.22 bullets - what alloy?

[whisler]

Can anyone tell me the alloy generally used for .22 rimfire bullets? I have a bunch from cleaning out a college rifle range. I thought that they were close to pure lead but that may be a false assumption. Am I close or are they alloyed?

Thanks for any info.

[beagle]

In my experience, most are pretty close to pure lead. I've used that stuff and the ingots produced have a blue tinge which is pretty nealy pure lead./beagle

[Johnch]

I beleive it is mainly pure lead with some Arsenic (sp)
I never tested the 22 lead I have
From memory , it is slightly harder than pure lead , but not much

I have used it for muzzel loader rnd balls
Worked good

Johnch

[Ricochet]

I posted the quotation about it from Frost's Ammunition Making on here a while back. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Around 3/4% antimony is typical, as I recall. Can't recall the extremes of the range he quoted, but it was around that. It was pretty similar to the stuff used in jacketed bullet cores. There was an alternate alloy with something like 1% tin, but good luck finding that.

[whisler]

Thanks to all for the replies.

Ricochet: I checked your previous post from Frost's and it cited a range from 3/4 to 2% Antimony.

Would this much Antimony cause a difference in the as-cast dimension versus pure lead from the same mold? Larger or smaller than pure?

So much to learn.

[Ricochet]

Ought to come out slightly larger than pure. Not a lot.