Posted on 05/24/2002 1:48:55 PM PDT by fiftymegaton
I have just finished reading a book written by Tom Clancy and (Ret.)Gen. Fred Franks called 'Into The Storm' Ground-War In Iraq. In this book I learned the ammunition for our M1A1 tanks used in the Gulf War were coated in depleted uranium I assume to make them more solid and to give them the ability to more easily penetrate the armor of enemy tanks. I have also read an article on this forum posted last week(the source I dont remember) that stated the left-over or spent tank ammunition still in Iraq is posing radioactive problems to some areas there and in Kuwait. Now my concern here is that the ammunition could have been found by Iraqis(and presumably there is a lot of it still there)and they could then strip the depleted uranium off the shell fragments and then reuse the Uranium for 'drity' bombs and possibly put it through some kind of process to re-enrich the Uranium to be used for the manufacture possible nuclear weapons.
Yeah, watch the chamber explode...methinks you want .223".
U235 is the fissile isotope that is used in nuclear reactors and bombs. However, it is not "significantly radioactive". A dirty bomb is made of the highly radioactive isotopes generated in the nuclear chain reaction of a reactor.
A dirty bomb requires the nuclear "ashes" from a reactor, true.
It is used because it is among the densest materials (not the densest BTW) is hard and oxidizes/sparks when heated by collision.
Not so. Bullets for a caliber .223 rifle are actually .224" in diameter. I wonder what kind of BC you could get - their 80 gr. VLD has a BC of .489.
Berger Bullet catalog here.
.224 CAL 30 GRAIN MEF ID: Category: Bullets |
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Maximum Expansion Factor |
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.224 CAL 35 GRAIN MEF ID: Category: Bullets |
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Maximum Expansion Factor |
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.224 CAL 40 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-40 MEF Category: Bullets |
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Maximum Expansion Factor |
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.224 CAL 40 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-40 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Maximum Expansion Factor |
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.224 CAL 45 GRAIN ID: 22-45 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/15 |
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.224 CAL 45 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-45 MEF Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 45 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-45 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Maximum Expansion Factor |
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.224 CAL 45 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-45 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 50 GRAIN ID: 22-50 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/14 |
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.224 CAL 50 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-50 MEF Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 50 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-50 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 50 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-50 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 52 GRAIN ID: 22-52 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/14 |
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.224 CAL 52 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-52 MEF Category: Bullets |
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Maximum Expansion Factor |
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.224 CAL 52 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-52 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 52 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-52 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 55 GRAIN ID: 22-55 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/14 |
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.224 CAL 55 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-55 MEF Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 55 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-55 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 55 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-55 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 60 GRAIN ID: 22-60 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/12 |
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.224 CAL 60 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-60 MEF Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 60 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-60 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 60 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-60 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 62 GRAIN ID: 22-62 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/12 |
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.224 CAL 62 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-62 MEF Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 62 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-62 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 62 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-62 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 64 GRAIN ID: 22-64 Category: Bullets |
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Recommended twist rate is 1/12 |
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.224 CAL 64 GRAIN MEF ID: 22-64 MEF Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 64 GRAIN MEF MOLY ID: 22-64 MEF MOLY Category: Bullets |
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.224 CAL 64 GRAIN MOLY ID: 22-64 MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Coated with the Berger process |
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.224 CAL 70 GRAIN LTB ID: 22-70 LTB Category: Bullets |
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Length Tolerant Bullet |
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.224 CAL 70 GRAIN LTB MOLY ID: 22-70 LTB MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Length Tolerant Bullet |
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.224 CAL 70 GRAIN VLD ID: 22-70 VLD Category: Bullets |
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Very Low Drag |
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.224 CAL 70 GRAIN VLD MOLY ID: 22-70 VLD MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Very Low Drag |
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.224 CAL 73 GRAIN LTB ID: 22-73 LTB Category: Bullets |
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Length Tolerant Bullet |
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.224 CAL 73 GRAIN LTB MOLY ID: 22-73 LTB MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Length Tolerant Bullet |
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.224 CAL 75 GRAIN VLD ID: 22-75 VLD Category: Bullets |
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Very Low Drag |
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.224 CAL 75 GRAIN VLD MOLY ID: 22-75 VLD MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Very Low Drag |
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.224 CAL 80 GRAIN VLD ID: 22-80 VLD Category: Bullets |
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Very Low Drag |
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.224 CAL 80 GRAIN VLD MOLY ID: 22-80 VLD MOLY Category: Bullets |
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Very Low Drag |
The slugs are manufactured in east Tennessee by a defense contractor that has changed ownership so many times I don't know the present name.
I once held one that was probably 20mm at the body and tapered to a near needle point. They are turned on a lathe. They are immensly heavy ie, Uranium is very dense. A small slug suprises you in your hand because it is so heavy for such a small object.
There may be other sizes, but it is my rememberance that the sharp point penetrates the turret armour, begins to create heat and then melts the steel. The Velocity, density and shape all contribute to the action. When it gets inside it rattles around and creates hell. the hole is only 20 mm or so ie 3/4 of an inch.
I think (no actual concrete knowledge) the flap about radioactivity yada, yada, yada is bogus. The material is U238 and is nonradioactive. The folks who make them aren't injured and those who clean up shouldn't be either. Peacemongers are mostly ignorant louts who lie to support their causes because they can't stand such a simple weapon that is not only relatively cheap, but devistatingly effective.
Might that ruin your rifling? But if you clad it in copper or go with sabots, it might be workable. Bismuth bullets might work out better.
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