[bullseye308]

I came into a quantity of lead that is supposed to be pure lead with between 1 & 2% antimony added to it. Would this be all right for a muzzleloader or should I melt up the sheet lead and use it? I really don't want to have to use the sheet lead yet if the other will work. I melted it into ingots and can still scratch it with a fingernail, so it's not that hard. It melted nice and clean and the only difference I noticed between this and pure was this was missing the rainbow. I intend to cast this into mini's for a CVA 54.

[scrat]

98%pure lead is good to use for muzzleloaders

[bullseye308]

But how much will the possibly 2% antimony affect it? I was thinking about selling some to black powder shooters if it will work for that or adding lino to it making it like WW's for my other pistols. I will not be needing all that I have.

[scrat]

2% antimony is very soft making it around the 98% pure scratching it with your finger leads me to believe it is as soft as you say. A good mix of antimony and tin would be around 96%. For sure there are plenty of us muzzleloaders that would take that off your hands. I would try that route before adding antinomy to it. For sure i would take some i am sure there are plenty more people that would. Its hard to find a good purity of lead like that. Almost any reloader can get there hands on wheel weights that what you have is worth more for us.

[bullseye308]

Scrat, do you happen to have access to a hardness tester or any way to determine the composition of this metal? How about casting a few and see how they fill out the mold and maybe firing a few and see if they obturate like they should? I could send you a few pounds to "sample" if you'd be willing.

[Hellgate]

I had trouble getting accuracy from my 58cal minies unless I used pure, dead soft lead. Those minies cast with anything harder were frustrating to try to work up a load. Now, the patched round ball might have been OK but I didn't make up any. Also a slightly harder than dead soft lead would be OK for the cap & ball revolvers.

[scrat]

pm sent

[Macmac]

No! none of that will work for you or any other BP shooter, so send it to me! :D

[bullseye308]

No! none of that will work for you or any other BP shooter, so send it to me!

That's mighty nice of you to try to help out your fellow black powder shooters. Friends like you should be treasured. :neener: Seriously, when I find out if this will do fine in a front stuffer, I'll offer up my excess here first and don't expect to need to offer it anywhere else. Now if you had a hardness tester or a spectro thingy that could tell the exact comp of this lead...., we could talk. I'm sure everyone else appreciates your offer though, for thinking of them first. :neener:

[Loyalist Dave]

Even the wheel weight alloy will work with patched round ball, just maybe not in BP revolvers, as alloy doesn't shrink as much when it cools as the pure(r) lead projectiles. So for a roundball rifle shooter one can use the projectile, just needing to use a thinner patch or a slightly smaller mold. For the BP revolver, the harder and slightly larger projectile might be a real pain in the a$$ to force into the cylinder, and to seat upon the powder, but if you can manage it they would work.

LD

[rjsixgun]

Try this, it works pretty good and its free!!!!!!!!

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/roundball.htm

[bullseye308]

It won't work for me as I am not sure of the alloy. I also don't have any molds yet(hint hint, I'm looking for some:D) to try it out and see what the shrinkage would be. I sent some off to be tested though, so we'll see soon enough. I have a WTT listed for molds, so maybe I'll get lucky. :eek:

[Jefferson Herb]

I made the mistake of casting some maxi's out of lead that RINGS,I could'nt get them down the barrel.As long as the lead does'nt ring it should be soft enough to "bump up" and if you notice there are several who will twke it off your hands.