Recommendations on casting Alloys

[cali4088]

I recently had someone ask me what would be the proper ally for

Big Bore

44
41
and
.357


He also asked about 30/30 which i told him half pure and half Wheel Weights.

Does anyone know the alloys for the other 3. I only cast fishing lead and want to pass on some good information. Please advise, Thanks!

[243winxb]

2%-Tin,6%-Antimony,and 92%-Lead http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/hardballbulletcastingalloy.htm
This modern version of the old Lyman #2 is an excellent all-around alloy for most handgun bullets and many higher velocity rifle cartridges. The Brinell Hardness of Hardball Alloy is about 16. I agree 100%

[dondiego]

50% clip on WW and 50% soft lead is also good for pistol boolits.

[Walter Laich]

will he be firing full charge loads or plinking ones?
you can get away with a bit softer alloy if you're just plinking

[Pb2au]

100% WW or,
50/50 WW pure or,
call Rotometals. See post #2, or,
Range lead with some WW if needed.

[cali4088]

Hey guys thanks for the responses back. Ill tell him to go with a 50-50 for all his needs. I have over 1,000 lbs of pure so no need to send him to rotometals, He just needs some wheel weight lead and mix it. Rotometals looks like they are charging $3 a lb. Can get clean COWW lead on ebay for less than $1.3 a lb. and i sell pure shipped for 1.80 a lb Awesome advice! Thanks again!

[trucker76]

You can also check metal recyclers. Around here you can get ww for about $.60/lb and pure for$.70/lb. If you want to spend the time see if they'll let you sort it as you pick it.

[243winxb]

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n420/joe1944usa/Firearms%20%20and%20%20Reloading/AlloyBlending1.jpg http://www.lasc.us/castbulletalloy.htm

[trucker76]

heh, another table I saw showed ww at 12bhn.

[Dusty Bannister]

heh, another table I saw showed ww at 12bhn.


And some folks think a lead hardness tester is just a gadjet that has no real purpose.

[MtGun44]

WWt alloy or wwts cut with 50% lead will work well for those. Hard is massively
over-rated for pistols. From a practical standpoint, adding about 1-2% of
tin to the mix will greatly improve castability.

Bill

[pls1911]

If hardness is desired, simply heat treat your 50-50 mix at 450 degrees for an hour and quench in cold water. You will get 25-ish BHN which is great for my .30 cal hunting rounds at about 1900 fps.
Be sure to use gas checks and size .002 over bore and you'll do fine.