New alloy blend for hunting??

[10 ga]

Until now have used the venerable 1-1-2% of 49%COWW + 49%soft + 2% tin for my hunting bullets. With COWW supply waning have a good source of range scrap and wondering if it would be a good substitute for the COWW. Mostly shoot sabot boolits in my smokeless muzzle loaders. They are all WFN. I usually push them from 2100 to 2400 MV. I'm shooting 225 grain 40 cal saboted in my 45s and 270 and 300 grain saboted 45 cal in my 50s. Terminal performance of the 1-1-2% has been great. What are the thoughts on going to range lead in the mix or even straight range or range with tin.

My range scrap is jacketed handgun, buckshot, 22RF, shotgun slugs with very little cast handgun or jacketed rifle.

thanks, 10

[Dusty Bannister]

If you have this concern, you might just send off a sample of the present blend of soft lead and clip on WW with the 2% tin, and a separate sample of your range scrap to one of the members offering to XRF scan them. Then you will know what you have in either sample and know what you need to add or not. You have too many variables to consider with range scrap.

[williamwaco]

I find range scrap to be softer than COWW. I also find that it makes excellent bullets.

DISCLAIMER. I am not a hot rodder. I rarely exceed 1400 fpf.

[sparky45]

What WW said.

[BK7saum]

I would estimate that my range scrap is close to your 1-1 without the extra tin. Your range scrap is softer than COWW, but by how much, who knows. Others report their range scrap as almost dead soft to close to WW in hardness. Try it and see.

Also, my range scrap hardens to about 20-22 when I water drop from the mold.

[mnewcomb59]

My RS from the 25 yard handgun range has a decent amount of cast. Also, my theory is that the cheapo jacketed and plated bullets probably use soft scrap lead, not foundry pure.

My RS comes out pretty dang close to wheelweights and water drops harder than your fingernail. I'd say its at least 1.5-2% Sb. It mushrooms nice and has good weight retention around 2000 fps.

[kycrawler]

Out of a smoke pole with a sabot any range scrap or soft lead would do fine. Cast them a little on the hot side and save the tin. You don't need the hardness as the sabot protects the bore and probably better expansion with a softer bullet

[Blackwater]

Best way to tell is go get plenty of old newspapers, some plastic garbage bags, some nylon cord, and some pasteboard boxes. Stuff the garbage bag with newsprint, usually by stacking it up as folded, tying it up tightly, and pouring in enough water to soak it well. Put a layer of some glossy magazines about 1-1.5" thick in front, to simulate striated meat and gristle and maybe a fair comparison to blood soaked bone, and back off and shoot it with various alloys. This is a pretty fair representation of a deer's anatomy, though usually a mite "softer" depending on the angle you shoot the deer from. After the shot, go examine the hole, and take the papers apart after cutting the cord binding them, and go section by section, measuring the size of the hole as you go. This is a pretty definitive way to find out things like you're looking to know. Sure worked out pretty well for me, anyway.

[Edward]

The answer to your question is no farther than a hardness tester ,if you cast you need one or send me a sample and I will get you a BHN on your boolit (takes 5 min)/Thanks Ed

[Grmps]

An economical and fairly accurate hardness tester is Sketching Pencils

PENCIL HARDNESS VERSUS LEAD ALLOY HARDNESS
Pencil BHN Common Alloys
6B 4 – 5 Pure lead, lead wire, sheet lead
5B 7 – 8 40:1 lead tin, plumbers lead
4B 9 25:1 lead tin
3B 10 20:1 lead- tin. COWW
2B 11– 12 Range scrap, air cooled COWW
B 13 COWW+2% tin, quenched range scrap
HB 14 – 15 Lyman #2 alloy, 1 1 linotype lead
F #2 pencil 16 – I8 Commercial cast bullets, Lyman #2 quenched
H 20 – 22 1:1 linotype COWW Linotype
2H 26 – 28 Quenched COWW. Monotype

expose 3/16 in of lead flatten the end -w- sand paper. on smooth filed lead plow/push the tip of the pencil across the lead. If the lead curls it's softer than the pencil. do this until you determin the hardness of the lead