so why w/w

[white eagle]

why is it that w/w are so popular and sought after ?
would any lead be just as good ?
Not sure why the priority

[cabezaverde]

Clip on wheelweights have tin and antimony in them.

[lawhetzel]

Well, one of the reasons is that up until recently, they have been cheap or free. That is a very attractive reason. For various reasons, they seem to be on the verge of disappearing. Because most casters have become dependent on a steady supply of cheap or free (see how often that phrase recurs ), now that we are paying at all is a shock to many. To see our source for cheap or free lead going away and we maybe will be paying over a dollar a pound for what had been cheap or free does not sit well with most.
Another good reason is that they are an almost ideal alloy: 1/2-1% tin, 2-3% antimony, 96-7.25% lead, 1/4% arsenic. (This from the LASC web site.) They lack only a little tin (or not) and they can be hardened because of the trace of arsenic.
I am sure that there are many other reasons as well.

[Cowboy T]

Here's an example of how flexible the w/w alloy is. Its hardness is typically BHN 11. Air-cooled, it's absolutely perfect for loads such as .38 Special or .45 ACP. It also works very well in standard .45 Colt and .44 Special loads. There are those who have even used it, air-cooled, successfully in medium-power .357 Magnum without leading issues.

Plus, there's the cheap or free issue, which seems to be no more....

[jsizemore]

And WW were/are available from one end of the country to the other.

[docone31]

Wheel weights were cheap, most were free, the blend made perfect castings, and they shot well.
We can blend them with pure lead up to 50/50, and still get good fillout and no leading, but that is pushing it.
You could go to the local garage, drop off a case of brewski, and go home with five buckets they were going to toss anyway.
Times have changed.

[fryboy]

umm why not ? before ,the reputable companies wouldnt re-use them they then thus was scrap , mixed lead and light steel didnt used to be worth much so we umm recycled ( still do when we can !! ) as noted it has a pretty good composition for our uses ,the price was right and it helped pinch our pennies to important things like primers and powder and umm it beat rocks all to heck

[white eagle]

kinda what I thought
I just found that most all talked about or in reference to w/w when cast boolits are mentioned

[RP]

And if you go to looking not a lot of lead sources as easy to find or get as WWs are or should say was.

[shotman]

ask the same question next year at this time. bet you will know real well then

[fredj338]

kinda what I thought
I just found that most all talked about or in reference to w/w when cast boolits are mentioned

As noted, it's about the perfect alloy for most handgun rounds. You can certainly use other scrap or mix a comperable alloy, but antimony is diff top blend into lead & tin on it's own, it melts @ a much higher temp. So ww were THE alloy of choice, still is, but becoming more scarce as ww. shift away from lead & go to zinc or steel. Free/cheap alloy will become harder to find going forward.