Steel core?

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    Muleskinner

    Muleskinner

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2013
    5,910
    East of the Mississippi West of the Atlantic..
    So many years ago I bought a box of 1000 generic .308 bullets at a show. The guy there said they were pulls, 147 grain FMJBT. I need some plinking ammo for my AR10 and 300 BO so I thought I'd load up 500 of each from this box this evening. SO about 25 AR10 rounds in I dropped one of the bullets and it stuck to the magnet bar I have across the side of my bench. So I looked a bit closer and it appears only about 30% are straight lead and the majority are steel core. All 147 grain...SO getting to my question Are steel core and armor piercing the same thing or are they mild steel used in place of lead because it's less expensive? I know I should know this and I looked online but got conflicting answers.
     
    M

    Melnic

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    15,333
    HoCo
    Greek HXP 30-06 .308 bullets have steel in the jacket. Not steel core, but more like the bimetal Wolf ammo

    I hate how people will equate 'attracts a magnet' to steel core. Steel core is a totally different beast than having steel in the jacket.

    SOOO, you gotta cut one up to look.
     
    John from MD

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,895
    Socialist State of Maryland
    Muleskinner said:
    So many years ago I bought a box of 1000 generic .308 bullets at a show. The guy there said they were pulls, 147 grain FMJBT. I need some plinking ammo for my AR10 and 300 BO so I thought I'd load up 500 of each from this box this evening. SO about 25 AR10 rounds in I dropped one of the bullets and it stuck to the magnet bar I have across the side of my bench. So I looked a bit closer and it appears only about 30% are straight lead and the majority are steel core. All 147 grain...SO getting to my question Are steel core and armor piercing the same thing or are they mild steel used in place of lead because it's less expensive? I know I should know this and I looked online but got conflicting answers.
    Click to expand...

    Mild steel core is not the same as AP. If it is 147 grain, it is not AP.
     
    Muleskinner

    Muleskinner

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2013
    5,910
    East of the Mississippi West of the Atlantic..
    John from MD said:
    Mild steel core is not the same as AP. If it is 147 grain, it is not AP.
    Click to expand...

    Good to know. I attempted to cut one open longwise with a small cut-off saw. Same saw I used to convert 556 to 300 Blackout. I got through the jacket fine but as soon as I hit the core it started throwing Sparks and slowed the saw to a crawl. I was afraid to go any further so I didn't get it cut. I don't know how these hybrid mixed metal bullets are made. I don't know if there is a Steel covered copper with a core of lead or a lead covered copper with the core of Steel but trying to cut through it makes me think it's the former not the latter
     
    Last edited:
    John from MD

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,895
    Socialist State of Maryland
    I still have a collection of steel penetrators from AP bullets up to 50 cal. You won't cut them unless you use a one of those silica carbide wheels. I wanted to add a 20 Mike Mike to my collection but found out that some of them are depleted uranium and I didn't want to fool with that stuff.

    The standard mild steel round has a steel jacket and a lead core. Some of the bullets are open at the bottom and you can scratch the lead, others have caps on them and you have to pull the copper cap off to see the lead.

    Most indoor ranges I have shot at don't care if you tell them only the case is steel. If a magnet attaches to anything, they won't let you shoot it.
     
    P

    Park ranger

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 6, 2015
    2,326
    True AP from a 3006, 165 grain black tip, with do about 3/4" mild steel. The inner core mics. 277". What a mean trick to play on a guy with a 270 Winchester.
     
    Muleskinner

    Muleskinner

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2013
    5,910
    East of the Mississippi West of the Atlantic..
    Park ranger said:
    True AP from a 3006, 165 grain black tip, with do about 3/4" mild steel. The inner core mics. 277". What a mean trick to play on a guy with a 270 Winchester.
    Click to expand...

    OK, are those specs on ALL AP or just American AP? These could have been produced in a slew of places. I have 4 spam cans of Romanian 7.62X54R and they will stick to a magnet and have silver tips.
     
    SKIP

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    Park ranger said:
    True AP from a 3006, 165 grain black tip, with do about 3/4" mild steel. The inner core mics. 277". What a mean trick to play on a guy with a 270 Winchester.
    Click to expand...

    This is Den43 30-06 AP.
     

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    SKIP

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    Muleskinner said:
    OK, are those specs on ALL AP or just American AP? These could have been produced in a slew of places. I have 4 spam cans of Romanian 7.62X54R and they will stick to a magnet and have silver tips.
    Click to expand...

    Silver tip is mild steel core.
     

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    P

    Park ranger

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 6, 2015
    2,326
    Muleskinner said:
    OK, are those specs on ALL AP or just American AP? These could have been produced in a slew of places. I have 4 spam cans of Romanian 7.62X54R and they will stick to a magnet and have silver tips.
    Click to expand...

    That is from my testing as a teen. We would load our M1's with AP , pulled bullets, and go test on scrap steel. When you get close to an inch, they start bouncing back at you. Some times they stick like a dart. Hard as hell to get out of the steel.

    I forget the exact load, but lots of 4895 with LC brass. The bullets were pulled from Talon, a company in west virginia.
     
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