WWs ok for Hollow point bullets?

[fatelvis]

I'm about to cast my first hollow point bullets ever, (357 170 grn) and was wondering if straight wheel weights are good for hollowpoints. If not, what would be better? Thanks-

[Ole]

Pure WW's will work OK, but the nose will likely shatter with HP boolits.

Mix the WW's 1:1 with pure lead and add a little extra tin (maybe around 2% by weight).

You want the tin %age to equal the antimony %age for good expansion characteristics.

[fatelvis]

Thanks Ole. I have pure lead, but not Tin. Would just mixing 1:1 ww with lead be good enough?

[Ole]

Air cooled WW HP boolits fired out of a .44. Around 1100 fps:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh280/Ole1830/Bullet%20making/IMG_5449.jpg

25/1 Pure lead/tin fired out of a .380 auto. Around 900 fps.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh280/Ole1830/Bullet%20making/HPranchdogbullet.jpg

Note how much better the high amount of tin bullet held together. You want your tin percentage to at least equal your antimony percentage if you don't want the HP bullets to shatter.

[Ole]

Thanks Ole. I have pure lead, but not Tin. Would just mixing 1:1 ww with lead be good enough?

Depends. Are you hunting with these bullets or just playing around?

A roll of 95/5 solder goes a long way if you're only adding 2% to your alloy. Would likely make your bullets hold together much better.

[fatelvis]

Wow, thats good to know! Can you just add Tin to your alloy? Where do you get yours from, if you don't mind me asking?

[fatelvis]

95% of the time silhouette shooting, 5% of the time shooting Coyotes

[Ole]

Wow, thats good to know! Can you just add Tin to your alloy? Where do you get yours from, if you don't mind me asking?

Most of my tin stash is in the form of 63/37 solder. Most of it I bought from ebaY (long time ago when you used to be able to get good deals on solder).

[Ole]

95% of the time silhouette shooting, 5% of the time shooting Coyotes

You don't need tin then.

A bullet shattering inside a coyote should work to your advantage. :mrgreen:

[fatelvis]

I do have a few rolls of 95/5 solder. Is the 95% Tin, and the 5% Antimony?

[Ole]

Is the 95% Tin, and the 5% Antimony?

Correct.

[fatelvis]

Thanks alot for the info Ole!

[Ole]

You're welcome. Glad to help! Lord knows I've gotten plenty of help from the folks that know more than I do on here.

:drinks:

[williamwaco]

95% of the time silhouette shooting, 5% of the time shooting Coyotes



That would be a great varmint bullet. Make the hollow at least 1/2 inch deep.

BUT WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU GO TO THE TROUBLE OF CASTING HOLLOW POINTS TO SHOOT STEEL?



.

[fatelvis]

I like to use the same bullet for everything, if possible.

[fatelvis]

Plus I think the hollow point kills the Rams a little faster! Lol

[DLCTEX]

I tested some 452-423 hollowpointed boolits today using water jugs. ACWW and approx 850 fps.(45ACP) penetrated 4 jugs before exiting the side and stopping about 3 inches into soft dirt. No expansion at all. Rifling was the only marks on the boolit. This batch of WW alloy had a very small amount of zinc in it. I will try some 50/50 WW/pure next. The large meplat did rupture all 4 jugs very well.

[tomme boy]

What about 45 acp ? Would range scrap lead be too hard? I got one of Mihec's 200gr HP mold on the way.

[fredj338]

What about 45 acp ? Would range scrap lead be too hard? I got one of Mihec's 200gr HP mold on the way.
Depends on the scrap lead composition. Any allyo w/ antimony is going to cause the bullet to frag the nose off. Pure lead & tin is quite ductile & the petals will stay intact as they expand. You can get decent results w/ 50/50 clip ww/lead & then 1/2% tin to help fill out if needed. I like 25-1 alloy for LHP, up to 1225fps & the right design, it works great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/44-272.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/452-268-1K.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/45-215gr.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/9mm-136-1200.jpg

[MtGun44]

Never saw a steel ram get back up from any good hit. :bigsmyl2:

What velocity will you be shooting them at? High enough and the wwt HP will be just fine
for a deadly mode where it blows off the front as small secondary fragments and the base
penetrates on through. Not much diff than a Nosler partition, really. MUCH cheaper.

Bill

[GLynn41]

I am using WW plus tape on and range lead--MR Lee says it is 11-12 BNH
anyway I killed a does last year with Mihec gb mold-at 40 yards it wnet from right ot left behind the right left shoulder and stopped in the ham -- after knokcing the hair off hwere it stopped-this was the devastator version it weighed 210 with a Hornady .416 gci deatroyed anythig it hit in the deer- and the recovered slug weighed 140 gr- it behaved as it had in 4-5" of wet np in plastic sleves-it is indeed like the Noslor part- the round was a 41/454 and the mv was a 80% load of 1660 from a 5.5" barrel -- this year I am trying the pentat-point which expands a little slower -- it seems- mv is 1730 -- GLenn F. says around 11-12 BNH should work at thses velocity and they seem to-- will let all know when a deer co operates for a shot-- I am also going to try a 9" TC with 223 gr solid LFNGC in a 41/44-- mv is about 1880 but this one is the same alloy but wd -so they are 18-19 bnh-- and another batch hit 20-- all in all it should be fun

[fatelvis]

I'll probably be launching them at about 1200 fps in my 12" Maximum T/C barrel. I must be a little dense, but what is the "25-1" alloy that Fredj is referring to? I notice his 1200 fps example mushroomed nicely.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

It is pure lead to Tin. 25 # lead- 1# Tin. I have yet to try this one. I don't have enough pure lead...... or tin.

[white eagle]

you will see that a bunch
I like Elmers favorite 16/1
but there are others and like Charlie sez
it ratio of lead to tin

[fatelvis]

[QUOTE][It is pure lead to Tin. 25 # lead- 1# Tin./QUOTE]
Thanks for clearing that up. Would 25# plumber's lead added to 1# 95/5 solder be close enough?

[Jeffrey]

Solder composition question: Much of the 95/5 (plumbing) solder I am finding is tin / copper, NOT tin / antimony. Check the tag on the spool or run an internet search. The MSDS is available on the manufacturer's website and will give exact composition.

[DLCTEX]

I don't think it will matter much whether the 5 in 95/5 is copper or antimony since it will be less than .02% of the mix.

[williamwaco]

What about 45 acp ? Would range scrap lead be too hard? I got one of Mihec's 200gr HP mold on the way.




I have bought two batches of range scrap. Both were about BNH 8 to 9. Need to add about 1% tin to get it to cast "pretty". If you don't care about "pretty, it makes good bullets as is.

I have used it to swage hollowpoints and performance is excellent.

Don't have any way to make .45 HPs. I tested it with .357mag and .44 special.




.

[MtGun44]

At that velocity, 25 to 1 may be a bit abrupt in expansion. I'd think 50-50 Pb and WWts would
get you nice expansion and probably cost less to make up, but the differences in costs of
metals around the country are so huge that you may be in a whole different cost arrangement.
Ultimately, the only way you will know is to test a few.

Shoot some test loads into stacks of newspapers soaked overnight to fully wet them. You
will need at least 30 inches to stop one if it does not open, so plan on having 40-50 inches
of newspapers to be safe.

Bill