Brass bullets?

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B!ngoFuelUSN

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Hello,
A while back I had a chance to purchase 1000 bullets at a reasonable price. A bit complex how I found the seller and in retrospect it wasn't a process that I would repeat.
The bullets seem to be made of brass or at least coated with brass. I've yet to cut in to one to check which of the two it likely is.
But there isn't much info on line regarding brass bullets and I came across something that noted that they may no longer be legal - but this could be complete web lore, bad recollection or a little of both.
I'm not a complete noob, generally have good google foo and am a careful on line buyer but it seems that all three of these skills broke down in this transaction.
Can anyone share info on brass/brass cased bullets?
Thx,
B
 
No idea, but I looked at some Armscor .30 carbine ammo at Cabela's today and I'd swear they had brass bullets too. Just didn't look right.
 
Can you get a photo of one? Might they be Montana Golds? They have a very "brassy" look to them...
 
Remington golden saber handgun ammo has brass jacketed bullets. Not sure why, though.

I got a good deal on some 38 Spec. a while back but haven't shot them yet.

I don't think that its bad or anything, just another type of jacket.

Laphroaig
 
Fiochi and Tula brass in 9mm have bullets that appear to be made of brass. I thought it was brass washed bi metal. But they don't stick to a magnet and when shot the still maintain the brass color so they probably are made of a higher zinc content than normal gild metal that you are used to seeing. I doubt they are illegal cause the ones that I shoot are normal FMJs just with a yellow bullet instead of copper orange one. And perform the same as well. The Fiochi I paid $15 for a box of 50 last year and Tula brass sells at wally world for like $10 or $11 tops. for 50pcs.
 
Armscor and MagTech both sell brass jacketed bullets for reloading, as well as copper jacketed. There is nothing illegal about them, not even in California, unless of course they were solid brass, which I doubt.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Copper is malleable while zinc is brittle for most things the two elements bring out the best in each other. The ancients learned that if they added a little zinc to their implements those things would last longer longer and keep an edge better.

However not all brass is the same. Though zinc is softer than copper, that spare brass rod you have out back most likely is more than just copper and zinc. Barium or chromium (both extremely hard metals) are often added to brasses for specific purposes and to lathe down that rod to the right diameter and make a few bullets could quickly ruin a barrel.

My advice is to buy from a known source like a bullet manufacture.
 
jamesinalaska said:
My advice is to buy from a known source like a bullet manufacture.
Click to expand...
Like from Montana Gold. ;)

Been shooting them for decades. There was some talk of brass jacketed bullets wearing barrels faster than copper jacketed bullets but I no longer worry about barrel wear from shooting brass jacketed bullets.
 
Bullets made out of 1 material "solid bullet" is illegal. It would keep the machinist's aweful busy in this day and time. Remember cannon balls for example, they would go through the side of a ship and right back out the other side, and still look like a cannon ball.

The ATFE doesn't want honest people to ha v solid core bullets, because if we would have them then the criminals would think they were entitled to them. And as we all know most entitlements giving now by the gooberment have either failed horribly or been miss used to the point where tax payers are going against those programs.

Montana and Armscor do have brassy looking bullets, I reload 9mm from Montana and though the different lot numbers there are brass looking bullets.
 
45lcshooter said:
Bullets made out of 1 material "solid bullet" is illegal.
Click to expand...

Where do you get this stuff? Bullets made out of "1 material" are not illegal whether that be lead, copper, brass, aluminum or plastic.

Solid bullets not designed to expand and classified as amour piercing are illegal to use in handguns but not in rifles.
 
Is the caliber and application a secret?

Any road, a solid brass HANDGUN bullet is not legal.
A brass JACKETED handgun bullet - like the Armscors in the next room - is fine.

A solid brass RIFLE bullet is fine. A brass jacketed rifle bullet is fine.
 
True enough, but they are a "solid brass handgun bullet". So is the issue a bullet made of one material, or whether or not they are designed to expand. I'm guessing the designed to expand is the out.
 
I don't believe bullet expansion is an issue with solid copper bullets. The ATF definition of armor piercing bullets doesn't include solid copper bullets. It includes beryllium copper bullets. Beryllium copper is pretty hard stuff. It's used to make non-sparking hand tools for instance.

The following quote is from the ATF website.
http://www.atf.gov/sites/default/fi..._primarily_intended_for_sporting_purposes.pdf

Specifically,
the definition of “armor piercing ammunition” in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(B) provides:

(B) The term “armor piercing ammunition” means
—
(i) a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and
which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other
substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron,
brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium; or
(ii)
a full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended
for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25
percent of the total weight of the projectile.
Click to expand...

Here are some non-expanding solid copper handgun bullets on the market. I just found them on the web to use as an example and have no connection with them.
https://cuttingedgebullets.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=HGS_357_165
 
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A-square used to make some rifle bullets they called "monolithic solids" which were more like a brass or bronze metal. Advertised for deep penetration on heavy (like African sized) game. They would, indeed, penetrate!

They were heavy for caliber and since they were not lead, very long. The 220 gr .30 caliber bullets looked like a missle.
 
And Barnes made Banded Solids which were of a brass like material. The ATF told them they couldn't make them any longer without a waiver. I believe Barnes applied for a waiver but don't know if any has been obtained.

It's still not illegal to have or use any of the Barnes bullets but if you have .308 caliber Banded Solids, it would be illegal to use them in a handgun.

Barnes still makes a very tough handgun bullet called the Barn Buster. It has a lead core, a very thick jacket and a tiny hole on the tip so it can't be called "fully jacketed." I shot some into a pile of gravel. One I recovered wasn't deformed though as expected the jacket was scratched.
 
Most jacketed bullet jackets are made from gilding metal, which is a copper alloy, better known as brass.


Just sayin'........;)
 
To hopefully lay the issue of whether brass or solid bullets are illegal to rest for a few months:

1. Nosler's E-Tip bullets are solid brass except for plastic tip which makes the bullets designed to expand. They are constructed of gilding metal with 95% copper and 5% zinc which is also a type of brass.

2. Nosler also markets solid metal bullets intended for dangerous game. These as far as I know are also made of gilding metal, i.e., brass, and are not designed to expand.

Also keep in mind that some locales REQUIRE lead free bullets for hunting. These are constructed of solid copper or copper alloy, i.e., brass.

Years ago I went hunting with a guy who loaded up Barnes XLC bullets because the PH had recommended "solids" for shooting smaller animals with his 340 Weatherby Magnum. Barnes XLC bullets were solid copper hollow point bullets with a blue coating designed to lessen fouling.

j8zci11.jpg

The above were the results on a Steenbok, a small antelope about the size of a large German Shepherd dog. It expanded all right.
 
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