I just helped clean a indoor range.
For my help I got 800 or so lb of range lead.
Looking at it ,1/3 22 LR bullets ,1/3 hard cast bullets and 1/3 jacketed bullets.
What is your guess on the hardness I will get ?

I am used to casting wheel weights for pistol bullets .
I would like to get close to wheel weight in hardness ,I have linotype and 95-5 ( TIN/ANTIMONY) solder .
How much should I add for a 25 lb batch.

Thanks ,I may cast this weekend.

Johnch

22rf and jacketed bullet cores are pretty close to pure lead and dead soft, so say BHN 5-6. Commercial hardcast are usually in the range of BHN 18. WW air cooled bullets come out around BHN 11-13. I don't know if the hardness will drop by an average amount as you mix alloys, but it sounds like you'll probably be in the ballpark of ww bullets if you mix 1/3 rf, 1/3 jacketed cores and 1/3 hardcast. Just be cautious with the jacketed bullets, as moisture can get between the jacket and core, and it doesn't take much moisture to make things exciting.

I'd say make up a batch of 25 pounds, and see how they come out. If they aren't quite hard enough, then add pound or two or lino. The tin has more of an effect on castability than hardness, but I've always found casting hot does just the same thing.

I also like casting and shooting ww bullets, a good balance of not too hard, not too soft, and they used to be cheap and easy to find.

But .22 bullets also contain arsenic, a hardening agent. If you want to attain WW hardness and you don't mind parting with the lino, I mix 50% lino with 50% range scrap and test it. For a second batch, I think I'd try 2% of the 95-5 solder or 8oz. for a 25lb. melt.

I would imagine if you would add a couple Viagra, they would be as hard as you want. But if they stay hard for over four hours, consult your doctor.

Thanks for the input .

My source for WW is out of town for a month ,so I have to make due with what I have.

BTW I have melted range lead for years .
I preheat the lead to make sure it is dry and then melt it out doors in a covered pot with vents I made from 12" heavy wall pipe.

I normaly don't worry how hard it is .
I use it for decoy weights ,sinkers ,down rigger weights and jig heads.

I am going to melt a batch and cast a test bullet ,to run thru the hardness tester at work , then use the rest for decoy weights.

Johnch

If you get serious about casting you'll need to buy a good lead hardness tester. I have both the Lee and Saeco testers and they both work. The Saeco is better but you have to use a cast bullet with a flat nose to use or file a round nose flat. The Lee will test a ingot of alloy with a filed smooth place and is harder to read with my eyesight.

Bill

I have acess to a hardness tester at work .
It is just a hassel to drive to the job site where it is .
Also I have to let one of the tec's run the test and I hate oweing a favor to anyone .

So I probely should get one.

Johnch

I melted wheelweights and ran a hardness check on the mixture, itcame out about 10 Brinell. This seems soft to cast a 6.5 mm 140 gr. bullet I like to shoot it at 1700 ft/sec. Here is how I arrived at my figure, Not having a Hardness-tester I used the Brinell formula using a drill press, a bathroom scale. I cast a small sample the size of a quarter and according to the formula pressed with 210 lbs a 0.500 in. ball into the metal. The indentation was 0.140 in. Is this figure of Brinell 10 too soft? Thanks for your reply

Some of us have shotthe 6.5X55 quite a bit. They seem to prefer air cooled WW's, to harder bullets.

Thanks for the reply. What are aircooled ww bullets ? I am shooting a 264 W. Mag. Do you think Brinell 10 is ok? I will run them through a die to size and lube them and I`ll use a gas check.I am not sure what REDUCED POWDER load to use in that big case? Regards Marlin55

Marlin55, you have a can of worms there with that big case and fast twist. You need to find a load that shoots 1800 fps max. No help from me, but others can offer better advice. Air cooled WW means just that, by NOT dropping them into water from the mold, which is called water quenching, making the boolits harder. My advice is to save that barrel for varmits, and rebarrel for plinking/hunting with a 16 twist (for up to 230 grains) or 14 twist (for up to 280 grains) 358 barrel, chambering for the 350 remington magnum, which is a shorter Whelen in capacity. ... felix

quote:

Originally posted by marlin55:
I melted wheelweights and ran a hardness check on the mixture, itcame out about 10 Brinell. This seems soft to cast a 6.5 mm 140 gr. bullet I like to shoot it at 1700 ft/sec. Here is how I arrived at my figure, Not having a Hardness-tester I used the Brinell formula using a drill press, a bathroom scale. I cast a small sample the size of a quarter and according to the formula pressed with 210 lbs a 0.500 in. ball into the metal. The indentation was 0.140 in. Is this figure of Brinell 10 too soft? Thanks for your reply

As I read you, you did your testing almost immediately. Aircooled WW will age harden a couple of points over a week. 12 Bnh sounds about right, and should be good for most pistol and the lower end of rifle.

My guess is that the hardness will be perfectly satisfactory for any load a person would want to use with a cast pistol bullet. Let me add that jacked bullet cores are NOT pure lead. Some manufacturers tout their alloy cores.

Hi you all, that gave my advise. To the question on putting a new barrel on that 264. Win.Mag. I paid some guy who had shot 4 rounds at a deer and did not like the recoil $ 120.00 back in 1972. A good barrel would cost twice as much today. I have a " Lead Rifle" it`s a 788 REM. with a Douglas SS Bull barrel, Canjar Trigger and glass bedded. which I picked up, doing some sharp trading. It likes long 200 gr. bullets. Cal. 308.I am using Lake City Arsenal brass and some 30 year old surplus powder. Remember when 8 lbs sold for $ 24.00.
Someone casted 3000 30 cal for me and I used them up. Now I have to cast myself and I`ll try Brinell 10. Good advise. Thank you all. Marlin 55