What is your ultimate alloy?

[justindad]

What is your ultimate alloy, and what do you use it for?

[Bazoo]

I like 95/2.5/2.5. It casts amazing and just is a joy to work with. WW+Sn is okay but isn’t as nice to work with. It gets more dross, and more inclusions and just is more ornery it seems. But it’s a cheap substitute. I run either at full velocity and pressure in 30-30. I run them at pistol velocity and pressures, such as 44 special and 45 automatic with no complaints. I’ve run ww+Sn at full throttle 357 magnum plain based with great results as well.

[kevin c]

95-3-2.

I use it for HiTek coated pistol bullets, ~30K in a full year of action pistol shooting.

[centershot]

I've settled on 94-3-3 for most of my boolit casting. I use it in handgun & rifle calibers up to 2000 fps with no worries. I can run plain base 158's up to 1400 fps in my 357 mag carbine and GC'd 170's up to 1900 in the 30-30 and 30-06. It's easy to make, one part lino to 3 parts lead and add 2% tin. Casts beautifully!

[Land Owner]

It depends...

1.) on what your End Game is going to be.
2.) on the amount and availability of components.
3.) and do you want fries with that?

[sharps4590]

Unless a person shoots only one kind of firearm, cartridge, powder or load, I don't believe there is such a thing as an ultimate alloy. What works good in a revolver over smokeless won't necessarily work best in a rifle at high for cast velocities and definitely won't work in a BPC over black powder or muzzleloader.

[dverna]

I use mostly commercial alloy 92-2-6. I only shoot cast bullets in 9mm, .38/.357 and .40 currently. If I ever try to cast for .30 cal. again (tried once and failed) I will use the same alloy as I will not hunt with cast bullets.

For low velocity .38's I have mixed in range scrap from an indoor range.

80% of my alloy is 92-2-6, 10% COWW, 5% linotype and 5% range scrap.

[Good Cheer]

Scored a pile of type metal in '77 and enjoyed it immensely.
Afterwards I worked on learning how to make work what I had to work with.
Now the ultimate alloy is what's between my ears.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Recently scored 50 lbs. of 95/5 (lead/antimony) here on the board. Thinking i will batch it up to 95/2.5/2.5 for heavier wheelgun loads.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I blend wheel weights and soft 50/50 then add 1% pewter. Should be around 97/1.5/1.5. Powdercoated, it seems to work well in everything I shoot. Soft enough to expand on game at rifle velocities. I’ve pushed it up to 2100 in 1/10 twist 30-06 and 2300 fps in 1/12 twist 358 Winchester with sub 2 MOA accuracy.

[carelesslove]

carelesslove, here !

After shooting' and castin' for about 50 years, I think I have finally figured out what works for me. I found that most of my shooting was done between 800-1200 fps, in 5 handgun calibers (up to and including .500").

I read, studied, and experimented - and I call my alloy "8/2" and it consists of 8, approximately "1 pound" ingots of wheelweights (from the 70s), alloyed with 2, approximately "1 pound" ingots of linotype. I fully understand - that my "ingot measurement" is not a true indication of weight - but is fairly consistent in volume.

This alloy really works for me, for my velocity range (800-1200 fps), and in all my revolvers - BUT - all bullets must be sized for cylinder throat diameter + ~0.001". Hardness is about 7.5, tested on the SAECO Hardness scale. Bullets come out very shiny and sharp edged, because of the percentage of Tin. They also come out at pretty much full weight - even with the higher percentage of Antimony in the old wheelweights, plus what is in the linotype.

This alloy "runs" better than ROTOMETAL's Lyman #2, with a lower percentage of rejects in SAECO, RCBS, Lyman, Lee, and LBT bullet molds.

Being slightly softer than Lyman #2, and sizing all my bullets to 0.001" over the cylinder throats, these bullets obturate and seal off very well. I use LBT "Soft Blue" lubricant and I have ZERO leading - per Veral
Smith's prediction.

Y'all might regularly shoot over my self-imposed limit of 1200 fps, but with a good match of bullet diameter and cylinder throat dimensions, it still works at 1400 fps, in my .460. Above 1400 fps, in the .460, I will admit to going with Lyman #2, because the .460 just likes higher velocities and I would hate to scrape any leading out of that danged compensator.

I have to admit, all this work and testing was done, in an effort to get a couple of "large throated" revolvers to shoot well - without leading. It cured this in .45 caliber (1950 & 1955 Targets, with 0.455" & 0.456" throats) and in older .44s that have 0.432" throats.

The best part is that it consistently works everywhere else - hence - my "ultimate" alloy!

Thanks, Tom "carelesslove" Love

[lightman]

Straight clip-on wheelweights do just about everything that I need an alloy to do. I have added up to 2% tin a few times. Just guessing, but that probably ends up being something like 94-3-3, possibly with the tin number slightly less.

[winelover]

I could live with just one alloy to cover all my centerfire rifles and pistols........three parts pure to one part linotype. Hardness, measured on a LBT tester, yields 14 BHN after three weeks if air cooled. Pretty close approximation of WW alloy. Need harder? Water drop or oven heat treat.

Winelover

[GregLaROCHE]

It depends...

1.) on what your End Game is going to be.
2.) on the amount and availability of components.
3.) and do you want fries with that?

I agree. Currently my favorite is pure lead for round balls when muzzle loading. I once tried to get my alloy super hard, but not now. It all depends on what you are using it for.

[ABJ]

As "landowner" said it depends on your end game.
For my own purpose, I can live with one alloy. 2 to 2.5 % Tin and 4% antimony. I shoot low pressure 38 wadcutters all the way to 454.
On handgun for the 38's/357 on average I can get to 1100/1200 without a gas check. On the larger 44/454, 1350 is as far as I have pushed plain base.
For rifles, 30 and 35, I use gas checks from 1200 to 1950 and is about where the accuracy runs out. For rifles in 44 and 45 I have pushed plain base to above 1500. If I want more, say on 44 mag I use a gas checked boolit.
I do use 3/3 alloy on gas checked 30 and 35 flat nose for hunting. Not as accurate as the 2/4 but plenty accurate enough for hunting and the terminal affects are akin to using hollow points.
I can get an alloy with less Tin to shoot accurately in low pressure loads just don't want to maintain another alloy when one will do everything.
I will admit your question is a loaded one that sparks a lot of debate and I'm not knocking anyone else's alloy if it works for them. At the end that is all that matters.
Tony

[Shanghai Jack]

99% depleted uranium in case of Russian incursion
1% silver from a melted crucifix in case of werewolf attack
quenched in holy water and lubed with gato feo lube with a touch of garlic powder in case of vampire attack

[Land Owner]

I use, because I fell into a comfortable groove on the first try, lack the motivation to try something else and am a cheapskate when using Tin, water quenched and air cooled 49/49/2 percent Pb/WW/Sn, with whatever antimony, arsenic, et al, comes in the COWW, gas checked (or not), PC'd, and lubed and sized, BHN ~13 alloy.

Pushing the envelope, I have VAPORIZED 22 Bator boolits upon exiting a bull barrel Handi-rifle muzzle at jacketed bullet velocity. What a frustrating waste of time and components. I do not recommend approaching jacketed bullet velocity in that alloy. It is a GREAT WC, SWC, RN, TRN, and HP alloy, at Mfg. cast boolit recipe velocities, in 380 ACP, 38 SPC, 357 MAG, 45 ACP, and 45 COLT handguns and 357 MAG and 45 COLT single shot rifles! Ask me, I know...

TRN - truncated round nose

[gwpercle]

If I have clip on wheel weights , a 50-50 mix of COWW and soft lead = general purpose .
I've used this for auto-pistol , revolver and hollow points in handgun and rifle .

If I don't have COWW but have tin and lead : then I mix 1 part tin / parts lead in the following
ratio's :

1/10 - Auto Pistol & Rifle
1/20 - Normal Pressure Revolver
1/16 - Magnum Revolver

I try to keep things simple .
All boolits are air cooled ... no water dropping or heat treating .
Gary

[405grain]

My favorite casting alloy is formula #8 from this page: http://www.lasc.us/SuperHard.htm
I drive past Rotometals whenever I'm working in the Bay Area, so picking up 5 pounds of superhard just saves me on the shipping. I've got lots of lead. Years ago I recovered a box full of one pound rolls of lead free solder from a shop that was closed down and was being cleared out, and I use that for the tin. (I've only got 1 roll left) I make one alteration to the formula: I replace a pound of the lead with a pound of melted size BB shot to add arsenic to the mix. This is a really versatile alloy because air cooled it's around BHN 13, but water quenched it's hard as a diamond. If I want to cast pistol bullets I cut it 50/50 with straight lead and air cool it to make BHN 11 boolits. The lead free solder adds just a trace of copper into the alloy, which is a good thing. Alloy #8 makes nice boolits.

[farmbif]

clip on wheel weights with a little bit of tin added does everything I could ever want. but I'm not even interested in coming close to trying to break any kind of velocity records.
I keep my gas checked rifle loads to maximum velocity of about 2200 fps or so. with the exception of wanting to try and get my 35 rem up to velocity that mr Gibson has tested the 35-200 with 45 grains LVR. if I want to put together ammo with faster velocity I'll just use jacketed bullets. I find that what is more important is finding bullet and powder combination that will give the best accuracy.
I guess if I did not have an ample supply of wheel weights I would blend alloys to get something that resembles Lyman #2 even if I had to buy it from rotometals its still much less costly than shooting jacketed bullets all the time.

[HWooldridge]

I keep pure lead, linotype and 50-50 bar solder on hand then mix my own alloys based on desired hardness. Pistol and most rifle are 11-12 BHN, and I increase hardness for more velocity in rifle loads.

[Randy Bohannon]

16:1 for everything, it works in all of my guns, Ben’s Red lube for smokeless, SPG facsimile for B\P.

[Budzilla 19]

Ww / pure, 50/50,with 2% tin, works for just about everything!

[bangerjim]

Now with PC technology under my belt, I rarely worry about % mixes, even though I know the exact % make-ups of all the several tons of feed stocks I have in my stores because I had the scrap yard do an X-ray shoot B4 I ever bought them.

But COWW's with 2% Sn +PC works for me for 99% of all I cast and shoot including rifles.

Life is nice when things are simple!

banger

[Larry Gibson]

It depends...

1.) on what your End Game is going to be.
2.) on the amount and availability of components.
3.) and do you want fries with that?

+ another for ^^^^^

[DDriller]

Life is too short to worry about percentages. I cast what I can find, but do use pure in swaging operations. I have never found a piece of paper that cared if the the lead was hard or not. At the proper speed just about any lead mix will effectively kill animals.

[gc45]

years back, I collected roofing lead and still have a pile of the stuff. It is pretty much pure lead I think so I cast this stuff using a little tin for a very nice bullet and to shoot in my muzzleloader, old antique winchesters and several revolvers. My second lead is Lyman #2 that I cast for hunting and hi velocity fun..

[Gobeyond]

I finally worked up to hardball for 30-30 doesn’t need much obturating. Thought hardball would be good for everything but hunting. Not a hunter, just a shooter.