range lead for Big Lube molds?

[JerseyJD]

I'm just getting my feet wet with casting starting with rb and looking to possibly getting into bp cartridge for SASS main matches down the road. Existing posts for Big Lube molds suggest wheel weights as a minimum level of softness. What is the issue with harder leads and why are they acceptable for bp subs? Would using range lead, skimming off the antimony with a low heat smelter, and using Big Lube molds likely work for my  limited purpose?     

[Springfield Slim]

If the bullet fits the bore properly range lead should work OK, but then again, different ranges have different types of lead. "Range lead" is not a type or hardness, it's just what you happpen to find at your range. Most people like softer lead with BP because it is usually a lower pressure round than most smokeless, so it needs to be soft enough to seal properly to avoid leading the barrel.

[JerseyJD]

  Most people like softer lead with BP because it is usually a lower pressure round than most smokeless, so it needs to be soft enough to seal properly to avoid leading the barrel.

Thank you Slim. Your answser makes a lot of sense. 

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[Dick Dastardly]

There's a thread in the Library about a cheap and easy way to tell the hardness of your alloy by using artist's lead pencils.  What you're interested in isn't the exact analysis of your alloy, but the relative hardness/softness of it.  Big Lube®LLC molds will cast well formed bullets with widely varying alloys, so that's not an issue.  What is an issue is filling the bore of your guns given the relatively low pressure of black powder.  Filling the bore is important because hot gas escaping around the bullet will cause the bullet to melt and deposit metal inside the bore.  That's called leading.  Leading is fatal to accuracy.

Wheel weights do work well but that's no guarantee that they will work well for you.  Much depends on bullet to bore fit.  Softer bullets will "bump up" to fill the bore much easier than hard cast.  There are many revolvers being made that have chambers much smaller than the bores.  I've seen Remington 58s that have chambers that measure .446" and bores that measure .454".  That's an eight thousandth of an inch "bump" to fill the bore.  That much "bump" just isn't going to happen at black powder pressure unless the bullets are very soft.  That's why some guns get a reputation for poor accuracy.  When the chambers are reamed to match the bore accuracy usually improves a LOT.

Hope that helps.

DD-MDA

[Springfield Slim]

Jersey: my rule of thumb is, if i can mark it easily with my thumbnail it is soft enough. I also have a lead hardness tester for more accurate results, but don't use it much anymore. After years of casting every week  and dealing with all types of lead you get a feel for the hardness without  having to use a tester on everything. 

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Jersey: my rule of thumb is, if i can mark it easily with my thumbnail it is soft enough. I also have a lead hardness tester for more accurate results, but don't use it much anymore. After years of casting every week  and dealing with all types of lead you get a feel for the hardness without  having to use a tester on everything. 

Slim's Rule Of Thumb

The more tin &/or Antimony, usually giving a harder alloy, the lighter the bullet and the larger the diameter.  Not very accurate, but useful. I find that wheel weight metal and a mixture of range lead give about the same resulting weight and size.  Sometimes I try to sort my range lead by type and appearance;

e.g;   If it looks like a HBWC it should be soft
         If it looks like a hardcast magnum bullet and has retained its shape it is probably harder.
         Melted out cores of jacketed bullets just might be softer

I've been casting so long without a hardness tester that I'm sure I can manage without it for awhile longer!

[Paladin UK]

3-4 mins soft

5-10 hard!!!

Easy!!
Paladin (What lurvs his soft  ) UK

[Four Eyes Henry]

..only with eggs 

[rickk]

Once Antimony (or tin) is alloyed with lead, it does into separate out again as it melts.  It can't be skimmed off.

I shovel out around 8-10 thousand pounds of lead from our local gun range "Snail" bullet trap every year. It typically is softer than "#2" alloy. The exact harness varies a bit from week to week depending on who has been shooting the most. If for some reason there is a lot of jacketed bullet shooting (police qualification for instance) the allow is a bit softer.   If it is mostly cast bullets it is a bit harder, but it is never harder in my experience than #2 alloy.

A Saeco hardness tester is a good thing to own when dealing with unknown sources.


If you are casting RB for a cap and ball it is probably too hard. If it is a cartridge BP gun it will be pretty much just right.

[JerseyJD]

I shovel out around 8-10 thousand pounds of lead from our local gun range "Snail" bullet trap every year. 

Yesterday, after our match, I screened about 10 pounds net after separating bullet fragments from the rocks. Not as easy as I would have imagined as the ground had recently been picked over. Perhaps purchasing wheel weight ingots from the castboolit vendors is in my future.

[rickk]

JerseyJD,

Rocks will float in the lead when you melt it.

Is there anyone with a Savage Arms "Snail" bullet trap in your area?   The bullets just get deposited on a perforated steel plate in the back. The lead is nice and clean, no dust, minimal dirt.  You just shovel it out with a coal shovel.  There is a bit of water and machine oil on them which boils off when you make ingots.