"soft" cast lead bullets vs "hard" cast lead bullets - how can you tell the differenc

[1972]

Newbie needs a bit of help/advice.

I’ve got an opportunity to purchase a good supply of 200 grain RNFP cast lead bullets for Cowboy Action Shooting. These are unlubed and unsized, which is just the way I like them so I can size and lube them myself as I need them. Very nice looking bullets, and the price is extremely attractive,

In reading through a lot of threads on various sites it seems that for CAS shooting (low velocity) the best bullets are “soft” as compared to “hard”. The “soft” bullets apparently shoot better for that purpose and don’t lead the barrel nearly as much. I have no idea what alloy these cast bullets I'm looking at are. I will try to find out what the alloy is from the company that casts them, but was wondering if there is any kind of “test” I can give them myself to see if they would be classed as “soft” or “hard”?

What alloy would be considered best for “soft” bullets, and is there any way I can test various bullets to see if they are “soft” or “hard”?

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice.

[btroj]

Hard to say without some experience or a lead tester.

Best bet is try the old thumbnail test. Does it mark with a thumbnail? If so it is relatively soft, of not then it might be hard.

Sometimes ya just gotta trust the guy you get them from. His is why I like casting, I know what they are made of from the get go

[DougGuy]

Many use clip on wheel weight, commonly referred to a s coww or COWW or WW, fairly middle of the hardness scale and normally cannot scratch it with a thumbnail. Lyman #2 alloy is very close in hardness afaik. Softer alloy would be mixing 50% ww with 50% pure lead and 2% tin which can be scratched easily with a thumbnail and is an excellent alloy for hunting boolits. I use these in a .44 Magnum and it's extremely accurate and doesn't lead at all. Softer alloys perform well in that the gas pressure behind the boolit will make it obturate or swage itself to seal the bore very nicely and I am assuming this is why they are accurate.

As far as hardness testing at home, the more inexpensive way is by the Mars Staedtler pencil test. You can read more about it here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?75455-Testing-hardness-with-pencils&highlight=mars+staedtler

[pworley1]

If the price is right, just buy them, lube them, and shoot them.

[RogerDat]

Check out the sticky on Pencil test, art pencils are a known hardness, assorted pack of them cost maybe $6 and will have pencils that are softer than plain lead to harder than Lino. Flat bottom of a 45 LC should be plenty of space to confirm general hardness with a pencil. You need to shape the point into a cylinder and hold at an angle to be accurate but read the sticky it's pretty easy.

Unless the quantity or cost of what you are buying does not warrant the extra hassle of testing beyond thumbnail scratch test.