WW good enough in .38 spl.?

[mto7464]

rather use WW instead of lino for .38 sp.

[ANeat]

You could probably get away with pure lead if the size is right and the velocity is kept down.

Ive had good results with 50/50 WW/pure lead in a lot of different handguns under 1000fps.

Straight WW as cast or water dropped should be suitable for 1500fps or better

[monadnock#5]

Yup. +1 on what ANeat said. Save your lino for rifle loads, mix it with WW, or trade it for more WW's.

[Down South]

WW plus a little tin is all that I use in my .38’s and .357. My .357 loads are running an average of 1325 fps. I don’t have any leading problems. I only use the tin to help with mould fill out. I do water cool my boolits for the .357.

[mto7464]

That's all I needed to hear. thanks.

[Tom Herman]

I run 50/50 pure or scrap lead to wheel weights. I usually mix ten pounds of each, and drop in a 1 pound bar of 63/37 solder.
About 2% Tin allows the alloy to flow and fill out the mould much better!
I run this alloy out of my .45 Long Colts with a 255 gr. SWC and 8 gr. Unique with very little leading.
I also use it for my .455 Webley with zero leading!
Don't waste your WW or lino. Use them sparingly. I use just enough hardness to do what I need to.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom


You could probably get away with pure lead if the size is right and the velocity is kept down.

Ive had good results with 50/50 WW/pure lead in a lot of different handguns under 1000fps.

Straight WW as cast or water dropped should be suitable for 1500fps or better

[Buckshot]

...............I run pure lead for 38 Special target loads (148gr WC's and 158gr SWC's) in my K38. Ditto in the 38 S&W Victory models.

...............Buckshot

[HeavyMetal]

Big advantage to WW is you get the smallest boolit the mold will make. Now before everyone jumps the gun here let me finish, most Lyman molds were cut for number 2 or a similar alloy. When you start mixing tin and anitmony in the alloy the boolits get harder but they also get larger!

Case in point: I have a single cav 358432 mold. If I use my regular "magnum / rifle" alloy the boolits measure 360/ 361 Diameter. Switching back to straight WW and I get .359 out of it!

Most of the target wadcutter molds were, I think, cut for pure lead/ WW metal.

Stick with WW and you'll be fine!

[Boerrancher]

I use WW for just about everything, I may toss a bit of tin into it form time to time, but that is about all. For my stiffer 30 cal rifle loads I have gotten to where I add a bit of lino. My 38 loads run about 1000 fps out of my wheel gun and 1200 fps out of my lever gun, and WW's work just fine.

Best Wishes form the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[EDK]

I'd be using wheel weights straight...check with a hardness tester and possibly water drop to get additional hardness.

IF you have problems with bands filling out on wadcutters/semi-wadcutters, use a bit of linotype or tin to help them fill out better.

As mentioned before, the harder alloys will cast larger. I used some foundry type/monotype (?) and got .004 larger boolits out of a 429244 mould....and harder than woodpecker lips! You could barely scratch it with a knife blade; sizing was a treat too! I used it for blending and got a chance to double my money on it 'way back when lead was running $.25 a pound....wish I had it now, but that was then. I had access to an unlimited supply of bearing babbit for hardening from scrap at work. (I salvaged out about 15 pounds last week.)

Pure lead or wheel weights are getting harder to find. Linotype, etc. are d--- near impossible. Conserve the hard stuff for future use when possible.

:Fire: :cbpour: :redneck: