Pure pewter boolits?

[njc110381]

Hi folks. I'm in the UK and it's looking like we may well end up having a lead ban imposed for deer hunting soon. Because of that, I'm wondering if anyone has tried casting pure pewter? It would be a bit lighter than lead I guess, and quite soft? It's a bit of a waste but could potentially be the only way to continue to cast my own hunting loads.

What's the verdict? Good plan or bad idea? I'd appreciate your thoughts please.

[imashooter2]

I’ve never cast or shot pewter boolits, but… It would be considerably harder than lead. There isn’t much difference between pewter and lead free solder. I’m no fan of powder coating, but I think for solid pewter boolits I would go that way.

[stubshaft]

Interesting concept. I would cast a WFN bullet with it as it will probably not expand at all.

[GregLaROCHE]

Someone can look up the specifics, but I don’t think tin boolits would preform much different from pure copper. Probably better.

[farmbif]

I believe it is barnes that makes pure tin copper coated varmint bullets they are quite explosive when they hit flesh and bone

[Bigslug]

My father tinkered with Rotometals' tin/bismuth alloy for the same reasons you're expressing curiosity. On the as-issue, higher-bismuth content end, it was somewhat brittle and tended to fracture in water jugs. As I recall, he increased the tin until it was nearly a pure tin bullet. Much lighter than lead and we never did get any kind of expansion.

You can drive them faster and use a WFN design, but plan on your trajectory being a bit of a short range affair. We ultimately decided that the odds of success in our chosen area were bad enough that we opted to stick with the modern guns, modern optics, and Barnes TTSX bullets, despite the desire to hunt with the older, weirder chamberings.

Since the ban on lead for hunting is driven purely by anti-gun politics and ignorance, you might want to make your case thusly:

"Ummm. . .do you lefties have ANY IDEA how much lead has been used in the roofing, plumbing, and battlefields of Europe over the centuries? And you think you have a leg to stand on whining about the little sub-ounce packets that I intend to dispense at a rate of one per year?"

[stubshaft]

"Ummm. . .do you lefties have ANY IDEA how much lead has been used in the roofing, plumbing, and battlefields of Europe over the centuries? And you think you have a leg to stand on whining about the little sub-ounce packets that I intend to dispense at a rate of one per year?"

That is a terroristic statement! Everyone knows that lead is man-made!

[doghawg]

I wonder how many million pounds of lead are laying on the bottom of the Great Lakes where many cities are getting their drinking water?

[Winger Ed.]

Something that's coming down the road here is casting with Zinc.
Some folks are already doing it.
It might be something you'd want to check into.

[njc110381]

Something that's coming down the road here is casting with Zinc.
Some folks are already doing it.
It might be something you'd want to check into.

I've read about the zinc thing. My only concern was that apparently it wears moulds? I wonder if the same would apply to the barrel?

[Tripplebeards]

Most my modern dinnerwear pewter ignots are around 21 to 22 BH. “Would think” they would shoot just fine. I’ve shot harder BH lead alloy boolits in my 450 BM up to 460 S&W velocities at 2650 fps and no leading. I do PC and GC all all my rifle boolits.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Copper is also a hazard to animals, Goats in feed will kill them. Cows on the other hand need more copper. Friends ended up loosing some goats do to feed that was for goats and too much copper. It was commercial feed.

Lead and some birds I can under stand, but they need to keep in mind that this well or maybe take years to work it way out of the environment and I would like to see a copper and hazard report and not a BS report.

[M-Tecs]

I believe it is barnes that makes pure tin copper coated varmint bullets they are quite explosive when they hit flesh and bone

The Barnes and other frangible bullets are a powdered metal mix.

https://www.barnesbullets.com/varmint-grenade-shop-all/
VARMINT GRENADE®
Featuring a frangible copper-tin powdered metal core surrounded by a gilding metal jacket for instant fragmentation, these bullets expend energy quickly, seldom exit large predators, and leave valuable pelts virtually undamaged.

[reloader28]

Most my modern dinnerwear pewter ignots are around 21 to 22 BH. “Would think” they would shoot just fine. I’ve shot harder BH lead alloy boolits in my 450 BM up to 460 S&W velocities at 2650 fps and no leading. I do PC and GC all all my rifle boolits.

The pewter that I've checked ran about this hardness. Harder than I would want for most purposes but I suppose it might work if I had to

[JimB..]

So when the equivalent of your game warden stops you, and you have powder coated tin bullets rather than powder coated lead bullets, do you think he’ll believe you? Even with standard lube, he’ll maybe see that they are quite shiny, but will he still fine you or do whatever your game wardens do?

[45_Colt]

Just tossing out an idea, what about adding a tungsten core to the boolit. It is nearly twice the density of lead, so don't need a lot to get the weight up and the boolit back to a reasonable length (for stability).

Could also use mallory metal which is an alloy of tungsten and other metals. Much easier to work with and still quite dense.

Tungsten is pricey, but not much is needed. And if it is for hunting, not general plinking, won't need many boolits either.

There would be items to be worked out, such as placement within the boolit, along with locating it during the casting.

45_Colt

[njc110381]

Most my modern dinnerwear pewter ignots are around 21 to 22 BH. “Would think” they would shoot just fine. I’ve shot harder BH lead alloy boolits in my 450 BM up to 460 S&W velocities at 2650 fps and no leading. I do PC and GC all all my rifle boolits.

Thanks. That's very helpful to know. I guess the best way to find out is to try it.

So when the equivalent of your game warden stops you, and you have powder coated tin bullets rather than powder coated lead bullets, do you think he’ll believe you? Even with standard lube, he’ll maybe see that they are quite shiny, but will he still fine you or do whatever your game wardens do?

We don't have game wardens here. The police have rural crime officers but they would have to test the bullet as part of a criminal case to prove that it was lead before they could prosecute me. so I don't much care whether they believe me or not!

[Tripplebeards]

At 22 BH don’t expect them to expand on anything at normal hunting velocities. Would make a good grizzly bear skull cracker! I’d be a looking for shoulder shots on deer to brake bone. If not, they are going to act just like a full metal jacket. I like soft alloys for hunting so I get some expansion and energy transfer. A pure pewter boolit would be the exact opposite of what “I” would want.

[TurnipEaterDown]

Just tossing out an idea, what about adding a tungsten core to the boolit. It is nearly twice the density of lead, so don't need a lot to get the weight up and the boolit back to a reasonable length (for stability).

Could also use mallory metal which is an alloy of tungsten and other metals. Much easier to work with and still quite dense.

Tungsten is pricey, but not much is needed. And if it is for hunting, not general plinking, won't need many boolits either.

There would be items to be worked out, such as placement within the boolit, along with locating it during the casting.

45_Colt

Constructing such a bullet with CG concentricity of the separate parts would be very difficult for anyone at home.

Tungsten is also very hard and able to be used as AP. If I remember right Speer in their 458 AGS used a tungsten core to get length of bullet down in the 458 Winchester. They did this because suitable powder selection becomes an issue to get full performance w/ an acceptable pressure curve. I remember that they needed to secure specific approval from BATFE. Also, I think 30 years ago these were several dollars apiece.

Such is one reason why match bullets are usually as simple and homogeneous as possible -- less tolerancing & variables to get wrong.

[GregLaROCHE]

I've read about the zinc thing. My only concern was that apparently it wears moulds? I wonder if the same would apply to the barrel?

That’s the first time I heard zinc wears molds. Maybe aluminum molds because of the higher temperatures?