swaging non lead

[lostchild0]

I read ( on the internet ) that you could swage 12ga slugs out of cornstarch to make light weight frangable slugs. Is there any truth to this? If it is true could you do the same with regular bullets, .45 .30 etc. ? I'm not trolling just curious. thanks lost...

[Reload3006]

Personally I dont believe it. Because imagine the force and what is holding everything together. Frangible is supposed to stay intact until impact. I believe you would just throw out a cloud of dust out the end of your barrel. then again I do know that as far as shotguns are concerned you need weight to develop the pressures needed to create any kind of velocity.

with those caveats out of the way Corn startch is used some times to change the center of gravity in some projectiles. because it will compress well. but it is contained in a copper jacket.

[MIBULLETS]

I don't think they would survive being shot, unlees they were encapsulated in a jacket of some kind. I have heard of using cornstarch in regulat jackets.

[lostchild0]

Thanks much for the replies. I'm not into swaging, yet but thought this might be a way around the no lead bullet thing. Thanks again. ...lost

[stealthshooter]

What about using Zinc instead of lead?

[danr]

What about using Zinc instead of lead?

i've done a few zinc bullets before.. be careful they bounce like a superball.

i've cast some pure zinc in 45 and 9mm. when i say they bounce, they really do bounce.. hitting rock or steel plates, they really bounce enough to make you worry about where they will go..

i've also swaged some 223 jacketed zinc bullets.. they do pretty well.. still bounce like mad though.

a 200 grain 45 in lead, zinc will produce about a 110 grain bullet.

so zinc is about 1/2 to 2/3'rds depending on the zinc alloy you use.

:)
dan

[firefly1957]

IF YOU READ COREBINS swaging book he uses corn starch to make light cores for bullets I do not know how they would go down a bore though.