
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
    People never lie so much as after a hunt,during a war,or before an election.
    Otto von Bismarck

  18. #18
    Boolit Master

    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Callicoon, NY
    Posts
    784
    On a serious note, I believe F.W. Mann described his experiments shooting gold bullets in his book "the bullets flight from powder to target". He used an abandoned mine shaft to keep weather out of the equation, and to recover bullets. He was a great experimenter. Don't recall details, since it's been many years since I read it. I'll have to dig it out.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
    sqlbullet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Holladay, UT
    Posts
    1,398
    I had looked up the densities, but different alloys have different ratios of silver and copper. I figured it would be close.
    My isotope lead page: http://fellingfamily.net/isolead/

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Posts
    150
    Years ago there was a cheesy mini series on tv about the early days of exploration and pioneering in the old west. Can't remember the title or names of actors, but a minor character in the series was an Indian who cast his own round balls for his muzzleloader from the "yellow metal" he found in a nearby stream. I always wondered how the Indian achieved temperatures high enough to melt pure gold nuggets and pour it into his molds.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check