Reloading with Tire Weights???

Is it advisable?

  • Okay, and does fine

    Votes: 19 54.3%

  • Okay, but is inaccurate

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Okay, but is very dirty

    Votes: 1 2.9%

  • Okay, combination of the above

    Votes: 2 5.7%

  • Seen it used with disasterous consequences

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Haven't used it and just wouldn't try it

    Votes: 13 37.1%
  • Total voters
    35
  • Poll closed .
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Use only soft lead Balls/Bullets in a C&B Revolver. Pistol or Rifle...if you don't want to damage/wear out the bore prematurely, be able to seat an over size ball/boolit into a chamber or bore. allow the ball/boolit to expand in the bore when fired.
Besides not being accurate in a C&B load...the money saved on clip on wheel weights does not out weigh the cost of another Revolver...stick to soft lead. Save wheelweights for modern guns and smokeless powder.
My $.02 worth :O)
 
as for a rifle the patch will protect the bore.
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Well, a patched lead ball gets grooves in it even with the patch and don't tear...hardcast will tear the patch down the shoot of a rifle.
You cant use hardcast on Minne Balls as the skirt won't flair.
I still recommend not using hardcast lead in C&B or Flintlock weapons.
Then again I am a traditionalist with Black Powder Shooting and don't use inlines sabots or any polymers in the barrel of which I pour black powder.
Anyone else can do what they want, but this is how I do it.
 
What is the lead alloy makeup of most modern rounds?

I shoot at, among others, an indoor range that has an angled steel backstop that pushes the bullets down into a dump area at the base of the "venetian blind" backstop. They shovel this out occasionally and sell the stuff to somwhere that either makes bullets out of it or ingots of lead alloy for other uses. I have no doubt that I can get as much as I want for the scrap metal price they are getting for it since it's useless to them. It'll have lots of copper FMJ scrap mixed in but that'll float to the top as mentioned.

Would this be good casting material?
 
If the bullets are jacketed, the core is usually pure lead since the jacket engages the rifling and the lead is there along for the ride and to provide weight.

If the bullets are lead, they can be anything from soft swaged lead up to Linotype in hardness, depending on who made them up and what velocity they are expected to travel without leading the bore of said firearm.

My personally loaded bullets are a mix of 50% WW and 50% 92-6-2.. likely they come out to about 93-5.4-1.4 with .2% of whatever else makes up the WW lead.
 
Jacketed bullets could be any alloy, but generally is normally pretty pure lead for expansion and to make it easier to swage as jacketed bullets are generally swaged and usually from pure lead wire. Cast lead bullets are usually cast harder, meaning more antimony/tin to reduce barrel leading.

I dig range scrap and cast bullets both for cartridge guns and muzzle loader/cap and ball guns with it and have no problems. It's all free, so I'll continue doing it. I have no problems using it either in muzzle loaders or cartridge reloading. Stuff is normally dirty, of course. Might wanna wash it and dry before melting for ingots. Gets some of the dirt out so fluxing ain't quite the pain.

How is using hard cast balls in a cap and ball going to be any rougher on the bore than firing them in a .357 magnum? :rolleyes: The sole problems I see are harder starting when loading and the lack of, or less expansion of a Minie skirt. My Minies are quite accurate, so I don't think I have the problem in my Hawken and I cast them mostly of range scrap.
 
I use them all the time.
I am in the process of trying to get a 5 gallon bucket full.
after melting and scooping off the dross, the metal is soft enough to scratch with my finger nail, so I figure it is soft enough.
 
Unfortunately I have no real way to determine the exact contents of the lead, as it is in about 90lb. ingots. When I melt for casting I should see the Zinc on top (assuming there is any) and be able to skim it off. Thanks for the help.
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If there's zinc melted in the lead already, you can't get it out; the lead is ruined and only good for sailboat ballast.
Hopefully the guy who melted it knows that and was careful -- or he got the wheel weights a long time ago before zinc was a problem.

If there's zinc in the lead, you'll know it when you melt it. It will be like oatmeal even when it's good and hot.

Properly rendered wheel weight lead is perfect for smokeless cartridges.
 
If there's zinc melted in the lead already, you can't get it out
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Good to know, he said he would give me a sample of a few pounds; I will have to test it first. Although I know him well so I am sure he would buy it back if I asked him to; no reason to waste his time if it isn't good.
 
Voodoochile and Ginormous are right,I use WW in my Trapdoors with no ill effects,but it's much too hard to use in,say,my six shooters or Hawkens.What will ruin a lead batch,though,is Zinc.Zinc does not mold well,and any amount-no matter how small-will ruin your batch.It just will not fill the mold properly,making for ''blurred'' ill defined bullets,with lots of fractures.Just miserable stuff.
 
I've got a few pounds of zinc'ed lead; I wonder if it would cast decent .457 roundballs for my powder mill? Not sure I wanna get it in my casting melter to find out.
 
You'll regret it.It's really ok for casting fishing weights,and not much else.while it might be more durable than lead for your powder mill,I wonder if the weight would be enough?
 
It's mostly lead, so the weight would be the same. It has just enough zinc in it to ruin it for casting bullets. (it melts about like cottage cheese, but high surface tension should be a *good* thing when casting spheres as long as it doesn't also make them porous)

I thought all stick-on wheel weights were pure soft lead. I didn't check for steel and zinc weights, and there were enough steel weights that I didn't notice how hot it was getting without all melting down. I'm really glad I didn't just dump all the weights in a big pot and melt them all at once -- ruining 100 pounds instead of just 7 or 8 pounds.
 
I did the exact same thing.Some pretty nasty fumes come up while the adhesive burns off the stick on weights,so I usually dump in five or six pounds of mixed clip on and stick on,after separating out the obvious ''steelies'',and come back when they're melted and skim off the clips,and flux the remainder.When I fluxed,I noticed my ''lead'' was almost white. When it refused to cast a decent bullet,my fears were confirmed. Even after cleaning,my next two melts were less than successful.It really is miserable stuff.
 
hmmm I was wondering about old dive belts the weights on those are lead I have like 4 of them I gotta see if the lead is soft enough to scratch with my finger nail if it is I have 100 or so pounds of lead. Since I dont dive anymore might as will get some more use out of those old belts.
 
Bigbadgun, I used to do a little hardhat. (a lot of it really) Company called Oceaneering down there in Louisiana. Started out as a tender just like everyone else. I'vd went down and opened or closed many a valve for some oil company. Did a little deep sat to..
Well, anyway, good morning....
 
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I have only used WW in BP revolvers. Usually OK, but I found some batches difficult to load owing to hardness. I only use pure lead now, both for revolvers and rifles.
 
When I Smealt my Adhesive Wheel Weights, I'll do it outside & on my old single burner camp stove & old GI issue canteen cup so that I can control what is going on I keep my thermomiter handy & keep the temps right at 630 - 660, skimming off the dross & old tape, add Flux & let it stirr for about a minute before I pour it off into Ingots.
 
Yep,that's my combo,too.I started with the powdered flux years ago,but lately have started useing my leftover grease cookies,which are about 75% beeswax,and 25% Crisco.
 
not all stick-on(tape) are lead. I've have been getting alot of Zn and Fe. take a pair of sidecutters and if it's hard to mark the ww in question, pitch it. I would rather throw away a couple of good ww's by mistake than screw up a couple of lb's. :D
 
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