commercial cast mix, thoughts

[HD.375]

how does this sound for a mix for cast boolits?
hard or mid or ?

"Our projectiles our mix is 92 %lead 6% antimony and 2% tin, "

the projies are also coated with a similiar 'hy tek' coating.........not powder coated but a different coating to aid in the leading.

thanks.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Hard, but that is a relative term. It depends on how fast you are driving them.

[HD.375]

Hard, but that is a relative term. It depends on how fast you are driving them.

another company had similiar or proper Hytek coating, on their cast i was able to run close to 1800fps guestimates- no problem.
i was loading the JSP and Cast to the same tune........ no leading.

this other Company with above, an different coating? (said to be the same but i duno bout that) seems to be givin me leading alot sooner.

again this rifle is chambered for 375 win, but i load it 38-55 +p say........ model 94 XTR.

its sold as hard cast projectiles --- i got no qualms, just wanted to see what the Experts thought of that mix.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’m not into casting super hard boolits, but I think 6% pure antimony (not linotype) should be pretty hard. I bet we’ll get some really definitive answers from those here who really know alloys.

[MT Gianni]

2 6 92 is a very commonly sold commercial alloy. It has some great advantages for the commercial seller as the bullets rarely arrive dented and it is easy to cast with. It is an easy sell to the large volume target shooter.

[dverna]

It is commonly called "hardball alloy". I use it almost exclusively but I do not hunt large game with cast. Commercial casters use it as MT G mentioned.

Others will comment on its performance as a big game hunting alloy. Might be a tad too brittle.

[ABJ]

Hard, but that is a relative term. It depends on how fast you are driving them.

I agree with Wheelguns. 2/6 alloy is what I consider hard. Will it shoot accurately? yes if everything fits. Does it need to be that hard? I haven't ever had a need for it. My 2/4 alloy has done well in everything I shoot, 32 thru 44 mag wheel guns, 30 thru 45-70 rifles both gas checked and plain base. My gas checked 30's top end is around 1850/1900. My big bores use plain base up to 1300 and gas checks if I load faster.
I cannot comment on the various coating's as I have never used them.
Even softer alloys than mine will shoot good depending on the gun condition and speed but the 2/4 alloy just seems to work in everything I own.
Tony

[Soundguy]

That hardball bullet allow is the modern replacement for Lyman #2.. So yeah..its hard for handgun..and a great mid range rifle..and a good starting point for sweetening and gas checking for faster rifle.

[popper]

Good but expensive target alloy. Used by commercial casting as it always 'works'. Like lino, it is hard.

[gumbo333]

I've used those boolits in 45\70, both HyTek and PC (both purchased) on deer. Never gave a thought about expansion, don't think its needed in 45\70. Try them in the 375, they may also be big enough around that expansion isn't a concern. Not sure they would expand even if hitting a heavy bone. I don't load mine fast enough to expand anyway, 1000 - 1050 fps. Works

[HD.375]

Awesome info Thanks all!

No it seems the .375 doesnt really need to expand at all for Deers.. i sent one from A hole to the chest an it was .375 hole in an out..deer died within 20 yards.

fairly new to it all i guess....slowly learning.

[quilbilly]

That sounds too hard for my taste. I like more expansion and weight retention which will deliver more energy to the game before exiting. In my recent tests of terminal ballistics of a 30 caliber, my boolits expanded from .308" to .68" while penetrating 16" in soaked, compressed newsprint. The .35 caliber expanded to .75 with 14" penetration. Both retained over 90% weight. The distance was 40 yards and the MV was only 1600 fps for the 30 cal and 1350 fps for the 35 cal. With that performance, both are more than adequate for thin skin game (deer and mountain lion in my neighborhood literally) up to 300# out to 120 yards. My alloy roughly is 65% pure lead with 35% hard birdshot though I occasionally add a little tin depending on the mold.

[Soundguy]

I'm surprised not 100% weight retention.. I almost never see lead bullets shedding weight.

[quilbilly]

I'm surprised not 100% weight retention.. I almost never see lead bullets shedding weight.

The numbers were actually 95 and 97% which is pretty close. The media (actually soaked compress phone books) is quite hard and certainly harder than real soft tissue (or gel) so one would expect some abrasive loss. Sadly, those extra phone book left our the post office that I used in place of newspaper don't appear to be available anymore so my inexpensive experiment will be hard to replicate in the future.

[BunkTheory]

it just needs to be tried on a live animal.

One always hears how the speer swagged bullets are really soft and deform on target... full load of 2400 in a 6 inch magnum, and well they king of shortened and enlarged the diameter of the cone on the front, but still fit fine into a flared case.

[Soundguy]

I hear you on the phone books I never see stacks of them anymore I guess that's a thing of the past

[HD.375]

punched a nice .375 hole in an out of a yearling or so old young stag sambar recently, certainly hard but its doing its job to a degree...