mr_larry
Hero Member
- Jun 22, 2010
- 504
- 169
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Explorer SE Pro
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
I found this bullet metal detecting a saltwater beach (Pacific - Northern California) a few months ago. When I found it I didn't think much about it until I pulled it out of my pouch and noticed how heavy it is. If you look at the photo below, it is the middle bullet that I am curious about.
The bullet on the left is a copper jacketed .45 ACP round. It weighs 14.88 grams or 230 grains. The large three-ring bullet on the right weighs 29.19 grams or 450.5 grains.
The middle bullet weighs 24.57 grams or 379.2 grains. It is pretty close in size to the .45 ACP round but it appears to have a slightly larger diameter. It weighs more than 1.65X as much as the .45 round.
Here are two more photos:
The bullet itself is extremely hard: I cannot put a mark on it with a steel file.
The underlying metal appears to have a light gold tint to it. There is a dark grey dull coating on the bullet that could be oxidation but it is also unaffected by a steel file.
This bullet appears to have been fired with the nose only slightly mis-shaped. There is a curious piece of metal protruding from the side that is shaped like a thorn. The thorn piece is solid and there is not enough missing material from the bullet to account for all of the material in the "thorn."
Tungsten carbide seems to be a logical candidate for the mass and hardness of the material that comprises the bullet. However my research does not show any tungsten bullets in this shape or configuration.
Another possibility could be depleted uranium, but again, those bullets were much different and they were designed for piercing tanks (long skinny bullets)
Other random thoughts: although it appears to be of the size and shape of a handgun round, coming in just shy of 380 grains means you would have to have a monstrous load in there to get any muzzle velocity out such a pig. Taken to its logical conclusion, I think even Dirty Harry would balk at firing one of these things from a handgun.
Has anyone ever seen a bullet like this or know what it is? This thing has been sitting on my coffee table for a few months now and it has been driving me crazy!
The bullet on the left is a copper jacketed .45 ACP round. It weighs 14.88 grams or 230 grains. The large three-ring bullet on the right weighs 29.19 grams or 450.5 grains.
The middle bullet weighs 24.57 grams or 379.2 grains. It is pretty close in size to the .45 ACP round but it appears to have a slightly larger diameter. It weighs more than 1.65X as much as the .45 round.
Here are two more photos:
The bullet itself is extremely hard: I cannot put a mark on it with a steel file.
The underlying metal appears to have a light gold tint to it. There is a dark grey dull coating on the bullet that could be oxidation but it is also unaffected by a steel file.
This bullet appears to have been fired with the nose only slightly mis-shaped. There is a curious piece of metal protruding from the side that is shaped like a thorn. The thorn piece is solid and there is not enough missing material from the bullet to account for all of the material in the "thorn."
Tungsten carbide seems to be a logical candidate for the mass and hardness of the material that comprises the bullet. However my research does not show any tungsten bullets in this shape or configuration.
Another possibility could be depleted uranium, but again, those bullets were much different and they were designed for piercing tanks (long skinny bullets)
Other random thoughts: although it appears to be of the size and shape of a handgun round, coming in just shy of 380 grains means you would have to have a monstrous load in there to get any muzzle velocity out such a pig. Taken to its logical conclusion, I think even Dirty Harry would balk at firing one of these things from a handgun.
Has anyone ever seen a bullet like this or know what it is? This thing has been sitting on my coffee table for a few months now and it has been driving me crazy!
