What Alloys to Keep Around?

[Daekar]

I'm just starting out casting and I have a few guns I need to load for with different needs, all in 357 Magnum.

The first is a S&W Model 60 which I want to shoot slower and heavier bullets in, probably at the higher end of 38spl performance - this will be a carry gun, and I'm expecting that pretty soft alloy will be desirable for proper terminal performance.

The other two are a Henry H015 and a T/C Encore with a 12" barrel. I'd like to shoot middling magnum pressure loads out of both guns, but also biased towards the heavy end of the spectrum. The Encore shoots pretty well with the 230gr coated WC from Badman Bullets, but I might drop down to 200gr SWCs or so depending on what they like.

My question is, what alloys should I keep around if we assume that I won't be using scrap like wheel weights? I suspect I'm going to want pure lead and at least one harder alloy to mix together, but I'm having trouble settling on which one. Lyman #2 looks well balanced, but I'm not sure if I'd be better off with that, Linotype, or something else....

All bullets will be powder coated.

Edit: I don't currently hunt except for the occasional varmint, but I would like the alloy for the Henry and T/C to be usable for taking a whitetail deer inside 75 to 100 yards when paired with the appropriate mold.

[Rcmaveric]

Personally I keep pure lead, range scraps and clip on wheel weights on hand.

From that I can mix and match or water quench to whatever BHN I want.

I do have a lot more calibers but I find lead in the BHN of 10 to be what I use most often in everything from mild 38 special to higher end rifle and pistol.

I will use a straight clip ons for riffle and mag pistol when it counts. For plinking and general purpose alloy of bhn of 10 I use range scraps or 50/50 pure to clip ons.

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[dverna]

I keep it all and can use it all.

My main alloy is 92-2-6, but I do not hunt with cast bullets or use cast bullets for SD loads. I want an alloy that is repeatable and makes good bullets. If you intend to hunt with the .357, others will chime in.

For general shooting, you will find it easier not to have a mystery alloy or one you need to constantly tweak. Make one big homogeneous batch and use it until it is gone. Adding a bit of this and a bit of that to the pot every time you top it up gets old.

[farmbif]

just starting out.
you want to gather all the alloys you can find.
I believe if your worried about terminal performance if you shoot someone with a full power 357 load with a 358156 on top it might not matter too much the hardness of the alloy used.

[Daekar]

just starting out.
you want to gather all the alloys you can find.
I believe if your worried about terminal performance if you shoot someone with a full power 357 load with a 358156 on top it might not matter too much the hardness of the alloy used.

That's the thing, I have absolutely no interest in shooting a full-power 357 load out of a J-frame. Not only are they not really designed for it, but I won't be able to hit squat - that full power stuff is reserved for heavier guns in my mind. My philosophy is to shoot what you carry, and I have no problem relying on well-constructed 38spl loads to take care of business, I just want to make sure that I actually am putting together well-constructed loads.

[bowfin]

What farmbif said. Get any and all lead types one can find. What you plan to do know may change in the future. Plain old wheel weight lead will work for a lot of things, but having some pure lead, some linotype or monotype and some tin or tin solder will fulfill almost every whim you have. If one is really detail oriented on what one shoots, different lead alloys can be purchased at places such as Rotometal.

He is also correct about expansion with the .357 magnum. It's a lot easier to get good, reliable expansion with a .357 magnum. Somewhat more problematic with a .38 Special, but doable.

[bowfin]

My philosophy is to shoot what you carry, and I have no problem relying on well-constructed 38spl loads to take care of business, I just want to make sure that I actually am putting together well-constructed loads.

These are 359640 and 358439 cast from close to pure lead (lead sheathing from cable) and pushed to 875 fps. The Keith is on the left, the 640 on the right.
We have what seems to be an unlimited supply of 5 gallon cooking oil jugs to catch our boolits.

[Daekar]

These are 359640 and 358439 cast from close to pure lead (lead sheathing from cable) and pushed to 875 fps. The Keith is on the left, the 640 on the right.
We have what seems to be an unlimited supply of 5 gallon cooking oil jugs to catch our boolits.

That's what I'm talking about, I will make a note of those mold numbers... you figure a 1% tin alloy would work for those?

[bowfin]

That's what I'm talking about, I will make a note of those mold numbers... you figure a 1% tin alloy would work for those?

I would be greatly surprised if it wouldn't.
I also cannot recommend MP-Molds highly enough if one is looking for a HP mold.

[Soundguy]

With the info in your first post..id go straight lead and Lyman #2.

You can always sweeten with tin or solder to fine tune.. However straight Lyman #2 is great even for slow to mid rifle..gas checks are a bonus.. And a lead/#2 mix should give you plenty for handgun if your bhn is 10-ish

[AndyC]

Get a copy of the alloy calculator spreadsheet so you can work out what alloys and their BHNs result from mixing various metals that you might acquire.

My bulk-stash is range scrap; I acquire other metals eg. pure, Lyman #2, Hardball, etc so I can make a variety of alloys of different hardnesses, throwing the numbers into the alloy calculator spreadsheet to see the predicted results.

[reddog81]

I buy and keep around whatever I can find locally for around $1 per pound or less.

[kevin c]

Pure and tin, along with hardball or Lino, can make an awful lot of different alloys. Add some SuperHard from Rotometals, and you can make just about anything.

Many casters buy scrap lead, because it greatly reduces the cost of the alloy. If you don't want to do that, Rotometals sells all the source metals above. Even simpler, if you settle on the alloys you want to use, most of the common ones you can buy from a supplier and not mix anything.

[bangerjim]

I keep (totally separately, not mixed in big hundred pound batches, like some seem to do):

pure lead (1# ingots)
Linotype (always in original strips!)
COWW's (1# ingots)
30% Sb SuperHard alloy (1/2# ingots)
Pure tin (1/4# ingots)
50/50 solder (in rolls)


With those, I can mix any "witch's brew" I need - - using the hardness calculator on here.

banger

[samari46]

Roofing lead, antimony,tin and pieces of bar solder and wheel weights. Course my favorite scrap yard went out of business and now is for sale. Frank

[David2011]

I keep about the same as Bangerjim except no superhard but I have monotype.