i shoot the hippopotamus with::Rather than pricey platinum, however, military researchers have hit upon tungsten metal as a replacement for lead i shoot the hippopotamus with

i shoot the hippopotamus with::Rather than pricey platinum, however, military researchers have hit upon tungsten metal as a replacement for lead.
Soon, they will replace the ammunition used in all small arms.
The attraction of tungsten, which is commonly used in lightbulbs, is that it is weighty enough to do damage but, unlike lead, is nontoxic.
The problem is that bullets usually shatter on impact.
As round after round of this shattered ammunition accumulates, the resulting debris can turn the soil toxic, or ooze its way into the groundwater.
The cost of cleaning up this mess is the reason behind the shift to nontoxic bullets.
As for performance, officials say that field testing shows the switch to tungsten will require no sacrifice.
In fact, they claim optimistically, early results suggest that in some applications, such as longdistance shooting, tungsten bullets may be better than leaden ones.
How well they would cope with a charging hippo at 100 metres is another matter.