What did people in the 1700s and 1800s do? Did they cast pure lead or harden it? Don’t imagine someone threw a hardness tester in their sack and measured out around a campfire...
In the 1700's the French were mining lead in the St Genevieve area and in large quantities.What did people in the 1700s and 1800s do? Did they cast pure lead or harden it? Don’t imagine someone threw a hardness tester in their sack and measured out around a campfire...
Thanks much.I've been trialing hardness myself just recently.
I've found 30:1 (sorry, I don't speak Brinell) to work well for everything.
Apart from PRB in .50 cal and Hollow based .58 ( both 1% tin) I use 30:1. 38/50 1:12 twist, 40/65 1:16 twist, .375 M/L 1:16 twist. .40 M/L 1:16, .45 Gibbs 1:18 twist.
The two cartridge rifles are Breach seated, I have used 20:1 with those but see no real improvement.
My 32/40 with Smokelss likes 20:1.
Now..... A friend I shoot with on Teusdays buys projectiles from a local manufacturer. They are hard.
My Lee tester struggled, I think they came out at 10:1. Those bullets did not expand when fired into hard clay behind our targets. Infact 3 out of 5 I dug up had actually broken. Way too brittle for hunting but they seem to be accurate in his Pedersoli 45/70 Sharps. I would think 20:1 would be maximum. ??
I'm told there have been hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by .22 ammunition Manufacturers over many years, and they have come to the conclusion that 30:1 is the perfect alloy combination. My local Club buys retrieved .22 lead from a Smallbore Club by the tens of kilograms. It Tests pretty much at 30:1. Life is easy.
Thanks much.
I'm too broken to hunt anymore so I just shoot paper and steel, spring to fall. I don't care if the bullet shatters to dust as long as it's consistent and I can hear the steel ring.
Say... you wouldn't know the composition of airgun pellets by any chance? I use a trap-target and I have collected almost half a 5gal bucket full of flat pellets. RWS
Meisterkugeln, mostly.
My mate in uk picks up a bucket or two air gun pellets for local club and mixed it with his lead. Not sure of composition but it works well
When you buy bullets from a commercial producer, they cast them harder than the hubs of hell to prevent shipping damage.I've been trialing hardness myself just recently.
I've found 30:1 (sorry, I don't speak Brinell) to work well for everything.
Apart from PRB in .50 cal and Hollow based .58 ( both 1% tin) I use 30:1. 38/50 1:12 twist, 40/65 1:16 twist, .375 M/L 1:16 twist. .40 M/L 1:16, .45 Gibbs 1:18 twist.
The two cartridge rifles are Breach seated, I have used 20:1 with those but see no real improvement.
My 32/40 with Smokelss likes 20:1.
Now..... A friend I shoot with on Teusdays buys projectiles from a local manufacturer. They are hard.
My Lee tester struggled, I think they came out at 10:1. Those bullets did not expand when fired into hard clay behind our targets. Infact 3 out of 5 I dug up had actually broken. Way too brittle for hunting but they seem to be accurate in his Pedersoli 45/70 Sharps. I would think 20:1 would be maximum. ??
I'm told there have been hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by .22 ammunition Manufacturers over many years, and they have come to the conclusion that 30:1 is the perfect alloy combination. My local Club buys retrieved .22 lead from a Smallbore Club by the tens of kilograms. It Tests pretty much at 30:1. Life is easy.
No hot mould o, but agree not nice , maybe crappy lead ???? just some experimental , I did the side with the ridges cut with a thread tap , I usually make moulds in brass , it was just an old Lee mould to mess around with always thinking outside the box , hell I am 80 still got my hair The .36 is from
A brass mould I made.
I know that's true of most commercial cast bullets but wonder if one can order lead/tin bullets ready to load for competition from Buffalo Arms.When you buy bullets from a commercial producer, they cast them harder than the hubs of hell to prevent shipping damage.
Maybe think outside the box and ask Buffalo Arms? Don’t know what caliber or alloy you are looking for, but I have a couple of boxes of ‘Buffalo Arms’ branded bullets made with 20:1 on a shelf somewhere, plus they list bullets made with alloys on their website. Many shooters seem to complain about the cost (~$0.50 +/- each) if they shoot a lot and choose to cast their own. Doesn’t take long for a casting setup investment to pay for itself.wonder if one can order lead/tin bullets ready to load for competition from Buffalo Arms. Most of my shooting friends are heavy into casting their competition bullets of the various lead/tin mixes they order in ingots on line.
Try this with the Lee tester. Instead of using that funcky magnifier that comes with the kit use a set of calipers and an optivisor under good light. It will give you a very accurate dimple diameter read and then the chart will give the hardness number.I've been trialing hardness myself just recently.
I've found 30:1 (sorry, I don't speak Brinell) to work well for everything.
Apart from PRB in .50 cal and Hollow based .58 ( both 1% tin) I use 30:1. 38/50 1:12 twist, 40/65 1:16 twist, .375 M/L 1:16 twist. .40 M/L 1:16, .45 Gibbs 1:18 twist.
The two cartridge rifles are Breach seated, I have used 20:1 with those but see no real improvement.
My 32/40 with Smokelss likes 20:1.
Now..... A friend I shoot with on Teusdays buys projectiles from a local manufacturer. They are hard.
My Lee tester struggled, I think they came out at 10:1. Those bullets did not expand when fired into hard clay behind our targets. Infact 3 out of 5 I dug up had actually broken. Way too brittle for hunting but they seem to be accurate in his Pedersoli 45/70 Sharps. I would think 20:1 would be maximum. ??
I'm told there have been hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by .22 ammunition Manufacturers over many years, and they have come to the conclusion that 30:1 is the perfect alloy combination. My local Club buys retrieved .22 lead from a Smallbore Club by the tens of kilograms. It Tests pretty much at 30:1. Life is easy.
I don't have any RWS to test but do have some JSB Diablo pellets, Nielson slugs, and lead wire for my Corbin swage press that I can check with a LEE hardness tester if you like. They should all be as close to pure lead as possible, but I'd bet they vary.Thanks much.
I'm too broken to hunt anymore so I just shoot paper and steel, spring to fall. I don't care if the bullet shatters to dust as long as it's consistent and I can hear the steel ring.
Say... you wouldn't know the composition of airgun pellets by any chance? I use a trap-target and I have collected almost half a 5gal bucket full of flat pellets. RWS Meisterkugeln, mostly.
Lead is often found with other metals, including zinc and silver.In the 1700's the French were mining lead in the St Genevieve area and in large quantities.
Two things I am not sure of......
I do not believe it has tin or anything else in it when it comes from the ground.
Not sure if they are still mining lead in the area, andy52 may know the answer to this.
I was really only joking, but if it's no trouble, I think the Diablos. They're my second choice after RWS. I don't go about much in winter, so I go through a lot of pellets. Got about 5, 6 seasons in that bucket. Here's the airgun next to a 1891 Mauser. I took the photo to explain something to my boy, who also has a 1891, like for scale.I don't have any RWS to test but do have some JSB Diablo pellets, Nielson slugs, and lead wire for my Corbin swage press that I can check with a LEE hardness tester if you like. They should all be as close to pure lead as possible, but I'd bet they vary.
It's no trouble and something I need to know. Been thinking about ordering slug blank molds rather than using the lead wire. Been baulking at the price though. With tax and shipping north of 500 smackers these days unless I can find the diameter I need used. Then still not cheap.I was really only joking, but if it's no trouble, I think the Diablos. They're my second choice after RWS. I don't go about much in winter, so I go through a lot of pellets. Got about 5, 6 seasons in that bucket. Here's the airgun next to a 1891 Mauser. I took the photo to explain something to my boy, who also has a 1891, like for scale.
sarcasm meter just hit 11 here. Anyone else?A thread that addresses using pure lead as opposed to using harder wheel weight lead in black powder firearms.
Finally!
I was afraid it would never happen.
I think that is probably wise using as close to pure lead as one can find in these reproduction revolvers that all come with undersized chamber mouths in relation to the groove diameter of the bores. It also makes sense in Minie ball skirt expansion.For cap and ball revolvers I use only pure lead so that there is no chance of damaging the loading lever. For Mini's I use pure lead so I know the skirt will expand. For patched round balls I have used everything from pure to slightly harder than clip on wheel weights with no issues in 55 years. Your mileage may vary .
Stretch and Yawn is the correct response !sarcasm meter just hit 11 here. Anyone else?
Well played.
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