Lead Free Round Balls

[OldMaineWoodsman]

Hunting Products (tomboboutdoors.com)

I wanted to share this for those interested. I see a lot of chatter about non-toxic alternatives to lead and many feel that lead will eventually be phased out. I wrote to both Hornady and Speer inquiring if they have any plans to manufacture a lead-free Round Ball. Speer never responded, but Hornady pointed me towards their current, Copper Modern M/L alternative, which doesn't help the traditional clan. I read about the company that I provided a link to and placed an order for some .54 caliber Round Balls to try out.

 

[Booneliane]

Ufda!

$1.20 each!

Approaching 5.56 costs there!

 

[Notchy Bob]

OldMaineWoodsman,

These were discussed in some detail last month: Traditional ML Hunting in CA It sure doesn't hurt to discuss them again, though!

Anyway, that thread ran on to five pages, but the TomBob balls came up several times. There is also a very good, unbiased field/range test of these online, done by Larry Pletcher: ITX Non-Lead Field Test for Accuracy

The TomBob balls are pretty hard, as they are made of a sintered iron-tungsten matrix. That's where the "ITX" designation comes from. Possibly hard enough to score your barrel if the patch slips, and likely too hard to get a ball puller in one if you dryball it. However, Mr. Pletcher found the accuracy was acdeptable. His report is worth reading.

I am surprised there is not more experimentation with bismuth round balls.

Thanks for your post. This is a subject worth knowing about.

Notchy Bob

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

Notchy Bob:

I was thinking about Bismuth as well. Shotgun shells have gone down some since Bismuth was introduced. It will be interesting to see if Speer or Hornady would consider them. Like anything else, they would need sufficient interest.

 

[nhmoose]

www.rotometals.com/lead-free-bullet-casting-alloy-bismuth-based/

cast your own

 

[Grimord]

At $17.00/# , that is pretty steep. I could not afford to shoot as much as I do now (now that I am retired) with the cost of projectiles being so high along with the cost of caps. Even if i only shoot my flinters, the costs per round is fast approaching the current cost of suppository ammo.

 

[Woody Morgan]

For hunting, not plinking. That should be obvious.

wm

 

[Pete G]

Even if i only shoot my flinters, the costs per round is fast approaching the current cost of suppository ammo.

You must not have priced ammo lately.

 

[nhmoose]

You will not get any non-lead shootable ML ammo CHEAP fogetaboutit. Ain't happening. When they pass it in your State you will truly be in trouble. Some states now have upland areas it is non-toxic shots only

Just cause you shoot ML don't make you special.

 

[Grimord]

You must not have priced ammo lately.

Haven't bought ammo for a suppository gun in almost 10 years, so I guess I am really out of touch with current prices.

 

[Grimord]

You will not get any non-lead shootable ML ammo CHEAP fogetaboutit. Ain't happening. When they pass it in your State you will truly be in trouble. Some states now have upland areas it is non-toxic shots only

Just cause you shoot ML don't make you special.

Catch me if you can, and if you do put me in jail but be sure to let out a violent criminal so I can take his place.

 

[nhmoose]

Catch me if you can, and if you do put me in jail but be sure to let out a violent criminal so I can take his place.

YOUR problem not mine

 

[Grimord]

YOUR problem not mine

That's right.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Grimrod, I haven't bought any modern ammo for over five years and don't expect to for the next ten years. My boys used to come down to the farm and shoot trap so I started to reload the cases they left. Now they are both five states away and I have a whole corner of the shop filled with reloaded or waiting to reload cases.I did buy a brick of 22's about five years ago to shoot coon and ground hogs in the garden but I expect it to last another ten years.

 

[user 31296]

That roto metal casting is way to hard for rifled round ball at 19.3 Brinell

 

[Notchy Bob]

That roto metal casting is way to hard for rifled round ball at 19.3 Brinell

Is this in reference to bismuth? I have no experience with it.

I don't know that anyone has published any calibrated measure of the hardness of of the TomBob ITX balls, but it is generally acknowledged that they are pretty hard. Very hard, actually. The "ITX" designation refers to the sintered iron-tungsten matrix from which they are made. They work by being slightly undersized (.487" as opposed to .490" for .50 caliber) and using a thicker patch. I suppose the same strategy should work for other materials that are harder than lead.

I would like to know exactly what the hardness is.

Notchy Bob

 

[mooman76]

I was looking on Amazon for something and stumbled across some bismuth there.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Just ordered a kilo of raw bismuth from Amazon. I want to try casting some 250 grain .50 REALs and some .490 RB.

wm

 

[diggs223]

FYI rotmetal's lead free alloy is "87.25% Bismuth, 0.75% Antimony and 12% Tin is the best ratio we have come up with as a substitute for lead." "19.3 on the Brinnell Hardness Scale"

 

[Notchy Bob]

FYI rotmetal's lead free alloy is "87.25% Bismuth, 0.75% Antimony and 12% Tin is the best ratio we have come up with as a substitute for lead." "19.3 on the Brinnell Hardness Scale"

Thank you for that information!

Notchy Bob