What are some things you can fill a hollowpoint with?

Nice list.

I'm curious as to why you ask, but as long as you don't intent do try any of these, I don't see that it would hurt to fill you in some.

Number 1 is an OLD one. Usually, when I hear someone talking about this idea, it is because they want an "exploding" bullet, and they have the understanding that Mercury can make a bullet do this. You, however, are a little more correct about the Mercury issue. It IS a poison, and has a heavy weight. Thanks to Hollywood, a number of us have been exposed to the stereotypical "psycho vet" who does this to make his ammo more lethal when he goes "nutz." I first heard it if from a movie called the "Exterminator," which was about a Vietnam Vet (is there any other?) who goes vigilante and murders a bunch of street gang members (similar to "Death Wish). There are some problems with this though.

First, the Mercury is toxic. It is more dangerous to play with than messing with LOADED cartridges. It may poison your target, assuming you hit it, but I doubt it would "explode" like they intend. Either way, both of these ideas are illegal (exploding and poisoned bullets) and will net you extra time, not to mention taking the murder to Murder 1 or Premeditated Murder, which carries the death penalty in most areas. Just an FYI there, in case you're writing a book or something.

Two, playing with a loaded cartridge is insane. But, when you start "drilling" or enlarging the hollow-point, you are messing with the ballistics of the cartridge. They are "set" at the factory with the "best" diameter hole, and in the best depth, to work for that round. After 1987, when the famous FBI shootout took place in FL, the FBI tested various bullets to see which ones would "pass" and which ones would "fail" their tests. Most companies took this information and "perfected" their rounds for that caliber. Usually, most .22 LR and other "cheap" rounds aren't perfected, but the major self-defense rounds are. Thus, the hollow-point is thought to be the BEST one to keep the round accurate and effective in that caliber. Just like everything else in life, everyone has their own ideas, but usually ammo makers know more than those who fire the rounds. This is about money, and the best round makes the most money. Tampering with the round will, at best make it inaccurate, and, at worst, lethal to the shooter/tinkerer.

Number 2, the primer idea, goes back to the Civil War, if not farther. When we learned how to rig explosives, like booby traps and cannon rounds, small arms were very closely behind them, to make them more effective in hunting and war. Shortly thereafter, they were "banned" by most sane countries, and made illegal for hunting. Not a bad idea, but unsafe at best. The round doesn't always work. Then, it may work late, like mines left over from a war. The hunter may walk up and then it goes bang, hurting him too. It may miss and just strike a tree, and wait for someone to walk by, or it may miss and hit someone behind it, killing them. It may explode in the barrel, or shortly after leaving the barrel, or may just explode as you carry it. Not very safe ideas.

Number 3 is a borderline issue. In a handgun round, it is illegal in the US, but not for the government. This is basically what an Armor Piercing round is, like the SS109 round used in the M16, and older weapons, like the .30.06 from WWII. The difference, however, is that the lead usually covers the insert, and it doesn't mess with the ballistics of the round. Rifle rounds, as far as I know, are still legal in the US. However, handgun ammo (or ammo that can be used in both) is prohibited from this. Also, if "you" do it, you mess with the ballistics and this can mess up the accuracy of the round.

Number 4 was, at one time, legal in the US. However, in most cases, the is the BASE of the bullet that has the material in it that allows us to see the round as it is fired. I don't know if they use Phosphorus, due to hazards and technical issues, but they do use a "burning" element that ignites after the round is fired. Adding a primer would alter this into a "Tracer-Explosive" projectile, which would be banned for war. However, an Incendiary or Incendiary-Tracer round is used in war to ignite combustible material, such as gas tanks, sometimes.

The "plastic-ball" idea is older than the Pow'r Ball. I recall one, way back in the 1970s, that appeared to use a copper or steel "BB" to force the "hollow-point" to open faster, more than reliability in semi-automatics. The automatic craze didn't really start until the mid- to late 1980s. Still, I think I saw one Eurpean round, back then, that had this idea. The Glaser "Safety Slug" may have had an American forerunner idea for this, as I seem to recall that they used a small plastic ball to "cap" their prefragmented rounds, so that they would fragment inside a target. At first, I think they used a plastic cap, almost like a candle-wax

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Ok, so, you are looking for some exotic stuff as well as realistic so I'll provide a few suggestions. 1) Shotgun General: Today there is already tons of specialty ammo for shotguns. Flare rounds, flechete rounds, all form of slugs - you may read the term "sabot" which refers to the shape of the slug. In fact, loading a shotgun with "rock salt" was a classic non lethal idea, so the delivery system for that sort of thing already exists. So, for a powerful utility weapon with a range of "special" projectiles, this is the place. In a semi auto - Saiga - Built off of an AK47 platform so it is highly reliable, it is magazine few giving fast magazine changes and higher capacity than a typical hunting shotgun. Also semi - automatic making it faster to use. In a pump - The Kel Tec - KSG: Still unproven, it's just coming out, but it is a 14 round bull - pup pump shotgun. Meaning it is extremely compact, but still has 14+1 capacity in a 12 gauge shotgun. Pump shotguns are more reliable than semi auto. Plenty of photos out on the web. as a note - depending on what the rules are around the game system you are using - you can dissolve salt into a gel pretty easily which can be formed into a cavity in an expanding shotgun slug. A shotgun slug is like a regular bullet only .75" in diameter. Now both of these are pretty "tactical" looking shotguns. If you need ones that look more normal, but still are on the zombie gun side: FN SLP/Benelli M4 - Semi Auto, Remington 870 in a pump. Now, lets talk rifle. If you are talking about something the size or toughness of a bear, you need something that is a relatively larger caliber. .308, .30-06 are mainline calibers for this. .223/5.56 is too small. If you are talking about something more like Kodiak Brown Bear or Polar Bear toughness rather than black bear toughness or simply for the sake of the game you might want to go bigger than that, so 375 Holland and Holland is a classic African Dangerous Game round, at one end, or more conventionally, something like a 45-70. Now these are cartridges, not rifles. So, for simplicity's sake - you can use the AR platform. There are cartridges all the way up to the power of the 45-70 (.450 Bushmaster, .50 Beowulf approximately) as well as rounds geared for longer distance and higher velocity. Basically - you are looking at either an AR-10 or an AR-15, the difference being the length of bullet it can take. Again, lots of pictures - ARs have tons of options. There are certainly other weapons that could provide character to the game, but for doing some focused research to get started some variant of an AR probably works. (you'll also see references to M-4 versions which have shorter barrels) Finally, in a pistol - that is wide open. You can go some kind of magnum revolver - Smith and Wesson makes a full size Titanium frame 8 shot .357 which is a massive (but surprisingly light) revolver. A Ruger .454 Casull Alaskan is another revolver running an extremely powerful round, enough to kill a bear with. If you are moving more along the lines of needing something more conventional - everyone makes a .45ACP semi auto, and any 1911 variant will work. Kimber, Springfield, Colt any will have good images and examples for you to look at. If you want to be a little exotic - 10mm is about the most powerful commonly available semi - auto round. Both the Glock 20 and the Glock 29 are chambered for it. Definitely a hand full, but people love shooting it. 10mm is somewhere around the power of a .41 magnum depending on the exact loading. The .41 is between a .357 and a .44. If you want something more exotic - STI Perfect 10 is a beautiful double stack style 10 mm. So there you go. Hopefully enough explanation to give you some reason for my suggestions. Thinkingblade

Well, if you go with Patti's advice, then use Ascorbic Acid. It's a white powder that is high in vitamin C and is used in the food industry for that purpose.

You've pretty much listed the most interesting methods. The only thing that I have to add is pouring poison in the hollow point and letting it dry... Supposedly (strong emphasis on that word) Ms. Kaplan used poisoned bullets when she shot Vladimir Lenin and that the poison contributed to his eventual death. I have no doubt that it's just a myth, that and in small quantities most poisons are not lethally dangerous... but if she did do that, I'm sure she'd've used hollow points filled with arsenic or cyanide.

Mercury Filled Hollow Points

1. Actually depends on the mercury being spread through the body and NOT removable to poison body from minor wound. (In many cases, no modification (drilling) needed.) NOT practical.

2. NOT effective unless backed up by sensitive explosive AND hits a hard object. May or may NOT go off on impact.

3. Unless the rod is tungsten steel won't penetrate armor, AND to small to be useful.

4. Actually, tracer rounds are similar, but loaded in hollow REAR, not point.

5. Popular in many hunting rounds to increase ballistic efficiency.

Potassium cyanide in hollow point, "wax" sealed, use=assassin round. (Nasty!!)

Ring caps for a cap gun.

Take a pair of pliers and crush the caps to get the pink explosive powder out, next pour the powder into the hollow point cavity and add one drop of water, next allow to dry for 12-24hrs, then you can add a cover to the top to keep moisture out, to help protect the powder, and to be sure it will detonate on soft targets..... This should provide an effect similar to Idea #2 but more effective.

Super bang brand caps seem to be the most powerful ring caps hint hint.

I think explosive ammo is illegal to manufacture so these directions should not be followed under any circumstances. ;)

Anything you try will reduce accuracy and possibly hurt your bore. There are bullets already designed with plastic tips for hollow point effects. The thing about mercury is it could separate or vaporize on ignition of the powder. The primer might go off by the concussion of the powder as well, swelling the bullet and jamming in your bore.

1 no, ive heard mercury weakens the bullets

2 they do explode on impact

3 sounds like it would work

4 seen it done with a pellet gun

5 havent heard of that

ive heard of the mercury thing but with water and that supposedly it makes the bullets explode

heard of rubbing the bullets in your own poop to so the wound will get infected(who the hell thinks of this ****)

filling hollowpoints with garlic doesnt work, its a myth, think it was supposedly the mob did it and it caused people to die really painfully

heard an asshole who claims he fills hollowpoints with poison or some chemical involved in lethal injection(not the same person who rubs them in his ****)

i always wondered if pure sodium(burns when it comes in contact with water) filled hollowpoints would work, but thats probably as stupid as filling them with poison

Succinylcholine Chloride. It is a fast acting muscle paralyzer.

Vaseline. It increases the expansion.

The Forster case trimmer has an available accessory for hollowpointing or increasing the size of the hole.

I know you can load shotguns with rock-salt...(if you've seen the movie Kill Bill Bud shoots Beatrix in the chest with them...but it's not fatal (atleast not to humans..but if your character is fighting beasts that have a weakness to salt than it could still work... Why not make her have some kind of (modernized) musket or gun blade? (it would kind of be ripping off Final Fantasy 8 but not really...if you did it differently...) Sorry...don't know much about guns...just kinda stumbled on to your question