Lead Hardness 22LR

[GregLaROCHE]

I always assumed 22LRs boolits were pure lead. Now I’m wondering if that is true. What is the hardness of the lead? Are all makes the same? Does it vary if it is a hollow point or super magnum type? How about expensive ones designed for serious competition? Do they all weigh the same?

[alfloyd]

I have reclaimed a LOT of 22 lead from an indoor range. It has been in the 7.5 to 8 bhn.

Lafaun

[GregLaROCHE]

Thanks for your reply. I hope others will too.

[whisler]

My reclaimed .22 lead runs about 7 BHN by pencil hardness test method.

[243winxb]

Up to 2% antimony in some 22 lr bullets. Near pure lead works because of coatings on the bullets.

When i researched it , i cant remember if tne coating added was zinc or antimomy?

[243winxb]

Antimony Coats Many .22 Caliber Bullets
Bryan Burnett
In 1997, Zeichner et al. reported the presence of antimony on bullets for a number of .22 ammunitions
produced by different manufacturers. Antimony was noted to be a detectable on 50% of the .22 bullets
examined by Wrobel et al. (1998) in Australia. Federal, Winchester and Remington .22 bullets were observed
by the author, like many of those .22 ammunitions available in Australia and Israel, to show the presence of
antimony with analyses by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) in the scanning electron microscope
(SEM). Is this antimony on a surface layer or is it throughout the bullet? Zeichner et al. (1997) reported that
the antimony for the .22 bullets they examined is found on the surface of the bullets. The purpose of this
contribution is to confirm that US .22 ammunitions have bullets with surface antimony. Antimony from this
source likely contributes to the antimony found in gunshot residue (GSR).
The nature of the antimony association with .22 bullets can be ascertained by a simple razor blade swipe
of a bullet. The bullets were examined in the SEM with EDS on the razor blade scrapes and the undamaged
bullet surface. Results on two of these bullets, Federal and the brass-coated Peters are shown in Fig. 1. It is
apparent for these ammunitions and the .22 Winchester Wildcat (not shown) that the antimony is associated
with a layer on these bullets. Antimony was not detectable from the X-ray samples from the razor blade
scrapes. Thus, the interior of the bullets have a lower concentration (if any) of antimony than that of the
surface.
Zeichner et al. (1997) report for ammunitions with lead-barium primers that “only a small percentage (not
more than 2%) of the [GSR] particles containing at least lead and barium were found to have also a
considerable concentration of antimony” for those ammunitions with an antimony-rich surface layer on the
bullets. Wrobel et al (1998) state, “the projectile composition is probably less important than the primer…” in
GSR. The latter authors did not provide supportive data. Although the results of my GSR analyses will not be
furnished at this time, a future paper (Burnett, 2005) will re-examine the issue of the contribution of bullet
antimony to .22 caliber GSR.
My thanks again go to Dr. Jozef Lebiedzik of Advanced Research Instruments for his helpful comments on a
previous version of this submission

[dwtim]

I have been using rimfire scrap lead for years, and just like the above posters, I have tested it to 7-8 BHN. I love it for .38 target loads and .45 Colts.

A pound of lead weighs as much as a pound of feathers. :-) I'm sure that there are variances in the alloys. They may be about 40 grains, but a hard alloy will produce a physically larger projectile since less dense metals must occupy more space for the same mass.

[GregLaROCHE]

I was wondering this because where I recuperate my range scrap, is used mostly by hand gunners, who I recently found out shot hard lead bullets. My range scrap was measuring 16+ BHN. I always thought 22s were pure lead, but now I find they may be contributing to the hardness too.

What are .177 air rifle pellets?

[LongRangeAir]

Normally, .177 pellets will be pure.

[GregLaROCHE]

Normally, .177 pellets will be pure.

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to keep those separated.

[nvreloader]

For a sample of air rifle pellet hardness, see the info posted here, Post #51,

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=149581.40

Tia,
Don