Looking To Buy My First Rifle...

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Does this influence the ballistic attributes of the bullet? Not that it really really matters at a short distance, but I am curious if you can see a difference in the longer, 50-100 yard, distance.

http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/mercury_in_bullet.html

The theory or rather concept behind this is to increase its lethality by poisoning.
As the projectile impacts it expands and breaks up and deposits the mercury.
I'm assuming it gives it a slightly higher impact energy, since mercury is heavier than lead.
Certainly negligible though.
But then again wouldn't the mercury vaporize as it exited the barrel?

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/mercury_in_bullet.html

The theory or rather concept behind this is to increase its lethality by poisoning.
As the projectile impacts it expands and breaks up and deposits the mercury.
I'm assuming it gives it a slightly higher impact energy, since mercury is heavier than lead.
Certainly negligible though.
But then again wouldn't the mercury vaporize as it exited the barrel?

Interesting link, thanks. So I guess you have to somehow seal the parts of the bullets you don't want to "amalgan"
I didn't quote all of privateer's post, he mentioned that the bullets don't explode like in the movies.
The mercury would definitely vaporize alone by the air friction if it would not be coated. I am not sure however if a wax coating is sufficent to protect it. Sure, the (copper) casing will take most of the heat of the fired bullet, however the question is how hot the tip of the projectile gets.
Those guys (http://www.goinfrared.com/media/www_...org_bullet.pdf) measured the temperature of bullet, fired from an AR15, at 267° C (513°F), shortly after it left the barrel. This would melt wax, if the tip is this hot.

However in this article about gunshot wounds (http://liberalforum.org/liberalforum...unshot-wounds/) they state that bullets don't get hot enough to kill bacterias on it

All gunshot wounds are contaminated with bacteria. On occasion one still hears the myth that bullets reach such a high temperature in the gun barrel that they are sterilized by being fired. This was proved false by LaGarde in 1892 [47] , whose findings were more recently verified by Thoresby and Darlow. [48]

This would contradict the theory that wax would melt.
We'll have to wait what privateer says, as he certainly tested this in practice

[Growler]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/mercury_in_bullet.html

The theory or rather concept behind this is to increase its lethality by poisoning.
As the projectile impacts it expands and breaks up and deposits the mercury.
I'm assuming it gives it a slightly higher impact energy, since mercury is heavier than lead.
Certainly negligible though.
But then again wouldn't the mercury vaporize as it exited the barrel?

A mercury load would be encapsulated in a sheath of metal, likely copper/lead. Upon impact with a target (body, wall, etc) the bullet begins to deform, breaking the integrity of the capsule and allowing mercury out.

Also, watch a high-speed camera in slo-mo, where a water balloon hits someone and explodes. Watch how the force is distributed against the target by how the balloon deforms. Fill a bullet tip with a liquid like mercury, and think of that as a small-caliber water balloon.