Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters cast bullet alloy

I used to make benchrest bullets and have a lot of lead wire.. Getting the urge to start casting again. I've seen rotometals offers tin, antimony etc to add to lead..

Any idea what percent of what metal I should add to the lead I have to cast bullets for .30-30, .375 win., .444 and or 45-70 ?

Used to cast many years ago, going to be like starting all over though.. But that's okay, will enjoy a new project--hobby..

Lyman #2 Alloy will do for all of the cartridges you mentioned if you're using smokeless powder in the .45-70.

If you're going to use Black Powder in the .45-70, then either the 20:1 Alloy or even 30:1 Alloy will be best.

Any alloy with antimony will be good for heat treating and then there's always powder coating to eliminate leading and cut down on the mess of lubing. Be careful with the hardness, harder is not always better! Sometimes harder bullets lead the barrel more than a slightly softer slug will.

Welcome back to the wonderful world of lead!

Ed

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

Carve out a day or nine for all the info here.....

For my rifle use I normally use 2-3% antimony, the lower range for 25-20 and 38-55, a little more for 308 at over 2000 fps. Pistols in my case are 45 acp and 45 colt, they get less than 2%. The 5% tin in Lyman #2 makes it pretty expensive, I normally run 1-2%. I've shot thousands of rounds over the years with no trouble from these percentages.

Sometimes I shoot recycled wheelweights, sometimes I buy commercial Lyman #2 or try to duplicate it. I can't see any particular difference in the cartridges I load for ... mostly .44 magnum, off and on .32 mag, .45 colt, and .45-70. I'm going to start loading for .454 but my load goals replicate .44 magnum speed, not max speed, so I'm not going to do anything special for it.

The most important thing so far as leading is properly sizing the bullet to match your bore diameter ... plus cylinder throats if you're shooting a revolver. You need a lube but unless you are running very high velocity for cast bullets the sort of lube really only matters if you've got the sizing wrong.

Tom

I pretty much use wheel weight lead in those cartridges mentioned, except 444. I sold my Marlin 444 because the cast bullets, I had, didn’t work through the action. The cartridges were too long.
I have mono-type, plumbers lead and tin on hand but wheel weight lead works well in those cartridges and I got quite a bit of wheel weights - free - years ago.
You might consider buying a tool to measure hardness.

Easy way to hit the 10X with lead is to wrap it in paper. Alloys not needed for the most part. Pure Pb works just dandy.

Casting lead bullets can be like opening Pandora's Box. Without knowing the performance levels desired of the cartridges named it would be dumb for me to recommend an alloy. It's not like going to the store and plucking a box of jacketed bullets off the shelf - you must know what your goals are and plan accordingly. That's not to say that it's an overwhelming thing, quite the contrary, but it is a thinking man's game that requires a little research before jumping in. Buy, and digest, Lyman's Cast Bullet handbook before taking another step.

^^^^good advice^^^^

Just to add to the original thought, I intend to hunt with the bullets cast, mostly pigs. So will be pushing 2,000 fps hopefully.. So both accuracy and adequate velocity are the goal..

I had the digest, I think, a few decades ago.. will need to hit up amazon for a new copy..

From softest to hardest, to duplicate the most commonly used bullet alloys:

Black Powder Cartridge = 5% tin, 95% lead - no antimony.

Wheel Weights = 1% tin, 3% antimony, 96% lead (skip the .25% arsenic).

Lyman's No. 2 = 5% tin, 5% antimony, 90% lead.

Linotype = 4% tin, 12% antimony, 84% lead.

Being a cheapskate, I’ve mostly used salvaged wheel weights to make gas checked bullets which I load to about 1680 fps for best accuracy (left target).



Linotype allows much more speed with very good accuracy, but is brittle upon impact. Its hardness allows bullets to cycle through semi-autos and lever guns with the least deformation (almost like jacketed).

I have no experience with bullets made from black powder cartridge or Lyman No. 2 alloys.

For the chosen velocity, the softest bullet that fits and doesn't lead the bore is often the most accurate.

Good advice above, take heed.

Wheel weight alloy or equivalent will likely serve your objectives, but....2,000 FPS seems a bit arbitrary to my eye. While it’s no big trick to exceed that with a .30-30 using 12 BHN lead, softer alloys and lower velocity work remarkably well, both from a precision and terminal effects perspective. Buffalo and hogs will tell you the same.

Thanks all.. Apparently I need to rethink the velocity. Perhaps all is not golden at the top end..

Most all of my hunting these days is moseying along in the river bottom during the cooler seasons. No big trick to ease into close range on pigs. I bowhunted for years using both recurves and longbows killing my share, perhaps someones else's share too., Starring to get a bit long in the tooth for pulling heavy bows..

So using these old lever rifles with cast bullets should be big fun... And not require top velocities in these cartridges.

Again, sure appreciate guidance in this quest !

PatB, I’m a bit late to the party, but you may find this of some interest. The photo was of a target (first group from the rifle) with my Marlin GG 45-70, 430 grain cast, using wheel weights, water quenched @ casting, gas checked, powder coated, fired using a 4 x scope @ 100 yards.

I adjusted the scope after shot labeled #1, the next 4 were measured!

Pretty happy with velocity and grouping capability.....should be adequate for most anything in NA. memtb

Keep in mind that the original .32-40 loading propelled a 165 grain lead bullet at between 1400 and 1500 fps, while the .45-70-405 was about 1350.

Pure lead, MV ~1,600 fps, shot at 80 yards causes deer to flop. 300 gr from a 77/44.


Did the same thing to a hog as well. They were sufficiently accurate.
8 shot group:

Yep. One of the reasons the old round balls were so devastating in the Revolutionary & Civil War when fired from muskets. And resulted in lots of amputations in those that didn’t die from their wounds.

The pure lead rounds balls I’ve shot in my .54 Cal Hawken work surprisingly well on deer and hogs. Usually bang, flop, dead right there. And are amazingly accurate too.

That's pretty sporty DD.. Great accuracy, would be surprised it the rifle shot any better with jacketed..

Looks like you have the paper patching down to a fine art..

I'm guessing somewhere online there's a tutorial on paper patching or at least a read or two..

Are the lead pp'd bullets a single shot only affair? Would they hold up to having 2 or 3 in a tubular magazine?

Singe shot only??? NO!

Marlin 45-70 Cowboy gun...