Ian
Notorious member
You really hit the nail on the head there about mongrel alloys. But, if we home-gamers can at least ball-park it with our examples, it gives people some kind of idea what to try. We've been discussing and cussing HV cast bullet shooting on these boards for more than a decade and if one thing has proven true, it's that people cannot or will not follow directions, and even if they manage to get close, their particular "system" is always and in many ways going to be at least slightly unique....often unique enough to be out of the tolerance range of any specific recommendation from another experienced person.
All that is WHY having a CONCEPT of what one is trying to accomplish and various ways to get there, rather than a ROTE RECIPE, is going to be more helpful to people. You just aren't going to get very far with this unless you are able to think and get an understanding of the processes involved in the gun, and how to match materials/components to the job at hand. A well-reasoned, slightly generalized guide will save many, many years of trial and error.
We can break this down to a molecular level for the sake of discussion, but just like bullet lube, bullet alloy is really just a material with a set of qualities, with the specifics of those qualities being of more intellectual value than practical value. Still, to fully understand, we need to know.
Bullet metal has how many characteristics? Ductility, malleability, and CoF, right? What else? Ductility is difficult to measure at home, and is more conceptually relevant than practically relevant when considering dynamic fit. Malleability can be measured with the Brinell test. CoF is going to be difficult, but is very important to maintaining obturation at HV when land stress becomes a huge factor.
All that is WHY having a CONCEPT of what one is trying to accomplish and various ways to get there, rather than a ROTE RECIPE, is going to be more helpful to people. You just aren't going to get very far with this unless you are able to think and get an understanding of the processes involved in the gun, and how to match materials/components to the job at hand. A well-reasoned, slightly generalized guide will save many, many years of trial and error.
We can break this down to a molecular level for the sake of discussion, but just like bullet lube, bullet alloy is really just a material with a set of qualities, with the specifics of those qualities being of more intellectual value than practical value. Still, to fully understand, we need to know.
Bullet metal has how many characteristics? Ductility, malleability, and CoF, right? What else? Ductility is difficult to measure at home, and is more conceptually relevant than practically relevant when considering dynamic fit. Malleability can be measured with the Brinell test. CoF is going to be difficult, but is very important to maintaining obturation at HV when land stress becomes a huge factor.
