Arrrrrrrgh - leading !

[Petrol & Powder]

OK, I own this one.
I had a little bit of my normal alloy in the pot that is pure lead + linotype at a ratio which yields about 10-11 BHn. Works great in my 38 Specials. All was well.
I wanted to finish off what was left but there wasn't enough to make it worth the effort so I added a 1 pound ingot just to make it worth my time. I thought I picked up an ingot of the same alloy. Nope, grabbed a pure lead one by mistake (they're stamped, I just didn't look)
I ended up with bullets that were a lot softer than 10 BHn, probably close to 7 BHn (maybe 6 ? ). I didn't have a clue until I shot some this morning and went to clean the gun. Arrrrrgh !!!! leading in the forcing cone. I went back and checked - Yep - picked up the wrong ingot and cast about 120 soft bullets.

The real kicker, they got mixed in with about 2000 other completed rounds.

@&**%@@***** I'm an idiot !

[54bore]

OK, I own this one.
I had a little bit of my normal alloy in the pot that is pure lead + linotype at a ratio which yields about 10-11 BHn. Works great in my 38 Specials. All was well.
I wanted to finish off what was left but there wasn't enough to make it worth the effort so I added a 1 pound ingot just to make it worth my time. I thought I picked up an ingot of the same alloy. Nope, grabbed a pure lead one by mistake (they're stamped, I just didn't look)
I ended up with bullets that were a lot softer than 10 BHn, probably close to 7 BHn (maybe 6 ? ). I didn't have a clue until I shot some this morning and went to clean the gun. Arrrrrgh !!!! leading in the forcing cone. I went back and checked - Yep - picked up the wrong ingot and cast about 120 soft bullets.

The real kicker, they got mixed in with about 2000 other completed rounds.

@&**%@@***** I'm an idiot !

Man! That is a bummer! The 120 of them part you could deal with, but getting mixed in with 2000 changes that! How did they shoot?

[Petrol & Powder]

They shot great. I guess the good news is the ones that are left are on top of the box, so maybe it will be a short term problem.
Totally my fault.

[Dusty Bannister]

Perhaps you could examine the sprue cut on the bases of the bullets and see if the cut appears different? It will depend upon your casting tempo of course, but maybe the harder bullets will have a little more grainy appearance and the soft lead will have a smooth cut or shear appearance. Worth looking anyway. Or just weigh them til you get back to the normal weight.

[jdfoxinc]

He would have to pull them. They are all ready loaded.

[psweigle]

If there is enough shoulder on the boolit above the crimp, you could just add a bit of alox to it and then shoot them. I am going under the assumption that they are 38 special at around 800fps or less?

[Dusty Bannister]

He would have to pull them. They are all ready loaded.

If he has not mixed head stamp cases, it should still weigh heavier than the normal loads. May not be worth his time and effort though. Might be 2-3 grains difference in the cartridge weights.

[mold maker]

I think I'd at least try to fingernail mark them on the nose. The softer ones should mark easily while the harder ones will hardly mark at all. Pulling a few marked boolits will allow varifaction by weight and visual inspection of the sprue cut.
At any rate, it's a cheap and quick start. Replacing with the unmarked harder boolits from below the surface at the same time, as you go, will be easy.

[Petrol & Powder]

There aren't enough left to worry about. I'll just be cleaning lead out of the barrels a bit more often until I get through the remaining bad rounds.

That's the price for my own negligence.