Non lead ammo and the future of ammunition development: A inside look/review. Part 1

[Mystro]

A quick background: This is a review I have been working on for the forums for a few months now. One of many of my professional shooting responsibilities these days is that I work as a R&D for a Ammunition Laboratory. We develop every kind of ammunition mainly for LE and Military application. I had to ask permission to do this review and it had to be released as not to give away any sensitive or proprietary information. Good news is that with all the R&D for LE and Military, there will also be similar consumer lines closely mirroring the Pro stuff. Obviously the consumer wont get the very specialty stuff directly designed for the Military but from evaluating both, the consumer gets a very similar product. Here is the review:

Part 1

Non lead ammo and the future of ammunition development:

The future of ammunition isnt that hard to predict. The EPA as well as other outside forces have imposed their concerns on the ammunition industry for awhile now. The outrageous expense of lead clean up at public and private ranges have close many. A lot of this depends on which state you live in. That said, my concerns about my ammo are that it is reliable and accurate. I don’t want to seem insensitive to the environment but my heart is all about performance. I am all for non-lead bullets providing they equal or better the current high performance lead based ammo. I think those days are here. I have been involved with testing some very interesting ammunition for Law Enforcement and Military application over the last few months. There is also a consumer line that mirrors most of the LE/ Military version and this makes sense because of all the R&D in this kind of ammunition is expensive. I was allowed to do this review through the Ammunition Laboratory as long as I did not give any proprietary secrets so I will give a general review and most of all the ammo pictured is from the consumer line. LE and Military have certain specs they require for the bullets of tomorrow. What this means is that their specs will become the standard of ammo for the general public.



The Test Firearms and Caliber: As with most LE and Military testing, there are certain platforms that are required. I am testing with the required firearms as well as others not on the list.

My test firearms are: Sig Sauer P226, P229, P220, P227 Glock 17,19, 23, M&P 45, 380, Walther PPQ 9mm, PPQ 45, PPK, HK USP, HK USP Compact, LWRC M6 iC, HK416. The Calibers being evaluated are 380, 9mm, 38spl, 357 Sig, 40S&W, 45acp, 5.56, 7.62, 300 BLK.



The AMMO:
There are two non lead bullets being tested. A Zinc general range and mil spec bullet to replace the lead based fmj. This would be used as a range and mil-spec duty round. It is currently called “Zclean” in its consumer name. Its main component is zinc as well as other proprietary compositions.

The next is a compressed copper Frangible. It is currently labeled as a “Alchemist C3 round” for non-LE sale. This is used as training rounds for CQB, door breaching, hostage rescue, etc. Some may know these training areas as the “kill house”. These enclosed areas have hard walls such as cinder blocks and other real world hard surfaces where ricochets and “bounce backs” are extremely dangerous with conventional ammo. Air quality is also a factor and there are guidelines that must be met. Cheaper alternative frangible ammo was known to create a high content of airborne silica. The Alchemist are engineered to stay well within the guidelines. The last performance factor that has been associated with frangible bullets are the content of iron. These older types of frangible bullets have been known to spark when hitting steel plates and cause range fires. The Alchemist and their LE counter parts have eliminated the spark issues with not having any iron in them. As you can see there are a lot of factors that go into a modern frangible. Both types of ammo use a sealed non lead primer that does not absorb moisture. This gives them a very long shelf life that most military ammo is known for.


Zclean (non lead bullet) testing:
I will first start with the Zclean ammo since this will be the most popular for myself and most shooters. I quickly found many benefits of this kind of bullet for the average shooter. First, as the name implies, it is actually very clean to shoot. Shockingly so that after 500 rounds of shooting through many different platforms of firearms, all remain cleaner than what they would have been with a quality lead fmj.



Obviously cleaner ammo means less cleaning for the LE or soldier in the field as well as the serious shooter that takes extended tactical classes. Next is the inherent accuracy. Groups are as good or better than what I typically get with premium ammunition like HST or Gold Dot. I actually used several calibers of HST as the control round to compare against.



Because it is not a lead round, bullet weights of the Zinc bullets are different than their lead counter parts but poa/poi are the same. For example 9mm ='s 100 grain, 40S&W='s 125 grain, 45acp='s 155 grain, etc.... I tested the rifle zinc rounds but at this time only the pistol calibers are ready for prime time release.

The ammo with its truncated design inherently feeds better and has functioned flawlessly with all firearms tested.
The Zink bullets has not created any issue with any build up in either conventional or polygonal rifling. They also have a lubed characteristic between the bullet and barrel from the zinc. This is kind of a added benefit not foreseen at the beginning of the testing. At this point with 1000s of rounds I have shot, I see no down sides to this bullet. There was only one issue brought up to me and its either a positive or negative quality depending if you are using this as a practice round or NATO military replacement. It penetrates better than the conventional FMJ. This means it may ricochet (or penetrate) with poorly designed steel bullet traps. Some may see a tactical advantage for these characteristics, especially the military. Both of the “Alchemist” frangible and “Zclean” zinc ammo ran flawlessly in full auto weapons that they were tested. I can confirm there were many more than the ones mentioned above.

Due to limited space : See Part 2 for the rest of the review

[Mystro]

Part 2 of review:

Alchemest (copper frangible) testing:
That brings us to the Frangible ammo. It was currently labeled as “Alchemist” for the consumer. This is a compressed copper bullet with non lead primers. These are also in different weight bullets than we are use to seeing with their lead counter parts. 380='s 75gr, 9mm='s 90gr, 38spl='s 100gr, 357sig='s 100gr, 40s&w='s 105gr, 45acp='s 145gr, 5.56='s 45gr, 300blk='s 125gr, 7.62='s 112gr, 308='s 125gr, 50BMG='s 640gr.



These frangible bullets are already being used all over the world by the military. As mentioned above they have no iron or silica in them. I watched a 30 round full magazine of 5.56 be walked disturbingly close to a steel plate under full auto fire.



As long as the steel plates are at a 90 degree of the bullet impact, the small fragments travel along the steel and are dispersed in that direction. There is a standard on how small the fragments have to break up in size. The energy has to go somewhere so it is directed away from the path of the bullet.



This includes 380 all the way up to 50BMG. (Have to enclose a “do not attempt unless you are a professional” disclosure). Accuracy of the copper frangible were outstanding. Certainly well within the specs required and most rival match grade in accuracy. They have to be because they have to accurately simulate the duty round in every way.



I found their recoil pleasant to shoot and would function reliably even with a fresh/new recoil spring in every caliber. The 5.56 frangible turned out to be one of the most accurate rounds out of my M6. 200 yard groups were outstanding considering I only was using a 6x VX6 optic. It out shot the typical mill spec xm193 and xm 855.



So in closing, the non-lead future of ammunition is nothing to curse or be fearful of. Technology is developing better bullets in every way. You can accurately say you are saving the planet every time you go to the range even if your main priority for your ammo is accuracy and reliability.

[BarryLee]

Thanks for the information. I'm curious how will these new materials impact ammunition cost? What about the smaller manufacturers who often provide bulk ammunition that many use for practice will they be able to compete?

[rob-c]

Very interesting. Thank you .

[Mystro]

Very close in cost. There is actually one distributor that has the consumer line up for sale now. I am told most all pro ammo suppliers will eventually be carrying it.

Leadlessammo:
http://leadlessammo.com/

[spacecoast]

Good writeup, thanks.

With a specific gravity that is 63% of lead, it seems that the zinc bullet heads will need to be somewhat bigger and seated deeper into the case, even if it's cast in the same shape. The reason I say this is because 155/230 = 67% as heavy, but only 63% as dense (.45 ACP).

Will completely new tables need to be developed for reloaders?

[shootniron]

You can accurately say you are saving the planet every time you go to the range even if your main priority for your ammo is accuracy and reliability

.

Sounds like Al Gore...

Lost me with that statement...tired of hearing it.

[Jim Watson]

Very interesting.
There has been off and on work with zinc bullets for years and years, but it looks like the environmental pressure is driving it home.

As said, zinc is harder than copper jacketed lead which will no doubt cause indoor ranges that still have steel bullet traps to force you into the frangibles at twice the price. Rubber mulch traps will handle the zinc.
I think it was Federal who briefly offered a frangible bullet comprising a stranded cable zinc core in a regular copper jacket. It would split the jacket and kind of unwind the cable upon impact with a hard target or trap.

Zinc and lead are incompatible in melting pots. A range will have to be thoroughly de-leaded so that zinc can be reclaimed. Possible with bullet traps, hard to handle with a berm.

They also have a lubed characteristic between the bullet and barrel from the zinc. This is kind of a added benefit not foreseen at the beginning of the testing.

This is a known phenomenon exploited by the Harvey Prot X Bore zinc based lead bullet from the 1950s. The steel barrel will pick up a thin smooth coating of zinc by friction, akin to the Sheradizing "dry galvanizing" process. It is fouling and corrosion resistant.

[Mystro]

.

Sounds like Al Gore...

Lost me with that statement...tired of hearing it.

There was some tongue and cheek in that statement. . Al might have a problem with a suppressed HK 416 for home defense. I say it's cutting down on noise pollution.

[usmc9688]

I've had the opportunity to review some defensive non lead ammo. I've found that the harder materials such as copper usually preform more predictably. Although they can be quite expensive.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[Mystro]

I found two distributors that have some of these in stock. Looks like only a limited amount and calibers so far. Prices vary but one has them selling 9mm by the case. The price break down from them, is $9.25 a box of 50 with free shipping so unless this is a introductory price, Zclean will under sell most all quality FMJ. That said about the price point, the Zclean is cleaner in the gun and more accurate than any FMJ at bargain prices so from a performance stand point, the Zclean really comes out ahead from my experience. When I test new ammo, I never really know it's price point. Now that I know, it's advantages blow traditional lead FMJ away.


I called Massammo of Friday and they already had a limited amount of the Zclean. So it looks like more and more distributors are getting the product.
9mm - 9mm - MassAmmo.com - - $12.99 Flat Rate Shipping on every order

This distributor has some more calibers.
Home - Leadless

[Mystro]

Here are a few LE dept that has adopted Zclean. Since this was publicly announced I can repeat it. (source from "Police Weapons Magazine")

2 Major Florida Agencies Adopt National Police Ammunition (NPA) Z-Clean Ammunition - News - POLICE Magazine

[mete]

J.W. ,If a layer of zinc coats the bore , that IS fouling ! Does it build up or remain just a thin coat ?? Yes , zinc experiments have been tried since the 1930s IIRC.
The frangible bullets are newer .Nosler has had them for a few years .It's copper powder that is compressed and sintered [heated ] to bond the powder.So the copper powder is already the size they started with , they just break apart. Powder size and sintering can be varied.

[Mystro]

Not all Zink bullets are made the same nor should they be generalized. It's how they are made and extruded determines a lot. Heat, no heat, psi, etc just to name a few. There are completely new ways to extrude a bullet. You would no more get excessive zink fouling with this bullet than you would with getting copper fouling from a FMJ shooting the same amount. Every bullet that is softer than the steel barrel has to leave a minute layer. We have have pistols with both forms of rifling shoot thousands of round between cleaning with no appreciable fouling. I know when many new shooter see the gray zink color and associate it like a lead bullet but Zink is not even in the same ballpark as a lead bullet. It is almost identical to a copper bullet.

Funny story: I had to do some poa/poi testing early on. I took 2 cases of Zclean that were unmarked at the time to my gun club that I am a RO at. One of my buddies that was RO for that day came up and saw I had 2 identical HK USP pistols (9mm and 45) on the bench. I started shooting and asked if he wanted to shoot the other HK. He looked at me and my ammo and said "your not going to shoot that lead ammo through your HK's?" I didn't tell him what the ammo was and said "try writing with the bullet on the paper targets". He did and it didn't leave a mark and he was using a lot of force. At that point he knew I was messing with him and he said "I don't know what the bullet is made out of but it sure as hell isnt lead"

[g.willikers]

Will the bullets ever be available for those who prefer their own reloads?

[Mystro]

Will the bullets ever be available for those who prefer their own reloads?

That's a good question. I will ask this week.

[mete]

Casting zinc would require great care as zinc fumes are toxic. That's why welding galvinized steel is not a good idea.

[Slamfire]

I have been very concerned about lead particles in the air after finding this study:




At one time the OSHA workplace standard was 80 micrograms of lead per cubic meter, and a 38 Special puts 5630 micrograms of lead in the air, per shot! There is no wonder why so many indoor range shooters report elevated lead levels in their blood, they are breathing all that lead blown out in front of them.

So, what about elemental zinc? How much zinc is blown out and how toxic is it to breathe?

[Jim Watson]

Note the 14 fold higher lead emission from the lead bullet than from the jacketed bullet.

It agrees with a report in an early IDPA Tactical Journal that said the main source of airborne lead was fume burnt off the bullet, not the lead styphnate primer.

Both much against the common wisdom.


I doubt there has been comparable testing with zinc bullets, they are too uncommon.

[Slamfire]

Note the 14 fold higher lead emission from the lead bullet than from the jacketed bullet.

It agrees with a report in an early IDPA Tactical Journal that said the main source of airborne lead was fume burnt off the bullet, not the lead styphnate primer.

Both much against the common wisdom.

I agree, but the primer's contribution to lead in the air is significant. This is why we are experiencing the introduction of lead free primers. The old corrosive FA70 was lead free, and there are some phosphorus primer mixes, I have no idea what is being used in the current generation of commercial lead free primers.

Times have changed. This 1923 Dutch Boy coloring book extolled lead in toys and home products. I remember hand me down toy airplanes made from lead.

[g.willikers]

zinc fumes are toxic

Oddly enough, zinc is supposed to be helpful with prostate problems.

[mete]

Nutritionally zinc is listed as a "trace element " .How dumb ! Very important for the immune system , healing of wounds, etc. BTW zinc deficiant people can have white spots on the fingernails as as symptom .

Copper in nutrition is essential in small amounts but toxic in large amounts.Acid water in copper pipes will dissolve the copper - mental problems are some of the syptoms !

[Jim Watson]

I have no idea what is being used in the current generation of commercial lead free primers.

Most lead free primers are built around Dinol, Diazodinitrophenol. The Winchester variety also contains potassium nitrate and nitrocellulose.

There was a European formula but it contained barium which was found to be about as bad as lead so it did not stay on the market long.

[Mystro]

Will the bullets ever be available for those who prefer their own reloads?

No, only to other manufactures that will probably load them under their label.

[JohnKSa]

So in closing, the non-lead future of ammunition is nothing to curse or be fearful of.

I don't mind having the choice. I'm strongly against having my options reduced by well-meaning people who want to stop the use of lead ammo.

Technology is developing better bullets in every way.

So far I've not seen any that are better in terms of cost. Not saying it can't be done, just that it doesn't seem to be better in that way yet.

You can accurately say you are saving the planet every time you go to the range...

Using non-lead ammo does exactly nothing in terms of benefitting or harming the planet.

The amount of lead on the planet doesn't change since we aren't actually manufacturing lead. All we do is move some of it around--the net effect on the planet is zero.