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Thread: Ideas needed

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Dec 2015
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    Central Iowa
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    Ideas needed

    Looking for ideas on alloy composition for a 450 bushmaster. My current alloy is on the hard side to function in an ar platform. Currently running 50 ww 50 monotype. In a 300 gr flat tip bullet I'm sure it would go end to end on a deer, running about 1800fps. Just looking for ideas to soften it up a bit but still keep functioning. Any ideas welcome this will be for a hunting load.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master

    gwpercle's Avatar
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    The absolute best mix I've found ... not too hard , not too soft ...it's just right !
    Is a 50-50 mix of Clip on Wheel Weights and soft lead ( it can be range scrap or from construction : old lead flashing , roof jacks , shower pans and wall sheathing or plumbers lead )
    Cast and air cooled .
    I used to cast everything of wheel weight alloy but my free unlimited supplier retired from the tire business and I needed to stretch what WW metal I had , Fellow members in the Hunting Section used a lot of 50-50 mix ... to be honest , the softer alloy is actually better than straight wheel weights .
    Too much hardness isn't the best and a many casters have been sold a crock about Harder boolits being better ... they aren't . You need some ductability in your mix , you want the boolit to be tough.
    The truth is that SIZE trumps Hardness any day ... make danged sure you have the right size boolit and you don't want a hard boolit .
    For a hunting load the 50-50 mix will be just the ticket .
    I use it for everything now .
    Gary
    Certified Cajun
    Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  3. #3
    Boolit Master


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    What GWperkel said or there is a lot to be said of straight wheel weights. I do believe your current alloy is not only harder than required but a waste of good Monotype.
    Rick

  4. #4
    Boolit Master


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    What GWperkel said or there is a lot to be said of straight wheel weights. I do believe your current alloy is not only harder than required but a waste of good Monotype.
    Rick

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

    Rcmaveric's Avatar
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    Wow thats a hard bullet. I used to use straight Clip Ons. Then i played with softer and now i use either range scraps or coww/pure, 50/50 mixed.

    Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
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  6. #6
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    Wow. That alloy is almost as hard as Chinese Algebra.

    I'd go a little more or less, but pretty close to 50/50 wheel weights & Lead too, or blend up some Lyman #2.
    Especially being powder coated, either should do a good job for ya.
    In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
    In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.


    OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
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    EVERYONE!
    Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    I use pure range scrap which is very soft in my 308 winchester loads at about that same speed 1800fps. With a gas check and good soft lube you'll be fine. Powder coat is even better.

  8. #8
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    If ...I say "IF" you need a hard alloy for a 450BM in a AR, then I'd start with straight COWW and do some tests and add a bit of your Monotype in a progressively ladder type format, until you get the results you want.

    With that said, why are you using such a hard alloy? Have you had previous failures with softer alloys, or did someone on youtube tell you it needs to be that hard?

    The only thing I load for an AR is 223/556 and I use a 94-3-3 alloy, which is basically a COWW alloy with 2% tin added. Actually I use the 94-3-3 in all my rifle loads (except 45-70) and has worked well for me. For 45-70 I use 20-1.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
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    You don’t need the monotype and could probably add some soft lead if you were wanting to save some wheel weights for the future and a softer alloy will give better expansion. For hunting sometimes a slower softer boolit works better than a hard fast one.

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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