Steel jacket.
Lead filled.
Nickel plated except the driving bands, which are copper plated.

Too bad this is a roundnose solid.

I just wonder what sequence they went through to machine and plate this bullet with two different metals:

Lead filled steel.
Machine the nose and shank and shape the base.
Plate with nickel.
Plate with copper.
Machine the cannelures to create the driving bands???

Must have been pretty expensive.
The box I have of them is plain blue hard plastic with no label. I am guessing they are Bell Bullets from RSA, from a gleaning from one of the never ending bullet threads.

Has anybody seen this bullet before?

All you bullet makers are welcome to answer, if you have any idea.

Chris Bekker too.

btt
Maybe lead filled silver bullets for vampires and werewolves?

Van Helsing Bullets?

RIP,

Where did you find those things Looks like a lot of extra trouble to make with few benifits.

Hog Killer

most likely the bullet was machined, plated or plated then machined, then filled with lead? From a manufacturer's stand point that seems the way to do it.

Just a guess.

quote:

Originally posted by Hog Killer:
RIP,

Where did you find those things Looks like a lot of extra trouble to make with few benifits.

Hog Killer

HK,
Some old fella kicked off and the widow sold his .470 NE reloading remnants to The Reloader's Bench in Mt. Juliet, TN. Rip stopped in and purchased the whole lot. One box of 50 of these oddballs was mixed in with some Jack Carter TBSH's (2 boxes of 25 count) and old Barnes Original RNSP's and "Solids" (a dozen boxes of 50 count) and 298 pieces of new unfired BeLL brass, and 2 used ones. 2 of the cases had been primed and fired before the old fellow kicked off.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
most likely the bullet was machined, plated or plated then machined, then filled with lead? From a manufacturer's stand point that seems the way to do it.

Just a guess.

And the machining looks pretty crude at that, but sturdy construction that would probably fishtail anyway, when the round nose tumbled and flattened the base of the bullet.

This is of historical interest only. I would never depend on a roundnose "solid" with an open lead base.

I would like to see if anyone can ID them as Bell Bullets, for I have told Gerard that I think they are, based on comments from the never ending threads over the years. My guess. This would be a "Bell of Africa" not MAST/BeLL/BELL/etc.??? I don't know what happened to the label on the box.

RIP,
What are the diameters of the bullet at the two arrows?

Gerard,
That would be 0.474" for the first arrow (left, and same for all the driving bands) and 0.466" for the right arrow, the sub caliber nose portion.

So I see I need to correct my careless title again.

The solid white lines are Centimeter ruling. The white dots are 1/8" apart.

The bullet length is 1.425" or 36.2 mm.

Thanks for the help Gerard, and I hope we can authoritatively name that bullet someday.

How would you think this mystery bullet might have been formed/machined, plated?

It is odd how grainy the texture in the silver "cannelures" between the bands is, eh?

These must be pre-CAD/CAM/CNC, eh?

RIP,
I chased down the Magnum Magazine article from 1983. It was written by Oliver Coltman who I met briefly during the 1980s. From the article I gain the impression that these are indeed Bell bullets but that they were made by Bell in the USA. I tried unsuccessfully to contact Ollie today but I have left messages with several people who may be able to put me in contact him. One source said that he may have passed away. If he is indeed alive, I will speak with him and find out more. Maybe Bell themselves could shed some light on this?

Thanks Gerard. Maybe Bell threw in a box of those babies with every purchase of 300 brass cases for the .470 NE?

You have given me good info to work with, I'll try to run it down.

I'd like to know just what sequence Rube Goldberg went through to make these for BeLL.

That would be BeLL like the earliest spelling on the headstamp, before the reorganizations of the business, not BELL or MAST, I assume.

So it is not Bell of Africa, but BeLL of America.