Tim Wescott on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 10:45:39 -0500
typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
So, I've been re-reading my various Patricia Briggs werewolf books, and
one of the recurring micro-themes is various characters whining about
what a crappy material silver is for bullets, because it's too hard.

So -- has anyone who's done reloading also handled pure silver, that
hasn't been alloyed with whatever to make it hard enough for jewelery or
silverware? Is it really too hard to make decent ammunition from? Would
a hollow-point silver round fail to fragment nicely?

(I'm not going to have silver bullets in my survivalist kit -- I'm just
wondering, from a practical standpoint, if the claim about silver being
too hard is really true, or just un-educated author bullsh**).

Silver is a much harder metal than lead. Which means it does not
'grab' the rifling in a barrel.
Secondly, it has a much higher melting temp, which makes casting
bullets more difficult (you'll need a much hotter fire).
Now, for taking werewolves, you might want to use a lead bullet as
a sort of sabot for a silver penetrater.

--
pyotr filipivich
"With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."