CorpCommander Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Everyone knows Silver Bullets get the job done, right? So why aren't all bullets made of Silver? Better to spend a bit more to get all that effectiveness right? Well, don't rush out and spend a lot on special reloading supplies just yet. Silver Bullets have some negative benefits one must weigh against their superior performance against lycanthropes. First: What's Good They are often listed as having a major impact on the limitations a lycanthrope has used to by defenses and or BODY. They have good hardness (2.5 Mohs) and fantastic shear modulus (30 GPa) so their penetration capability is fantastic at short range! They have a reputation in some circles as a symbol of justice. What their limitations are: Silver is much less dense than lead and because the volume of the bullet is determined by the chamber size of the gun, a silver bullet of comparable caliber is going to be lighter. This has an interesting effect on the aerodynamic stability of the bullet causing it to be more easily deflected. At longer ranges, silver bullets are inaccurate! Finally, casting silver bullets is not quite as easy as just melting down silver dollars! See this article for the difficulties involved: http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/silver/silverbullet2.shtml So, this Halloween, before you go off to hunt werewolves, just remember, silver bullets aren't perfect. Get in close, take careful aim and git er done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness Silver plating on lead (or tungsten or depleted uranium or....) may be better, though some silver will be scraped off by the rifling. You would also want to cast the slugs slightly undersize and plate up to nominal caliber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpCommander Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness Actually, if you do it right, the hardness of the silver plating should prevent it from scraping off like brass or copper does. I use copper sheathed bullets in my .308 and a lot of the cleaning I do is to remove the metal as opposed to the carbon buildup from the powder charge. The amount lost from the copper is not nearly enough to affect the final bullet upon impact on target so the same would be expected of silver. I do like the idea of using a high density core to improve the ballistic coefficient of the silver bullet. Of course it depends upon the Age and location of the adventure if such high density cores are even available and if the technique is available for creating such bullets. Thanks for the valuable input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness Hmm. Undead armored units. Hmmmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness Use hollowpoint ammunition with silver on the inside, and you avoid the fouling issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness Use hollowpoint ammunition with silver on the inside' date=' and you avoid the fouling issue.[/quote'] Although according to the last page, you get separation around impact that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness Although according to the last page' date=' you get [b']separation[/b] around impact that way. I haven't heard about that, but what I read dealt with silver jacketed on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness I haven't heard about that' date=' but what I read dealt with silver jacketed on the inside.[/quote'] The last page from the linked article gave the results from someone boring out Hp's & creating silver cores. First try separated pretty much at impact, with the second try holding together better once the problem was known and he attempted to counter it. You could probably make a nasty glasier style round using a bored out HP, small silver shot, and epoxy that'd work pretty well, I'd expect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Re: Silver Bullets - Ballistic Effectiveness The last page from the linked article gave the results from someone boring out Hp's & creating silver cores. First try separated pretty much at impact, with the second try holding together better once the problem was known and he attempted to counter it. You could probably make a nasty glasier style round using a bored out HP, small silver shot, and epoxy that'd work pretty well, I'd expect That's a similar idea to one I had for an Anti Faerie round for Castle Falkenstein. Basically a round either built of Meteoric Iron (which was the setting's best anti faerie metal) shavings held together either with glue or as an additive to lead. Dunno if it would have worked IRL, but it should have been a nasty surprise for some faerie noble thinking they were bullet proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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