Cast ZINC bullets for magnum and rifle loads

[davidh0302]

Elvis Ammo inspired me to start doing this some years ago. As a german engineer I had to try it and it actually works perfectly for me. I hope I'll find some likeminded folks here.

Here in Germany lead wheel weights aren't in use any more, that way there's a huge supply of zinc wheel weights for free.
- I get my lead for free too, as we have to use steel bullet traps (perfect to harvest lead from) at pretty much every shooting range in Germany - .
Since a while now I'm casting zinc bullets for use in higher pressure and speed applications, where lead just doesn't seem to cut it, like real rifle bullet speeds no reduced "cast bullet loads.

I cast zinc HP bullets for my 308 hunting rifle (nominal 180gr mold casts 110gr zinc).
I cast 44 Mag bullets (nominal 240gr mold casts 165gr zinc) for high speed high loads in my Desert Eagle (no gasport clogging if someone feels the need to educate me about cast bullets in DEs) and a Marlin 1895 cowboy.
As the bullet weights are on the low side ~63% of a identical lead bullet, I had to develop a load accordingly.
I tried zinc bullets in pretty much every caliber I have, but there's just no need to go through the more complicated process of casting zinc for slower bullets I think.
My next project is developing a cast zinc load for my HK SL6 in 223.
I'm looking forward to discuss the topic with you guys!

[NyFirefighter357]

Are you using pure zinc or s Zamak alloy? https://www.rotometals.com/search.php?search_query=zamak&section=product

[davidh0302]

Pure zinc from wheel wheights, as I wrote above

[Hogtamer]

I worked hard on slugs for shotgun. Used Zamak 3 (4% aluminum), had a mold made, pressure tested the loads and killed pigs!
I did it to reduce weight and increase velocity to reduce recoil from big slugs. At .731" not worried about expansion. There's a long thread (some of it wandering!) in the shotgun section if you want to do a search.
259308

[GregLaROCHE]

How does the trajectory change with distance compared to lead? Maybe not much at 25 yards or meters, but with longer range it would be interesting to see.

What are we going to call these new projectiles? Zoolits?

[Scrounge]

Possibly off-topic, here in Oklahoma, last I checked, the law requires all bullets to be at least 60% lead. Zinc being harder than lead, they might be considered armor-piercing "zoolits."

[iwottopq]

Hello to alla.
But...the zinc "Zoolints" how many consumes the barrels due the greater hardness of this new alloy?
Thanks
Ciao
Nino

[Finster101]

Might I ask are you using iron molds only. I have heard heat was an issue for aluminum. I would be curious as to what a 95 grain mold would cast for a .243 but I am worried about ruining my mold.

[davidh0302]

I use brass molds, they hold up perfectly. Aluminium wears heavily because of the much harder sprews.

[davidh0302]

Regarding trajectory, just let a balistic calculator do the job. Lighter bullets (same load) means faster bullets means flatter trajectory, which is a relaoding-truism.��

[davidh0302]

My self made casting furnace specially for casting zinc. With zinc I only use brass molds. I would use steel if I there were multi cavity (more than 2) steel molds. But brass seems to work just fine, no extensive wear of other problems.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/864bc22e91b953391c55b30c42a9a530.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/95500ea47eea79a7f0462583b0c6d4c5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/018808a01fed65f2479fb189c3d78034.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/76725f0e4669ff6ea27da59319f412e5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/56bad25a95d424164ce2cd752904321c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/1180d4e37da252eaba9f4fe094e0d89f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200329/8c4f82f7fad76e0ee51c20dd0faaaeed.jpg

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[JoeG52]

Zinc bullets will have a lower ballistic coefficient being the same dimensions and lower mass.

[davidh0302]

Zinc bullets will have a lower ballistic coefficient being the same dimensions and lower mass.True

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[mrbill2]

Do you use gas checks ? What do you use to size and lube ?

[davidh0302]

Might I ask are you using iron molds only. I have heard heat was an issue for aluminum. I would be curious as to what a 95 grain mold would cast for a .243 but I am worried about ruining my mold.About 63% of your 95gr lead projectiles, so about 60gr. You American guys know basic physics, like different densitys of different elements and stuff right?[emoji848][emoji6]

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[davidh0302]

Do you use gas checks ? What do you use to size and lube ?No gas check needed. I size with cheap Lee push through sizers. Lubing the bullets before sizing makes that process a lot easier of course. As it gets rather hard to push a 30+ bhn bullet through a sizing die without it.

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[Rcmaveric]

Nice, good work. I save my zinc just incase. Good to see someone taking the plunge into the unknown.

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[toallmy]

Paying attention , there are a few states in the U.S. that are banning lead boolits .
I am surprised that brass molds are working , but that is nice .
Please keep us updated as you continue with the testing .
Nice custom pot also .

[super6]

About 63% of your 95gr lead projectiles, so about 60gr. You American guys know basic physics, like different densitys of different elements and stuff right?[emoji848][emoji6]

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Periodic table is printed on the back of our birth certificate. 8-)

[elmacgyver0]

Does seem a shame to waste all those zinc weights. Who makes the brass dies? I have only use Lee Dies and a couple Lyman.
What can I say?
I'm cheap!

[Traffer]

I am curious about the "slipperiness" of Zinc. I wonder if powder coating them would get them to slide through the barrel quicker. If so, that could aid in accuracy. Another question: Since Zinc is so much harder than lead, I would imagine that running them .002" or so over size in not necessary...may even be dangerous. How close to the bore size do you run your bullet?
Have you noticed any effects on the barrel (negative or positive) from using these bullets?
I wonder how hard it would be to swage zinc.
I wonder if I could use zinc bullets in a 22lr?
I may have to start experimenting.

[Traffer]

@davidh0302...Looks like you are putting the ZING in Zinc.
:2gunsfiring_v1:

[toallmy]

Does seem a shame to waste all those zinc weights. Who makes the brass dies? I have only use Lee Dies and a couple Lyman.
What can I say?
I'm cheap!

I believe it was brass molds not dies.

[Patrick L]

Yeah, my concern would be cutting the sprues. Zinc is so much harder, how hard to you have to whack the sprue cutter? I would think it would lead to breakage.

[Markopolo]

so what does a load look like for a 308 110g zoolit cast from a 180gr mould? and what sort of velocity are you getting with the same load? and what does a fired zoolit look like upon impact? are they expanding at all?? mushrooming? whats the chrono say?

[davidh0302]

I am curious about the "slipperiness" of Zinc. I wonder if powder coating them would get them to slide through the barrel quicker. If so, that could aid in accuracy. Another question: Since Zinc is so much harder than lead, I would imagine that running them .002" or so over size in not necessary...may even be dangerous. How close to the bore size do you run your bullet?
Have you noticed any effects on the barrel (negative or positive) from using these bullets?
I wonder how hard it would be to swage zinc.
I wonder if I could use zinc bullets in a 22lr?
I may have to start experimenting.

I tried powder coating the zinc bullets just for fun, but zinc doesn't lend its self as good to powder coating as lead does. Powder wouldn't stick an bullets came out horrible after baking. The powder coating on the zinc bullets would have been needless anyway I think.
I haven't experienced any fouling, no "zincing" so far[emoji28]. I don't think solid zinc bullets will wearcout a barrel, as zinc is still way softer than copper or brass .
Very low recoil because of the low bullet mass of course.
I size my. 44 Mag bullets at. 430; my .308 Win at. 309; my 223s will be sized at 224.
It takes some effort to size bullets especially those without lube grooves.


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[davidh0302]

so what does a load look like for a 308 110g zoolit cast from a 180gr mould? and what sort of velocity are you getting with the same load? and what does a fired zoolit look like upon impact? are they expanding at all?? mushrooming? whats the chrono say?

I load my 110gr zinc 308Win with 45gr of N140. Should push it to about 900 m/s = 2700 ft/s.
I'll attach photos of the 308 HP bullet after firing at gelatine block.
You can see the hollow point didn't its work. It does not form a mushroom it seems, to hard for that. It splintert and the solid part went through (at least penetrated more than 30 cm = 11 inches)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200330/e47287de6506aab46125aeb11cc01bcd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200330/abc4dc642c05210e48932abde2215bd0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200330/f1adddf52c418d8f31a2a25641e82d1b.jpg

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[davidh0302]

Yeah, my concern would be cutting the sprues. Zinc is so much harder, how hard to you have to whack the sprue cutter? I would think it would lead to breakage.I normally work with three molds when casting those zinc bullets. That's enough time for the zinc to solidify and still easy enough to cut the sprues. If you wait until the zinc is completely cold it gets really hard to cut it, it's possible but you need to wack it real good. You definitely need at least brass for the mold and thick steel sprue plates, as MP-Molds makes them. They hold up fine.

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[davidh0302]

Does seem a shame to waste all those zinc weights. Who makes the brass dies? I have only use Lee Dies and a couple Lyman.
What can I say?
I'm cheap!I got my brass molds from MP-Molds. There are group buys in here regularly.

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[davidh0302]

@davidh0302...Looks like you are putting the ZING in Zinc.
:2gunsfiring_v1:@Traffer thanks a lot!
Casting is just such a cool hobby, with slot of room for experimenting. It's always fun to have someone to talk about that geekery. 8-)

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[davidh0302]

I worked hard on slugs for shotgun. Used Zamak 3 (4% aluminum), had a mold made, pressure tested the loads and killed pigs!
I did it to reduce weight and increase velocity to reduce recoil from big slugs. At .731" not worried about expansion. There's a long thread (some of it wandering!) in the shotgun section if you want to do a search.
259308I was thinking about casting some zinc slugs, as I have a brass two cavity Lyman stile mold from MP-Molds.

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[wmitty]

davidh0302 : In regards to your question in post 15; some of us understand specific gravity and density, but the rest of us just think of lead as being heavier than zinc and a lot heavier than aluminum. Thank you for posting; I have access to wheel weights from a scrap dealer. There are more and more zinc and iron weights and less lead/antimony/tin weights available as time passes it seems. I asked the owner of the scrap yard if I could dig thru the mixed wheel weights and buy the lead alloy weights that I could find. He didn't realize that some were zinc; I tried to explain that the lead alloy weights were no longer being used, but I'm not sure he believed me. I have some iron moulds which I think I will try with zinc. Are the zinc bullets subject to shrinking to a diameter smaller than a lead alloy bullet cast from the same mould?

[GregLaROCHE]

It looks like the hp zoolits explode rather than mushroom. Maybe not the best for hunting, but interesting for personal defense.

[davidh0302]

It looks like the hp zoolits explode rather than mushroom. Maybe not the best for hunting, but interesting for personal defense.That "explosion" of the frontal part of the bullet musst be credited to the hollow point. It's possible to change the way the bullet tip by changing the form (depth and width) of the hollow point. A solid bullet without any kind hollow point will most certainly pierc through like a laser beam.

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[davidh0302]

davidh0302 : In regards to your question in post 15; some of us understand specific gravity and density, but the rest of us just think of lead as being heavier than zinc and a lot heavier than aluminum. Thank you for posting; I have access to wheel weights from a scrap dealer. There are more and more zinc and iron weights and less lead/antimony/tin weights available as time passes it seems. I asked the owner of the scrap yard if I could dig thru the mixed wheel weights and buy the lead alloy weights that I could find. He didn't realize that some were zinc; I tried to explain that the lead alloy weights were no longer being used, but I'm not sure he believed me. I have some iron moulds which I think I will try with zinc. Are the zinc bullets subject to shrinking to a diameter smaller than a lead alloy bullet cast from the same mould?Technically speaking the expansion coefficient of zinc an lead are pretty close. Lead 28,9x10^-6/K and zinc 30,2x10^-6/ K.
I size them as I size my lead bullets. I've cast lead and zinc bullets from the same mold and I was not able to measure any significant difference in diameter. I size them as I size my lead bullets for the same caliber.
The one thing I would not advise is casting slick sided zinc bullets, I mean bullets without driving bands or lube grooves, not because I think it's could be dangerousto shoot them, but because you'll rip your press off your reloading bench trying to size those ********. :D It can be done and I did it but it's a hell of an effort. I think traditional lube groov designs work best for cast zinc bullets.

Thanks a lot for your honest interest in this geeky topic guys![emoji851]

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[Stephen Cohen]

Very interesting subject and looking forward to more. Regards Stephen

[toallmy]

Thanks for the very informative post , I think quite a few members are interested in casting zinc boollits .
I'm surprised that the brass molds work , but that's good to know .
Can you share a little more about your casting with zinc , casting temperature .
Another concern - is will the casting furnace hold up ?

[charlie b]

This is really interesting.

How consistent are the bullet weights? Do you have more or less trouble with voids and imperfections in the bullets?

What kind of accuracy do you get with your rifle bullets?

[davidh0302]

Thanks for the very informative post , I think quite a few members are interested in casting zinc boollits .
I'm surprised that the brass molds work , but that's good to know .
Can you share a little more about your casting with zinc , casting temperature .
Another concern - is will the casting furnace hold up ?


The pot its self is made of 3mm stainless steel, although it won't hold up forever, it does corrode and it will fail, that's why I designed my furnace to be easily disassembled to change the melting pot, of wich I have second one in storage.
I actually havent measured the temperature of the zinc in the pot jet, as the molten zinc seems to flow better then lead does.

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[davidh0302]

This is really interesting.

How consistent are the bullet weights? Do you have more or less trouble with voids and imperfections in the bullets?

What kind of accuracy do you get with your rifle bullets?As zinc seems to flow better than lead, less surface tension I guess, the bullets come out very evenly. Their weights are all between 105.5 gr to 107.0 gr for the hollow points, and that's including the lubrication for sizing[emoji121], so very consistent in my my book.
I'm perfectly satisfied with the precision for hunting purposes. I was able to shoot a less than 2 inch group (five shots) at 100 meters with my Steyr Tactical Elite (basically a heavy barrel Steyr Scout) and a Burris scout scope from a tree stand with a "rest" that left a lot to be desired (basically a narrow wooden board[emoji28]).https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200330/aeff4d4f8d8d3f8fac00c73957a69637.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200330/af860f75f42fcd65a561c387e7d5df95.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200330/55ddb16fa887f1a1c929a375d0bea2c4.jpg

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[redhawk0]

Do you preheat your brass molds? Using what method if you do?

redhawk

[davidh0302]

Do you preheat your brass molds? Using what method if you do?

redhawkDue to the immens thermal capacity of zinc that's not necessary, most of the time you have to wait for the zinc to solidify if your not using multiple molds.

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[Markopolo]

if your having to wait a long time for the zinc to solidify, isn't your pot too hot?

[davidh0302]

if your having to wait a long time for the zinc to solidify, isn't your pot too hot?It's not due to unnecessarily high temp of the pot.
For some time I cast with a normal Lee Pro 4-20 pot that had just barely enough power to melt the zinc (when temperatures got lower in autumn and winter it wasn't able to melt the zinc anymore) and still the aluminium molds I used at that time took a lot of time to dissipate enough heat to let the bullets solidify.
I even used a fan to cool the molds faster, but the air flow obviously cooled the Lee pot which then in turn did not have enough power to keep the zinc liquid.
It's due to the thermal capacity of zinc in combination with the necessarily higher casting temperatures.
The wear problem of aluminum molds aside, they don't have enough mass and thermal capacity to absorb (or surface area to dissipate) the heat the zinc bullet needs loose by heat transfer in order to solidify. Brass molds have more mass and more thermal capacity, so they work better for that purpose.

That's just my try on a scientific explanation for the phenomenons I experienced when casting zinc bullets.

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[Patrick L]

That was my next question (or maybe you already answered it in an earlier post); what temperature are you running the pot?

I was under the impression (just from what I heard, NOT actual experience so I could be totally wrong) that zinc wouldn't fill out a bullet mold. But your bullets sure look nice, so I guess I'm wrong about that?

[dverna]

If I ever wanted to try this, I would look at something like a Loverin bullet that has narrower driving bands...maybe a custom mold with fewer driving bands. That should reduce the force to size bullets. A lot of bearing surface is not needed to keep such a hard alloy from "stripping" due to the rotational forces of rifling twist. I would also make up a HD sprue plate with a smaller diameter sprue holes.

I have too many other projects right now. It would be interesting to see how a 158 gr large HP .38 cal mold would perform on coyotes in a .357 Mag rifle. Cast weight would be 100 gr. and velocity should be around 2000-2100 fps using 4227. That would yield about the same trajectory as a .22 Mag with over double the energy. Might be good to 150 yards. A zoollet that "blows up" would be acceptable for critter control but it may just punch through with no deformation. Not much of an issue if having a wounded animal crawl off to die is acceptable...or even preferred..no carcass to dispose of.

But Zn needs to be almost free. In my case, with 3000 lb of alloy, there is no reason to experiment unless Zn offers an advantage. Unless of course they outlaw Pb.

[Rizzo]

The folks that mine lead from the shooting ranges are cringing from all this zinc casting talk. :(
Hopefully the zinc bullets are being shot elsewhere

[Traffer]

I wonder if there is something like "heavy walled zinc tubing" out there. I would like to try swaging lead cored zinc bullets. Not like normal jacketed bullets but thicker walls. Maybe get some weight and expansion. But I lack the ability to extrude zinc tubing.

[Barut]

The folks that mine lead from the shooting ranges are cringing from all this zinc casting talk. :(
Hopefully the zinc bullets are being shot elsewhere

This is a good question.

David, did you have any issues with cross-contamination? Is it necessary to use separate pots for lead and zinc?

I am very interested in trying to cast zinc. Where I live, wheel weights are mixed, mostly lead and some zinc and iron. Do you think it would be safe to melt them all together at lower temperature and then separate zinc weights from molten lead?


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[popper]

BC is function of shape, not weight. Stability could be effected but with higher fps, probably not a worry. Zinc is somewhat self lubricating. Sizing greater than groove will cause pressure spikes. Like Cu solids, slightly over bore is best.

[onelight]

I think BC is the sum of all the features that affect trajectory so all else being equal , MV and bullet (same mold) shape a heavier bullet will have a higher BC than the lighter , it will shoot farther in the same time span.
Unless I don't understand it . The older I get , the less I know.:-D

[RugerFan]

Possibly off-topic, here in Oklahoma, last I checked, the law requires all bullets to be at least 60% lead. Zinc being harder than lead, they might be considered armor-piercing "zoolits."

I couldn't find any such requirement in the current OK hunting regs. Just the lone stipulation "Rifles: Centerfire rifles firing at least a 55-grain weight soft-nosed or hollow-point bullet."

The hollow point comment would tell me that much of the Barnes line of non-lead bullets (TSX, TTSX, LRX .etc) are legal. A hollow pointed zinc bullet seems legal as well. Sounds like they just don't want people using FMJ ball ammo.

[davidh0302]

This is a good question.

David, did you have any issues with cross-contamination? Is it necessary to use separate pots for lead and zinc?

I am very interested in trying to cast zinc. Where I live, wheel weights are mixed, mostly lead and some zinc and iron. Do you think it would be safe to melt them all together at lower temperature and then separate zinc weights from molten lead?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ProI sort the wheel weight I get from the auto repair shop before I melt them. In Germany they are primarily made of zinc, there are some iron wheel weight in the mix, and very very few lead wheel weights.
I never had a problem with contamination. I smelt the sorted wheel weight in a a big old stainless cooking pot over a 10kW propane stove. I skim off all the iron clips an stuff like that and flux with paraffin wax. Then I cast the zinc into muffin ingots before I melt those in my casting furnace.
I do the casting into ingots with a ladle, so lead wo be left on the bottom of the pot. Iron floats on top.
I even tried mixing zinc and lead to create a harder alloy, but at temperatures above the melting point of zinc, they just seem to separate, with and without fluxing...
Even after Stein stirring, the metals would separate while pouring into the muffin mold. There was a visible line throughcthe muffin, lead on the bottom and zinc on top.

When I say I was smelting the zinc or lead, I mean my dad, because he's the one doing the sorting an casting in ingots.[emoji4]


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[davidh0302]

I sort the wheel weight I get from the auto repair shop before I melt them. In Germany they are primarily made of zinc, there are some iron wheel weight in the mix, and very very few lead wheel weights.
I never had a problem with contamination. I smelt the sorted wheel weight in a a big old stainless cooking pot over a 10kW propane stove. I skim off all the iron clips an stuff like that and flux with paraffin wax. Then I cast the zinc into muffin ingots before I melt those in my casting furnace.
I do the casting into ingots with a ladle, so lead wo be left on the bottom of the pot. Iron floats on top.
I even tried mixing zinc and lead to create a harder alloy, but at temperatures above the melting point of zinc, they just seem to separate, with and without fluxing...
Even after Stein stirring, the metals would separate while pouring into the muffin mold. There was a visible line throughcthe muffin, lead on the bottom and zinc on top.

When I say I was smelting the zinc or lead, I mean my dad, because he's the one doing the sorting an casting in ingots.[emoji4]


Gesendet von meinem HTC U11 plus mit TapatalkI do use to different pots. A Lyman Mag 25 for lead, and my special furnace for zinc.
As we all know at normal "lead casting-temperatures" zinc in your lead results in a rather mushy consistency. (I think if you would heat up your lead melting pot to above the melting point of zinc, the two would separate perfectly, I think the mushiness is a result of not being able to completely melt the zinc mix in the lead)
So it makes sense to keep them separated.
Besides the problem of corrosion, wich commands special measures regarding the melting pot material etc anyway.


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[davidh0302]

I present you the exploits of my zinc casting session. Allready lube (only to facilitate sizing) and sized.

44 RNFP sized to .430 zinc 165gr https://www.mp-molds.com/product/432-640-hollow-point-4-cavity-gas-check-mold/
308 RNHP and RNFP sized to. 309
zinc 105,5 gr and 108 gr
bought by group buy directly from MP-Molds

223 RNFP sized to .224 zinc 47 gr
https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-227-75-gc-nato-6-cav/

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[MUSTANG]

Question to those who are actually casting Zink Rifle Boolits:

(1) Where are you seeing Maximum Velocity compared to Wheel Weight Alloys air cooled.

(2) Are Zink Rifle Boolits performing (no leading higher velocities) better than Water Dropped Cast Wheel Weight?

(3) Compared to a Factory .30 caliber bullet (say 150 gr to 175 grain) are Zink cast Boolits accuracy (not as good) (Same) (Better)?

[GregLaROCHE]

The folks that mine lead from the shooting ranges are cringing from all this zinc casting talk. :(
Hopefully the zinc bullets are being shot elsewhere

That’s just what I’ve been thinking about. I count on range scrap for all my lead. If zinc starts getting used, that will sure screw things up.

[firefly1957]

As you melt range scrap if you keep your pots cool enough the zinc should all float to be skimmed off. We went though the same in the early days of zinc wheel weights .

[303Guy]

Years ago I wanted to try zinc boolits for my Brit. The idea being that it needs a decent size boolit so zinc being lighter and stronger would give me fit, strength and high velocity. Well, I never got that far so it's great seeing someone actually doing what I had wanted to do. And of course, now I know it works so I might just give it a try sometime.

I do have a slight problem though - in the last few years, zinc dust has been making me ill. I get all the sinc flu symptoms even from a small dose of dust so I will have to be careful with dust masks and ventilation.

[davidh0302]

Years ago I wanted to try zinc boolits for my Brit. The idea being that it needs a decent size boolit so zinc being lighter and stronger would give me fit, strength and high velocity. Well, I never got that far so it's great seeing someone actually doing what I had wanted to do. And of course, now I know it works so I might just give it a try sometime.

I do have a slight problem though - in the last few years, zinc dust has been making me ill. I get all the sinc flu symptoms even from a small dose of dust so I will have to be careful with dust masks and ventilation.Thank you for your comment 303Guy. I think it is always advisable to pay attention to perfect ventilaton when casting. There are masks for filtering zinc oxide smoke from 3M and the like.[emoji4]But I guess you know more about those potential health issues than I do. I still have to research more about that, I was focused mostly on the technical issues.

PS I'm thinking about getting a P14 rifle.

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[mjwcaster]

I couldn't find any such requirement in the current OK hunting regs. Just the lone stipulation "Rifles: Centerfire rifles firing at least a 55-grain weight soft-nosed or hollow-point bullet."

The hollow point comment would tell me that much of the Barnes line of non-lead bullets (TSX, TTSX, LRX .etc) are legal. A hollow pointed zinc bullet seems legal as well. Sounds like they just don't want people using FMJ ball ammo.

The non lead issue comes in with respect to Armor piercing handgun ammunition laws.
IIRC, the ATF banned some non lead bullets due to their interpretation of Armor piercing. Someone else might have a better memory, I want to say it was Barnes solids.

Since handguns can be chambered in any caliber, any caliber could fall under these laws.

Some states like Illinois have their own AP laws, which leads to more issues.


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[davidh0302]

I recently tested my zinc 223 Rem loads.
As I posted above I sized the bullets to .224.
I shot them out of a HK SL6 which has about a 11" twist rate and polygonal rifling.
Accuracy was horrible, shot at 50m dispersion was about 30 cm. Some bullets even tumbling and hitting sideways.
I don't have the possibility to chrony my loads at the moment, but the balistic software calculates a muzzle velocity of about 1090 m/s.
To test wether the polygonal rifling has something to do with this stabilizing problem, I shot the same loads out of my recently acquired swedish Mauser Frankenrifle with a enormous match barrel chambered in 223 Rem. Accuracy was marginally better 20-25cm and no keyholing.
But still this is nowhere near acceptable accuracy.
I'm thinking about sizing to .225 or bigger and try again.
What do you guys think?
Thanks in advance for your help.
David



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[SHORT SHELL]

I tried zinc bullets in .308 & .458 years ago but accuracy was poor as I found they were too light for length. No matter what velocity I ran them at I still got the random keyholing. What I did find was that air pockets were found in samples I cut in half and that would not help in balancing them. When I drilled a hole in the rear or front centre & filled with pure lead it helped accuracy but was a time consuming process. I now stick with lino or pure lead but with a HI-TEK coating with 3 light coats & water quenched after the last coating bake with a gas check. This allows me to get over 2,000fps without leading.