how soft can i go?

[Andrew Mason]

i have a new virgin 6 cavity lee 230gr tumble lube mold.

i want to start casting for my 1911 and sig P220

i am planing on installing a soda can plain base gas check on all the bullets i load.

here is my question, how soft of a lead can i use?
i have a good variety, pure lead, range lead, COWW, and lino type.

i would like to do as minimum alloying as needed, so i can save my harder stuff for magnum hand gun and rifle loads.

[Jon]

I use range lead for my 45, and it's fine. It's fairly soft stuff. You shouldn't need a gas check on a 1911.

[cbrick]

For HP's in my 1911 45 I use Stick-on weights + 2% Sn, about 6 or 7 BHN.

Gas checks on a 45 ACP? Ok, I just gotta ask . . . Why? For what? Extra work & cost to do what?

Rick

[357shooter]

It's all been said.

45acp will shoot pure lead, the tin helps fillout. Range lead is usually soft and shoots good too. Gas checks are a waste of time and effort.

[I'll Make Mine]

I ran across a rule of thumb the other day for obturation: 1440 x BHN = minimum pressure for the bullet to obturate. So, if you're running BHN 20, you'd need 28,800 psi to get a good seal and avoid gas cutting and leading due to too hard boolit (that's a fairly stiff .357 Magnum loading). Figuring backward, .45 ACP loads start at around 15,000 psi, as I recall, which would imply a maximum BHN of about 11 -- that's softer than air cooled clip-on wheel weights.

[bslim]

I've been using 50% pure lead mixed with 50% COWW's with a touch of tin in my 1911. Works just fine for my application.

[Andrew Mason]

well, my thinking of using the gas check was so could get by with a softer lead.

i have hundreds of lbs of pure lead, only tens of range, lino, and WW.

[Springfield]

So buy a little 50/50 solder to mix in and save all that gas check hassle.

[Houndog]

If you have plenty of pure lead, or close to it mix one roll of lead free solder in about 20 pounds of lead and have at it! You might even get away with 25/1 lead to solder. I think it will be plenty hard for the 45ACP as it's one of the easiest cast calibers out there and Very forgiving

[Lizard333]

SOWW I have tests about 8-9 using a cabin tree tester. Plenty good for 45 ACP'S. If your worried add a little SOWW. Don't waste the gas checks. Not worth it. Oh, and you should be fine shooting that boolit without the gas check installed. Won't hurt a thing.


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[Andrew Mason]

Well,
I have some pewter that I believe to be about 95~% tin.
I will make up a batch of 25-1 alloy and see how it dose.
I can add some tin if it dosent fill out well enough.

[zomby woof]

When I first started casting a few years ago, my first lead was very soft almost pure. I have two 1911's, one likes it and one didn't. The one with the Kart barrel shot it just fine. The other is a Charles Daley with a very rough barrel. The soft boolits didn't shoot very well out of it. with just a harder alloy it shoots fine out of the CD. My alloy is 10/1 RS/WW.

[MT Chambers]

Some folks use swaged lead bullets from the big makers at those velocities and those are pure lead.