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Thread: Freezing boolits for hardness and toughness

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Freezing boolits for hardness and toughness

    Outpost75 had mentioned once that you could freeze boolits with a small amount of antimony and the result would be tough and hard; see post #15 here: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...=1#post2650916
    *
    I made up some alloy that is 50:50 COWW:SOWW, and fluxed it with 0.2oz Rootlill per pound of lead. I casted a few bullets in June and froze them until August. In September I casted more bullets, but did not freeze them (this lead was more aggressively fluxed to get another 0.1% copper in the alloy). The bullets that were not frozen were pan lubed in a toaster oven, covered in foil. The frozen boolits are significantly harder than the bullets kept at room temperature.
    *
    I did not closely follow the recipe from Outpost75. I used a different alloy, I towel dropped the bullets, and then placed them in the freezer before they ever got to room temperature (about 15 minutes after I finished my casting session).
    *
    I took a hard bullet with a reasonably sharp base and a soft one with a reasonably sharp base. I pressed the edges of these two bases together, and the bullets that were frozen show absolutely no marking but the room temperature bullets show a deep depression. If these two had similar hardnesses, they would have similarly deep depressions.
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    Does anybody else have experience freezing bullets very soon after casting?
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...g-Cast-Boolits

    Read about it in other locations, never thought it justified.

  3. #3
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    My world is a rather simple place, and I try not to over think things.

    As far as freezing boolits, I never bothered even reading up on it.
    In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
    In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.


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  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    For clarity, here’s the post from Outpost75:
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  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Are you going to keep them frozen right up to the point of loading them in the gun and shooting?

  6. #6
    Boolit Master fastdadio's Avatar
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    Take this bit of info from a 30 year hvac service guy;
    Adding a heavy mass of a hot load to your domestic freezer is putting a load on it that it was not designed to handle. Meaning, in other words, your running the dog snot out of your refrigerator.
    Carry on gentlemen.
    Deplorable infidel

  7. #7
    Boolit Master elmacgyver0's Avatar
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    It seems a bit anal to me.
    Just powder coat the suckers.

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy

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    If it works, would be handy considering I have outdoor deep freeze 5-6 months every year GW

  9. #9
    Boolit Master Castaway's Avatar
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    justindad, what’s the end benefit you’re looking for?

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Castaway View Post
    justindad, what’s the end benefit you’re looking for?
    Maximize toughness (i.e. expand without fracturing), and minimize cost of Sn & Sb. Cost is #1, toughness is #2.
    Last edited by justindad; 09-15-2022 at 07:40 PM.

  11. #11
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    JSnover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fastdadio View Post
    Take this bit of info from a 30 year hvac service guy;
    Adding a heavy mass of a hot load to your domestic freezer is putting a load on it that it was not designed to handle. Meaning, in other words, your running the dog snot out of your refrigerator.
    Carry on gentlemen.
    Water-quenched, I don't see residual heat being much of a problem. I don't know if a typical refrigerator can get below 0*F, though. Seems like you'd need an actual freezer.
    Last edited by JSnover; 09-16-2022 at 11:27 AM.
    Warning: I know Judo. If you force me to prove it I'll shoot you.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master Castaway's Avatar
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    A wheel weight large bore bullet will drive through the toughest hog given enough velocity. You’re not going to get much expansion using wheel weights as is. Going the other way from what you’re trying, there was a time when I used two bullet mixes; 1/2 lead and 1/2 wheel weights for a 45 Colt carbine and the other was just wheel weights for pistol loads because I didn’t want to try and push a parachute through a hog with the lower pistol velocity. Gave up doing two mixes as it was more effort than I wanted to expend. Fired both with same velocity in a sand bank and measured results. Wheel weights stuck together and didn’t expand enough to matter. I doubt your frozen bullets will expand enough to matter if at all. Nose deformation yes, but overall increased diameter, no. If talking rifle bullets, cast kills differently than a Kore-Lokt or expanding bullet. Cast tends to break in pieces and resultant splinters do the damage. If you’re wanting to have an expanding rifle bullet, you may want to go the opposite direction from a hardened bullet and cast some putty soft bullets and paper patch them

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check