HUH?

[IWAC]

I figured I'd go to the source to find out about the expansion of Xtreme bullets.
Here's what I got.

To: [email protected]
Subject: Bullets

Hello;
How well do your 38 caliber 125 gr hollow point bullets expand at about 1000 FPS?
Thanks;

Reply:
Sent By Brenda Anderson
To: To [email protected]

Message:
Our hollow point bullets do not expand they have a mushroom effect.
Thank you
Brenda A


Can anyone clear this up for me? I have always thought expansion and mushrooming were the same thing.

Do they expand? Or... are they like the Berry's bullet tech told me when I asked the same question about their 125gr. HP bullets; " They will expand if you hit a steel beam." Iirc, Rainier HP bullets are said to expand rather well, and I was looking for a second source.
Thanx;
C.

 

[Walkalong]

The average plated bullets are not designed to expand like a JHP. They will only deform, how depends on what they hit at what speed. "They will expand if you hit a steel beam"

They are for informal plinking and target practice, not self defense.

 

[John C]

For target use, HP bullets are supposedly more accurate because the center of gravity is moved to the rear of the bullet. This increases stability, or so I'm told.

 

[Potatohead]

"They will expand if you hit a steel beam"

True dat! They expanded quite nicely when I used to shoot the steel dumpster out back at the office. Walkalong, I did quit before it got overly dimpled

 

[Walkalong]

Your momma's gonna whip you boy!

Your secrets safe with me.

 

[ReloaderFred]

As noted by Walkalong, plated bullets are not designed to expand, even in the hollowpoint design. They're for paper punching, dirt clods, etc.

If you want a hollowpoint bullet to expand, then you'll have to buy regular jacketed hollowpoint bullets, not plated. The only plated bullet that I know of that is designed to expand is the Speer Gold Dot, but it has exposed lead in the hollowpoint, and the heavy plating is broken in the swaging process when the hollowpoint is added.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[au_prospector]

She is right, they wont expand but they might mushroom depending on what you shoot at

Its all about the copper plated soft lead being smashed out of shape when it hits something where as in a true hollow point the copper jacket peels back taking the soft lead with it expanding as it goes.

If you want to know, try to recover some spent rounds after shooting into water jugs, dry paper, wet paper, and yes even steel walled trash dumpsters.

I think you will be disappointed in the results...

 

[Toprudder]

Yeah, I aske the question a while back, regarding the Freedom Munitions "new" vs "reman" ammo using the plated HP and XTP bullets. (This was before I started reloading). They said the XTP hollow points were designed for expansion, the plated HP were designed for accuracy.

 

[higgite]

I think the lady meant their bullets don't expand, as in they don't peel open like the petals on a black eyed susan. Instead, they mushroom, much like the end of a brass punch that has been hammered on with a steel hammer.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I have always thought expansion and mushrooming were the same thing.

Nope, not the same...when used in the context of the bullet/cartridge industry

While a bullet will expand, meaning to cover a larger area, when it mushrooms, it isn't the same as the expansion usually implied when talking about bullets. That use of the term is derived from the term Controlled Expansion.

Controlled Expansion usually refers to the sides of the nose being forced outward by pressure applied from the center of the slug. When the sides of the nose are serrated, either on the interior or exterior surface, it forms "petals" which flow outward and then fold backward...hopefully in an even circle from the center; while also not shedding weight

Mushrooming is just the flattening or distortion for the nose of a bullet...yes, that means, in literal English, that it expands

 

[41 Mag]

If your looking for cast HP's that will expand and/or mushroom you will have to pour your own.

Then you have to play with the alloy to get it JUST right so it will not blow apart either from being to brittle, to hard, or to soft, for the velocity your wanting to shoot them at.

Once you hit the right combination though, man can you have some fun then.

So which of these would be expanded, and which would be mushroomed? Oh and the top couple or three are solids.

 

[IWAC]

O.K., I just learned something. Thanks, all!