Pewter for roundballs?

[Runewolf1973]

I am finding that pure lead is rather hard to find and expensive where I live, but the thrift stores have an almost endless supply of pewter mugs and picture frames, etc... So my question is, can I cast roundballs out of pewter to use in my smoothbore? (NOT for use in my rifle of course.) Just want to know if this is a bad idea or not.

Thanks!

 

[Carbon 6]

I too have some pewter to try but I haven't got around to it yet. I've made balls out of tin and solder before. they worked just fine.
Pewter should work.

Let me know how it turns out.

Keep in mind not all pewter is the same, some is soft and some is hard. not sure what difference that's going to make though.

 

[Runewolf1973]

I too have some pewter to try but I haven't got around to it yet. I've made balls out of tin and solder before. they worked just fine.
Pewter should work.

Let me know how it turns out.

Keep in mind not all pewter is the same, some is soft and some is hard. not sure what difference that's going to make though.

Well...if accuracy is an issue, I could just save the lead for roundballs and maybe make some pewter swan shot.

 

[Carbon 6]

and maybe make some pewter swan shot.

Sounds even more interesting.

 

[RAEDWALD]

A smooth bore is quite happy with pewter, or any hardened lead. The only things to bear in mind is that you will get a different diameter ball from your pure lead ball due to the differences in contraction upon cooling and that the ball will be somewhat lighter so the elevation will differ as the ball will slow down sooner even though it will emerge faster. Naturally penetration will improve and expansion on the recipient will reduce. Important if you are hunting. The old time large game hunters in Africa etc. would use hardened balls on thick skinned game.

I don't know how you deal with these cheap pewter items but I melt them and pour lines of the melt upon a cold metal surface then break up the cooled lines into little chunks by hand (pewter breaks rather than bends due being mostly tin.

Should work fine as swan shot, or at least crude shot.Again the shot will be lighter so behave differently to pure lead.

 

[fourbore]

I am finding that pure lead is rather hard to find and expensive where I live, but the thrift stores have an almost endless supply of pewter mugs and picture frames, etc... So my question is, can I cast roundballs out of pewter to use in my smoothbore? (NOT for use in my rifle of course.) Just want to know if this is a bad idea or not.

Thanks!

Leows carries pure sheet lead. That should be available everywhere even if you have to order for an in-store pickup. That should be about $2 a pound. There is also Puritan blocks at real plumbing supply shops, but; I dont think that will save you money or be more convenient than Leows. For plumbing it could be banned in california. For some odd reason, there is no clue where anyone here comes from, except the one guy from France.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Original pewter was an alloy of lead and other metals. Modern pewter for use with food has no lead and is much harder that lead. A pewter ball would work in smoothbores, but not so well in a rifle.

 

[nhmoose]

Roto-metals Pure Soft Lead Metal 99.9% ~ 5 Pound Ingot
Pure lead on sale 13.99 per 5 lb ingot That is shipped
pewter R98 lead free per pound 17.99 shipped
tin 19.39 per pound shipped.

Using pewter for balls is a waste of almost pure tin.

Guys melt pewter into ingots then sell it and buy 5 times or more pure lead.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I can't comment on the use of pewter because I've never tried it, although I've heard apocryphal stories of people on the frontier casting balls of it in times of crisis when they ran out of lead. It was a last resort back then, and probably should be now. I don't know how pewter bullets compare to pure lead in weight or point of impact.

A fellow who worked for a power company years ago gave me a quantity of pure lead sheathing, and I haven't used it up. Just the same, thank you, nhmoose, for the information about Roto-Metals! This is good to know. I would think that spending the few extra dollars for pure lead, as our guns are supposed to shoot, would be worth it.

For the original poster, I would recommend that you track down cowboy action clubs in your area, and find out where they shoot. I went through a lengthy cowboy action phase, and can tell you these folks shoot cast lead bullets, and they shoot them with abandon. The bullets are shot against steel plates, and deflect downward. Ammo for cowboy action is loaded for very low velocities, and most of each bullet's energy is absorbed by the steel target plate, so the spent bullets just drop to the ground. The bullets, quite literally, can be picked up off the surface. Contact the range where the CAS people shoot and ask if you can salvage some of the bullets. Wear rubber gloves, and wash your hands after scrounging to show that you care about the hazardous nature of the material.* I have picked up five pounds of bullets in ten minutes after a cowboy action match. Melt the scrounged bullets down, flux and skim the lead, and cast your ingots or bullets.

As far as I know, only the cap and ball revolver shooters in the CAS crowd shoot pure lead balls; everybody else uses a lead alloy. I have found the harder lead alloys produce slightly oversized round balls. My 0.600" Lee mould drops balls of about 0.603" when casting with recycled "range lead." I have used a few of these in my 20 gauge smoothbores.



*Lead is now considered a hazardous material. Your local range may have a rule against salvaging it, so make sure you have permission. A local range founder and owner in my area told me when he first opened his range, a company would pay him every year to come in and salvage the lead from his berms. Now, the management for the same range has to pay someone to come in every year to sift through the berms and remove the lead for "hazardous waste abatement." All I can say is I have childhood memories of my family sitting around the table eating squirrel, rabbit, duck, quail, doves, etc., picking shot out of our teeth and dropping it in little piles on our plates. And those were the pellets that were not ingested!

Notchy Bob

 

[Runewolf1973]

I can't comment on the use of pewter because I've never tried it, although I've heard apocryphal stories of people on the frontier casting balls of it in times of crisis when they ran out of lead. It was a last resort back then, and probably should be now. I don't know how pewter bullets compare to pure lead in weight or point of impact.

A fellow who worked for a power company years ago gave me a quantity of pure lead sheathing, and I haven't used it up. Just the same, thank you, nhmoose, for the information about Roto-Metals! This is good to know. I would think that spending the few extra dollars for pure lead, as our guns are supposed to shoot, would be worth it.

For the original poster, I would recommend that you track down cowboy action clubs in your area, and find out where they shoot. I went through a lengthy cowboy action phase, and can tell you these folks shoot cast lead bullets, and they shoot them with abandon. The bullets are shot against steel plates, and deflect downward. Ammo for cowboy action is loaded for very low velocities, and most of each bullet's energy is absorbed by the steel target plate, so the spent bullets just drop to the ground. The bullets, quite literally, can be picked up off the surface. Contact the range where the CAS people shoot and ask if you can salvage some of the bullets. Wear rubber gloves, and wash your hands after scrounging to show that you care about the hazardous nature of the material.* I have picked up five pounds of bullets in ten minutes after a cowboy action match. Melt the scrounged bullets down, flux and skim the lead, and cast your ingots or bullets.

As far as I know, only the cap and ball revolver shooters in the CAS crowd shoot pure lead balls; everybody else uses a lead alloy. I have found the harder lead alloys produce slightly oversized round balls. My 0.600" Lee mould drops balls of about 0.603" when casting with recycled "range lead." I have used a few of these in my 20 gauge smoothbores.



*Lead is now considered a hazardous material. Your local range may have a rule against salvaging it, so make sure you have permission. A local range founder and owner in my area told me when he first opened his range, a company would pay him every year to come in and salvage the lead from his berms. Now, the management for the same range has to pay someone to come in every year to sift through the berms and remove the lead for "hazardous waste abatement." All I can say is I have childhood memories of my family sitting around the table eating squirrel, rabbit, duck, quail, doves, etc., picking shot out of our teeth and dropping it in little piles on our plates. And those were the pellets that were not ingested!

Notchy Bob

So maybe not for roundballs, but how about pewter swanshot?

 

[hanshi]

The only thing for ball, other than soft lead, is WW metal, the real stuff from decades ago. The increase in diameter of the ball was modest, just a few thousandths. Weight was a few grains less although poi was virtually the same. In some rifles a slightly thinner patch worked best but not always necessary. In the smoothbore the WW ball performed extremely well especially with bare ball loads.

 

[nhmoose]

I use all my lead harder than pure for my smooth bores. Works great in them no matter the increase in dia. They go down I shoot them.

 

[Runewolf1973]

I just found a local source for .570/58cal Hornady roundballs without having to pay for shipping. I think those should work in my .62 trade gun with some heavy patching material. If those are no good, then I guess I'll be casting some .600's with my mold.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Lead just about every where is getting harder & harder to get.
Look and ask around and you will find contacts for scrap lead, pick up as much as your pocket will allow. It won't be there tomorrow.
$2 a pound is not expensive when you figure how many balls to the pound you can get, but a dollar a pound is even better.
Commercial plumbers often have lots of scrap lead........ask them, all they can say is no, but you will be surprised.
Even telephone linesmen come across it often in underground installments, check those fellows.
Another source are roofers, they often have bunches of old lead in their storage yards just for the asking.
Hey!
I'm giving up all my secret suppliers find some yourself.
Fred

 

[Capt. Jas.]

So maybe not for roundballs, but how about pewter swanshot?

Swan shot are round balls.

 

[ord sgt]

Even telephone linesmen come across it often in underground installments, check those fellows.

I was one of those fellows. I still have over 100 pounds of lead ingots from telephone cable sheath. I use those ingots to cast roundball in .45, .451, .50, .58, .69. I retired over 12 years ago and still haven't used up much of the stash.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Swan shot are round balls.

Not exactly what I would call round ball. They are more like tear drop shaped lead pellets...

I think pewter should work for making this.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Thats poorly formed Rupert or drop shot that was incorrectly called swan shot years ago on a popular video. Swan shot was cast shot of a certain size.
Since the shot you picture is made by dropping thru a seive into a liquid i wonder how pewter would react to the process and if it would give the tailed form you are after?
If you try it let us know how the pewter works with it in lieu of lead.

 

[Runewolf1973]

Thats poorly formed Rupert or drop shot that was incorrectly called swan shot years ago on a popular video. Swan shot was cast shot of a certain size.
Since the shot you picture is made by dropping thru a seive into a liquid i wonder how pewter would react to the process and if it would give the tailed form you are after?
If you try it let us know how the pewter works with it in lieu of lead.

Okay, cool. I am new to this so just learning all the different terminology. Thanks. I will give it a try and update here my findings.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Thanks! Very curious how the pewter will turn out.