Lead mix

[armoredman]

I know this is probably posted somewhere, but lemme ask - pure lead and 50/50 wire should be mixed in what amount for a decent centerfire pistol boolit alloy?
Does anyone use pure lead in a slow light revolver load?
Thank you for any replies.

[454PB]

I assume you mean 50/50 solder. For milder non magnum loads, 10% tin is sufficient, so for each 9 lbs of lead add 2 lbs of 50/50 solder.

Personally, I'd trade some of that valuable solder for some wheelweights.

[R.M.]

Does anyone use pure lead in a slow light revolver load?
I think casting pure lead would be difficult to get good boolits. You'd need some of that 50-50 solder (tin) to get good fill-out. Swaged boolits are pure, or close to it, and they work well at target velocities, so what's that tell us? Just add enough tin to get good fill. 2% is usually more than enough.

[HORNET]

IIRC, Elmer Kieth used a 1:16 alloy for his magnum revolver loads. If vyou check the alloy charts on line, hardness increase after adding 5% tin (REF:1 in 20) is mininal and more tin causes the cost to go up fast. Start low, like 1% tin, and add a little more if needed to get good fill out at reasonable temperatures. Seems like current WW are about 1/2% and they work well.
And, yes, some on here use straight lead for low speed handgun loads. It seems to work well with revolvers but autoloaders sometimes need a harder alloy for fast twists and shallow rifling.

[armoredman]

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know. I got some of the 50/50 solder free from a local shop when I went looking for lead. Thyey gave me some as free "samples". :) And I got some puire lead from a gentleman here, so I wanted the mix ratio - thank you!

[TexRebel]

not sure if this helps, but the ratio of Lyman #2 is Pb 90/ Sn 5/ Sb 5, this is achieved by melting 4 lb Lino, 1 lb 50/50 solder, with 5 lbs pure Pb; or you can use 9 lb Wheel Weights (Pb 95.5/Sn .5/ Sb 4) with 1 lb 50/50, the alloy Elmer Keith used and liked the most was Pb 94/ Sn 6 also known as 16 to 1 . hope this helps

[Tom Herman]

That's what I use, and it works well! As far as your 50/50 bars go, use them sparingly. You don't need more than 2% Tin. Anything beyond that, and you're just wasting it.
For ten pounds of alloy, this is how much 50/50 bar solder you need for 2% Tin content: 10# = 160 ounces. 160 x .02 = 3.2 ounces for pure Tin. For 50/50 bar solder, double this, or 6.4 ounces. If you add half of a one pound bar per ten pounds, you're close enough.
Good Luck finding the right alloy for your bullets. I use this for all my revolvers, and it works great for me. I tried two parts lead to one of wheel weights plus the 2% Tin, but it leaded heavily for me in .45 LC at only about 850 FPS, so I went back to one part Lead to one part wheel weights plus the 2% Tin.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom