Increasing antimony content in bullet alloy

[brshooter]

I'm using wheel wieghts with 2% tin. Bullets are for a 45-70 Gatling Gun and I would like to bring the antimony content higher to 6% to produce a harder bullet to prevent leading. Any reasonable way to increase antimony content? Velocity of 405 gr. bullet is in the 1350 FPS range. Removing the leading from 10 barrels is a pain. Jon

[45nut]

http://www.theantimonyman.com/antimony.htm

Get in touch with Bill Ferguson at the above link... Hint, the dust will alloy quickly into your mix.

How about a pic of the Gatling?

[grumpy one]

The usual way to increase antimony content is to add a proption of some reasonably cheap and available alloy that has high antimony. The obvious choices are linotype or foundry type.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure that you actually need to increase antimony above the WW level for a 45-70. More likely you need to take a fresh look at your load - you might be using too fast a powder, not too high a muzzle velocity. Finally, if you really want harder bullets, water-dropping your existing alloy would be cheaper than changing the alloy.

[duke76]

I too would try to water drop the boolits first or get the largest boolit that you can to fit in the barrels I can see where that would be a problem 10 barrels and they are probably not any of them that are the same diameter. Anyway if you got sick of cleaning all those barrels I wouldnt worry about the leading, so what if your accuracy suffers, that is not what the Gatlin Gun was built for anyway, or when you got done shooting you could shoot a few J word bullets through it to clean it out.

[357maximum]

I would just water drop the ww's.


I 2 wanna see a pic of the big gun...pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.

[45 2.1]

May be your problem is too hard of boolit. A blackpowder era boolit was about 1:20 which is about 8 BHN. A good soft lube with 1/2 wheelweights and 1/2 soft lead alloy works pretty well with that boolit weight and velocity. Should you want to try that, the load that goes with it is 23 gr. of SR4759.

[RugerFan]

Your alloy should be plenty hard enough. You may need a wider dia bullet, different lube, different bullet style, or a gas check design (if not already). A harder bullet does not automatically eliminate leading.

[Bass Ackward]

A Gatling gun? Hmmm.


I would think heat here could be the biggest enemy no matter how you taylored the load. If you take steps to cut heat, like use a slower, ball powder, it will also burn dirtier which will act as lube. You will also benefit from a good natural lube containing heavy lanolin or bear grease that can take the heat.

I would also avoid antimony and tin altogether. Both of these lower the melting temperature of lead significantly. Since lead fails to transfer heat well, it melts at the surface while the rest is still solid. A higher melting point would help.

I say go pure and use a slow enough ball powder like H335.

[floodgate]

brshooter:

Have you tried blow-tubing your Gatling to cut down fouling...Uh, oh - never mind...

floodgate

[cohutt]

You too can own a 45-70 Gatlin Gun- only $185,000.

(Use all the money you saved casting your own all these years...)

http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/guns/8748/8748b.jpg

from
http://www.connecticutshotgun.com/guns/8748.htm

[floodgate]

$185,000??? Geez, that HURTS!

Back in nineteen-ought-fifty-four, shortly after Bav and I got married in New Haven, I took her to NYC and into the old Bannerman's store, 501 Broadway, and they had one last .45-70 tripod-mount Gatling - just like the one in the photo - for $300 (plus all the ammunition one wanted at $1.00 a box. And we had just enough of our wedding present loot to cover it. And Bev was "game" to go for it. But reason prevailed and we passed on it...*sigh*.

floodgate

[DeanoBeanCounter]

:Fire: Does anyone make these things now days? It would be neat to have one that shot .22 rim fire. Is a Gatlin Gun considered an automatic weapon? :twisted:
Deano