shot + pure lead = good boolits?

[troy_mclure]

i have 150lbs of ingots made from shot.

what ratio of pure lead can i add and still have a good alloy for rifle boolits?

[dbldblu]

I go a little different direction. I have a goodly quantity of regular shot to which I add 1% tin and use for low velocity loads with fast pistol powders. I also have some magnum shot to which I add 2% tin for higher velocity loads. The shot casts better with at least some tin added. Adding lead will soften the alloy somewhat; might be ok.

[243winxb]

Air cooled boolits. No pure lead. Shot has 2% to 6% antimony & add 2% tin, you might be ok for rifle bullets.

[JIMinPHX]

I use shot + 1% tin quite a bit.

air cooled for pistol boolits @ about 13bnh
& water dropped for rifle boolits @ about 23bnh.

[Bret4207]

i have 150lbs of ingots made from shot.

what ratio of pure lead can i add and still have a good alloy for rifle boolits?

Look at it a different way- is what you have now usable? If you add lead your performance standards have to change. Each alloy is a little different and each gun will handle it differently depending on what load you use in it. There is no hard and fast rule. You can do as the guys say and make a usable alloy or do something else and make one too. You learn to use what you have.

Boy, that probably didn't help.....

[243winxb]

If Oven treating/water dropping, you need 2% or more antimony with the lead. Very little tin is needed, 1% or less is ok. Your problem is the % of antimony is unknow in your alloy. If you guess that you have 4% antimony in the alloy, you could do 50/50 and be ok if heat treating. But to be on the safe side 75% lead & 25% pure might be better. ??

[mrbill2]

Cast 50 or so bullet. Water drop half and air dry the rest. Let them age about two wks then test them for hardness. It's hard to know which way to go if you don't know where your at. Then load some and see how they shoot.

[Larry Gibson]

Some years back Paco Kelly recommended magnum shot for cast hunting bullets. The bullets are cast and WQ'd out of the mould. The lead/antimony alloy is hardened to 16-22 BHN so it can be used at 2000+ fps yet is still ductile/maleable and not brittle. The addition of any tin tin changes the make up of the alloy and the bullets become more brittle losing their maleabilty. I tried Paco's advice and used such bullets for hunting for some years with complete success as I had a large amount of recovered shot. I used it until the composition of WWs was changes and I now use AC'd WW/lead at 50-50. Both show about the same amount and type of expansion when used in rifle bullets such as 311041 at 2000-2200 fps.
For general cast bullat shooting at 1200 - 1800 fps I would add 2% tin to it.

You have a very good supply of hunting bullet alloy there and that is what I would use it for.

Larry Gibson