Military to switch to copper bullets

[stonewallrabbitry]

Military plans to switch to all copper ammo by 2018, that will be a large increase in the amount of copper being used and probably not recovered to be recycled. I do not see how this could do anything but increase copper prices. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/21/en ... latestnews

[reddirtcoins]

Well.. When you think about it, copper does turn green...

[Tourney64]

All that inventory you have built up will be declared illegal.

[cooyon]

All that inventory you have built up will be declared illegal.

I was thinking that too...the next big phony war could see Lumumba issuing an Executive Order outlawing private hoarding of copper cents. Maybe there will be an exception for numismatists, and of course, bankers.

[scyther]

Interesting. I don't know if it's enough to really affect prices, but it can't hurt. You can never know what might be confiscated, but I wouldn't worry too much about it just because of this. The military uses a lot of different resources, and has a big enough budget to buy them on the open market.

[mrlaufer]

Any coincidence with this article about someone "scooping up" copper contracts?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/ ... FG20131220

[AGgressive Metal]

I assumed it had to do with the lead smelter closing down. On the plus side, local civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan will be able to get into the scrap business digging copper pieces out of walls and hillsides, haha.

[Sullysullinburg]

It possible because of this that they will need more copper and stop making the penny.

[chester5731]

It possible because of this that they will need more copper and stop making the penny.

I didn't think there was any copper in pennies anymore.

[JerrySpringer]

Turn the knob up to '11' on the penny sorting routine RC'ers. I don't think we will be alone with our CRH'ing if news spreads like it does with every get-rich quick plot......

[Rodebaugh]

The current cent (2013) ytd mintage of 6.8 billion coins

2.5grams each with 97.5 zinc and 2.5% copper

2.5gX2.5% = 0.0625g CU /coin X 6.8 billion coins = 425000000g CU =

468.5 tons of copper used in 2013 cent manufacture

[AGgressive Metal]

468 for pennies out of 16,000,000 tons mined in 2013

[Sullysullinburg]

They still make them with copper and just to make all the pennies in 2012 then needed more then 1,984 tons of copper. I don't know any info on bullet composition but that would make a lot of bullets.

[Kurr]

Im curious as to ballistic effects, wound ballistics, effects on rifling, etc etc. Will we have to re-barrel? Will the same lands/groove be efficient or have to go to something different like hexagonal rifleing?

How will that much lighter/harder projectile perform? How will it affect projectile drop rates. penetration? Remeber too the millitary's goal when shooting at folks isn't the same as self defence goals. The milliary likes to use an attrition thing versus body counts. They'd rather poke some damaging holes in people to tie up as many resources of the enemy on and off the battlefield as possible rather than producing a corpse. Where as in self defence the goal is to stop the threat (massive damage) and hunters seek most efficient way to make a corpse.

Sooooooo many questions on equipment and performance.

[68Camaro]

I believe a 95/5 cu/Zn alloy same as pre 82 US cent was introduced as a bullet application commercially several years ago.

[doug]

The lead saving will depend on the caliber.




It will definitly change the flight dynamics too.

Doug

[RichardPenny43]

Im curious as to ballistic effects, wound ballistics, effects on rifling, etc etc. Will we have to re-barrel? Will the same lands/groove be efficient or have to go to something different like hexagonal rifleing?

How will that much lighter/harder projectile perform? How will it affect projectile drop rates. penetration? Remeber too the millitary's goal when shooting at folks isn't the same as self defence goals. The milliary likes to use an attrition thing versus body counts. They'd rather poke some damaging holes in people to tie up as many resources of the enemy on and off the battlefield as possible rather than producing a corpse. Where as in self defence the goal is to stop the threat (massive damage) and hunters seek most efficient way to make a corpse.

Sooooooo many questions on equipment and performance.

http://site.cuttingedgebullets.com/pages/welcome2

[Kurr]

Color me happy, that does seem impressive!

[Shazbot57]

Probably not going to happen. A cheap heavy metal (like lead or steel) is needed when the outer "skin" peels back, and there are mountains of lead laying around here in the midwest (especially in MO, the lead belt). If the US doesn't allow smelting, you can bet some country like China or Russia will buy it and do whatever. We'll ship some more of those US jobs overseas to countries that hate us!

[pennypanner]

Hunters have been using all copper bullets with great success for years.