Powder burner Range lead ? is this good for pellet or slug DYI casting ? Too hard ? Too soft ? or a mix of both ? Just wondering as i have a lot of range lead i have picked up .
casting pellets / slugs
- Thread starter beerthief
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I'm sure it's softer than the Lyman #2 alloy recipe, but I don't know the formula. I'm sure other have done it (slugs, not pellets) and will respond.
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I think you will have to add some antimony and maybe tin. I know JSB adds antimony to the lead for hardness. But that's a swaging process, not casting. I don't believe you're going to cast anything hard enough to damage the barrel. I guess you are aware, lead and antimony both produce fumes in the melting process that you don't want to breath. Personally, I would go to a custom bullet maker.
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FWIW, lead, tin and antimony alloy has a casting temperature of ~700*F which is not hot enough to vaporize the metals, therefore there is no airborne particulates to inhale. Reclaimed berm range scrap has an average Brinell hardness of approximately 10-12 Bnl, while Lyman #2 is about 15 Bnl. Both are much harder than pure lead which is 5 Bnl. I believe JSB uses a 40:1 mix which is about 8.5 Bnl but their exact alloy is top secret. Pure lead is difficult to cast because it doesn’t fill out the mold well and that is why many casters add a small percentage of tin to help fill out the mold. A small percentage of Antimony is added to raise the hardness of the alloy mixture.
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for my bulldog using range lead that tested 12 brn was more accurate than those i tested from pure lead. the mold was lee sized to .357 105 grn. swc. the only thing that shot as well as 81grn
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for my bulldog using range lead that tested 12 brn was more accurate than those i tested from pure lead. the mold was lee sized to .357 105 grn. swc. the only thing that shot as well as 81grn. jsb.
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For pellets I would think you should stay on the softer side because they are shot at slower speeds than slugs. For slugs they may do better with a slightly harder mix to keep them from fouling the lands by stripping the softer lead at higher speeds.
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Thankyou i was wondering is all i will give it to a friend that cast his own Black powder ball ammo Thankyou for the info .
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