Frangible Amunition Facts

Frangibility refers to the ability to break apart when subjected to external pressure. This is a property that is possessed by any material. Certainly any material will break apart when subject to enough pressure, the question is how much pressure does a specific material require before breaking apart? Some materials tend to exhibit frangibility at very low value of external pressures and as such they are referred to as “frangible materials,” and are used accordingly. A good number of materials exhibit this property. One application in which frangible materials are sought after is in ammunition, where frangible projectiles are sought as ideal lead replacement alternatives to standard rounds for training purposes. In such cases, the bullets are designed to fracture upon impact with a hard target which is ideal for training purposes given that it eliminates ricochet risk. The use of frangible bullets is a recent development and has grown in demand as the push for lead-free bullets and green ammo grows given the increasing regulatory restrictions on the use of lead.

Why are frangible bullets even important? Perhaps you are wondering why anyone would go to great lengths in a bid to come up with a bullet that is capable of breaking apart upon impact with a hard surface. But, there are numerous reasons which support the need for frangible bullets. First of all, these rounds completely eliminate any risk of ricochet from impacts with a hard surface. A good number of police forces across the globe saw the need to introduce such bullets in a bid to eliminate shooter risk in training exercises, particularly for close-quarters combat training. In special cases, the main reason for firing a gun is not cause collateral damage to the victim. Thanks to bullets that are frangible in nature, law enforcement and military personnel can develop more training exercises without needing to worry about the risk to the shooter.

Perhaps you are wondering how widely adopted frangible bulletsare. Frangible bullets are now widely available in a number of different calibers and rounds including 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 9mm, 40 cal, and much more. Such bullets can be used during training exercises where simulation of a real combat is the key. Moreover, the use of frangible ammunition in such exercises greatly increases the overall safety of the exercise.

Additionally, unlike most of the lead bullets that are used during combat, frangible bullets are nontoxic.Frangible bullets are also considered lead replacement rounds and pose none of the health and safety risks associated with lead. Such bullets are often made from composite materials, either of a plastic and metal combination or of a metal composite.