Cast Boolits for the Winchester Hotchkiss - wheelweights??

[Cheap Bastard]

Hello,
I'm a new user here, but a long time cast bullet user. I recently acquired an old Winchester Hotchkiss 45-70 model 1883, and have been using 405gr cast bullets made of wheelweights and lubed with alox over a trapdoor load of smokeless powder with excellent results. Accuracy is excellent with no leading.

Question is, should I use wheelweight lead in this rifle? Will it wear out the barrel prematurely? Should I use pure lead?

Thanks!

[Don McDowell]

No the wheelweights won't hurt the barrel.
That smokeless powder might take the whole gun apart , but the wheelweight bullets won't hurt a thing.

[NickSS]

I have used ww in lots of old trapdoors and such rifles and have had no problems. The original bullets were swaged 16-1 lead tin alloy and air cooled wheel weights are similar in hardness so you will not appreciably wear your bore. Do not use a steel rod to clean it though unless you have a bore guide as the old steel is softer than modern steel. If you want a real kick try some black powder then you will get the real flavor of the old rifle. Make sure you use a BP lube or you will end up with a fouled bore that will be hard to clean.