Zinc jackets and bore wear

[destrux]

I was reading the thread about casting zinc bullets, and about how it wore out a barrel very very quickly. Something about zinc not having the self lubricating properties of copper... anyway..

If solid Zinc bullets are bad for the bore, what effect does the extra 15% of zinc content that brass jackets have versus copper jackets have on bore wear? Will that cut the life of a barrel down from ~10,000 rounds to ~7,000 rounds or something to that effect? Anyone turn enough rimfire cases into bullet jackets to fire that much ammo in one rifle yet?

I suppose even if it did the amount of money you'd save on that many projectiles would pay for three or four standard AR-15 barrels, I guess I'm just curious.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I was reading the thread about casting zinc bullets, and about how it wore out a barrel very very quickly.

post a link to that...
I'd like to read it...I personally don't believe it. I'd assume the zinc boolits would be lubed ? Maybe ?
Bottom line is, Zinc is softer than gun bbl metal. although if there is contaminants in the Zinc, they may wear-out a bbl.
Jon

[DukeInFlorida]

Many of the better companies make commercial jackets NOW out of what is referred to as GILDING METAL. It's a copper alloy with zinc added for that more brass looking appearance. If you have ever seen Montana Gold bullets, those are gilding metal jackets.

No worries with brass jackets............ shoot em and be happy for the savings. Your guns will be happy.

[SquirrelHollow]

I don't know how many of you remember the USAC "reloadable" plastic-cased .38 special from the '80s, but most of those bullets were zinc plated.

When the company went belly-up in 1988, or so, they sold off everything in their warehouse. A gun store in Ohio bought every last bullet they had (somewhere around 1.3 million), and has been selling them as components and in commercial reloads ever since.
One of my friends has been buying the zinc-plated bullets since 1993, and using them in general-purpose and 'full house' loads in .357 Mag. He estimates he has fired at least SIXTY FIVE THOUSAND of the various SWCs, WCs, and RNs, with no harm to his bore or forcing cone.

[Lizard333]

post a link to that...
I'd like to read it...I personally don't believe it. I'd assume the zinc boolits would be lubed ? Maybe ?
Bottom line is, Zinc is softer than gun bbl metal. although if there is contaminants in the Zinc, they may wear-out a bbl.
Jon

Copper is softer than steel as well but you still get barrel wear.

The only way to get the most out of your barrel is to shoot lead. Soft as a babies butt.😎

[Reload3006]

even just shooting lead your still going to get throat erosion from the powder burn. Barrels wear out doesn't matter what you shoot. Sure that probably isn't going to be in most peoples life times but it does happen. People commonly report that they have fired over 10,000 rounds of 22brass rifle bullets out of their barrels so I don't think there is much to worry about nothing lasts forever but your not going to wear your barrel out noticeably faster with Rim-fire jackets as you are with commercial FMJ or worse yet Tracer.

[BT Sniper]

I was reading the thread about casting zinc bullets, and about how it wore out a barrel very very quickly. Something about zinc not having the self lubricating properties of copper... anyway..

If solid Zinc bullets are bad for the bore, what effect does the extra 15% of zinc content that brass jackets have versus copper jackets have on bore wear? Will that cut the life of a barrel down from ~10,000 rounds to ~7,000 rounds or something to that effect? Anyone turn enough rimfire cases into bullet jackets to fire that much ammo in one rifle yet?

I suppose even if it did the amount of money you'd save on that many projectiles would pay for three or four standard AR-15 barrels, I guess I'm just curious.

I think there may be a bit of cornfusion when one is talking about cast boolits vs. jacketed bullets. It sounds like you read about shooting "cast lead boolits" poored from all zink instead of lead? In that case yes, the zink is harder then lead and will ware out a barrel faster then shooting "cast bollits" made from the softer lead.

In the case of use using brass, copper or guilding metal jackets I have read and understood teh small percentage of zink DOES in fact add lubracating properties to the jacket. Guilding metal being 95% copper and 5% zink where as our brass jackets are 70% copper and 30% zink.

IMOP I think one will be very hard pressed to notice any difference in barrel life or ware shooting guilding metal vs. brass jacketed bullets. I know I will shoot the heck out of these bullets made from brass jackets and when/if the day comes I need a new barrel it is a simple $250 swap on my Savage actions. I'll take that any day vs. buying commercial bullets or worse, being without any bullets at all.

Brass jacketed bullets will have very little to any difference at all in barrel ware compared to commercial bullets IMOP.

Good Shooting and Swage On!

BT

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I was reading the thread about casting zinc bullets, and about how it wore out a barrel very very quickly.


post a link to that...
I'd like to read it...I personally don't believe it. I'd assume the zinc boolits would be lubed ? Maybe ?
Bottom line is, Zinc is softer than gun bbl metal. although if there is contaminants in the Zinc, they may wear-out a bbl.
Jon


Copper is softer than steel as well but you still get barrel wear.

The only way to get the most out of your barrel is to shoot lead. Soft as a babies butt.��

OK, I guess my last sentence should have said, "although if there is contaminants in the Zinc, they may wear-out a bbl very very quickly.

[destrux]

I can't find the thread now for some reason. After doing a bunch more reading on zinc bullets I'd say I have to agree that he must have been doing something wrong because I guess zinc really won't cause any sort of severe bore wear like that. He was shooting them unlubed, but that's common for zinc because it's so hard.

[DukeInFlorida]

The original post was asking about brass jackets (which have zinc in the alloy) versus copper jackets.