Suppose a flat-nosed big bore solid bullet had a steel core, with part of that core exposed at the nose. Is there anything illegal about this?

Norbert had a small disc of steel like a tack stuck in the nose of his solids to form the "supercavitating superpenetrator" with good results.

How about a bigger hunk of steel more like a core of the bullet to form the flat nose, exposed at the nose, assuming it could hold together. Even if it did separate from the jacket it would be a cylindrical "penetrator" itself, maybe effective?

Along those lines, I have wondered if a steel jacketed, lead core, flat nose solid could stand up. More compact than monos, flat nose for penetration.

JPK

I have never seen any African regs concerning the material makeup of a solid bullet. I would be interested in the data if that is incorrect. When I wasn't sure if I could get the custom bullets I needed for the .50 Alaskan, I was going to have BMG bullets machined and run them backwards like a big wadcutter. Those are steel core and no one fussed about them.

Along those lines.......As I'm sure everyone knows, the Woodleigh "Solid" is actually a steel jacketed lead core with a gilding metal sleeve. Of course it looks like a copper jacketed lead bullet FMJ round nose. Would any "regulator" in areas commonly hunted in Africa care that they are magnetic?

Gilding metal sleeve over a flatnose steel jacket?
How about a male-threaded steel solid with a female-threaded brass jacket screwed onto the shaft of the bullet, just thick enough to keep the steel core off the barrel and thick enough to allow the threading?

Screw a finely threaded steel rod into a thin brass tube and then machine the unit into bullets that are flat on the base, and have a truncated-cone nose of exposed steel.

Would it be dense enough to do the job, with the right nose shape and enough velocity? Even if the thin brass jacket stripped off the steel core on impact?

Nothing in the old Ordinance for Limpopo/Transvaal region about the type of bullets that may or may not be used. And I'm almost sure that the definition has not changed in the new laws.

They only have a definition of a weapon :

Means a firearm or other weapon or implement with wich a projectile can be so propelled that it can kill, injure or immobilize a wild animal or exotic animal, the ammunition for a firearm and any projectile for use in such connection with such other weapon or implement and any chemical or preparation for use in connection with such projectile.

That is it a mouth full.

If an all copper FN, like the one above that penetrated a downed elephant and was recovered from the earth behind it, is strong enough to get the job done, why make it more expensive with a bimetal manufacturing process? The moment two or more materials are combined to make a projectile, concentricity, bullet imbalance and higher cost become issues to be considered.

500grains posted a row of recovered FN bullets some time back (can't find it now) and, despite some rough travel through elephant bones, they remained essentially in one piece, with some marks where bone was encountered. I doubt that a tougher bullet would have improved performance.

Remember that, by introducing a large steel core to a copper bullet, Sd is reduced. Would this be a good thing?

This brass bullet was the only one recovered from my elephant. It was the finishing shot and passed from the back of the head into the throat and fell out when we removed the head. Except for a slight riveting it has no damage.

/

Don't know if it's illegal or honestly a good idea. If the jacket were to shed before leaving the barrel that steel core would wreak havoc on your rifling.

If you want a tougher bullet stick with monometal construction and investigate tougher bronze alloys like aluminized bronze.

Rip,

Why the question? Are you running low on depleted uranium?

Jim,
I am getting really low on monometal-unobtainium bullets in .395 caliber.

Depleted unobtainium from RSA.

Not to worry Dr. RIP!! The Prof is probably swaging down some 50 BMG API pulled surplus into nice 395's for you!

That would certainly explain why he broke his reloading bench with the cheater pipe.
Bear Head Bullets in .395 expected soon,
monometal-obtainium construction.

That would be very soon....

Once I read a hunting report of an Italian hunter, that many years ago and for many years, was accustomed to go in a country of Central Africa to visit a friend who was missionary.

This one knowing the hunting passion of the first figure, was used to give him a military Mauser K98, some armor piercing 8x57js ammo for MG42 machine gun, and was use to send him to hunt big game for meat. The ammos, that had a tungsten steel core, worked magnifically by the report of the hunter. They killed without problems elephants with the head shot.

The headline of the article was, if I remember well, because I read the article several years ago, "Ma te kane" that was translated as "I want meat" and they were the words of the boy who was with him like traker during the hunt.

Unfortunately I don not remember which hunting/gun magazine it was,a dn for sure Ithrowed it away many years ago.