"Blended metal" bullets; much heat after impact? Can anyone tell me?

Scotius

These bullets supposedly will penetrate body armor, but not drywall, and are alleged to pretty well explode when going through flesh. I've read a report by a contractor who used one in Iraq and said the soft tissue damage caused by it was massive. Now, my question is this; would this bullet release a lot of heat after impact, if the claims that it explodes in the body are true? I have a good reason for asking this, and if I get a good verifiable answer, the person who provides it may become at least semi-famous, depending on a few external factors not under my control - but it's POSSIBLE. Oh, I know you physics types don't crave fame, but a little recognition for a good cause couldn't hurt, could it?

Danger

How confident are you in the veracity of your source? From everything that I have ever been able to find, "fused-alloy" bullets are a purely fictional creation from the writers of "CSI: Miami". All bullets consist of some sort of alloy; even the ones that are intended to be pure lead have impurities. The kind that you refer to, however, simply doesn't exist.

pantaz

The closest thing is called a "frangible bullet". They don't explode, they simply disintegrate upon impact, more or less. The primary purpose is to prevent over-penetration or ricochet.

Danger

Quite right, Pantaz. My personal favourite is the Glaser. (My home-designed version, however, uses a coiled-up strand of bathtub bead chain in place of the birdshot. )

Scotius

I read a post on Usenet a couple years back or so about one contractor's use of a "blended metal" bullet, and he said the soft tissue damage was unbelievable. I've also seen videos on YouTube featuring them being test fired. It's explained somewhat how they work. I'm not talking here about simple frangible bullets, like the ones in use in the M-16/A-1 and A-2 series, but ones that pretty well explode in soft tissue. The bullets' makers are producing videos showing their usage, and they're selling to the military apparently, as well as "contractors" in Iraq, so there must be some merit to their claims. In any case, they were certainly be easy for anyone who could debunk them to do so; if you offer to validate their claims and they refuse, they're fakes, and they know that so I don't think they're selling hokum. I'd just like to know how they work and if they create a lot of heat after impact.

Danger

No offense intended, but again I question your sources. Unless someone is willing to test-fire these things against human-analogue targets in the presence of myself or trusted individuals such as Turbo, Astronuc, or Ivan... I call ********. Nothing other than a micro-fused explosive round can penetrate body armour and then expand to devastating levels in the tissue behind it. While theoretically possible, it is not going to appear in small-arms ammunition. That is in anti-tank territory. Until proven wrong, I stand by my assertion that someone is snowing you.

edit: The ******* above was originally a synonym for "bovine excrement". That autocensor is irritating.

Scotius

I don't work for them danger, and I appreciate your honesty. I won't bother you again unless I find something convincing about it or some new information.

Danger

1) It was no bother.
2) I didn't mean to imply that you were a shill for the company. Rather, someone else is spreading misinformation which you believed.
3) By all means, feel free to alert me to anything of significance that you run across. Although it might not have seemed like it, I'm keeping an open mind; I just doubt very much that anything you find is actually valid as opposed to someone presenting fiction as fact. A lot of honest people believe "urban myths", so it's no bad comment about you.

turbo

The myth of super-powerful bullets is just that. If there was any truth behind the snake-oil, Remington, Winchester, Western, etc would be clamoring for market-share. They are not.