Exploding Bullets! For real

[LavaRed]

So in this thread I will give you all a chance to help Uncle LavaRed in his research. On this occasion the objective is to make a successful exploding .22LR bullet. Why? Because coconuts need killin' too, and sometimes it's just fun to do it the hard way.

So... If you all remember, enlarging and filling the hollow-point hole in your regular .22LR bullet with mercury after applying a thin coat of lacquer, followed by capping with a small pellet and sealing with solder did not work.

Research into the matter revealed that there were, once upon a time, some bullets known as "Devastators", which had the hollow-point aperture filled with lead azide (primer mixture) and an aluminium pellet for compression. they seem to have been moderately reliable.

So I tried that today (disassembled a .22LR round, scraped off the primer mixture, poured it all into the enlarged HP cavity, tamped it down careful as hell, then put a small iron pellet on top (in lieu of an aluminium one), and then sealed it with CrazyGlue. Then it was into my trusty Beretta and into the phonebooks.

The iron pellet dramatically enhanced it's penetrating capabilities. It went right through the phonebook, the styrofoam-filled box that's the backstop, and about 1/2" into the cement wall right behind it, creating a rather large hole about 2" across. However, the bullet was nearly intact, and some prying and snipping was able to safely removed the incrusted pellet and expose the priming powder, which was duly scraped off with a pin and burned.

So, I need you all to put your heads together with me and help me create a successful, easily-produced exploding bullet. I figure this site wasn't intended to be merely an e-cock measuring platform where we show off our cool projects and how awesome we are, but also a place where we ask for help and ideas from others when we get stuck, and we all learn from it. So it's time we start using it like it was intended.

LavaRed needs your help to make awesome stuff Ladies and Gentlement. Please give me your best, as I have given you.

[Zombie Food]

Strap a grenade tho the bullet dumbass

[LavaRed]

Originally Posted by Zombie Food

Strap a grenade tho the bullet dumbass

While out-of-the-box thinking does contribute to generating new solutions, in this case I believe that the constraints prevent this from being a feasible solution.

[sepht]

A metal piece over a primer only works on hard surfaces like steel plate. Use match head dust to keep the gunpowder in place. It will burn on impact and set off the gunpowder. I only tried this in air guns. A powder gun might set off the match head as well as the powder, which will obviously warp the bullet before it leaves the barrel at high speeds...

Maybe cover the hollow point with glue to prevent it from going off inside the barrel?

How To Make Incendiary Ammo! - YouTube

How To Make Incendiary Ammo! - YouTube
Video: click to display

[mizled]

How about mounting an entire boxer small pistol primer in the head of the bullet?

They measure 4.45mm so it'd be a really tight fit in a .22 (really tight), but it might be feasible in a .32 or a 9mm pistol cartridge.

Edit: I think Devastators are still available at Hi Tech Ammo To Go in Vegas.

[Ph0x]

Primers need anvils, you should know that Lavared.

[Spence_tron]

If I were to attempt this... I'd make a paste out of nitrocellulose laquer, lead azide and a bit of fine Al powder then fill the hollow point, top it off with a bb/bearing and let dry.

Have you considered getting sodium azide from an airbag instead of scraping primers? it would be more hygroscopic than lead azide, but you would have 50-200 grams to work with though.

And don't let azides come into contact with copper (jacketed bullets, copper BB's, etc.) by the way, as the unstable/dangerous copper azide can form.

[Ethan]

Could you use a pill battery wired to detonate a small plug of c4 on impact, sitting atop a flattish* round, with a c4 cone finished with epoxy or something to help it retain a steady flight path?

[The Pat-Man]

nitroglycerin filled hollow points?

edit: would probably explode when the primer was struck lol.

[1983]

When I was a kid I usee to drill out .22LR bullets and fill them with mercury then seal them with hot wax. After the wax set I'd take a hot piece of metal and press in the wax some more and I found it sealed better this way.

Used to shoot racoons with em.

As for the lead azide ones I used to make them as well but I used formed and cut pieces of coat hangers for the insert and capped it with wax like I would my mercury rounds.

Interesting happened when I used to shoot the old shooting car. It'd form a perfect hole without any shearing or paint popping off.

If I run across any old pictures of it this weekend I'll be sure to post them later on.

Al

[Ethan]

Originally Posted by The Pat-Man

nitroglycerin filled hollow points?

edit: would probably explode when the primer was struck lol.

What about tnt with a higher concentration of nitro, with a stable detonator of match tips for good measure, or possibly the whipper snapper stuff, carefully pulverized or produced finely, laced with gunpowder, sealed with glue?

[Ph0x]

LOL Trinitrotoluene with a "higher concentration of nitro".

What does that even mean?

[Spence_tron]

^ And he needs to learn the difference between primary and secondary HE's... and the difference between deflagration and detonation.

[Ethan]

Originally Posted by fuckcookies

LOL Trinitrotoluene with a "higher concentration of nitro".

What does that even mean?

Just thinking outside the book.

[Ph0x]

Originally Posted by Ethan

Just thinking outside the book.

It doesn't work like that.

[Ethan]

*sigh* I knew I would get reamed for making a suggestion even though I was totally out of my element. Books work all sorts of ways.

[Legend]

You could try tannerite, 5% aluminum powder and 95% ammonium nitrate. It's not flammable and detonated by impact. The explosion might not be noticeable from the amount that can fit into a bullet. There is a possibility of exploding in the chamber.

Post about tannerite in airgun pellets.

[mrbarbwir3]

The mercury should work, you might have to hollow out the bullet more. The coconuts might be too soft a target to get a violent transfer of force from the mercury expansion. My only other suggestion would be trying a different caliber bullet to try it with. I don't know squat about guat or what you have at your access beyond old totse/zok w/c thread stuff. maybe using some of that impact explosive powder for targets.

http://www.americanspecialtyammo.com...g_Targets.html

Probably same process as mercury , use a bb, or nail head and some glue to seal it. Not sure if it will explode when fired or even on impact. Good luck, happy plinking.

[Spence_tron]

Standard AN/Al tannerite wont detonate with any pistol calibers (except maybe 5.7) or even 12ga because they all lack the velocity to initiate detonation, I really doubt it can be achieved with .22 (let alone airgun) velocities without a real sensitized tannerite comp.

Tannerite comps are typically 95% oxidizer and 5% "catalyst". Usually its ammonium nitrate and 25micron or smaller aluminum powder. A sensitized comp that I have in my notes is oxidizer: 75% ammonium nitrate and 25% ammonium perchlorate, catalyst: 95% 25micron aluminum powder and 5% zircronium hydride or antimony trisulfide. Sulfur could also probably be used to sensitize tannerite, especially when mixed with a perchlorate/chlorate (although kinda dangerous with chlorates).

Lead azide from primers is much more sensitive than tannerite ever could be, it would probably make more effective and reliable exploding bullets, abeit being more risky.

[1983]

Originally Posted by mrbarbwir3

The mercury should work, you might have to hollow out the bullet more. The coconuts might be too soft a target to get a violent transfer of force from the mercury expansion. My only other suggestion would be trying a different caliber bullet to try it with. I don't know squat about guat or what you have at your access beyond old totse/zok w/c thread stuff. maybe using some of that impact explosive powder for targets.

http://www.americanspecialtyammo.com...g_Targets.html

Probably same process as mercury , use a bb, or nail head and some glue to seal it. Not sure if it will explode when fired or even on impact. Good luck, happy plinking.

Coconuts are round and meaty in a tough shell... Much unlike a humans wouldn't you think?

Al

[mrbarbwir3]

I suppose there are a few factors that are necessary to determine the coconuts density, compared to say a human skull.
-are they ripe?
-are they husked?
Is there a better analog at his disposal, pigs head, dogs head. Scavenged of course.

The fault could be with the metal plug used to keep the Hg in the bullet. If its too hard or too well affixed it might just pass through the coconut without the force exchange. Also are the bullets jacketed hp or straight lead?

Maybe try a soft seal, like wax, rubber or some other temp sealer.

I don't have too much experience with making bullets explode except from what I've read, and done with HP pellets, which wasn't anything spectacular.

Do you think the exploding target powder would work?

[Painzstake]

Personally I had a thought about this. Thought of a few mixtures and way ward ideas then, as you do went to do some research on the subject. Came across the wiki on HE rounds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Ex...ing_Ammunition
Note: yes, this is for .50 cal but the same principle should apply to the .22 just on a much lesser scale. So why not use the US gov's research dollars to your advantage?

[General Butt.Naked]

Although I just bought a reloading kit on a whim, Im an amateur shooter and know nothing about anything in regards to this. It is, interesting though, so Ill ponder a bit.

Seems to me that if youre going to try to do this on a small scale, without large scale automation, trying to have your cake and eat it too- is going to fail. Theres not a lot of real estate there when it comes to .22. Are you trying to preserve the purpose of the bullet too, or just trying to create an explosion? Instead of hollowing the head, you might be better off casting your own, or creating a projectile yourself, the sole purpose of which is to explode.

I suppose though, that altering the projectile will fuck with the ballistics, and you might just end up with something that goes CRACK but doesnt go anywhere near where you wanted it to go.I say again....I am COMPLETELY out of my element, but heres a stupid idea. This makes me kind of think of those toys that kids used to have...a metal device that looks like a bomb, and youd place a little cap-gun cap in a chamber inside. It had fins on the end, and a big, heavy, bulbous head, so youd close it and thorw it high in the air, and when it came down itd go POP.

Again- this may be stupid, and certainly labor intensive and kind of pointless for the amount of work that would go into something so small- but you could have basically the top third of the bullet the same, and the bottom 2/3 hollowed out chamber that collapses upon impact, triggering detonation. I was reading in my reloading book that primers are small and really explosive... If you put a 9mm primer in one of those, with the head of the 22 pushing a steel striker back into the chamber, it might work. Again though- I doubt itd work, or that the ballistics would be preserved enough to be useful.

Just an idea though.