I think we need a distinction among terms.

ALL commercial ammunition jackets are not pure copper, but gilding metal. It contains 5% zinc, technically making it a brass. We call it a copper jacket, but it's really brass.

Montana Gold and Armscor use a slightly higher percentage of zinc, generally closer to 7%, which gives the bullet a golden color. It doesn't change its hardness or malleability.

So all jackets are a brass alloy, just differing amounts of zinc.

Pure copper is found on plated bullets from manufacturers like Berry's, Rainier, Xtreme, and Frontier. These are electrochemically plated, not jacketed.

All the above applies to commercial jacketed ammo. Military ammo (especially imports) certainly differ.

 

Ok that's clears up a lot. Definitely explains why the Montana Gold looks different from what I've been using. Thanks for the quick answer

 

Hi all.
To all the people that are on this site and have not been on others, I'm sorry but then you don't know what a great site this Is, here you ask a reasonable question and you get a reasonable answer. We do have our 2% club on here, but we also have a 98% great groupe of people, Keep It up all, I'm proud to be a very small part of this!!!
Semper Fi all. Hank D.

 

Remington Golden Sabres are another bullet that has the brass colored jacket rather than a copper colored one. Their site even goes as far to say that they have an "Exclusive Brass Jacket". :biglaugh:

 

Jacketed bullet material

ALL commercial ammunition jackets are not pure copper, but gilding metal.

Jacketed bullets are made with different alloys for different purposes. Most handgun bullets use gilding metal. However, some jacketed bullets are made from cupronickel alloy, for strength, and some rifle ammunition makers have used cupronickel jackets. These jackets are a copper alloy with nickel and a bit of manganese. Barnes bullets even offer a solid copper bullet (most likely a cupronickel alloy) for extreme penetration, for big game hunting.

 

Anyway, I was looking at some Montana Gold bullets (45 ACP 230G FMJ) and was told they're brass jacketed. I verified with Montana Gold that that indeed was the case. My question is, will the brass jacket increase the barrel wear as opposed to a copper jacket?

Montana Gold (shortened to MG in many posts) is a favored bullet for USPSA competitors who go through bucketfulls of them a year. No reports of increased wear by using them.

The only thing I've noticed is that it takes another 1 or 2 tenths of a grain of powder to make the same speed as using say a Precision Delta bullet. Neither good or bad, just an observation.

 

For exceptions see Barnes and also some but not all Silvertips.

For exceptions see Barnes and also some but not all Silvertips. Monolithic solids and homogenous especially rifle bullets use some different and proprietary mixes - notice this is the errornet where people will disagree just to be polite - the exceptions don't change the general practice

 

Yep, all the additional information is excellent. I think we done good for Gregger.

 

Sure did. Thanks