Newbie question on alloy for SASS bp

[JerseyJD]

I am a complete newbie to casting with my equipment still in the mail. While I will be getting my feet wet with 454 rb for my 1858 Remingtons for main match sass, I have a few questions relating to black powder cartridge casting for the future.

1) I've read from many sources that a soft bullet (maybe 20/1 or at least clip on wheel weights) is recommended for bp cartridge. Is this a leading issue or an accuracy issue? If the latter, does it matter much at SASS main match distances?

2) Why is a soft bullet recommended for bp but any hard cast acceptable for bp subs like 777?

3) I may or may not be allowed to rake up lead after SASS matches. If I do end up with free range lead, and given that the melting point of anitimony is over 1100 degress, would it be alright for my purposes to just skim off the antimony dross on a low heat smelting pot and cast the remainder with its probable low tin content?

[Dorado]

1) For SASS matches soft lead is preferred because it doesn't ricochet as bad. Soft lead basically expends most if not all of it's energy at the target reducing the risk of injury. Hard cast has a higher chance of bouncing back and hurting someone. I've been hit with ricochets that were large enough to leave bruises and had one scratch my shooting glasses. As far as for bp there shouldn't be much difference.

2) You would be better off asking this question on the SASS forum. You can find it from sassnet.com homepage.

3) Usually, for local matches you can gather lead after the shoot. For large matches at a regional or higher you will not be able to unless you know who is in charge and ask permission first. Good luck on that.
As far as the antimony...leave it. Mix in some wheel weights or find some pure lead and dilute it down some if you're worried about it. I've shot SASS for a couple of years and use straight WW's and never had a problem. I wouldn't worry about it too much, unless you create an excess of ricochets or damage the targets too much. In which case someone will let you know.
Honestly, IMO your best bet is to go to a couple of local matches and see if anyone is willing to help you. You are only a few miles away from the SASS HQ, Someone can at least show you the ropes. That's how I got started casting. Hope this helps somewhat.


Dorado

[runfiverun]

let me know how the antimony skimming thing works out for ya.
you can oxidize some tin out of an alloy fairly easily, but i doubt you are gonna get the antimony out that way.

[MikeS]

The mistake you're making is assuming there will be antimony dross floating on the top. While the melting point of pure antimony is over 1100F when it's alloyed with lead and tin it's melting point is much lower, and it usually doesn't separate from the lead/tin.

You might want to check with the BPCR subforum here, chances are folks there can tell you why BP needs soft lead. I wasn't aware than the subs could use harder lead than real BP, I've never heard that before.

[Wolfer]

I've ran everything from pure to WW in my 58 rem via a Lee 452-200 RF pushed by a cylinder full of 3f black and most of the subs with no problems except the WWs are hard to load, broke my loading lever once. I prefer black and pure lead. I once recovered a boolit from a deer and even after hitting quite a bit of bone I believe I could have shot this boolit again. That tells me that pure is not too soft.