In another thread, a newcomer to this forum stated that for competition, he used a regular 200 gr. 45acp bullet in his Ruger Old Army. He cast these bevel based bullets from wheelweights.
The common wisdom suggests that wheelweights are a no-no in BP guns, since they will lead the barrel badly. I have long held some suspicions that wheelweights work badly in round balls, but for bullets, they may work well.
Rather than leave this discussion buried in another thread, I wanted to put this idea out to the forum and glean the collective wisdom of the members.
Here's what I posted:
"I think the issue is that wheelweights work poorly in ROUND BALLS, but would work fine in BULLETS.
Consider this: wheelweights are not as elastic as pure lead, which means that when compressed, wheelweights don't spring back as much as lead. This is an issue in round balls, since the portion of the ball actually in contact with the barrel is a fraction of the surface area of the ball. The bullet has much more surface area, so the lack of elasticity would be made up by the large contact surfaces.
Also, the less elasticity of wheelweights means that the material is more easily "stripped off" rather than deformed, as pure lead. When the low surface area of round ball hits the rifling, pure lead will deform and "grip" the rifling. If necessary, pure lead can even swage up to grip the rifling. Wheelweight round balls, on the other hand, will strip instead of gripping the rifling, leading the barrel badly. In a conventional bullet, the larger bearing surface again makes up for the lack of elasticity. The larger bearing surface allows enough "grip" to prevent stripping the bullet."
Further, BP firearms require the elasticity of pure lead to provide tension in steel chambers for efficient combustion. The same low bearing surface issue in round balls plays again. A long bullet will stay in place, due to increased mass and larger bearing area. Cartridge arms get around this since the cartridge case is now holds the bullet in place.
Any ideas?
-John
The common wisdom suggests that wheelweights are a no-no in BP guns, since they will lead the barrel badly. I have long held some suspicions that wheelweights work badly in round balls, but for bullets, they may work well.
Rather than leave this discussion buried in another thread, I wanted to put this idea out to the forum and glean the collective wisdom of the members.
Here's what I posted:
"I think the issue is that wheelweights work poorly in ROUND BALLS, but would work fine in BULLETS.
Consider this: wheelweights are not as elastic as pure lead, which means that when compressed, wheelweights don't spring back as much as lead. This is an issue in round balls, since the portion of the ball actually in contact with the barrel is a fraction of the surface area of the ball. The bullet has much more surface area, so the lack of elasticity would be made up by the large contact surfaces.
Also, the less elasticity of wheelweights means that the material is more easily "stripped off" rather than deformed, as pure lead. When the low surface area of round ball hits the rifling, pure lead will deform and "grip" the rifling. If necessary, pure lead can even swage up to grip the rifling. Wheelweight round balls, on the other hand, will strip instead of gripping the rifling, leading the barrel badly. In a conventional bullet, the larger bearing surface again makes up for the lack of elasticity. The larger bearing surface allows enough "grip" to prevent stripping the bullet."
Further, BP firearms require the elasticity of pure lead to provide tension in steel chambers for efficient combustion. The same low bearing surface issue in round balls plays again. A long bullet will stay in place, due to increased mass and larger bearing area. Cartridge arms get around this since the cartridge case is now holds the bullet in place.
Any ideas?
-John
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