[ThreeJs]

Friend of mine bought some "lead core" sks ammo, but it sticks to a magnet. So I got curious, and tried, just a bullet from the bulgarian light ball that I got awhile back, and sure enough it sticks too.

Does lead core usually have a steel jacket under the copper jacket?

The one on the left is one of the rounds of SKS ammo. The one on the right is a bullet from bulgarian light ball, which is supposedly lead core, and looks like lead if you look at the bottom of the bullet.

 

[badger]

If the core is lead it will melt long before the jacket. Melt the core and see if it will actually melt, a gas stove works fine. If a gas stove wont melt the core its not lead.

regards
badger

 

[Radom]

A lot of the jackets are mild steel w/thin copper coating.

 

[7.62x54r]

To re-emphasize what Radom said, most Com-bloc ammo has a steel, or steel alloy, jacket which will attract a magnet regardless of the type of core. If the core is visible at the base of the bullet, and it usually is, you can "*****" it with a punch and easily tell if it's steel or lead. Steel will only scratch, lead will deform. On my site I list the core type and whether or not the bullet is magnetic.

 

[AKBLUE]

Here is a good site for info on ammo. Mostly Chinese 7.62x39 but a lot of the info pertains to other ammunition as well.

http://www.tucsonworks.com/Articles.php?action=detail&g=content1146681053

 

[Pahtu]

Re; lead core sticks to magnets?

Yep it can. The outer layer is a thin copper over a mild steel jacket on a lot of Soviet ammo - On some 8mm & 7.5 French it may appear dark in color due to the outer layer being nickel(I believe) I wondered if the mild steel jacket would wear a bore more than say a copper jacketed ammo & my local smith told me no....=-) I am curious what the jacket gilding is on Turkish ammo as it is a different color than other 8mm ammo...

Pahtu.