pyotr filipivich wrote:
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.

Check the link I poated above in reference to hardness and ability to
engage rifling .

--
Snag