Casting Lead

[Old Smokey]

Newbee here, just bought a mold for a 50 cal. It

 

[jtmattison]

I'd keep the lead as soft as possible for that bullet. Softer is better when talking muzzleloading projectiles. You can get away with adding wheel weight to roundballs but for bullets keep it soft :m2c:

Huntin

 

[arcticap]

I've read that if you don't caste using pure lead, the muzzle loading projectiles could end up being undersized and underweight from the muzzle loading mold specifications. They could also be more difficult to engage the rifling in the bore either due to being undersized, or because the lead would be simply harder and more difficult to ram and engrave.

 

[quigleysharps]

My bullets for the .50 Lee REAL weigh in at around 320-325 grains. Use the plumbers lead. Tried some WW's one time...had to drive them in with a mallet. Not fun. Have tried them from lead pipe, it's right in between plumbers lead and WW's on the hardness tester...still load harder than I like. Stay with plumbers lead and a good lube...mine shoot real good double dipped with Lee Liquid Alox. Brother-in-laws rifle prefers them plain with just bore butter for lube.

 

[Hunsta]

What size range for the bullet(or minie)is there available for a 50cal as I have only used the round ball being 180gr and would like to try casting bullets.
Cheers
Craig B 50cal Missouri Ranger

 

[Zonie]

One of the things that makes heavy elongated muzzleloading bullets work is having a soft lead material.

The bullets need to be soft to permit the light engraving of the rifleing on them. They might even be slightly undersize and still work if they are made from soft lead.

Even if they don't seem to be a tight fit in the bore, they will expand when the powder charge fires because of obteration.

Obteration is simply what happens to an object when the gun fires and is the result of the rear of the bullet wanting to accelerate down the bore. The front of the bullet does not want to move, so something has to give.
What "gives" is the lead in the middle of this arguement. It trys to get out of the way of the disagreement between the rear and the front of the bullet and the only way it can escape is sideways. In other words, the bullet expands tightly into the rifleing.

If you use a hard alloy, this process will not happen resulting in poor accuracy and leading of the bore.

A hard alloy in my .45-70 leads the bore if the alloy is to hard. With softer alloys the leading problem goes away.

My muzzleloading Schuetzen on the other hand has a slightly undersize 430 grain pure lead paper patched bullet which grabs the rifleing without a problem.

 

[balfouche]

I just melted down two large lead ingots to cast some .54 lee REAL conicials (300gr.)The bullets looked like they had leprosy when they came out of the mould. there was a blue tint/color in the pits. The lead had a blue and slight yellow tint in the pot. I have used the mould before and had no problems. it has an alloy (obviously)in it, but straight wheel wieghts cast just fine. any idea what could cause this? the ingots were industry cast, with a stamping on the top flat, about 3" square. :shocked2:

 

Your lead melt was conteminated, with some kind of foreign matter.

How did they shoot?

Bill

 

One of the things that makes heavy elongated muzzleloading bullets work is having a soft lead material.

The bullets need to be soft to permit the light engraving of the rifleing on them. They might even be slightly undersize and still work if they are made from soft lead.

Even if they don't seem to be a tight fit in the bore, they will expand when the powder charge fires because of obteration.

Obteration is simply what happens to an object when the gun fires and is the result of the rear of the bullet wanting to accelerate down the bore. The front of the bullet does not want to move, so something has to give.
What "gives" is the lead in the middle of this arguement. It trys to get out of the way of the disagreement between the rear and the front of the bullet and the only way it can escape is sideways. In other words, the bullet expands tightly into the rifleing.

If you use a hard alloy, this process will not happen resulting in poor accuracy and leading of the bore.

A hard alloy in my .45-70 leads the bore if the alloy is to hard. With softer alloys the leading problem goes away.

If you 45-70 is leading the bore with hard lead bullets, you may have one, of two problems:

1. The bullets were not sized properly.

A lot of people will argue about this aspect of cast lead bullets.

I have found with large cast bullets, 45 caliber or bigger, the bullet should be sized .002 over groove diameter. Flame from the combusting powders is forcing it's way past the bullet causing the bullet to melt, thus leading the bore of your rifle.

Personally, I use a 6 and 2 melt for black powder cartridge rifles. The 6 and 2 melt is 6% antimony, and 2% tin. This is a very hard bullet. I have never had a bullet lead when using this melt, when the bullet sized, as I do it.

The 45-70, in the begining, used a 30 to 1 ratio of lead to tin. Later on the ratio of lead to tin was changed from 30 to 1, to 20 to 1, for factory loads.

2. The second thing that may have caused the 45-70 to lead the bore was the failure of the bullet lube.

My muzzleloading Schuetzen on the other hand has a slightly undersize 430 grain pure lead paper patched bullet which grabs the rifleing without a problem.

I have 60 years of bullet casting behind me. And I have found what I posted above to be generally true with all Black Powder Cartridge Rifles.

I shoot so much cast bullets, that I use a forty pound plumbers pot to keep up with my shooting.

Bill

 

[Keppy]

Do you flux your lead? I use a little candle wax. I mix it real good and take the scum off.
I have a LBT lead tester. I try not to use anything over 7 on the hardest tester. Wheel weights are plenty hard. I'm not sure if they hurt anything but I like pure lesd.

 

[balfouche]

The first 18 came out fine I will shoot them Saturday. after those, they came out progressively worse. I use marvelux flux however just skimming the surface dosen't seem to cut it.. I was told that sulpher dioxide is a contaminant in lead that gives a yellow tint in the pot. So I will melt two little ingots at a time, and flux the S@#* out of the pot, and add one ingot at a time and repeat proceedure to clean my inventory. and try again... Thanks for responding! :bow:

 

[balfouche]

thanks fer yer response :v see the response to stillwater's reply.. this is only a small experement, I have a uberti 1803 Harper's ferry .54 cal that shoots OUTSTANDINGLY!!!! and I had a wild hair to see if it would shoot the smallest conical ava. (300 gr. lee R.E.A.L ).... with round balls I get a nice small ragged hole @50yds (bench) with most loads and powders. So with a 1/66" twist and the small bearing area of the lee, it might just prove to be accurate with the conical as well, i mean I just can not get the thing to shoot badly, so it is worth a try :hmm: