What mix of alloy would be the best all-purpose blend?
If you were going to mix up an alloy to be the best all-purpose blend, what would it be? Lyman #2? Hardball? A mix of your own? What ratio of what would work for the majority of bullets? You have linotype and pure lead to start with and maybe a bit of tin. You intend to coat the bullets using a powder coat or Hi-Tek.
I guess I should have put it this way.
I have three good pots, an original RCBS Pro-Melt plugged into a PID, a newer RCBS Pro-Melt W/PID, and a Lyman MAG 25 W/PID. I also have a reliable lead hardness tester. What alloy mix should I put in each pot? I use Hi-Tek as my preferred coating and I shoot just about everything.
The benefits of adding lead
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AbitNutz
I think the issue is obturation and heat. Too soft causes the entire bullet to distort. Higher velocity means higher pressure and more heat. The soft base of the bullet can't handle it and it suffers gas cutting. I think that's why gas checks work so well in some cases. When the soft lead obturates so badly it almost melts into the walls of the barrel. Anyway, that's how I think about it. I'm no ballistician. I have used Hi-Tek to successfully coat bore riding pure lead shotgun slugs and entirely eliminate leading. That was almost a miracle.
It may sound a little weird but too hard a bullet can cause issues with Hi-Tek bullets. I'm not exactly sure why but if I coat a linotype bullet at a lower velocity it seems to have leading problems. If I soften up the alloy. The problem goes away. This happens routinely in my 327 Mag.
I read a thread from an African hunter who would take a hard alloy and find an accuracy load for that bullet/alloy combination. Then, he would add lead to the mix until his groups started to open. This was his hunting bullet. I think gas checks prevents the flame cutting and allows for higher pressures to withstand obturation myself. I wish someone would make an affordable gas check cutter for plain base cast bullets.