What should I do with these boolits?

[kyswede]

I purchased 500 lead boolits online several years ago. They are 45 cal. 230 grain round nose tumble lubed. I checked the hardness on 3 boolits and they average 20 BHN. I load midrange loads for my 1911 and almost always shoot suppressed. Should I use these boolits as they are or throw them in my pot with an equal amount of soft lead to get a hardness around 12-13? I just started casting the same boolit using range lead and hardness averages 10-13.

[Cowboy_Dan]

You could totally get away with mixing in the pure. The booloits as cast are likely 6-2-92 (Hardball). MIxing in pure would basically make your alloy wheel weights with added tin. .45 ACP could even be run on 3 parts pure lead per part Hardball without issue, it is low pressure.

[runfiverun]

2/6 alloy only comes in at about 15 bhn.
cutting it in half still gets you a nice 1/3 alloy which will work quite nicely in the 45 acp.

now at the hardness your showing I'm thinking lazer-cast [hard green lube and very shiny]
it's quite hard and you could cut it 3 to 1 and do well in the 45 acp.

[Echo]

Cutting it is a good idea, but I would add a bit of Sn to bring the % up to about 2%. One of my smeltering gigs uses 7 parts WW, 1 part Monotype, which would give 1+% Sn. I normally us 35 lbs WW's, 5 lbs Mono, making 40 lbs alloy - 640 ounces - and I add another ~1% Sn, or 6.4 oz, either lead-free solder or other solder blends to get the 6+ oz . This brings the Sn up to 2+%, and I'm happy.
Cutting that 50/50 w pure, I add another 1% Sn, and have dang good pistol & low-intensity rifle alloy w/2% Sn...

[Dusty Bannister]

Since you are not in any rush, you might consider melting a small sample and just cast a few bullets and let them age to see if they actually are of a 20 BHN alloy, or perhaps have been quenched not air cooled. It will cost little but time, and you have the means to verify the hardness before you mix with other alloys. While you are at it, retain a small drip splatter in the event that you want to have a sample XRF scan done later to verify what you have. Your choice of course. Dusty

[kyswede]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will melt down a few and recast them this weekend. I will post my results in a couple days.

[Landy]

Have you shot any yet?

They may work as is with no more investment of your time and money.

You serious casters are working at such high levels of tailor made boolits, that you forget that most shooters do OK most of the time with the commercial stuff.

They may not be as technically perfect as your own; but they are ready to use.

[Lloyd Smale]

I would guess there a soft alloy water dropped. Most bullet sellers do that to save money. I hate to waste perfectly good bullets so id just shoot them as is.

[Shiloh]

3.9-4.5 gr. Bullseye under pure range scrap works just fine for a 200 gr. SWC.

SHiloh

[mdi]

I'd prolly just clean them up, relube and shoot. If they are the correct diameter for your gun, what would it hurt?

[kyswede]

I have loaded 100 of these and shot 84 so far with no problems. I was checking the hardness of boolits I had cast and decided to check these. I remelted 60 of them and cast 30 boolits this evening. Will check hardness in a couple days. I shoot into boxes filled with catalogs and magazines, and recover about 80% of the lead I send downrange.

[skeet1]

I would just shoot them and smile.

[kyswede]

Well I spent about 2 hours this afternoon looking through my records and found out I bought these boolits in August 2010. The seller described them as "water quenched wheelweight lead". Mystery solved. I will just shoot them again and again.

[kyswede]

I checked the hardness of 2 recast boolits today. Both showed .062" diameter indent using my Lee hardness tester which indicates a BHN of 13.4

[jlchasteen]

I'd take a few, don't have a die for my colt yet, :)

[Skinny]

Mystery solved Scooby!
Good info !