Casting pewter

[spudnut]

Would casting lead free casting pewter work as shot? Track has it for 7.99 a quarter lb. Doesn't look uniform ,but that's cheaper than bismuth.

 

[Black Hand]

Would casting lead free casting pewter work as shot? Track has it for 7.99 a quarter lb. Doesn't look uniform ,but that's cheaper than bismuth.

Lead-free pewter is mostly tin and much lighter than lead (Tin - 7.31 gm/cm3 vs Lead 11.34 gm/cm3 vs Bismuth 9.7 gm/cm3 vs Steel 7.86 gm/cm3). Frankly, for the cost of lead shot, just doesn't seem worth it and casting lead-free pewter into shot may not be as simple as you think...

Lead shot is going for ~$2/lb and Bismuth shot at ~$32/lb. This makes your lead-free pewter $32/lb even before you try to cast shot, which is the cost of 1 lb of Bismuth shot (Ebay) already made into pellets.

Doesn't seem like you are saving any money, you would have an inferior shot and you would have a time investment - all of which says to me Buy pre-made shot...

EDIT: I see the TOW product does come as pellets (They look fairly sizable). See my previous comment comparing this product to Bismuth shot.

Others have suggested buying inexpensive Bismuth shot shells and cutting them open to remove the shot for use in a Muzzleloader - at ~$33/box (7/8 oz per shell), you're still circling the same price.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Spud,
I thought of casting some pewter balls, just to see how they go!
We always have piles of old pewter tankards in thrift shops around here. Pewter seems to cast pretty easily.
Like I said, it would be just to see how they fly, but as Black Hand says, they're a bit light.

PS,
I wonder if babbit is heavier than pewter? I use it for nosecaps...

 

[jackley]

Acouble of weeks ago I bought bismuth from Rotometal for $15 a pound shipping included. I don't know if the sale is still going on, but the cheapest I found.

 

[BrownBear]

EDIT: I see the TOW product does come as pellets (They look fairly sizable). See my previous comment comparing this product to Bismuth shot.

The pellets in the little bag I got from TOW some years ago are about half the size of pepper corns.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Acouble of weeks ago I bought bismuth from Rotometal for $15 a pound shipping included. I don't know if the sale is still going on, but the cheapest I found.

CORRECT!

It's going for $17.99 a pound today at Rotometals, https://www.rotometals.com/bismuth-shot-alloy-for-reloading-shells-1-bag-sample-made-in-usa/ and the shipping to me is $9.99, for a total of $27.98 for the whole pound. Certainly beats $31.96 a pound for modern pewter..., before shipping..., and the bismuth arrives as shot, ready to shoot, with much better mass than would modern pewter.

LD