Hi,
I'm new to bullet casting and black powder - all sources say pure lead must be used for black powder guns but no one says why. I understand that hardness increases with increased antimonium and tin - but why is increased hardness a problem?
I'm in Finland and have had trouble sourcing pure lead at a reasonable cost. I've been using lead from a scrap metal dealer - its not pure but I've no idea of how impure. Its harder that pure lead bullets and balls.
When shooting the scrap lead out of my uberti 1851 colt accuracy is far better than using the shop pure lead balls. Last year I put 1500 balls down the barrel and barrel shows little sign of wear (its still blued on the inside). I've noticed the same with a uberti 1858 Remington and 1853 Enfield but I've shot them far less.
So...whats the deal why is pure lead so important for black powder guns??
PS - I'm target shooting not hunting and I use the smallest BP load possible on 25m pistol and 50m rifle range.