The future is plastic cases??? True Velocity Ammo

[bwframe]

 

[jwamplerusa]

I suspect it is the future.

I have also read the cases are not reloadable, and that was considered a positive by the writer.

For the Army's new Sig toy, I believe the future is probably 6.8x51 high pressure TrueVelocity ammo, not Sig's hybrid case.

 

[BugI02]

As long as people still make brass we'll be ok. If new calibers come out that are only offered in factory plastic cases and peeps like Starline etc don't jump in to make a brass version, then we won't be reloading those calibers. I think it will mostly be military when it all shakes out because weight of all the ammunition you have to hump matters. Some companies are and will be pushing the idea of optimized performance due to the ability to have complex geometry inside the case but I would guess the benefits would be subtle and we as reloaders would be able to come within 100 to 150 fps of any plastic fantastic rifle round

 

[DadSmith]

Not In my future. I'd rather have aluminum cases.
I actually got 3 reloads on aluminum 9mm cases.
On the 3rd trip I had about 4 cases split at the top. So I throw the rest away.
I bought a box of Blazer aluminum, and I shot them up. As I was picking them up to toss I notice they were boxer primed. So that light came on, and curiosity of how long would aluminum cases last.
I just had to try. So I ran into the house loaded up the 50 cases, ran back outside shot them, repeated.
So figure 3 reloads before splitting with Blazer aluminum 9mm.
I wonder if 38 Special aluminum are boxer primed, and how long they would last with lower pressure loads?

 

[Twangbanger]

Not In my future. I'd rather have aluminum cases.
I actually got 3 reloads on aluminum 9mm cases.
On the 3rd trip I had about 4 cases split at the top. So I throw the rest away.
I bought a box of Blazer aluminum, and I shot them up. As I was picking them up to toss I notice they were boxer primed. So that light came on, and curiosity of how long would aluminum cases last.
I just had to try. So I ran into the house loaded up the 50 cases, ran back outside shot them, repeated.
So figure 3 reloads before splitting with Blazer aluminum 9mm.
I wonder if 38 Special aluminum are boxer primed, and how long they would last with lower pressure loads?

 

[shibumiseeker]

Plastic cases in a military context makes a lot of sense.

For all of the doomsayers: if this became widespread, just how long do you think it would be before you could buy molds and injection equipment for making your own cases?

It would actually make reloading a lot easier to be able to just buy a bunch of plastic pellets, put them in the hopper, and crank out brand new cases whenever I wanted. Machining your own molds would also be relatively simple. Which would make brass shortage for unusual calibers a thing of the past.

 

[Leadeye]

How are they compensating for the heat removed by the brass cases? I remember when the army looked at this in the past it was a problem for FA guns.

 

[Remington 90T]

I suspect it is the future.

Activ shotgun shells came out in 1970 -1990 -all plastic but was a short-lived idea. Activ hulls were produced by Activ Corporation of Kearneysville, WV in the 1970s through the late 1990s. The shells utilized a material they called "biaxial" which basically meant that the "grain" of the plastic allowed the hulls to stretch lengthwise, but not outward. Biaxial material allowed "off the press loading" without resizing.

 

[jwamplerusa]

How are they compensating for the heat removed by the brass cases? I remember when the army looked at this in the past it was a problem for FA guns.

They claim an improvement.

"True Velocity’s composite casings are intended to make rifle ammunition be more lightweight, accurate, consistent and reduce the amount of heat transfer from the ignition of propellants to the chamber area of a firearm."

 

[Basher]

They tried this a few decades ago. Somewhere I still have a few in 5.56mm. I’m sure they’re trying a newer polymer this time, but last time it produced mediocre accuracy at best.

 

[russc2542]

How are they compensating for the heat removed by the brass cases? I remember when the army looked at this in the past it was a problem for FA guns.

They insulate the chamber and keep the heat in the expanding gasses which is probably where the "optimized performance" comes from.

Kinda like the fancy ceramic cylinder coatings for engine that have gotten thermal efficiency up near 50% (expensive and I have no idea of the reliability)

 

[miguel]

Plastic cases in a military context makes a lot of sense.

For all of the doomsayers: if this became widespread, just how long do you think it would be before you could buy molds and injection equipment for making your own cases?

It would actually make reloading a lot easier to be able to just buy a bunch of plastic pellets, put them in the hopper, and crank out brand new cases whenever I wanted. Machining your own molds would also be relatively simple. Which would make brass shortage for unusual calibers a thing of the past.

Your idea is better than mine, but the first thing I thought was, "3D printer time!"

 

[bgcatty]

Sounds good for plastic cases; however, at present the cost of this ammo at retail is absolutely ridiculous! Hopefully cost will come way down.

 

[Mgderf]

I have some plastic cased 7.62x51 that also has a plastic projectile molded onto the case mouth.
They boast a muzzle velocity of something over 4000fps, but since the plastic projectile is only 11grs, the distances aren't great.
Still deadly on a coyote at 50 yards.

 

[INP8riot]

Are those considered ghost bullets?

 

[Chance]

We’ll see. Engineered thermoplastic’s are $7-15 a pound. Cartridge brass is much less expensive. Any cost savings would be in the processing but that is all highly automated anyway. Remember the Active shotgun shells and the Wanda cartridges? That’s what they said, too.

 

[Onebad06vtx]

Are those considered ghost bullets?

I think so,I will never see them in my stash!

 

[racegunz]

Remembering the M-249s and M-60s with literally glowing red barrels leads me to believe these will not work unless they are some sort of thermal polymer that can withstand temperatures of that magnitude. I thought caseless ammo was the next thing anyway?

 

[Kdf101]

Yeah the ceaseless thing just seemed to fade away. Seems like I remember one of the issues was extraction of unfired cases. If they could get a polymer to work at a decent price, I can see how that would simplify reloading. Maybe.