Bullet core designs materials

The challenge of initiator development was to design a source of sufficient neutron intensity that released those neutrons only at the precise moment they were needed to initiate the chain reaction. In the case of the uranium gun that requirement would be relatively easy to meet, since the alpha source and the beryllium could be separated with the bullet and the target core. But the implosion bomb offered no such convenient arrangement for separation and for mixing. Polonium and beryllium had to be intimately conjoined in Fat Man at the center of the plutonium core but inert as far as neutrons were concerned until the fraction of a microsecond when the imploding shock wave squeezed the plutonium to maximum density. Then the two materials needed instantaneously to mix. 

Even without penetration, modem pistol bullets contain enough energy to cause blunt force trauma under the impact point. Vest specifications will typically include both penetration resistance requirements and limits on the amount of impact energy that is delivered to the body. Vests designed for bullets offer little protection against blows fi om sharp implements, such as knives, arrows or ice picks, or from bullets manufactured of non-deformable materials, that is, those containing a steel core instead of lead. This is because the impact force of these objects stays concentrated in a relatively small area, allowing them to puncture the fiber layers of most bullet-resistant fabrics. 

Bullet performance drives Barnes designs. Whether a Barnes bullet contains a lead core or not depends on the desired terminal performance. We have several lines of products manufactured from lead-free materials that were developed for their performance. These happen to meet the criteria set forth under the Condor Preservation Act, but we still manufacture the premium Original line of jacketed, lead-cored bullets. A lead ban would remove the very foundation on which our company was built. 

Speer loads Lawman Clean-Fire with Speer TMJ. The lead core is completely and seamlessly encased in jacket material so powder gases can t burn lead off the bullet base. This design is superior to other base cap bullets where the caps can loosen, leaking lead and destroying accuracy. 

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