Lead choice for Sharps rifle

[barnabus]

i have lino,wheel weights and range lead that i could possibly use for a RCBS 530 bullet mould used for long range shooting out of my Sharps, People recommend shooting 20-1 mix but i cant find any or at least someone who can positivly say it is 20-1. What would u suggest?

[ndnchf]

If you want 20:1, order it from rotometals. Quick and easy.

[country gent]

I use 20-1 and occasionaly 15-1. This range is where I would recommend with true Black Powder. From the bullet weight given I'm assuming 45 cal but there are several case lengths here also. The above alloys bump up well under BPs pressures and pressure curve. Fit is more important here than hardness.

With the smokeless or substitutes you might try the wheel weights ( clip ons) sweetened 50-50with pure lead and air cooled.

You can order the above alloies from buffalo arms or rotometals, its also offered in swapping and selling here

[barnabus]

im not using black power but 5574. would 20-1 be too soft is that why u suggest wheel weights

[MT Chambers]

I like 20-1 and it is easy to whip up using pure lead and solder, do the math for proper amounts.

[barnabus]

i cant find any pure lead..not even here.Everyone seems to have what i have.

[Hickok]

I have a Sharps "Papercutter" Berdan made by Pedersoli. I use 50/50 Clip on wheel weights and pure lead and it shoots 2" groups @ 100 yards when I do my part.

[barnabus]

I have a Sharps "Papercutter" Berdan made by Pedersoli. I use 50/50 Clip on wheel weights and pure lead and it shoots 2" groups @ 100 yards when I do my part.

is a 20-1 mix too soft for smokeless powder?

[marlinman93]

is a 20-1 mix too soft for smokeless powder?

No. I use even softer 25:1 mix in all my single shots and don't have any leading issues. I started shooting softer bullets to save buying more tin, and it's worked so well that I never went back to harder bullets.
If you have wheel weights, I'd use them as is and see how they work for you. Just be sure they're good wheel weights and not some of the newer stuff with zinc in them.

[EDG]

If your bullet fit is correct either clip on WW or 20 to 1 will work.
I much prefer 20 to 1 since I can consistently mix it from solder and pure lead. Wheel weight alloys vary and some time you might get considerable variation or even a bogus alloy.

This is coming from a sometime user of 5744. Most of the time I use a stash of SR4759 which is another good powder for reduced loads.


im not using black power but 5574. would 20-1 be too soft is that why u suggest wheel weights

[barnabus]

if i could find some pure to mix my own thats what id prefer to use but no luck finding any.

[Hickok]

I know some guys in N-SSA who use straight wheel weights in their single shot Sharps, Maynards, and various CW single shot rifles, and some of the guys use 50/50 lead and clip on wheel weights.

[marlinman93]

if i could find some pure to mix my own thats what id prefer to use but no luck finding any.

Rotometals sells pure lead scuba diver ingots.

https://www.rotometals.com/lead-ingots-wire/

[lotech]

I've had a Shiloh Sharps .45-70 for more than twenty-five years and don't recall using anything but plain ww alloy. I don't use shoot black powder and don't shoot heavy loads. These rifles are very accurate and I suspect with some slight load adjustments I could use harder and softer alloys that would provide very satisfactory results.

[Bigslug]

Assuming that you're shooting the Postell or something similar. . .the idea there is that you boot that bullet out a subsonic initial speed and it holds onto that speed for a LOOOOOONG way without any pesky trans-sonic effects to contend with. In effect, it's a .22LR match bullet that got a massive dose of Captain America serum.

If you're playing below the sound barrier or not too far above it, 20-1 is fine. 16-1 would be worth trying. The real advantage to lead/tin only bullets with no antimony for a "match" bullet is that your hardness won't change over time. If that's not a major concern, straight wheelweights are only slightly harder.

[Bent Ramrod]

When I used range scrap I would separate the jacketed bullets from the cast and plated ones. I fished the jackets out of the melt and used that exclusively for black powder grease groove boolits. If I could separate out all the .22 RF bullets I would use them the same way.

The rest of the stuff, air or water cooled, worked fine for smokeless grease groove loads in pistol or rifle, sized and lubed according to normal practice. Cooled in air, they worked for black powder paper patch boolits.

The plated bullets are typically the same mongrel alloys as the cast are, but the jacketed cores have to be soft to go through the swaging machines. .22 rimfire the same thing. I would guess that they are about the equivalent of 30:1 lead/tin alloy, though I never bothered measuring the hardness.

I used to use the stuff all mixed together for smokeless loads with the Ideal 457124 in my Garrett Sharps carbine. I once got third place at a 300-yard Gong Shoot with it, barrel sights.

[Hickok]

This just my experience of the years, but I have had a lot more trouble going too hard than too soft with alloys.

Dog-gone Lyman cast boolit manuals were the cause for most of it for me. "Lyman #2, linotype, use harder alloy for magnum velocities...etc." How did that work out?......not too good!!!

[rfd]

when i shot .45-70 and .40-65 greasers with the excellent aa5744 white powder, 1:30 worked best in the rollers and sharps i had. i get my pure lead and pure tin from rotometals. it's easy to smelt up whatever alloy tin:lead ratio is required.

[Don McDowell]

i have lino,wheel weights and range lead that i could possibly use for a RCBS 530 bullet mould used for long range shooting out of my Sharps, People recommend shooting 20-1 mix but i cant find any or at least someone who can positivly say it is 20-1. What would u suggest?
If you are thinking of the 82054 bullet from RCBS 20-1 works fine. Wheel weights do as well.
That bullet is a good one out to 800 yards beyond that distance it can have some problems