Question about bullets from noob

Harbinger2007 · 09-07-2007, 10:06 AM

*I hope the mods don't mind. This is a copy of my post located on another thread. I saw this more appropriate section of the forum a little too late*

Ladies and gents,

I'm hoping this is the forum to help. Firstly a quick explanation.

I'm a scriptwriter. Amateur at present. A few things produced here and there.

I'm writing a particular sequence that relates to my question.

Cornered by gunman at his home and with no way out, A man carves the password to a safety deposit box on the tip of the slug of a revolver bullet and fires it into his chest. Enroute to the morgue the coroners wagon is ambushed by the man's enemies, more gunmen who know of the bullet with the password on it. The police fire back. In the ensuing gun battle one of the gunmen performs a flick knife operation on the body (Don't ask) and pries the bullet from the wound. In a panic, gunfire raining down around him, he stashes the slug, for safe keeping, in the chamber of his revovler.

And now to the questions

1. What revolver should the man who shoots himself use to ensure the bullet imbeds inside of him and doesn't just fly out the other side? What type of bullet? Should he use another object over his body to slow it down?

2. Where should the password be carved to ensure it's still legible after deformation? How drastic is the deformation on average?

3. Is there a bullet or revolver in existence that is guaranteed not to deform the bullet at all? I'm worried about the plausibility of still being able to read something carved on the bullet afterwards.

4. Once a bullet is fired, is it possible to slide the slug part back into a revolvers chamber or would it have deformed too much to fit? Also would it slip comfortably and snuggly back or would it rattle around in the chamber?

5. Can a bullet be easily deconstructed and constructed just in case the man wanted to carve the password on the undeside of the slug having poured out the gun powder?

6. What happens if a revovler attempts to fire the post-fired slug mentioned above? I'm assuming nothing since the hammerpin has nothing to hit. Is there anything dangerous about pulling the trigger when just the slug is inside there with no gun powder or is it simply a case of CLICK, nothing happens?

Thanking all of you in advance. As you can see I'm a complete firearm noob hoping someone will take pity. Parts of the story hinge on the plausability of this sequence.

Thankin' ya kindly.

MileHighSailor · 09-07-2007, 01:29 PM

Not at all plausible or possible. The tip of a bullet is much too small to carve pin numbers on (without using sophisticated equipment). Bullet deformation would render it unreadable even if you managed to get the numbers engraved. The bullet wouldn't fit back in the weapon after being fired into a human body. Carving on the base of the bullet wouldn't work due to the high temperatures of the powder burning and melting the base, and pouring out the powder to prevent this will give you a guaranteed "squib" load. The bullet wouldn't have enough energy to make it out of the barrel in the first place. Sorry man, bad idea.

Aslan · 09-14-2007, 10:34 AM

You might consider having the info engraved on a small plastic knife blade. He could stab himself and break off the blade inside his body.

Some plastics are invisible to x-rays and would not be detected in the hospital if they x-rayed his wound.

This is one of the reasons that plastic grenades are outlawed by treaty (I forget which one, but someone had developed a really lightweight grenade that was just about the perfect antipersonnel weapon. Except that none of the shrapnel would show up on an x-ray, making treatment of the wounds almost impossible.)

mazak · 09-14-2007, 12:44 PM

I to belive the engraving of a bullet sounds unlikey,,mabey if it was a special bullet made with a depleted uranium core that would stay intact during/after entry but it would probably exit intact(not to be found quickly) and I dont know if that could even be done with a small bullet, (the millitary has tank killer rounds with depleted uranium.) but for a novel you could always write in a reason to accuire it!.and as mentioned before, the lead/steel bullet leaves the case when fired and then it is just a hunk of lead/steel and you would have to put it back into an empty case (would be ok to hide this way, but will not fire unless reprimed and loaded with gunpowder) the plastic knife idea sounds good to me.............I'm sure thats not what you wanted to hear though!

like with most novels somethings can be hmmmmmmmm? can ya do that?
but I see by your attention to detail you probably want it right!. mabey as other member come on the forum somebody can help ya, be sure to check back

If its not top secret, any clues to the nature of your novel?(allready like the sneaky spy kinda line)

DaRkWoLf · 09-14-2007, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazak

I to belive the engraving of a bullet sounds unlikey,,mabey if it was a special bullet made with a depleted uranium core that would stay intact during/after entry but it would probably exit intact(not to be found quickly) and I dont know if that could even be done with a small bullet, (the millitary has tank killer rounds with depleted uranium.)

In real life, if it hit hard armor the superheating would distort it too much. DU more or less drills, creating a plasma, causing the incendiary effect. Soft or no armor won't cause that, however.

Only reason I know that is because my dad developed the stuff and continued to work on it as per gov contract. BTW, they made experimental projectiles as small as sabboted 5.56 designed to be fired from a 7.62x51; stability was terrible and DU SLAP from a 50BMG is about as low as it can go and be effective.

mazak · 09-14-2007, 01:04 PM

I just reread you post

in regard to question 5

just for the sake of hiding a message ,not to fire a bullet into one's self. that is very easy to do , simply pull the projectile from the case and engrave( or even insert a small paper note,small picture rolled up,after dumping the gunpowder.

even better ,use allready fired case then you wont have to deprime. then put the projectile you pulled from a new bullet into the old case with the secret stuff inside

mazak · 09-14-2007, 01:06 PM

ok guys, no comments about my "artistic skills"..

my skills lay elswere.........................just cant remember where!

mazak · 09-14-2007, 01:19 PM

Quote:

"sabboted 5.56 designed to be fired from a 7.62x51; stability was terrible

"

I should have known they tried that allready!

that why I figured, on a body, it would not "work as planned" but just enter intact with deforminng

this has got me intresited now, a few years ago I started to write a "book"?......lol, and once I got started I couldnt write fast enough to keep up with my thoughts, it was a blast! I had a cpl people read my draft and I could tell when they got to the "good parts" like the ole' grandad guy who allways tried to tell ya about them no good space critters !

09-07-2007, 10:06 AM	#1
Harbinger2007 Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 4	Question about bullets from noob I hope the mods don't mind. This is a copy of my post located on another thread. I saw this more appropriate section of the forum a little too late Ladies and gents, I'm hoping this is the forum to help. Firstly a quick explanation. I'm a scriptwriter. Amateur at present. A few things produced here and there. I'm writing a particular sequence that relates to my question. Cornered by gunman at his home and with no way out, A man carves the password to a safety deposit box on the tip of the slug of a revolver bullet and fires it into his chest. Enroute to the morgue the coroners wagon is ambushed by the man's enemies, more gunmen who know of the bullet with the password on it. The police fire back. In the ensuing gun battle one of the gunmen performs a flick knife operation on the body (Don't ask) and pries the bullet from the wound. In a panic, gunfire raining down around him, he stashes the slug, for safe keeping, in the chamber of his revovler. And now to the questions 1. What revolver should the man who shoots himself use to ensure the bullet imbeds inside of him and doesn't just fly out the other side? What type of bullet? Should he use another object over his body to slow it down? 2. Where should the password be carved to ensure it's still legible after deformation? How drastic is the deformation on average? 3. Is there a bullet or revolver in existence that is guaranteed not to deform the bullet at all? I'm worried about the plausibility of still being able to read something carved on the bullet afterwards. 4. Once a bullet is fired, is it possible to slide the slug part back into a revolvers chamber or would it have deformed too much to fit? Also would it slip comfortably and snuggly back or would it rattle around in the chamber? 5. Can a bullet be easily deconstructed and constructed just in case the man wanted to carve the password on the undeside of the slug having poured out the gun powder? 6. What happens if a revovler attempts to fire the post-fired slug mentioned above? I'm assuming nothing since the hammerpin has nothing to hit. Is there anything dangerous about pulling the trigger when just the slug is inside there with no gun powder or is it simply a case of CLICK, nothing happens? Thanking all of you in advance. As you can see I'm a complete firearm noob hoping someone will take pity. Parts of the story hinge on the plausability of this sequence. Thankin' ya kindly.

09-14-2007, 01:04 PM	#6
mazak Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 138	I just reread you post in regard to question 5 just for the sake of hiding a message ,not to fire a bullet into one's self. that is very easy to do , simply pull the projectile from the case and engrave( or even insert a small paper note,small picture rolled up,after dumping the gunpowder. even better ,use allready fired case then you wont have to deprime. then put the projectile you pulled from a new bullet into the old case with the secret stuff inside Attached Thumbnails

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09-07-2007, 01:29 PM	#2
MileHighSailor Registered User Joined: Apr 2005 From: Denver, CO Posts: 182	Not at all plausible or possible. The tip of a bullet is much too small to carve pin numbers on (without using sophisticated equipment). Bullet deformation would render it unreadable even if you managed to get the numbers engraved. The bullet wouldn't fit back in the weapon after being fired into a human body. Carving on the base of the bullet wouldn't work due to the high temperatures of the powder burning and melting the base, and pouring out the powder to prevent this will give you a guaranteed "squib" load. The bullet wouldn't have enough energy to make it out of the barrel in the first place. Sorry man, bad idea.

09-14-2007, 10:34 AM	#3
Aslan Registered User Joined: Oct 2003 From: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 4,648	You might consider having the info engraved on a small plastic knife blade. He could stab himself and break off the blade inside his body. Some plastics are invisible to x-rays and would not be detected in the hospital if they x-rayed his wound. This is one of the reasons that plastic grenades are outlawed by treaty (I forget which one, but someone had developed a really lightweight grenade that was just about the perfect antipersonnel weapon. Except that none of the shrapnel would show up on an x-ray, making treatment of the wounds almost impossible.)

09-14-2007, 12:44 PM	#4
mazak Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 138	I to belive the engraving of a bullet sounds unlikey,,mabey if it was a special bullet made with a depleted uranium core that would stay intact during/after entry but it would probably exit intact(not to be found quickly) and I dont know if that could even be done with a small bullet, (the millitary has tank killer rounds with depleted uranium.) but for a novel you could always write in a reason to accuire it!.and as mentioned before, the lead/steel bullet leaves the case when fired and then it is just a hunk of lead/steel and you would have to put it back into an empty case (would be ok to hide this way, but will not fire unless reprimed and loaded with gunpowder) the plastic knife idea sounds good to me.............I'm sure thats not what you wanted to hear though! like with most novels somethings can be hmmmmmmmm? can ya do that? but I see by your attention to detail you probably want it right!. mabey as other member come on the forum somebody can help ya, be sure to check back If its not top secret, any clues to the nature of your novel?(allready like the sneaky spy kinda line)

09-14-2007, 01:06 PM	#7
mazak Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 138	ok guys, no comments about my "artistic skills".. my skills lay elswere.........................just cant remember where!