Tire weight to raw lead ratio for handgun bullets?

[sixgunnin]

I will be casting some lead .45 bullets and I am wondering what alloy I should make to have the best results.
So what is a good ratio of tire weight to raw lead for round nose handgun bullets?
I will mostly be using the rounds for general purpose hunting and shooting.
Any ideas for a starting place with it?

 

[math teacher]

Any such combo is likely to lead your barrel badly. Some tin is needed while tire weights are hardened with antimony. Suggest that you read the cast bullet section of Grennell's ABCs of Reloading which covers the topic quite well.

 

[condor bravo]

According to Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook that you might want to acquire, pure lead has a hardness rating of 5 and wheel weights a hardness of 9, but that will vary, so you probably wouldn't want to add pure lead to wheel weights which would lower the rating of the mix even more. By way of comparison, linotype, which has the highest rating, is around 22. If your sources are pure lead and wheel weights, consider just going with wheel weights. When melting the weights, any hardness material like tin or antimony will come to the surface so don't skim that off and try to keep it stirred within the mix.

What is called Lyman #2 alloy is often used for handgun bullets and has a rating of 15 from the addition of tin and antimony. But wheel weights can get the job done and are commonly used.

Another possible source is expended bullets from a firing range. They clean out the lead from time to time and may be willing to sell small amounts at a reasonable price. But sort it and clean it up extremely well to find any live rounds that might have found their way in.

 

[243winxb]

2%-Tin,6%-Antimony,and 92%-Lead is a good alloy for Sixgunnin.

 

[reddog81]

I'd mix it 50-50 and see how it works.

Wheel weights varies depending on the source. Stick on wheel weights and WWs from semi's(large 4 oz weights) are very soft - probably under 8. Some of the small ones are hard - probably 15+.

What do you mean by "raw lead"? Pure lead is fairly uncommon.

What kind of .45 loads? Most .45 ACP or .45 Colt loads will do great with soft lead. Are you powder coating these or using lube. Sizing correctly is going to be as important as the lead hardness. Extra tin might be helpful to get good fill out in the mold but it's also possible that the mix will do just fine.

 

[Goatwhiskers]

You might know this already, but be careful you don't have any zinc WW, there are less and less WW made of lead alloys, getting hard to find. Lead WW will be easy to cut into with electrician's pliers, zinc is noticeably harder and if melted in will ruin your alloy for bullets. Leading was mentioned, be sure to slug your bore and size bullets .001-002" over groove size. Poor fit is the primary cause of leading. GW

 

[Don Fischer]

I've used straight wheel weight's in hand guns for a whole lot of years.

 

[sixgunnin]

Great replies, a lot of info.
I will be making the bullets for .45 colt rounds and I want them to mushroom on impact with a deer, pig etc. I don't believe straight WW will do that?

"Raw lead" lead pipe.

Thanks

 

[Mobuck]

"I've used straight wheel weight's in hand guns for a whole lot of years."

^^^^THIS^^^^^^^
I wouldn't recommend adding plain lead to wheel weights. In fact, I used to "quench" the dropped bullets in water to make them harder.
If you really do want softer bullets, use swaged lead bullets.

 

[Chainsaw.]

Wheel weights with a little tin (60/40lead tin solder works great) added will work great for ya. If you want to use the lead pipe order a bar or two of linotype from rotometals. Add some off the linotype to your lead to make it harder.

 

[Dufus]

I want them to mushroom on impact with a deer, pig etc. I don't believe straight WW will do that?

You are correct.....wheel weights will not do that at 45 Colt velocities and a round nose bullet.

Wheel Weights generally have a hardness of anywhere from 9-12 BHN.

A good alloy to do what you want is mix wheel weights and lead 50/50.

Just remember that bullet fit is king. You need to measure the cylinder throats and slug the bore. Do some searching on the forum to get more details.

Also, to further your goal, get a mold with a wide meplat. It will certainly make a difference.

 

[condor bravo]

And keep fluxing in mind. Stirring in a small amount of candle wax or similar substance into the melt will result in dirt and other debris coming to the surface and can be skimmed off. The hardening material, tin and antimony, may look something like an oil slick and should be stirred back in. The smoke generated by fluxing may catch fire but will burn away in just a few moments. And keep water, including just damp wheel weights, from entering the molten lead since that results in a somewhat violent splattering.

As referred to above, most .45 Colt bullets will probably have a wide metplat (nose flat diameter or area, usually a SWC bullet rather than a round nose).

 

[T. O'Heir]

"...lead your barrel badly..." Leading is caused by trying to drive cast bullets too fast. Not the alloy. Swaged bullets are pure lead.
Biggest issue with wheel weight is they're usually contaminated with other metals. Usually in unknown quantities. If they're actually lead. Just adds more work though.
Any cast bullet will flatten upon impact with hard stuff like bones. Issue with 'em for Porky is the hard cartilage on the back of his neck, etc. Penetration can become an issue.

 

[Dufus]

Leading is caused by trying to drive cast bullets too fast.

I agree to a certain extent. BUT, if you don't have a proper alloy for the pressures that you are shooting, expect failure every time.

There was a thread on the CBA Forum that the subject matter was testing bullet lube at 3000 fps.

The member was using straight wheel weights and his velocities were approximately 3100 fps. With most of the lubes that he used, he had no leading.

So, the velocity myth was laid to rest.

 

[mikld]

I've found that bullet to barrel fit is more important than alloy hardness for shooting lead in my 45 ACPs. When I started casting I used straight wheel weights for all my handgun bullets from 38 special to 44 Magnum and got good results as long as the bullets fit, for my 45 ACPs, .002" over groove diameter. My WW alloy runs from 9-12 BHN and I ave occasionally softened the alloy with either "range scrap" or pure lead and I've fired cast bullets in my 45s with all alloys, 9-12 BHN and experienced few problems if any...

Many say bullet shape for big slow moving bullets is more important/reliable than trying for an "expanding" cast bullet. SWC and flat point bullets are pretty good for game.

OOPS! I just saw the OP just said 45, not 45 ACP. I wonder what he's gonna cast for ACP or Colt?

 

[Dufus]

 

[condor bravo]

mikld:
In post 8 the OP says .45 Colt. In the opening post he indicates round nose.

Note to OP:
Practically all Colt loadings call for SWCs but a round nose, if an appropriate one can be found, can be used of course.

 

[sixgunnin]

A good alloy to do what you want is mix wheel weights and lead 50/50.
I'd mix it 50-50 and see how it works

Ok I will try the 50-50 mix probably, does anyone say DON'T DO THAT! ?

 

[Dufus]

I tried to submit these in post #16.

This is one example of my testing.

 

[condor bravo]

Wheel weights are 9 or up to 12 as has been indicated; I would keep it at that rather than soften the alloy with pure lead. Lyman alloy #2, popular for handgun bullets, is 15.