Alternative to lead

[gmww]

I think we all see the writing on the wall when it comes to using lead. They are ramping up the anti-lead campaign and I think it's only a matter of time. So I was thinking this would be a great group of folks to put our heads together to come up with a cheap non-toxic alternative.

I've read about marbles but I'm wondering if we could come up with something for hunting big game.

I was thinking it would need to be heavy, cheap, and non-destructive to our barrels. Any thought?

 

[jtmattison]

I was thinking it would need to be heavy, cheap, and non-destructive to our barrels. Any thought?

Leave it up to the ammo manufacturers. They will produce an alternative for us to hunt with. It will not be cheap but they will do it.
I doubt there is anything we can use to make our own projectiles that will meet our needs and be legal if lead is banned.

HD

 

[gmww]

That's the problem. The ammo companies came up with the alternatives to lead shot and it's killing me. I was wondering about zinc, etc. Melting temp., weight.

 

[roundball]

Just my 2 cents...I'm not / wasn't worried about the cost of a lead alternative just to sight in a rifle and take a few hunting shots with as that would only be a few shots.
My concern was the huge cost of using a couple thousand non-toxic lead substitute balls every year for weekend shooting...that's why I experimented with marbles, rubber balls, etc.

 

[zodd]

you can easily melt zinc ( about 790 F)but I think it would be too light for a useful hunting projectile, as it is just a bit over half the weight of lead--cheers zodd

 

[brubincam]

-----would straight solder work--used it in a couple shooting matches --round ball and patch --worked just fine and was accurate in my TC-----

 

[Joel/Calgary]

There may be an alternative coming, but it ain't gonna be cheap. See the thread: http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/221746/
And while you're there, I'd appreciate any comments on recommended ball sizes & such.

Thanks,
Joel

 

[renovato]

Solder is mostly lead. So if they ban lead, solder won't be legal either. Depending on the cost of metals, there are several relatively heavy metals like bismuth. I don't know how they compare to lead in cost and melting temperature though.

 

[trent/OH]

Pewter was used in a pinch in colonial days. It doesn't hold a candle to lead, but it is an alternative.

 

[jtmattison]

Pewter was used in a pinch in colonial days. It doesn't hold a candle to lead, but it is an alternative.

How heavy is pewter compared to lead and how easy is it to get?

HD

 

[paulvallandigham]

In the colonial days, pewter was composed Mostly of lead. Today, the lead is gone. Google " Pewter " to see what its now made of.

 

[buttonbuck]

how will they continue to sell us new computers without lead in the circuit boards holding in the components.

 

[Walks Alone]

how will they continue to sell us new computers without lead in the circuit boards holding in the components.

As far as I know, California hasn't found the Condors to be eating discarded computers yet. So please don't give those clowns any ideas as we all know they would do a multi-millions dollar study on it, find they too have to be banned to protect a bird that is destined for and will be extinct anyway.

Lead and only lead for me in my ML's, but then, I also drive over the speed limit and refuse to wear seat belts.

 

[jtmattison]

According to Wikipedia-
Pewter is a metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of copper and antimony, acting as hardeners, with the addition of lead for the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. The word pewter is probably a variation of the word spelter.

Looks like pewter wouldn't work too good for us.

Man I'm glad I have 600 pounds of lead.

HD

 

[blafen]

dont use zinc iteasily melts but the fumes from overheating it can be deadly, many blackmsiths have died from the zinc in steel galvanization, although it may not be much worse than lead, ive been shooting homecast roundballs and my lead supply is old car batteries i cast up a few dozen the other day and havent even used a quater of the lead from one battery, just make sure to remove and neautralize the acid first.

 

[Tater John]

dont use zinc iteasily melts but the fumes from overheating it can be deadly, many blackmsiths have died from the zinc in steel galvanization, although it may not be much worse than lead, ive been shooting homecast roundballs and my lead supply is old car batteries i cast up a few dozen the other day and havent even used a quater of the lead from one battery, just make sure to remove and neautralize the acid first.

I'm interested to know what method you use to 'safely' :shocked2: neutralize battery plate making it usable for recasting,if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Rusty

 

[blafen]

well rusty i would not say anything i do is particularly safe, im not actually neutralizing fresh acid i use old car batteries left around the property by my grandmother and the acid is mostly if not completely neutralized i just soak the lead in baking soda and water to be sure and then melt a whole pot of it over a fire on a breezy day while i stand well away from it to burn off any remaining "stuff" ( for lack of a better word) that may harm the me or the lead, then i after it has melted i skim the top and pour it into bar molds for storage.

 

[gmww]

I'm wondering if Barns X is going to come up with something. I'm thinking conical and RB. The only way it (conical) would work would be to have a sizer with the same rifling and run the conicals through it first then into your ml. For RB I guess it would be something that would be tight with a patch. The problem would be weight. I guess Barns x does have those modern conicals in sabots. Gosh I don't want to go that route.

I thought I read somewhere they were not making Bismouth anymore.

 

[brubincam]

-----I salvaged lead from a battery once--a lot of work--when you drop a piece on concrete it rang --not a dull thud like lead-----

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I have read (but don't have the references at hand) that low- or no-maintenance car batteries are much more dangerous than the old-fashioned ones I grew up with. The acid has always been easy enough to deal with and you always have to be careful about lead fumes, it's something about some REALLY NASTY non-lead metallic-compound (maybe cadmium or arsenic - and antimony is pretty nasty, too) fumes from the modern plate alloys.

Joel