What lead is in TMJ bullets

[DestructionDan]

I cut a ton of TMJ bullets to salvage the lead. Is it a alloy or pure lead inside?
I myself would think pure or near pure, just for the cost to the manufacture.
What says you?

[BK7saum]

Not 100 % sure, but a lot of cores are supposed to be a % or 2 antimony. The antimony supposedly makes the alloy easier to swage. I am not sure if your talking plated bullets or bullets with a disc placed into the base opening before swaging. Two different jacket making processes.

[BK7saum]

Do you have a hardness tester. Smelt a small batch and pour a boolit, then let us know the BHN

[John Boy]

If you don't have a hardness tester - put some of the lead in a pot and measure the temperature it melts at. If it melts at 621F = pure lead. Any temperature that's less, is an alloy and your guess is as good as anyone else's

[BNE]

I've "XrF"ed quite a few samples. TYPICALLY, it is 1%Sb, 99% Pb. The lowest% was 0.3%Sb.

I have not ever found any Sn in Range scrap.

[John Boy]

BNE's reading is a 5.25 Bhn

[RedRiver]

Mine tested at:

99.3% lead
.7% antimony

This was 99%+ jacketed.

[Ateam]

These percentages look pretty close to soww. maybe I will just dump the jacketed stuff in with my soww smelt next time.

[bobthenailer]

A few years ago I smelted several hundred lbs of jacketed bullets to salvage the lead ! I also thought it would be soft lead but when I checked several test boolets taken at different intervals with my hardness tester, they came out as 10 bhn hardness.

Save the jackets ! there almost pure copper , when I scraped them I got about $2.00 a lb and had about 33 lbs of jackets

[DestructionDan]

Thanks guys. I might have to buy a hardness tester here soon.
Bob, I have saved the jackets. Like 110-120# of them. And 20ish# of brass jackets.
Just have a pot of jackets to reheat and get the rest of the lead off to take them all in.