Types of lead?

[Little Wattsy]

I have noticed on here comments about hard lead and soft lead.

What are some hard leads and why can I not use them? I understand they may produce higher pressures and more ware on the rifling but do they really do that or is it just say so?

What are some soft leads and why are they preferred?

I prefer soft lead to hunt with as it mushrooms better on deer and I guess its easier to load.
I have found its all about the same cost IF you take the time to find a good outlet.. I bought 100lbs of pure soft plumbers lead for $100.00. .54 roundballs for ALONG time..

 

[George T.]

Since I got into muzzle loaders in the 60's I have always heard that lead as pure as you can get is what should be used. In Cap ad Ball revolvers any additional hardness in the lead would stress the loading. As far as the synthetic powders goes they are designed to follow the power curve of black powder. I doubt that there is much additional velocity to be gained from them. 38 lead bullets are sized .358 so they will be under sized in a 36 cal. Geo. T.

 

[hanshi]

Lead of any hardness will work just fine in a rifle or smoothbore; this includes WW and linotype. If you find any linotype you might want to trade to a cartridge shooter on a 1 to 2 or 3 ratio, linotype to lead. For deer or anything larger than small game pure lead is best as it expands. You'll also want to use it in c&b revolvers for the reasons already given.

 

[pwbsmokey]

Another source of lead are window weights from old double hung windows. Most of the time they are cast iron but occasionaly they are lead. Of all the ones I've gotten they were soft plumbers lead. Once or twice they were a little harder, probably made from a combination of different scrap lead. They were soft enough to scratch with my thumb nail, but had a definite ring when dropped on concrete. So check at demolition sites or old homes being renovated.