The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Lead free vs lead bullets for hunting medium game !

jmr40 · April 24, 2013, 09:35 AM

If I understand your question you are refering to the solid copper bullets such as the Barnes etc. They are more expensive than lead, and as long as you are using a rifle traditionally up to the requirements of the game hunted they are probably unnecessary.

But they do have advantages. Traditional jacketed lead bullets have always broken up and given poor penetration when shot fast. That is why heavier, but slower bullets such as the 45-70 you use have been more depedable for larger game where peneration is needed.

The solid copper bullets retain 98%-100% of their weight and expand well when shot fast. In fact the faster the better and you cannot shoot one fast enough in any gun in production to get it to break up. They penetrate very well. Traditional jacketed lead bullets lose 20%-70% of their weight as soon as they impact game. That means a 180 gr 300 mag bullet that started at 3000 fps will only weigh 50-140 gr after impact. A solid copper bullet weighing 130 gr can be fired from a 308 @ 3000 fps and retain all 130 gr of its weight and give comparable penetration.The idea is to drop down 1 or 2 bullet weight and shoot the copper bullets as fast as possible.

The biggest disadvantage of using the light bullets is when shooting at longer ranges. Up close the 130 gr 308 will give very comparable performance in game as a 180 gr 300 mag. But the lighter bullet doesn't retain speed as well at longer ranges, so the 300 would still be the better long range choice. The solid copper bullets do not perform well if they impact at speeds slower than about 2000 fps.

But they certainly do make guns that traditionally are considered underpowered capable of taking much larger game. If I were elk hunting with a 243, I'd be using copper bullets.

April 24, 2013, 09:35 AM	#5
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,803	If I understand your question you are refering to the solid copper bullets such as the Barnes etc. They are more expensive than lead, and as long as you are using a rifle traditionally up to the requirements of the game hunted they are probably unnecessary. But they do have advantages. Traditional jacketed lead bullets have always broken up and given poor penetration when shot fast. That is why heavier, but slower bullets such as the 45-70 you use have been more depedable for larger game where peneration is needed. The solid copper bullets retain 98%-100% of their weight and expand well when shot fast. In fact the faster the better and you cannot shoot one fast enough in any gun in production to get it to break up. They penetrate very well. Traditional jacketed lead bullets lose 20%-70% of their weight as soon as they impact game. That means a 180 gr 300 mag bullet that started at 3000 fps will only weigh 50-140 gr after impact. A solid copper bullet weighing 130 gr can be fired from a 308 @ 3000 fps and retain all 130 gr of its weight and give comparable penetration.The idea is to drop down 1 or 2 bullet weight and shoot the copper bullets as fast as possible. The biggest disadvantage of using the light bullets is when shooting at longer ranges. Up close the 130 gr 308 will give very comparable performance in game as a 180 gr 300 mag. But the lighter bullet doesn't retain speed as well at longer ranges, so the 300 would still be the better long range choice. The solid copper bullets do not perform well if they impact at speeds slower than about 2000 fps. But they certainly do make guns that traditionally are considered underpowered capable of taking much larger game. If I were elk hunting with a 243, I'd be using copper bullets.