How do you use wheel weights for casting Spencer Bullets?

[Two Flints]

Hello SSS,

How do you use wheel weights for casting Spencer bullets?  Do you use them straight with nothing added, or do you add tin to the mix? And are there any other additions to the wheel weight lead melt?

Thanks,

Two Flints

[Grizzle Bear]

I think Fox Creek Kid uses straight wheel weights.  I cut them about half-and-half with pure lead.  Try it both ways and see what your rifle likes best.

Grizzle Bear

[Harve Curry]

I use straight wheel weights and flux with beeswax. For the last few years I've been using a commercial flux powder from Brownells. Besides dirt the stuff that floats on top is your harder alloy, and I want to keep it mixed well.

[Trailrider]

Howdy, Pards,
I've used the Lyman #2 equivalent mixture of 9 lbs wheelweights with 1 lb 50/50 lead/tin bar solder.  Bar solder is getting tougher to find since most potable water plumbing now has to use non-lead solder.  Also, "modern" wheelweights are not as consistant in their content as they used to be.  (I bought two buckets about 30 years ago, so I still have quite a bit of the "old" clip-on type left.)  Lyman #2 has a BHN of around 14, (SAECO #9), which worked well when I was shooting an original M1860 carbine in .56-56.  Worked fine with either black or smokeless, and produced better accuracy than softer alloys, even with BP.

Hope this helps...

[Arizona Trooper]

I've had just the opposite experience. Wheel weights didn't shoot as well as a 50-50 mix of WW and pure, in either 56-56 or 56-50. My weights are clip ons and probably 15 years old. Straight WW does shoot better in 45-60 and 45-70 (as long as the bullets are big enough for the bore!)