I have several different Bullets which fall under the FMJ configuation, they are;

1) Hornady .458, 500 grn FMJ
2) Barnes .375, 350 grn FMJ
3) Winchester .375, 300 grn FMJ

Bullets #1 & 3 apparently have a steel jacket with brass, copper or bronz electroplating on them since magnets will pick them up readily. The Barnes are non magnetic.

My question is, If these magnetic bullets have steel jackets can they cause barrel damage from repeated shooting. I have split bullets #2 and 3 in half and #3 appears to have the electroplating to the steel jacket prior to the lead being introduced, since the electroplating is evident on both the outside and inside of the steel jacket. #2 appears to have a copper jacket covering the lead. I have not split the 458.
Since both bullets are from respectable manufacturers has anyone seen any technical reports on premature wear or damage to barrels from using them? Thanks

raamw,

The gun writer Ed Matunas often said barrel life with solids was short. It is many years since I read that so he was probably referring to the steel jacketed type solids.

Perhaps emailing Woodleigh Bullets might provide a current answer since they make so many steel jacketed solids in so many different calibers.

Mike

PS.Their email is:

zedfield@swanhill.net.au

[ 05-31-2002, 00:21: Message edited by: Mike375 ]

raamw,

GS Bullets has some information on their website in the faq section.

http://gunlinks.zibycom.com/members/002245268/Site2/faqbarrelwear.html

jim dodd

There sure are a lot of old English rifles around that show little wear...I have a 404 with about 3000 rounds through it and it shows no sign of throat erosion and perhaps 2900 of those were solids...I am of the impression that it makes little difference, but I'm just guessing...most folks won't shoot 300 solids in a lifetime, and thats another guess.

This is a topic that has been researched & looked into HEAVILY in the BMG realm of things. Many competetion shooters believe that after 1000 - 1500rds of nothing but solids through their barrels, they loose their COMPETETIVE edge. This means that instead of MOA or better at 1000yds, they average 1.5 MOA at the same distance.

Remember, these are competetion shooters burning a lot of powder (up to 245gr per round with some powders) and needing every edge to win and not just place.

I think it is safe to say that if you ever wear out a barrel by shooting it too much (and proper maintenence), you should be very happy.