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Thread: What alloy, and where to get it?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    106

    What alloy, and where to get it?

    It looks like I will be getting access to a magma bullet casting machine for a few hours. All I have to do is supply the lead and do grunt work. I have zero experience with these, but there will be somebody there that knows what they are doing. I am most likely going to be running some plain old fashioned bullets. No hollow points or anything else fancy. As it stands, I have plenty of .38 bullets. And about the only other things I am going to need in any volume are 9mm and .45. So for just plinking bullets, what alloy should I be looking at for this machine? The pot holds about 40 pounds, and it can crank out a thousand bullets in an hour. And I don't want to run my normal mystery scrap lead through somebody else's machine and screw things up. And where should I get the alloy from? Right now, it looks like Brownell's has the best prices on 5 pound ingots for things other than pure lead. But I am loathe to pay retail if there is a better source. What does the hive mind recommend here?

    -Mb

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    NE Kansas
    Posts
    2,422
    Buy whatever the owner of the machine is using. Why mess with different casting alloys and temperatures? Cast bullets, and not waste time tinkering. With that information, you might decide Rotometals has a better deal given the free shipping on some orders as well as sometimes a holiday special. Location might be helpful for finding a source.

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    106
    Yeah, sorry. I am in San Diego. Does it make a difference with the machines as to the alloy? And yes, asking him where he gets his lead and what he uses would be a lot easier than trying to Forest Gump my way through the process.

  4. #4
    Banned
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Posts
    3,409
    The owner of the machine has already done the work in finding the best alloy for the best price. Offer to buy what you need out of his stock

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    106
    I checked with the person coordinating this. It looks like the owner just uses range scrap with enough linotype in it to harden things up. Wow. I was expecting actual alloys and some sort of recipe.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286
    Check with the owner, but consider just using your range scrap and maybe add a little tin.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    8,906
    If it were me, I would use foundry 92-2-6 alloy but I have a lot of it. Whatever you decide to use, bring it in ingot from and well fluxed so you are not wasting time either fluxing it there or digging out impurities out of the pour spouts. If it is a Master Caster, you will make about 1800-2000 bullets in four hours. 9mm will run a bit faster than .45's.

    If it is one of the Master Casters' big brothers, it will be an "automatic" machine and produce a lot more than 1000/hr. You will be limited to producing whatever bullet the fellow has molds for with either machine. You will want to know what kind of machine he has so you know how much alloy you need. Bullet style matters too. Enough alloy for 115 gr 9mm is a lot less than .45's

    Either way, you will have your eyes opened. Have fun!!!!

    BTW, I would give the guy 50 lbs of alloy or a bottle of good whiskey.
    Don Verna


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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check