Pure lead and ww mix for pistol bullets??

[aeronc]

I have a 30# sheet of what I believe is pure lead. I would like to mix the pure lead with ww to cast .45 and .38 bullets that will be fairly low velocity ie less than 1000fps. What is the recommended ratio so I dont get leading or are pure ww as soft as I should go. As an aside: my ww bullets measure 7bhn when fresh and approx 13 after a week or 2. I know this is a known phenomena but still thought it was interesting.

[sqlbullet]

You don't mention the availability of replenishing materials. That would weigh heavily on my decision if it were my lead.

About 80% of what I get is similar to WW. The other 20% is pure lead. I tend to horde the pure lead, and cast straight WW for most 'plinking'. As long as the fit is good and I keep the pressure up (faster powders for lower velocity at same pressure) the bullets still obturate fine.

If you have 'plenty' of WW, then save the pure lead.

If you just want to alloy the two together so as to 'run out' at the same time, then ration them together at that rate. At low velocities like you are planning, you could shoot pure lead without leading if your bullets are the right size, and have the right lube. 22lr is pure lead, and commonly is 1200 fps.

Lots of guys like the 50/50 ratio of pure lead to ww.

And, yes....Alloys with antimony and arsenic like WW will harden considerably with age. You can also quench them in water straight from the mold, and probably get a BHN near 20.

[fredj338]

I have a 30# sheet of what I believe is pure lead. I would like to mix the pure lead with ww to cast .45 and .38 bullets that will be fairly low velocity ie less than 1000fps. What is the recommended ratio so I dont get leading or are pure ww as soft as I should go. As an aside: my ww bullets measure 7bhn when fresh and approx 13 after a week or 2. I know this is a known phenomena but still thought it was interesting.
That is pretty much the ratio I use when smelting tape wts. & clip-ons. It works fine for 45acp, 38s & upto 1200fps for 44mags. I like to add some lino or tin if the mold has trouble filling out, other than that, you should be good to go.

[Ole]

FWIW:

I mix my SKS bullets 1:1 with WW and PB, water drop them and have no problems with leading. They run 16-17 on the BHN scale. (1800-2000fps)

Most of the leading battle is fit and using the right lube.