I would like to make a silver bullet,,,

[aarondhgraham]

No I don't have any werewolf problems.

I do have a friend who is a Lone Ranger fanatic,,,
I would like to make her at least one shootable cartridge.

I have some old silver jewelry I could melt down,,,
A friend said he would cast some for me in a 158 SWC mold.

But what powder and charge would we use?

Silver is lighter than lead,,,
But is it harder?

Would it damage a gun's barrel?

You can tell I am clueless here,,,
But surely someone has done his before.

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Aarond

[LarryFlew]

Until you have an actual weight there is no way to know what charge or powder would be best.

Suggest making a dummy bullet with eye instead of primer so she can keep the cartridge instead of wasting the silver. Maybe a nickel case would look best.

[Jim Watson]

Silver's melting point is high enough that you cannot cast it in ordinary lead pot and mould. Even if you melt it with a torch, it will not cast in a regular bullet mould, the heat might even warp his blocks if he tried.

Here is an outfit that sells them, probably made by jewelry methods.
http://www.bulletforge.com/calibers.php

Here is an account of silver bullet production developed from scratch, by a werewolf novelist's husband. It includes the classic 1964 article Lone Ranger Go Away describing the trials and tribulations of gunzine writers trying to produce silver bullets.
http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/...rbullets.shtml

[WIL TERRY]

BEEN DONE !!! Many years ago in the GUN WORLD magazine Dan Cotterman, the reloading editor did this project. it was a monumental PITA due to numerous things like the melting point of silver, how silver does/does not flow into a bullet mold, [ do NOT use your best mold ] how hot the mold has to be to get a " real bullet " as it were, and then getting the bullet outta the mold after you finally get it to fill out the mold but it does not shrink even a little bit, as I remember it, was among the funnest things of all. OH BOY, you do have yore hands full on this project. Go for it !!!

[Scorch]

Density of silver = 10.5 gr/cc
Density of lead = 11.34 gr/cc
Density ratio silver/lead = .926

A silver bullet cast in a mold that will produce a 158 gr lead semi-wadcutter will weigh approximately 146 grains.

Silver will not damage a firearm barrel, solid bronze or brass bullets are relatively common. One issue you would encounter would be thermal expansion coefficient: if you use silver it will shrink more or less than lead does when cast, so it may be undersized. If you were to actually fire it, it would deliver poor accuracy.

[aarondhgraham]

Actual weight,,,
I should have thought of that,,,
I'll have my friend cast one bullet and weigh it.

If I follow you correctly,,,
If the bullet weighed say, 110 grains,,,
Then a light powder load for a 110 grain lead bullet should work okay?

She has several necklaces of inoperable silver bullets,,,
This live round(s) would be so she could say she actually shot a silver bullet.

It may not be a very feasible idea,,,
But surely in the 78 some-odd years of the Lone Ranger,,,
Someone out there has done this before and will know how it worked out.

Aarond

[Cuc Tu]

Is it a silly idea to simply silver electroplate a regular bullet?

[mikld]

Could somebody figger the cost of 158 gr. of silver at today's market? Check out custom jewlery makers too. I'm sure it's been done, some may have been cast and some may have been machined from solid silver, but unless you're rich and can afford to have a custom jewler make you a bullet, maybe explore plating a plane lead bullet.

[aarondhgraham]

Another brilliant idea completely stymied by truth and physical facts.

I hate it when that happens!

Thanks gentlemen,,,
I appreciate your knowledge.

I think I'll just buy one from that link Jim Watson provided.

Or maybe electroplate a lead bullet like Cuc Tu asked about,,,
I have a friend who runs a chrome plating service,,,
Maybe he can provide some help.

Thanks again,,,

Aarond

[Marco Califo]

They contain silver but are not pure silver.

Go to a Gold/Coin store and purchase a struck one troy ounce silver piece/coin. That will be 99.9% pure silver. At todays prices, it will be around $50, and will be enough for 3 158 gr bullets.

[scsov509]

Could somebody figger the cost of 158 gr. of silver at today's market?

7000 grains in a pound, 16 ounces in a pound: 7000/16=437.5 grains in an ounce. 158 grain bullet/437.5 grains in an ounce =.36 ounces. Silver right now is $48.33 an ounce, so .36x $48.33 gives a solid 158 grain silver bullet an approximate $17.45 value.

PS, How bored am I to be doing math in my free time...

[Unclenick]

Note the other reason for using pure silver is hardness. Yes there are solid bronze and other hard bullets out there, but the powder charges have to be adjusted to compensate for the higher start pressure. Weight alone is not involved, so using pure, soft silver makes the most sense.

I expect lost wax casting is most practical for doing this yourself, but it is expensive.

If the mere appearance of silver is satisfactory, pick up an two ounce jar of Cool Amp. This is a powder that you dust onto a damp rag and rub onto copper to silver plate it by reduction reaction. It improves electrical contact of welding electrodes. You could do a whole passel of round nose jacketed bullets with one $50 jar of the powder by this method to give her a whole belt full of rounds for the range.

Polish the bullets by tumbling them in your case tumber with plain corncob to get the oxide off. Then rub them with damp Cool Amp powder. You might even be able to do that in the case vibrator by moistening the corn cob and mixing the powder in. May waste a lot of the powder, but might get done faster and get more uniform results. When they are finished, wax them so they don't tarnish. These plated rounds could be loaded and fired with the normal loads for the bullets you plated, as the silver layer wouldn't be thick enough to affect their shooting characteristics significantly.

[Marco Califo]

Lost wax casting is you make a wax model of what you want to cast. Encase it in your casting material (clay) leaving a hole to pour through. Firing it melts the (lost) wax and hardens the clay. Pour your metal. Then you break the clay away.

I would make it siginificantly over size to allow for shrinkage, and then machine to the size you want.

[Marco Califo]

Could somebody figger the cost of 158 gr. of silver at today's market?
7000 grains in a pound, 16 ounces in a pound: 7000/16=437.5 grains in an ounce. 158 grain bullet/437.5 grains in an ounce =.36 ounces. Silver right now is $48.33 an ounce, so .36x $48.33 gives a solid 158 grain silver bullet an approximate $17.45 value.

PS, How bored am I to be doing math in my free time...

Silver is sold in Troy ounces, which differ slightly. Still about 3 rounds to a troy ounce.

[scsov509]

Silver is sold in Troy ounces, which differ slightly. Still about 3 rounds to a troy ounce.

Totally forgot that. Assuming you weighed a 158 grain bullet with standard reloading equipment and it actually weighed 158 grains, it would actually be .33 Troy ounces and not .36. At $48.33 an ounce that would make the value $15.95. Once again, how bored am I? If it wasn't raining I could actually be shooting...

[dwhite]

Machine it.

Get a small bar of silver or cast your own in a plaster mold you make. A piece twice the length of the bullet will be enough to hold on and cost around $50. It can then easily be cut in a lathe.

I plan on cutting some pure copper slugs for my 357 mag when I get time.

All the Best,
D. White

[5RWill]

No I don't have any werewolf problems.

Man i was about to say you don't have to worry lol.

[Ozzieman]

Do you actually want it made out of silver or just shinny silver in color?
Winchester makes the “Silvertip” line of bullets that’s made out of aluminum that can be polished up to very close to “silver”. The part number is WB44ST210 for a 44 cal bullet.
It may not take care of the nocturnal blood suckers out there but would sure be a lot cheaper.

P.S the bullets in the photos are not polished.

[itman]

I think this page will tell you everything you want to know. http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/...rbullet2.shtml

[sonick808]

turn them on a lathe, to heck with casting

[THEZACHARIAS]

Winchester makes the “Silvertip” line of bullets

+1. Sometimes its better to do minimal work to look cool, than to bust your rear and still look just as cool.

Next step, Silvertips in Nickeled Brass!!

[Edward429451]

I almost cast a silver boolit. I melted a silver ring and poured it into an old 45RN mould. It wasn't pretty but by applying heat directly to the blocks it eventually melted down and the nose looks great, but the base is reject. eh

[Unclenick]

The reason I suggested the lost wax process is you can cast the wax in a bullet mold. Saves you a lot of machining.