I have a large supply of lead I melted down from wheel weights. Would this lead be fine for a smoothbore for target shooting? I know it's not favorable for rifled barrels because it's harder than pure lead but thought it would work for smoothbores. I thought about even trying my hand at making some shot with it as well from it.
Wheel weight lead in smoothbore
- Thread starter awreis
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2009
- Messages
- 276
- Reaction score
- 345
It will do fine.
Rifles shooting patched round balls, as well as cap and ball revolvers and I think the Civil War era rifles shooting Minie bullets, all require pure lead because the projectile has to be soft enough to conform to the bore, one way or another. Balls in smooth bores don’t need to do that, so a harder alloy should work. I’ve seen a couple of references to Indians shooting copper balls in their fusils at times, with deadly effect.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that round ball moulds, generally speaking, are sized for casting pure lead. Harder alloys will drop out more or less oversized. I scrounged some lead from the local cowboy action range a while back, cleaned it up, and cast some balls for a 20 gauge smoothbore using a .600” Lee mould. The balls wanted to stick in the mould, not dropping as freely as pure lead. I measured some of them after they cooled, and they were around .603”. Not a lot of difference, but some, and it may affect ease of loading, depending on your choice of wad or patch and lube.
Regarding accuracy… you’ll need to get opinions from someone else. I’m not a good enough shot to tell the difference.
If you can work out a safe and effective way to produce home-made shot, I think you ought to try it. Samuel Pond (a missionary among the Dakota in the 1830’s through 1850’s) documented the Indians making shot by pouring melted lead through a perforated piece of birch bark. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Good luck, my friend. Please let us know the results of your efforts.
Notchy Bob
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that round ball moulds, generally speaking, are sized for casting pure lead. Harder alloys will drop out more or less oversized. I scrounged some lead from the local cowboy action range a while back, cleaned it up, and cast some balls for a 20 gauge smoothbore using a .600” Lee mould. The balls wanted to stick in the mould, not dropping as freely as pure lead. I measured some of them after they cooled, and they were around .603”. Not a lot of difference, but some, and it may affect ease of loading, depending on your choice of wad or patch and lube.
Regarding accuracy… you’ll need to get opinions from someone else. I’m not a good enough shot to tell the difference.
If you can work out a safe and effective way to produce home-made shot, I think you ought to try it. Samuel Pond (a missionary among the Dakota in the 1830’s through 1850’s) documented the Indians making shot by pouring melted lead through a perforated piece of birch bark. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Good luck, my friend. Please let us know the results of your efforts.
Notchy Bob
It will be fine,
Banjoman
Hillbilly
Wheel weight lead is what I use for smooth bore round balls. This is just for taking down cardboard bears and killer milk jugs.
Save the softer pure lead for rifles.
Save the softer pure lead for rifles.
Some of my range pick-up lead is wheel weight lead, I know because the bullets and balls don't deform much when the bullet hits the hard clay berm. I used to separate wheel weight lead from pure lead, now I just mix it, melt it and shoot it all mixed together. The range I salvage lead from is B/P only (Briarfield).
I only shoot patched round balls, no bullets, this lead works just fine for me on the range and in the woods. I shoot a .530 ball with an.018 pocket drill patch in my .54 pushed by 85 gr of 2F, very accurate and devastating on deer.
I have posted this picture before, the initial sight-in of my current deer rifle
50 yard group, all the other holes are new rifle sight adjustment holes. I was shooting low with 80 gr so I held high with 85 gr and hit high as seen in the circled holes. I went back to my 6 o'clock hold for the next two shots, I can live with that group.
If you shoot conicals, pure lead it the way to go, with patched balls you have a little wiggle room on purity.
I only shoot patched round balls, no bullets, this lead works just fine for me on the range and in the woods. I shoot a .530 ball with an.018 pocket drill patch in my .54 pushed by 85 gr of 2F, very accurate and devastating on deer.
I have posted this picture before, the initial sight-in of my current deer rifle
50 yard group, all the other holes are new rifle sight adjustment holes. I was shooting low with 80 gr so I held high with 85 gr and hit high as seen in the circled holes. I went back to my 6 o'clock hold for the next two shots, I can live with that group.
If you shoot conicals, pure lead it the way to go, with patched balls you have a little wiggle room on purity.
I have melted down junk lead for many years. Casted unmentionable rifle and handgun bullets and a lot of round balls for rifle and handguns. 'worked great except for for some .36 cal balls in an 1851 revolver I casted for. They seated really hard. Only problem I ever had with junk lead.
Sidney Smith
58 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2019
- Messages
- 2,205
- Reaction score
- 2,313
I've shot balls that contained alloy metals from my rifles, and you can definitely tell the difference when loading. They're always harder to pop into the bore with the short starter. It's the reason I stopped picking up spent rounds from the rifle range to melt down. Now when my matchlockbis finished, air just may start again, as I plan to use balls at least ten thou undersized.
As long as you don't try them in a revolver, or an un-patched ball, they are fine. I've shot tons of them over the past 50 years in both rifles and smoothbores.
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2020
- Messages
- 7,522
- Reaction score
- 21,113
- Location
- On the Border in Idaho looking at BC
i cast some .54 RB using lead with a BHN of 22 approximate alloy was 90% PB, 2% SN and 8% SB.
i had that alloy for hard casting a .454 to use in a pistol for moose. worked fine for that.
I cast the RB's to use in a ball mill. worked finer than frog hair for that.
last range session i somehow got a hand full of them mixed together with my pure lead balls. being the lazy slob i am i just loaded them as they came to hand.
luckily i had a mallet on my shooting bench and now my short starter has a flat spot on top. had to drop from .018 patch to .011 and even then they were stiff going down the bore.
i noticed a small increase in felt recoil, being a old bony wuss i feel stuff like that.
on target i got a 1 inch decrease in group size.
the .454 bullets i cast with that alloy penetrated through and through both shoulders of a 1100 lb bull moose. recovered one from a small birch that was behind him. if i can find it i will post a picture.
would i recommend using this alloy for a steady diet? No. does it cause the sun to burn out and the stars to stop twinkling if you do use them? nope.
with the millions of variables just in the manufacture of anything, there is plenty of Absolutes spouted that are not absolutes.
jeepers! i am long winded today!
i had that alloy for hard casting a .454 to use in a pistol for moose. worked fine for that.
I cast the RB's to use in a ball mill. worked finer than frog hair for that.
last range session i somehow got a hand full of them mixed together with my pure lead balls. being the lazy slob i am i just loaded them as they came to hand.
luckily i had a mallet on my shooting bench and now my short starter has a flat spot on top. had to drop from .018 patch to .011 and even then they were stiff going down the bore.
i noticed a small increase in felt recoil, being a old bony wuss i feel stuff like that.
on target i got a 1 inch decrease in group size.
the .454 bullets i cast with that alloy penetrated through and through both shoulders of a 1100 lb bull moose. recovered one from a small birch that was behind him. if i can find it i will post a picture.
would i recommend using this alloy for a steady diet? No. does it cause the sun to burn out and the stars to stop twinkling if you do use them? nope.
with the millions of variables just in the manufacture of anything, there is plenty of Absolutes spouted that are not absolutes.
jeepers! i am long winded today!
hanshi
Cannon
I always preferred the harder ww lead for bare ball loads in my .62 smoothbore. They cast a bit larger than with pure lead and are more accurate. For patched ball I use the same soft lead I shoot in my rifles.
