All You Need To Know About Frangible Ammunition

Recreational shooting has been termed as one of the safest hobbies. Accidents are known to happen in all facets of life, but recreational shooting really does have statistics on its side. This usually boils down to the fact that the shooting community observes some basic rules which help to ensure that no one ends up getting hurt.

However, getting shot isn’t the only risk associated with recreational shooting. Problems such as ricochets and lead poisoning affect recreational shooting severely, but often end up getting overlooked. And both these issues can easily be overcome when one switches to frangible ammunition.

What is Frangible Ammunition Exactly?

Frangible ammunition is quite similar to your normal target ammo. The biggest difference is that instead of using a lead core, frangible bullets use either a copper and tin core or a copper and polymer core. This makes the bullet a ‘green alternative’ to lead bullets, one that doesn’t lead to lead poisoning or ricochet accidents. These bullets can be produced as replacements for fully jacketed rounds or as projectiles which need to be jacketed.

How Is Frangible Ammo Produced?

Powder metallurgy techniques are used to make metal composites which try to mimic the features of lead. Processes such as cold brandishing and mechanical interlinking are used to join the metallic mixture and the metallic compound is sintered to create high density materials. The other common production for technique of frangible ammunition involves the use of plastic composite materials. A mixture of tungsten or copper powder and polymer is compounded together to produce a composite material which is then injection molded to form.These non-toxic high density materialsare then used to make frangible bullets.

Who Uses Frangible Ammunition?

It took a while for the shooting world to accept frangible ammo,but it is now embraced with open arms. In fact, using lead-free ammunition has allowed many shooting ranges to market themselves as ‘green ranges’. Frangible bullets are also being used by military personnel and law enforcement agencies for training purposes. Some law enforcement ranges have designated their ranges as green ranges to eliminate the concerns posed by lead rounds in indoor ranges.

Why Should I Go for Frangible Ammo?

One of the biggest advantages of choosing frangible ammunition is that you don’t leave yourself susceptible to ricochet accidents. Since a frangible bullet breaks into small particles upon impact, the potential for ricochet damage is negligible. This makes it an outstanding option for close-quarter combat exercises.

Better yet, frangible ammo is the cleanest ammo you can shoot. Since there is no lead in the projectile, there is no airborne release of lead when the bullet escapes the gun barrel. This is a very common problem in indoor shooting ranges as the lead dispelled in the air is often inhaled by workers and customers. Regular handling of lead bullets has also been known to pose severe health complications. And most of us are already aware of how harmful lead really is.

Dispelling Common Myths

Like most other facets of life, frangible ammo hasn’t been spared from myths either. First of all, you need to understand that frangible ammunition CAN penetrate most materials such as drywall, glass, metal and 2 x 4s. The ammo only breaks when it impacts with something that is harder than itself or a target that offers hydrostatic pressure. It is also essential to note that frangible ammo has brutal ballistics. Never take frangible bullets lightly. Since they break into pieces upon contact, they transfer the entire energy carried within them into their target. In the right circumstances, this can make them more destructive than standard jacketed hollow points. However, generally speaking, frangible ammunition is designed for and produced as training ammunition and is not intended for use as duty rounds or as hunting ammunition.

About Author:

Steven J. Stanek usually writes articles and blogs related to industrial Mechanism and Products, In this article he writes about frangible ammunition and frangible bullets. He has been vehemently writing articles for Ecomass.com