Which alloy do I make up?

[housedad]

Well, I haven't had any time to do the preparations for casting, as all I am doing anymore with my free time is sorting brass. It's ironic that while searching for lead, I find the brass.

But, I still have been aquiring WW and lead pipe. So I still have questions.

Anyway, It has been a long time since I did any casting, and I have a bad memory to boot. I don;t remember anything about what alloys I made up back then.

I want to cast for 38 and 357 to shoot in my S&W 66's and 686's, and my Marlin 1894's. Would also be casting for my 35 rem Marlin 336's.

So what mix do you folks reccomend?

Mold choice and load info is welcomed too!!

Thanks

Bion

[Gunslinger]

Depends what you plan on shooting, flesh or paper!?

I'll assume you shoot paper. For .38 special the alloy doesn't need to be all that hard, as .38 are in the low velocity end. I'd say pure WWs will do fine. I use a harder alloy though, but that is simply because I don't wanna bother making different alloys for .38 special and 9mm. I've had good luck with a 120gr TC bullet over 4gr of VV N320 in my 686.

If you exceed 1400fps in a .357 you should consider a gas check bullet, or at least a harder alloy or simply heat treating your WWs. I do see a lot of people who shoot .357 through revolvers without a gas check, I can't comment on what velocities they are running. But for rifles I would use a gas check. Maybe someone will claim it isn't neccessary, but for the price of a gas check I'd rather be safe than sorry :). Don't know about a 35, I'll leave that to the ones who do.

As for molds thats really a question of preference. The above-mentioned TC bullet is from a 6-cavity Lee mold. Lee molds are made from aluminum, some people like them, some don't. There are quite a few threads about molds on this forum. Most people prefer cast iron mold as they are more durable... but also way more expensive!

Do you have access to linotype or another kind of type metal that contains antimony? That would really help you harden the alloy... If you mix your pure lead with WWs you'll end up with a fairly soft alloy, which would be too soft for anything other than .38 special.
If you are lucky someone will trade you WWs for your pure lead, I've seen I happen here before....

[Bret4207]

Wiking covered most of it. I'd save my lead pipe for trade goods as straight soft lead seems harder to find today than WW alloy. WW will give you everything you need from the 38 and 357 up to 11-200 fps at least in a PB and maybe 1500 or so with a GC design and maybe some water quenching or other heat treating method. Z Remember if you quench or HT that you size and lube right away and wait a couple weeks to shoot for them to reach their hardness.

For the 35 Rem you'll probably want a nice GC design or 200 or so grains. The RCBS 35-200 is very nice and Ranch Dog (bottom of the page) has a nice design too. Matching factory speeds with the 35 and cast isn't reputed to be too hard, I've not done it yet having too many irons in the fire. If you have a Micro-Groove barrel it would be worth your time to do a search on "Microgroove/Micro Groove" etc here. No matter how it's spelled there's a lot of info on those barrels. You can of course also use 38 pistol boolits in the 35 which are a lot of fun and deadly on small game and varmints.

Start out with plinking type loads and get the hang of it. Enjoy yourself too, this isn't supposed to be work!

[Boerrancher]

I like an alloy of 50/50 mix of pure and wheel weights. I shoot gas checks on everything but my 45's.(45 ACP, 45 LC, 45-70) My 30 cals, 357's, and 44 cal's all get gas checks. I don't punch paper much, mostly fur, but I can get 2500 fps with that alloy. Here is a link to another thread about alloys. There is a lot of good information in it. I hope it helps.

http://www.gunloads.com/castboolits/showthread.php?p=463837#post463837

It is a short thread maybe 8 posts. I won't take long to read.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[Tom Herman]

I also use 50/50 scrap lead to wheel weights, and lube with my homemade SPG... Minimal to no leading in the .455 Webley, .44 SPL, and .45 LC. I haven't pushed anything faster than 850 FPS yet.
I also add 2% Tin to the mixture for better flowability.
A few months ago I tried 2 parts scrap lead to 1 part wheel weights, but it was a dismal failure. I had the nastiest leading. That batch of alloy will be reworked into standard 50/50 next time I get a chance...
Good Luck!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom


I like an alloy of 50/50 mix of pure and wheel weights. I shoot gas checks on everything but my 45's.(45 ACP, 45 LC, 45-70) My 30 cals, 357's, and 44 cal's all get gas checks. I don't punch paper much, mostly fur, but I can get 2500 fps with that alloy. Here is a link to another thread about alloys. There is a lot of good information in it. I hope it helps.

http://www.gunloads.com/castboolits/showthread.php?p=463837#post463837

It is a short thread maybe 8 posts. I won't take long to read.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe