Clanking Triumph

Duly noted.

 

A satisfied customer. And nobody called him a ****.

We'll have to lose this touchy-feely attitude, you know.

 

Scraggy wrote

Do they still use lead in yer modern bullet? It would be some exotic
material with known dum-dum qualities in an injection moulded plastic
sleeve today, Shirley?

 

He knows nuffink. China et al are the main consumers of Pb.

Whilst the EU has banned Pb in solder since July, those call centres in
India, and Far Eastern governments in general, DGAF how their electrons are
transmitted from one lump to another.

 

Lead is a cost effective heavy metal, which is what you want
in a small projectile. Anything lighter would have no
penetration power.

It is why militaries has gone to 'depleted' uranium rounds for
tank killing, it is heavier than lead.

IMHO, a bullet without lead would be dum-dum in quality.

 

Like HPT said. Some have lead/steel cores (AK47 frinstance) the steel is for
the penetration qualities. However expanding ammunition is not allowed, of
course the Merkins redefined their interpretation of the Hague convention in
IIRC the mid 80s, Plastic's out as well, can't find the bits see.

Fcuk it, use the napalm.

 

Merkins did not agree to UN ban on incendary (fire) bombs,
AFAIK. 5.56 mm ball ammunition has a tendency to tumble as it
penetrates, doing as much or perhaps more than a mushrooming
round.

 

Used to be the case, but no longer true. ICBA to check all the details, but
from memory the 5.56mm used in the sixties when the M16 was first used is
different to that in use today. There was also,IIRC, a change in the rifling
to give a higher spin rate. This improved the accuracy and penetration of
the round but the tumbling effect, on impact, was lost.

 

Istr Colt making a twin-bullet cartridge for the M16 - a way of keeping
the stopping power of a tumbling round but staying within the 'rules',
as such.

 

Then I am starting to show my age. Problem AFAIK in Viet Nam was once round
hit something like a leaf, it tumbled and lost its penetrating power. Some
thought reason for abandoning the 308 NATO round and M-14 was to
accommodate women in the military.

Something like the 5.56 mm travelling at supersonic speeds is about to do
some serious damage, IMHO, on impact. Once shot, stay shot.

 

Probably right, there. I think the idea was to have two bullets in the
air so increasing the chance of a significant wound, even if one did hit
an obstruction.

I don't recall if the idea lasted very long - I've a feeling it was just
one of those ideas with a short life.

 

DU is also pyrophoric when it fragments during penetration, to the
point that the tank crew are incinerated. It's nasty stuff, even
without radioactivity.