Less than 100% pure lead for round balls and conicals ?

[kyron4]

I've got quite a bit of range scrap lead, a hodge podge of melted down FMJ pistol bullets, 22's, old round balls, etc. Using sketch pencils to test the hardness of the ingots , it appears to be around 7-9 BHN or basically 40:1 or 25:1 lead/tin. Can this be used to cast round balls or conicals ( Lee R.E.A.L. bullets) ? When casting muzzleloader bullets is it a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing" or is there some wiggle room ? -Thanks

 

[Eutycus]

I personally think there is "wiggle room" just don't go overboard.Plus what kind of gun are you planning on using these "hard" bullets in?

 

[kyron4]

I personally think there is "wiggle room" just don't go overboard.Plus what kind of gun are you planning on using these "hard" bullets in?

Traditions 50 cal. Hawken, 1:48

 

[necchi]

When casting muzzleloader bullets is it a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing" or is there some wiggle room ? -Thanks

You know the answer.
What's your goal?
Accuracy or just casting salvage for fun and banging away at pop can's?
Recovered range lead is what it is,, somewhere between a random guess with a pencil or tested and adjusted for specific use.

Uhm, long story short,, the stuff ain't gonna be a good bet.

 

[kyron4]

You know the answer.
What's your goal?
Accuracy or just casting salvage for fun and banging away at pop can's?
Recovered range lead is what it is,, somewhere between a random guess with a pencil or tested and adjusted for specific use.

Uhm, long story short,, the stuff ain't gonna be a good bet.

Just for banging steel for fun, not for any serious work. Just hate to see it not be used for something.

A guy I work with uses wheel weights for casting his Maxi-Balls and tells me they shoot great and drop deer and I'm sure those are not 100% pure lead, so I just wondered how important that had to be. Still new to this casting thing.

 

[jackpine54]

I have used range scrap lead for casting round ball with no problem. I did sort out and remove any cast bullets and only used the .22 rimfire bullets and jacketed stuff to try and eliminate as much "hard cast" as possible. My finished ingots tested out at 8.8bhn if I remember correctly. They loaded and shot fine for range use. I never hunted with them. I mostly use range scrap for casting cf pistol bullets these days.

 

[Nazgul58]

It will all work just fine. Our involvement with muzzleloaders has a wide range, we see it on this forum. From the incredible works of art, assembled and carved to perfection to those of us with less skills who assemble a kit that we can be proud of.

The same with casting roundball. If it is soft, shoot it. If you are pursuing a world record, put more effort into into it.
Personally I cast whatever is soft enough and use for targets, hunting , woods walks, whatever is the agenda for the day.

Enjoy.

Don

 

[User_Dan]

Scrap lead for round balls is just fine for use. A patch is going to grip it anyway in the rifling.

 

[LME]

I've got quite a bit of range scrap lead, a hodge podge of melted down FMJ pistol bullets, 22's, old round balls, etc. Using sketch pencils to test the hardness of the ingots , it appears to be around 7-9 BHN or basically 40:1 or 25:1 lead/tin. Can this be used to cast round balls or conicals ( Lee R.E.A.L. bullets) ? When casting muzzleloader bullets is it a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing" or is there some wiggle room ? -Thanks

I think Idaho Lewis uses an alloy on some of his castings? He really knows the end-and-outs of shooting M.L. rifles. I do think an alloy should have a very high content of lead other than that maybe a slight elevation change at longer distances?

 

[Blackbeard4590]

Could you not blend the the collected bullets in your melting pot, pour an ingot of the mix and test the hardness of the aggregation? Then you could augment the the ingots when you actually want cast balls/bullets as needed for the application. I am fortunate to have a scrap metals yard nearby and they always have sheets of lead for sale from the railroad and the mills in the region. They also have mixed bins and I have used the above method to "formulate" alloys around 20:1 - 40:1 in my own shop and then cast various bullets designs for my BPCR single shot rifles. Just a thought.

 

[Frontier's]

My balls run in the 7 to 7.5 range. Awesome accuracy, no issues.

Conicals will be slightly more difficult to load, especially in the 9 range.

 

[JB Books]

I've got quite a bit of range scrap lead, a hodge podge of melted down FMJ pistol bullets, 22's, old round balls, etc. Using sketch pencils to test the hardness of the ingots , it appears to be around 7-9 BHN or basically 40:1 or 25:1 lead/tin. Can this be used to cast round balls or conicals ( Lee R.E.A.L. bullets) ? When casting muzzleloader bullets is it a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing" or is there some wiggle room ? -Thanks

I have the same worries as you due to the fact that here in Kremlinfornia lead in any % is verboten for hunting even in your own property. AND most indoor ranges are now banning lead as well. I worry that barrels not designed to withstand the pressure of smokeless powder will not stand up to the added pressure of a ball that will not deform to accommodate barrel imperfections. Or maybe I'm just paranoid but Murphy's law has been prevalent throughout my life and I've learned many hard and injurious lessons.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use any lead for smooth bores, most round balls, but for hollow based mini's I use only pure lead, Just check the actual diameter after casting. Alloys will shrink as they cool slightly different than pure lead.

 

[maillemaker]

For bullets that are forced into the rifling on fireing, like a breechloader, some shooters prefer to use an alloy.

In smoothbore muskets, alloy round balls work just fine.

But as a general rule, for revolvers and any bullet that requires deformation to take up the rifling you will want soft lead. Also revolvers can become so difficult to load so as to bend the loading lever if you use a hard alloy.

 

[ResearchPress]

When casting muzzleloader bullets is it a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing" or is there some wiggle room ?

No, it's not "a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing"." Really depends what you're shooting. I use an alloy of 30:1 lead:tin for my paper patched bullets for long range target shooting (out to 1200 yards). These are a slip fit in the bore, and expand to fit the shallow grooved rifling on firing. In the 19thC lead:tin:antimony alloys were also used.

Personally I would be more concerned about the random mix of alloy and maintaining consistency - but, I want mine for long range competition and seek to eliminate variables.


David

 

[R Ellis]

Scrap lead for round balls is just fine for use. A patch is going to grip it anyway in the rifling.

What he said. The round ball never touches the barrel just the patch

 

[hanshi]

I used to have lots of WW and range scrap and liked these harder, slightly larger ball in my smoothbore especially for bare ball loads. But I've also used them in rifles and they did very well indeed. They will be patched for rifle use where the ball doesn't touch the bore, the patch does that.

 

[nkbj]

Naahhh, it don't matter how hard the balls are.
You just need to get of those grooves in your barrel!

 

[leadhoarder]

I have used range scrap lead for casting round ball with no problem. I did sort out and remove any cast bullets and only used the .22 rimfire bullets and jacketed stuff to try and eliminate as much "hard cast" as possible. My finished ingots tested out at 8.8bhn if I remember correctly. They loaded and shot fine for range use. I never hunted with them. I mostly use range scrap for casting cf pistol bullets these days.

I agree with doing this. 22 bullets and swaged cores from jacketed bullets are usually pretty soft lead. Stay away from modern cast bullets.

 

[SwanShot]

I've got quite a bit of range scrap lead, a hodge podge of melted down FMJ pistol bullets, 22's, old round balls, etc. Using sketch pencils to test the hardness of the ingots , it appears to be around 7-9 BHN or basically 40:1 or 25:1 lead/tin. Can this be used to cast round balls or conicals ( Lee R.E.A.L. bullets) ? When casting muzzleloader bullets is it a hard rule of "100% lead or nothing" or is there some wiggle room ? -Thanks

I'm a great beliver in the suck it and see pricipal. In other words cast a few and see what happens.