Bismuth alloy REAL bullet w/gas check?

[Ateam]

lead in water is a load of bull to. the great flint water crisis what a joke. most water systems in the us fail the epa standars. i will say i do have a water filter on my drinking water because it taste terrible. county sent out letter telling everyone with health problems to comtact doctor before drinking.

So this is not entirely true. There was lead in the water, but not simply because of the lead pipes. The Federal emergency manager assigned to flint to tackle their financial insolvency decided to stop buying water (clean and safe) from the city of Detroit, and just pump city water out of the Detroit river instead. Now the Detroit river is a toxic pit of industrial disgusting if I have ever seen one. Step two in really screwing this up was (as another cost savings) they stopped putting corrosion inhibitor in the water, who knows what consuming corrosion inhibitor does to you but that is another tangent. So we have corrosive Detroit river water attacking old oxidized lead pipes which before now caused no trouble and dumping the product into your sink. Not the fault of lead. If I had to point fingers it would be the emergency manager.... now where was that bucket of tar and bag of feathers...

But back on topic, The REAL is designed to have the skirt flair and fill the bore upon firing right? I don't see that happening with anything other than soft lead. If you absolutely have to use non toxic and want to cast, try casting a round ball and patching it, I honestly think it is the only way you are going to get it down the barrel.

[arcticap]

But back on topic, The REAL is designed to have the skirt flair and fill the bore upon firing right? I don't see that happening with anything other than soft lead. If you absolutely have to use non toxic and want to cast, try casting a round ball and patching it, I honestly think it is the only way you are going to get it down the barrel.

The REAL bullet doesn't have a skirt but rather a flat base with a slightly beveled edge. REAL stands for "Rifling Engraved At Loading".
The Lee Minies have a skirt.

[megasupermagnum]

For that cost, why don't people cast bullets of pure tin? It would still be harder to load a conical, but would at least be malleable like lead.

[RED BEAR]

i am just saying that nobodies water is what the government says it should be. in my locality i had to put a water filter on my sink to get the water clean enough to run through a good filter. if i could stand to drink it the way it comes out of the tap i would have. but it just tastes terrible.

[HumptyDumpty]

Okay, let's get real for a moment; the US Government is hardly overly-concerned, about toxicity in our water/enviroment, or consumer products; they only act as if they are, when there is more money to be made, or power to be grabbed. Whether it is flouridated drinking water, tobacco, asbestos, lead, pesticides and herbicides (glyphosate is a great contemporary example), vaccines, "man-made" global warming, endocrine distruptors in common food products and packaging, etc; their position depends upon their objective. The USDA, FDA, and EPA are all corrupt bureaucracies. For crying out loud, how many in positions of authority, are STILL crying wolf over dietary cholesterol? How many of you reading this, still believe it causes heart disease? Take each substance, learn about it, and make your own determination.
Some of you have provided very good information, and at least one compelling counterpoint for my concerns (that being the retained weight of projectiles, when fired from a muzzle-loader; it may well be the determining factor if I can't get satisfactory non-lead performance), and I appreciate that. The potential issues I may experience with a REAL bullet, may well manifest themselves. I am beginning to think that is quite likely; I'll be sure to post my results. That being said, I am very optimistic about using a Bismuth PRB. No matter what happens, I will continue to enjoy using cheap, lead projectiles for most purposes, but I'll take as much care as is practical in regards to what I feed myself and others.
Finally, if you are still inclined to believe the government is concerned about our safety, consider this: Gun control. They have all the statistics, they know the reasons for the Second Amendement, but still shriek about "gun violence" to anybody who will listen. It's about power, gentlemen, and I'll not place much stock, one way or the other, in how concerned the government does or does not seem to be, about anything.

[jjarrell]

Just put 30 grains (volume) of Cream of Wheat over the powder before raming the bullet home. The bullet base will be fine. It doesn't have to be such an ordeal.

[Ateam]

My apologies on the stating the REAL had a skirt, I was thinking of the improved minie. Looking forward to seeing some test results!

[Good Cheer]

Too bad Lee didn't ever make REAL's with a shallow cup on the bottom.