Shooting Hard Lead Balls

[BS]

My brother has 1500 pounds of lead from a rifle range. He said that it was half as hard as a wheel weight. Wheel weights checked 10 on his scale, this stuff checked 5, so it is half as hard as a wheel weight.

They poured them into a bread pan about half full, 60 pound ingots.

I remember a story about Rick Hacker taking an 8 bore to Africa and complaining about the lack of penetration of pure lead balls. He was wishing he had cast some hard ones.

I was thinking of casting them small and using a thicker patch.

Any body have any experience in using a harder lead ball?

 

[big bore 75]

For me anyway harder lead doesn't shoot well out of my rifles but in smooth bores they shine especialy if you use the wad method suchas powder wad ball and wad they work well in smoothies. bb75

 

[BS]

bb75,

I have thought about casting some up for my 7ga. The bore is .875 and so is the mold. Thouht I would try some cards, felts and no patch and see how they shoot. 1000 grains a ball, a true 7ga.

I was hoping to try some of the hard stuff in my 62 and 73 rifles. At 350 and 550 grains a ball lead goes fast.

 

[2172]

I put some wheel weights in each pot of lead when I run balls..have no idea of exact hardness, but they shoot fine with my usual patch...when the sack of weights that someone gave me runs out, I'll probably ask my favorite tire shop for some more...Hank

 

[big bore 75]

I tried Rebes method of shooting wads with the smoothbore and ahd really great results I soaked them in olive oil and split the wads, I did use hard cast lead balls out of wheelweights and found they shot great but had trouble loading them with patchs had to use thin patchs so they would slid down the tube these guns are so wierd they can be feminish :haha:,no offence please, this afternoon I'm going back to the range and doing a little more exparemnting, have fun guys and be safe. bb75

 

[musketshooter]

Reclaimed lead probably won't make very good round balls or musket balls. I only use that stuff for lead cartridge gun bullets. Try trading some of it at your local salvage yard for lead sheathing or lead sewer pipe. Wheel weights should only be used for ctg gun bullets, and then only in limited quantities in the mix. The antimony in wheel weights does not bind to lead without a lot of tin in the mix. Remember, wheel weights are the scrap of the refining process. There is no exact formula for the composition of wheel weights.