Stoopid question de jour

[peter nap]

I have read hundred of posts about lead hardness and leading. Too soft causes leading. too hard cause leading, WW's need tin....75/25 stickies/ww water dropped are right...so on.

I farm and it reminds me of the old farmers creed..Too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry.
I'm confused. :violin:

I'm going to try some Lee 405 grain PB's in my Marlin 45/70

I only need about 1700 FPS.

ARE STRAIGHT WHEEL WEIGHTS RIGHT FOR THAT?

[Dave B]

WWs are fine, plenty hard. Just be sure that they are 1 or 2 thou larger than your groove dia. In my Marlin, I shoot .459-.460 diameter. I use Lee liquid lube thinned with mineral spirits. I lube them before I size them, and again afterward. Then I let them dry for a few days before I load them. Works great, no leading, and shoot straight.

[MtGun44]

Alloy is fine. My Marlin hated the Lee 405, loves the RCBS 405 GC, both in straight
wwts. Your gun may act differently, so give it a try. If you haven't yet bought the
mold, I can send you a few from mine to try since they are just alloy to be recast
for me -- HMM, better check to see if I still have any before I get too free offering
something that I may no longer have in stock.

I have had excellent luck with 57.0 W748 under the RCBS cast or Remington jbullet
or Speer Jbullet, all 405 gr. Velocity is 1750 from my GG and it works very well
on big game.

Bill

[peter nap]

Alloy is fine. My Marlin hated the Lee 405, loves the RCBS 405 GC, both in straight
wwts. Your gun may act differently, so give it a try. If you haven't yet bought the
mold, I can send you a few from mine to try since they are just alloy to be recast
for me -- HMM, better check to see if I still have any before I get too free offering
something that I may no longer have in stock.

I have had excellent luck with 57.0 W748 under the RCBS cast or Remington jbullet
or Speer Jbullet, all 405 gr. Velocity is 1750 from my GG and it works very well
on big game.

Bill

Thanks Bill but I've already bought it. I may have to lap it but jut won't know until I cast a couple.

[Bret4207]

You can get most any alloy to work if you play with it enough. Straight lead to the super expensive high tin/antimony stuff that comes in the high 30's Bhn. You can also shoot straight zinc, bismuth and several other metals if you work with it enough. What we do is look for something easy to find, easy to cast with and easy on our guns. Oh yeah- and CHEAP.

WW will answer for at good 75-90% of the shooters out there.Learn to use what you have. I went through the "gotta add tin!!!!!" stage too. Unless you want nice shiny boolits, turn the heat up a little, cast a bit faster and watch the well filled out boolits drop. Yes, they will have a slightly frosted look to them. A swipe of the loaded round with 4/0 steel wool will make them shiny. If you are fortunate enough to have some tin to add then you can add it, no more than 4%, and you'll get a slightly fatter, prettier boolit.

[Flash]

I have read hundred of posts about lead hardness and leading. Too soft causes leading. too hard cause leading, WW's need tin....75/25 stickies/ww water dropped are right...so on.

I farm and it reminds me of the old farmers creed..Too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry.
I'm confused. :violin:

I'm going to try some Lee 405 grain PB's in my Marlin 45/70

I only need about 1700 FPS.

ARE STRAIGHT WHEEL WEIGHTS RIGHT FOR THAT?

WW's are fine and can be lubed with Liquid alox. no sense in splitting hairs to complicate things.

[BAGTIC]

WW are fine. Keep them big. Better "too large" than too small.

[Jeff82]

+1 with BAGTIC. When I use WW I usually mix it 50/50 with PB and add some tin. Bullet diameter --slightly oversized-- is critical.