Here are the pros & cons you need to know about frangible ammo.
Advantages: A Lead-Free Ammunition Alternative
Here is the summary:
- Good for practice
- Increased safety
- No ricocheting bullets
- Lead-free
- Great if you’re teaching your children to shoot
Fun fact.
The most popular company that produces these bullets available to civilians is called Sinterfire. It has vastly been responsible for the increased risk of unintended injury to civilians.
It is hard to quantify the number of lives these bullets may have saved. There is no denying that they provide a range of advantages, with increased safety being the most notable advantage. It doesn’t matter if it comes to law enforcement or civilians. While ricocheting bullets is a major concern, so is over-penetration. You may also want to get this type of bullet if you think about what you want to use for home defense.
The next advantage that this type of bullet has over other options is the one that originally brought us actually to write this article. That is the fact that this ammunition isn’t made with lead. We’re in the business of selling lead paint test kits from companies like 3M. It should come to you as no surprise that we find it quite a substantial advantage that these bullets are made from a significantly safer material. It’s even when they aren’t being used for active shooting purposes.
We are very active in things like recommending the best paint strippers and giving pros recommendations on XRF analyzers. There is a great source of lead exposure that many people may not be thinking about quite as much as they really should be. It is when they go shooting.
Great measures were taken back in 1977 when it came to banning the use of lead paint in residential paint. It was never mandated that something had to be done about the exposure from the lead dust released into the air when a bullet is fired. It may seem like a little thing. It has the potential to add up over time for someone who is either in law enforcement or simply someone who loves shooting guns.
You may not be all too concerned about your safety and the exposure to lead that stems from using traditional bullets. Next time you go to the shooting range, there may be others in your family whose health may benefit from using lead-free ammunition.
Even if they disintegrate as they hit the intended object, you aren’t exposing yourself to the health implications of exposure. Implications stem from long-term exposure to the hazardous metal lead when inhaled and enters your system where it is stored. Additionally, the dust that stems from shooting a gun won’t settle in your clothes.
You may be bringing it into your home and exposing your kids to it. Kids are significantly more at risk when it comes to this harmful metal than adults are. It can lead to very severe long-term health consequences. Significant lead exposure can lead to a range of things, and it includes developmental delays in kids. It is why you may want to replace those traditional bullets you have lying around at home.
It is good when it comes to safety and when it comes to avoiding unnecessary lead exposure at the gun range. It also provides you the ability to use steel targets instead, which some people may prefer.
| Parameter | Frangible Ammunition | Normal Ammunition |
|---|---|---|
| Projectile type | Compressed powder or metal | Solid lead or copper |
| Target | Soft targets or steel plates | Any target |
| Fragmentation | High fragmentation on impact | Little to no fragmentation |
| Penetration | Low | High |
| Ricochet | Minimal | Possible |
| Cost | Higher cost | Lower cost |
| Safety in use | Safer for close-quarters and indoor shooting | This may increase the risk of collateral damage |
| Accuracy | Similar to normal ammunition | Similar to frangible ammunition |
| Availability | It may be less common or have limited availability | More widely available |
Disadvantages
Here’s a summary:
- Some protection
- Messier
- Made to disintegrate
- Cleanup is more cumbersome.
There are several advantages to frangible ammo. There are also a couple of disadvantages that would be unfair, not to mention. Frangible bullets are lethal and can provide protection against any intruder you may want. Some people believe that the deep penetration of usual bullets is preferred. Many people may think that these bullets are great for training purposes. When it comes to being placed in front of a potential threat, they want something they know to provide deep penetration. You know you’ll get that with conventional ammo.
Our purpose is to mainly inform people of the various dangers associated with lead exposure. There is no doubt that we are big fans of the frangible options if they fits the purpose you are trying to achieve. There is no denying all the same necessary safety precautions need to be taken when these bullets are used rather than conventional ones. They still have undeniable power.
These bullets will also have a couple of other disadvantages that we need to cover. These bullets are messier than conventional ones. It is made to disintegrate when it hits hard surfaces. It should be no surprise that they also create a significant amount of metal dust when fired. This metal dust cannot simply be left. It will need to be cleaned up after each session. If you choose this type of ammo, it is a feature that you will have to learn to live with. It is a commonly reported issue with ammo.
They are definite winners when it comes to training purposes for law enforcement. Some owners may not appreciate the softer material that they are made of. It can create other issues like potentially fouling in the barrel at a higher rate than usual from conventional bullets made of harder materials.
