What's the problem with shooting pure lead?

[Robanada]

Hi guys, I'm just getting into casting, so instead of salvaging lead from wheel weights or sailboat keels, I went ahead and bought a few ingots from ebay so that I can start simple and work out any problems that arise before getting into crazy sources of lead. The problem, I didn't realize until afterward, is that I have no idea what the purity of the lead is. I was assuming it's pure lead, but further reading indicates that that's a bit harder to find. Cutting these ingots with tin 1:20 would double my cost, and so I'd hope to be able to just cast these straight without any extra metals. But I'm concerned about the alloy being too soft, if it IS just pure lead.

What are the consequences of shooting pure lead? I'd assume that you would have more fouling of the barrel, and maybe some problems with deformation at high speed? I'm going to be reloading for my Makarov, so my velocities should be in the ~1,000 fps range (with an absolute maximum of 1,200, since that's where I'd need to be to meet the power floor for IDPA).
Can I shoot pure lead bullets at 1,000 fps without gas cutting or those sorts of problems? Or will I need to check and be sure that it's harder than pure lead before casting my bullets?

[btroj]

Pure lead can work, under just the right circumstances
In a general sense pure lead is a poor choice. It will easily lead to leading and poor accuracy.

[Oreo]

You can get a rough idea what your alloy is by doing a few simple tests. Pure-ish lead will fall on concrete with a dull thud almost like a bean-bag because its so soft. Harder alloys might have a slight "tink" sound, and even harder alloys will ring. Some people can scratch into pure lead with their finger nails.

Now, 1000fps+ is probably way too much to expect from a 9mm with pure lead. But the worst that can happen by trying one or two rounds is a lot of leading in your barrel that will need to be cleaned out. To have any chance of success though you'll need to pay extra careful attention that the boolit is sized larger then the barrel throat.

[kbstenberg]

Welcome Rob to the brotherhood of casters.
Most members here buy lead from other members. Because members separate PB types and melt like metals together. To get more consistent quality. Buying from Ebay You don't know what is in your lead. Impurities such as Zink may be in it.
As for shooting pure (soft) lead. Like you stated problems arise.
My 2 cents. You have to test your lead to see how hard it is. That will not tell you what the composition is. But it will tell you approximately what it can be used for. Kevin

[Robanada]

You can get a rough idea what your alloy is by doing a few simple tests. Pure-ish lead will fall on concrete with a dull thud almost like a bean-bag because its so soft. Harder alloys might have a slight "tink" sound, and even harder alloys will ring. Some people can scratch into pure lead with their finger nails.

Now, 1000fps+ is probably way too much to expect from a 9mm with pure lead. But the worst that can happen by trying one or two rounds is a lot of leading in your barrel that will need to be cleaned out. To have any chance of success though you'll need to pay extra careful attention that the boolit is sized larger then the barrel throat.

Thanks guys. My floors happen to be concrete, so this was easy to do. It did make a "tink" sound when I dropped the ingots, unlike the lead sinkers I used to slug my barrel. I was able to scratch the surface of the ingot with my fingernail if I REALLY dug in there, but it was much more difficult to do than the lead sinkers I have. So I think it's probably a high percentage of lead, but not 100%. I guess I'll cast it up and see how it does, if I could only find some powder...

Welcome Rob to the brotherhood of casters.
Most members here buy lead from other members. Because members separate PB types and melt like metals together. To get more consistent quality. Buying from Ebay You don't know what is in your lead. Impurities such as Zink may be in it.
As for shooting pure (soft) lead. Like you stated problems arise.
My 2 cents. You have to test your lead to see how hard it is. That will not tell you what the composition is. But it will tell you approximately what it can be used for. Kevin

Thanks for the tip- I'll definitely try to purchase from members here in the future. I didn't realize that pb was sold here. I got mine for $1.5/lb, which I thought was decent, but I dunno what it's like here.

[Oreo]

$1/lb give or take a little is where you want to be at for clean ingots. Less for raw wheel weights or other unrendered scrap.

One big advantage of buying from members here is getting a good description of the alloy because folks here are sensitive to that info. You buy from ebay or other sources in the wild and it could literally be anything from pure lead to pure zink to pure tin to pure antimony or anywhere in-between and the seller may not understand the difference.

[WILCO]

Harder lead makes better boolits. A LEE lead hardness tester is a handy item to have, as it takes out the guess work of what your casting with and the pressures your alloy can withstand.

[trapper9260]

Harder lead makes better boolits. A LEE lead hardness tester is a handy item to have, as it takes out the guess work of what your casting with and the pressures your alloy can withstand.

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This is how I make sure that i have what I want usen the tester and it is not high price also .I am not good with % of alloy to mix so I go with what I think it is and then i test it what the tester adn see what I got and write it down .Hope that will help you also .

[destrux]

Harder lead is needed (than pure lead) for bullets, but not too hard. You have to match the hardness to your chamber pressure. Lee has a chart on their website in the documents section for their bullet molds.

[Dirty30]

You could maybe trade that pure lead to someone casting roundballs in exchange for an equal amount of alloy. I cast both and find pure soft lead harder to find. Some buckskinner would probably be more than happy to take that pure lead off your hands.

[Capt. Methane]

Now don't be hatin on pure lead. If you're casting bullets for muzzle loaders (and maybe shotgun slugs or buckshot?) it's just exactly what you need!

For the velocities you're talking about it's probably not going to work out very well...

You could try scrounging some wheel weights and mixing them in-that wouldn't raise the cost much per pound and would get you a harder material and more of it which is never a bad thing.

[BruceB]

For all practical purposes, I treat my stick-on wheelweights as pure lead. It surely is VERY soft.

A few years ago, my "curiosity bug" got to itching, so I cast a few RCBS 416-350 bullets from my stick-on alloy, and loaded them with my CB hunting load in .416 Rigby. This uses 55 grains of 5744 for a muzzle velocity of 2050 fps.

After firing a dozen rounds, I found NO visible leading in the bore, and the groups were 1.5" for five rounds at 100 yards. This is somewhat poorer grouping than my regular bullets which are the same design, but cast from water-dropped clip-on weights..... which normally group in the 1" area.

I wouldn't hesitate to use these for hunting, given my self-imposed 200-yard limit for shots at big game (deer and up, in size). There seems to be no 'down-side' to pure lead IN THAT RIFLE..... but it's very possible that straight lead will NOT work that well in a different rifle, or different cartridge. I suspect that the large-bore rifles will be more tolerant of the soft lead, but that remains to be seen. The .45-70 and similar old numbers have a long history of soft-alloy usage, of course, which is part of the reason they are so effective in hunting.

[John Boy]

The only time I use pure lead is casting round balls for percussion handguns or muzzle loaders.
For your Makarov, Lyman #2 will work nicely or you can soften the alloy down to 1:10

[bangerjim]

A brinell tester is a necessity in this hobby. You can go all the way and get a Cabine Tree or Saeco, try and find a Lee microscope tester (I have both) or use the pencil test!

See this............

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...+hardness+test

It is pretty accurate and for about $12 you can get a full set of artist pencils. Use the listing above to check hardness.

bangerjim

[AbitNutz]

Such is my luck. I have about a ton (literally) of linotype in 30lb pigs....more than a one lifetime supply. So what's wrong? I now pretty much exclusively shoot my much beloved and more tuned Ruger Old Army, stainless 5-1/2". I use a Biglube DD-ROA FLAT 210 gr 6 cavity mold that Eric at Hollow Point Bullet Mold Service modified to inset-bar HP's. It drops beautiful HP pure lead boolits.

Yep pure lead; shoots them great! The silly thing shoots exactly at the point of aim and will make one hole...if I can. No leading at all. Even when stuffed with all the T7 the deepened chambers can hold. The soft lead HP's mushroom quite nicely too.

I just ordered a Star sizer from Chris in .455 to ramp up my production a bit...and how much pure lead do I have? Oh, about two bricks...that's it.

Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink....

[Defcon-One]

Such is my luck. I have about a ton (literally) of linotype in 30lb pigs....more than a one lifetime supply. So what's wrong? I now pretty much exclusively shoot my much beloved and more tuned Ruger Old Army, stainless 5-1/2".....how much pure lead do I have? Oh, about two bricks...that's it.....

Trade some Linotype alloy for Pure Lead!

Post one ad and you'll have 50 takers probably including the OP here. Problem solved!

[Lead Fred]

I got no problem shooting pure lead 185gr balls, wrapped in cloth, and fired out a 42 inch barrel at 2030fps.

If you look up the lead needed for number 2 Lyman, you should be able to use yer pure lead, and linotype & make number 2

[AbitNutz]

Anyone local to SW Ohio? Or close enough to drive? I'm not shipping this stuff. It's too big and stupid. I'll start an initial swap of 2 or 3x30lb linotype pigs for a like amount of pure lead bricks or bars.

[Boyscout]

I always cast a few .358 bullets when I get some lead of unknown quality. I then test it with my Lee Hardness tester and then sort the ingots into my stash by hardness. Right now I have COWW, WW+2% Tin, Pure/Stick on, Alloy #21, Linotype and Foundry type. I have not put any of my lino into ingots except for one greasy batch. It's much easier to handle the lino and FT as is since I smelt relatively small batches. Right now Type is easier for me to get than Wheel Weight but it hasn't always been so.

[geargnasher]

Nobody mentioned the danger of shooting too-soft lead in automatic pistols: The boolits can bang back into the brass of the cartridges in the magazine under recoil, reducing case volume and possibly dangerously spiking pressures. I blew up a 1911 with too-soft boolits and insufficient case tension, as have others. You don't have to shoot rocks in them, but the boolits should be close to clip-on wheel weight hardness. For a 9mm, you might have to make them even harder to resist being squished down by the brass when seated, creating a boolit that won't seal the bore, gets gas-cut, and leads the heck out of the bore.

Gear