Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Pig lead: QQ-L-171 Gr B...what is it?

I have access to a rather sizeable quantity of lead ingots/pigs that are marked as shown in the title: QQ-L-171 Gr B. That credential is cast into the pig. A little googling shows grades A and C to be 99% lead but grade B is only 95%. The ingots ring when hit and are substantially harder than pure lead. I can't google up what the remaining 5% elements are, tramp or otherwise. Anyone know?

My google googly say:

Composition: Grade C typically contains lead, tin, and a small percentage of antimony (around 2%).
Melting Range: It has a wide melting range, starting to melt at around 185°C and fully molten at 227°C.
Applications:
Sheet Metal Soldering: Its flexibility and plasticity make it suitable for soldering sheet metal.
Solder Pot Dip Soldering: It's also used in solder pot dip soldering applications.
Historical Use: Historically, Grade C was a go-to leaded alloy for many industrial and plumbing applications.
Other Names: It's also known as Solder Alloy 134 (to BS EN ISO 9453).
Antimony Content: The presence of antimony gives the solder its flexibility and plasticity.
Lead Content: The high lead content contributes to its score resistance, making it durable in applications involving sliding or abrasive contact.

If the ingots are a good price get them since any "impurities" will not affect bullet casting. Unless you only want to cast muzzleloading bullets a little tin and antimony is a good thing. Never heard of pig lead ringing but soft lead should easily scratch with your fingernail.

Feral, this is all Grade B...95% lead leaves a lot of room for other stuff. But the other stuff might not be all that unwanted...antimony comes to mind. Hope it doesn't have zinc.

Might see if i can get a sliver of it PMId at work.

I doubt any foundry alloy would be contaminated with zinc.