Things that make you say Hmmmmm??

[GP100man]

I have some isotope lead that i cast some 429421s out of tat run `bout 10.5 bhn & loaded em with HERCO until i skidded em at 10.4 grs.

to help front band fill out i put 4oz. of 95% tin in the next castin session boolits are puuuurty!!

The ???? is they check at 11bhn no biggy i like mid loading for general plinkin & shootin what needs shootin , but in my testin i could go higher with my load before seeing skiddin , does tin strenthen the alloys that much.

I ran this batch to 12.8 grs & no skidding & my ole RA infested hands said that`s enuff!!!

All the testin was shot out of my 71/2" Redhawk & the 12.8 grouped the best.

Santa if your watchin this site ( because i know ya luv to cast&shoot in the off season) i would like a choronograph for christmas please!!! With catsup on top!!

[Muddy Creek Sam]

GP,

Next time you come down, let me know a day or two ahead and I'll get the one we used on my rifle loads.

Sam

[geargnasher]

I have no idea what's in isotope lead to begin with, and you don't say how big of a batch you added the 4 oz to, so I don't know what percentage you brought it up to, but generally tin "toughens" lead alloys, by that I mean makes lead/antimony alloys less brittle. Some publications equate "tough" with "hard", I differentiate by saying a boolit alloy is either "brittle", "tough", or "soft".

Pure lead is soft, 20:1 is tough, hardcast (92/6/2) is brittle.

Hope this helps,

Gear

[GP100man]

Sam
like the thought but just to much to ask !! (i`d rather shoot my own chrono)

Besides we`ll be too busy to shoot any on the next trip!!!

I`m sorry Gear I have a little 10# bottom pour that i added the 4oz. to .

Thinkin of tryin 50/50 Iso& WW???

[sqlbullet]

That isotope lead sounds just like what I have been getting. I had the chance to run my ingots under an xfr analyzer recently. We tested about 4 at random out of a pile of 400. Tested each one on each surface.

The machine said they were 96% lead, 3% antimony, 1% tin. That is consistent with the BHN I have been seeing, same as yours, 10.5.

I also add about 3oz of 95% tin to a 10lb pot. Makes really nice bullets.

Last batch of lead I picked up, they had a bunch of strips with adhesive on both sides. Real pain to melt down and cast into ingots. But...the XFR says they are 95% lead, 2.5% antimony and 2.5% tin. I guess I can live with a little pain for the 800 lbs of ingots I will get.

[GP100man]

Very good read on this subject in the Aimoo stickies !!!

sqlbullet

Thanks for your info on the isotope lead , I kinda thought it was antimony keepin it so shiney especially after castin a few 429421s .

I have little problems on fill out with the smaller molds for 38-357, I guess the drop pressure forces alloy in the bands & runnin at 750f .

I`m gonna try 3oz on the next run though , every oz. counts.

[runfiverun]

the larger isotope containers are essentially ww's.
like gear said the tin changes the alloy enough to make a better bond and a tougher [not harder] alloy.

[sqlbullet]

One nice thing about isotope containers I have learned recently. Since the primary use is medical, the isotope has to be approved by the lovely FDA (in the USA anyway). The FDA process that certifies the drug also certifies the container. The maker cannot change the container without going through an expensive re-certification process.

For us, that means once we identify the content of a given container, we can be quite certain it won't change from batch to batch.

The bad news is more and more containers are depleted uranium, not lead. And the worse news, short term, is that the big reactor in Canada that still uses lead exclusively in it's shipping shields went offline for repairs about 5 months ago. The repairs were going to take 8 months to a year.

Don't be suprised if isotope lead starts becoming harder to find. I know locally it has slowed down.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

That isotope lead sounds just like what I have been getting. I had the chance to run my ingots under an xfr analyzer recently. We tested about 4 at random out of a pile of 400. Tested each one on each surface.

The machine said they were 96% lead, 3% antimony, 1% tin. That is consistent with the BHN I have been seeing, same as yours, 10.5.

I also add about 3oz of 95% tin to a 10lb pot. Makes really nice bullets.

Last batch of lead I picked up, they had a bunch of strips with adhesive on both sides. Real pain to melt down and cast into ingots. But...the XFR says they are 95% lead, 2.5% antimony and 2.5% tin. I guess I can live with a little pain for the 800 lbs of ingots I will get.

sqlbullet,

Have you tested the ones that are coated in Plastic?

Sam

[Ricochet]

Hmmm, wonder how uranium/lead alloys quench harden?

[felix]

Or, for that matter, how homo is the mix after fluxed and waiting to freeze, if indeed it can be fluxed uniformly at 800 or so? Good question!!! ... felix

Yeah, I can dream on! All of the sudden we can make a 16 twist Hornet stand up and be counted at 200 yards in a gale. The Hornet would be auto converted into a Swede. ... felix

[sqlbullet]

Sam...with maybe one exception, all the plastic encased isotope containers I have dealt with were pure lead. Seems like they paint the hard stuff, and put the soft stuff inside plastic.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

So far I have about 50 lbs of those, not sure about the latest load of 850 or so lbs. I know there were 352 lbs of the Cores. Love the Buckets from those.

Sam

[montana_charlie]

I have been given two styles that are encased in plastic 'cans'.
One type (1-inch diameter and 2 1/2 inches high w/cap) tests at 6.9 BHN, and comes in a dark green cover. This container looks much like the 'Bevel' container on the website.

The other comes in a white plastic cover. It's about 1 3/4" diameter and 3 1/2 " tall w/o cap, and tests at 9 BHN. The cap for this one is like a tapered cylinder with a larger disc on the big end. The diameter of the disc matches the diameter of the main container.

(All dimensions with plastic removed.)

I have only received two painted ones (red)...and some extra caps of the same type. They all test at 10.5 BHN.

CM