Hey fellas. I was just wondering what some of your favorite alloy mixes are for your different loads? I have access to a foundry that custom manufactures lead alloys to any specs you desire. The primary rounds that I would be casting for are mainly my pistols for target and I would even like to develop rounds for good home defense. I would be casting for .357, .44 Mag, 9mm and .45 ACP. The primary rifle rounds that I would be casting for are 30-30, 300 Sav., 32 special, 32-20, 45-70 Gov, .444 marlin and 30-06. I would like to develop castings suitable for target but want to emphasize more on developing hunting loads for the majority of them.
The alloys that I have been eyeballing are:
96% lead, 2% antimony, 2% tin
90% lead, 5% antimony, 5% tin
92% lead, 4% antimony, 4% tin
Linotype alloy
and pure lead
I also have been seeing people experimenting with copper in their mixes also. Would adding 1-2% of copper be too much? I was thinking something like 92% lead, 4% antimony, 2%- 3% tin, 1%-2% copper.
The quotes that the foundry has given to me are less than .20 cents more than what it would cost me to alloy them myself. In the case of the lyman#2 with the higher tin content, It is actually cheaper to have the foundry do it for me..... A LOT cheaper. Which of the above alloys would be best in my pistols and which would be best out of my rifles for hunting purposes. If you have any other suggestions for alloy ratios that you think would perform well out of the rounds that I will primarily be casting, I appreciate any info towards it, thank you all in advance.