Silver Bullet - Serious question. What advantage, if any, would a bullet?

Question

made of silver be from a ballistic point of view.

Answer 1

I see only 2 advantage what so ever.

Positive
1= It would not foul the inside of the barrel as lead will, because it is harder.
2= Not as toxic as lead and would work in some degree for shot for water fowl.

Negatives
1= Silver is lighter then lead which would reduce knockdown power and penetration.
2= Silver is harder then lead even in the pure state, their for would not expand as well and would not displace energy as well.
3= Harder to work with, takes a higher heat to melt and process.
4= Very expensive metal to use.
5= Not as abundant as lead.

D58

Answer 2

Solid silver would be a major pain, but there's no reason a silver alloy couldn't be made, though its melting point and expense are such that tin and/or antimony are better choices. Hard bullets in large-bore firearms are good for deep penetration, which is a real advantage in some hunting situations. I haven't researched the LaserCast bullets, but there must be some selling point there.

Answer 3

There would be no advantage. Silver has a different atomic weight than lead. Bullet molds are made for lead bullets. Silver bullets would be lighter and would not shoot to the same point of impact. They might tumble rather than shoot true. Also, silver is somewhat harder than lead so silver bullets won't mushroom properly. Brand name Silvertip bullets are not made of silver, but of some kind of silver colored alloy. Finally, the melting point of silver is higher than lead (something like 1,763 degrees F if memory serves me right). To melt and pour them into molds would mean having to preheat the molds (probably with a butane torch) or the silver would cool too quickly when it comes in contact with the mold. A lot of trouble with little or no advantage.

H

Answer 4

LOL first off, to one of the other answers, silver tip bullets are not real silver tips, if they were we'd be paying more than 100 buck for a 20 round box, If real silver was use and if it was 100% pure it would expand slower than lead due to silver being hard than lead. Now a % may be added to the alloy to slow expansion.

Answer 5

Silver is lighter than lead that is standard for bullets. A lighter bullet would shoot farther, but it would not hit as hard. Lead was chosen for bullets for good reasons. Gold and platinum are much heavier than lead, but who could afford to shoot them? A bullet for my .460 Weatherby would be worth $3000 or so if made from platinum.

Answer 6

the only one I could think of is tipping hollow points, as a soft metal it'd mushroom more and cause more damage. As a pure bullet, I'd think it would have a high chance to fracture in the barrel due to it's softness.

Answer 7

not necessarily true. decorated veteran here. spread of lead and silver may be different. thats your question. figure that out and u'll have your answer. different metals do different things. just like shapes of bullets as well. for instance hollow point. armour piercing. research the composites on the net. u'll find your answer.

Answer 8

It takes a little while longer to mushroom in the body.\
Maybe a nanosecond.
I used to use silver tipped shells for hunting big game.

Answer 9

Controlled expansion for specific sized game and is the choice of many top hunters and for those of us who do not reload.

Answer 10

platinum bullet