Alloy Question

[SgtDog0311]

Hoping Kurt jumps in here but replies welcome from anyone.

I’ve got three alloys.
20:1 @ 60lbs give or take
97/1.5/1.5 @ 220 lbs
WW w/2% tin @ 280lbs

I’ve got two new moulds enroute, one a 483gr that is a scaled version of the Ideal 457132 (the elliptical nose resembles a Creedmoor but without any bore-riding diameter). The other is a slightly modified 457121 (slightly longer base band).
   
   

Going to be shooting both with OE 2f. I don’t see any reason to go through my more spendy 20:1 if the 97/1.5/1.5 would due. And I don’t read many reports of WW with Black.

Any comments welcome!

[Kurt]

John all three alloys are good for the GG bullet. The WW+2% tin is hard. I would not use for the PP unless it's patched over bore diameter.
WW cut 50/50 with lead is a good alloy that will hold the nose as well as 1/16-17 but it's very close to 1/20 in temper.

[Old Jim]

I found in my rifles, that 16:1 alloy worked well with pointy style (money) GG bullets. When velocity got where I wanted it, the noses slumped a little at 20:1 or softer.
But, there are some more round-nosed GG bullets the do well at 20:1, as some Creedmor style slugs, depending on bullet wt.

My rifles calibers are mostly 45s.

An old guys ponderings,

Jim

[SgtDog0311]

Thanks Kurt I was thinking the 97/1.5/1.5 would save me money. Assumed that WW contained more antimony than most BP shooters were comfortable with - though no experience of my own to fall back on with WW & BP .

[Kurt]

My favorite alloy is 18# lead and one# roll of 95/5 no lead solder. The solder is 95% tin 5% antimony. The solder sounds expensive but I watch the shelf when I go to Menards or Home Lumber and when I see it for $18. I pick up several rolls. Still less then ordering tin and pay the shipping. Solder I know that they hold the specks from pure stock. Hard to say what foundry recycled tin or lead is.
This alloy holds the ogive good that the nose looks unfired and the shank fills the grooves.
The 97/1.5/1.5 soft and it's a good thing that it has 1.5% antimony to help hold the nose somewhat from letting the whole bore riding portion tinning the bore,

[SgtDog0311]

Thanks Jim and again Kurt.

Kurt, your statement about "tinning the bore" is intriguing. I got away with the 97/1.5/1.5 with my 38 caliber NASA, which has a long nose; I got away with it insofar as accuracy went but I did have some leading. Thought I might size it differently to see if it helped but now I'm wondering if that was the issue or if it was the alloy.

[Smokey45]

My favorite alloy is 18# lead and one# roll of 95/5 no lead solder. The solder is 95% tin 5% antimony.

Do you have any age hardening/softening changes? (remembering DanT mentioning it can happen with an alloy having more tin than antimony)

Thanks

[Kurt]

Smokey
DT used a Lee lead tester and I don't think that it is accurate enough to see a change, maybe it can I don't know.
I cast during the bad weather and shoot all summer and almost all of those bullets will be gone by the end of the coming summer and fall. I have never seen a change on the targets. So I cant say if they get hard or softer in this time frame.
   

[Kurt]

Thanks Jim and again Kurt.

Kurt, your statement about "tinning the bore" is intriguing. I got away with the 97/1.5/1.5 with my 38 caliber NASA, which has a long nose; I got away with it insofar as accuracy went but I did have some leading. Thought I might size it differently to see if it helped but now I'm wondering if that was the issue or if it was the alloy.

Hard to say John. Lead in it's self is sort of a lubricant and it takes tin or other elements added to it for hardening and this makes a solder and it's mostly the tin that does the smearing. Try to use pure lead and a torch to make the lead stick to metal or even copper, you will have a hard time making it stick. I think what causes barrel leading is a clean dry bore shot with a lead/tin bullet that has a clean dry nose that gets set back and makes contact with that clean dry bore. Also if you check the bore from the chamber forward with a bore scope after the first shot fired you might see that the 45 degree chamber end has rubbed off alloy and it gets smeared forward with other shots following if your lube fails
Another thing I have found. A frosted bullet that was cast to hot seems to smear the dry bore faster then a unfrosted bullet. The frosting is the tin, like you see in galvanizing sheet metal.
But I might be wrong. I cant verify all this for sure.

[Smokey45]

Smokey
DT used a Lee lead tester and I don't think that it is accurate enough to see a change, maybe it can I don't know.
I cast during the bad weather and shoot all summer and almost all of those bullets will be gone by the end of the coming summer and fall. I have never seen a change on the targets. So I cant say if they get hard or softer in this time frame.

Thanks Kurt

As you know, DT had a lot his posts removed. Can't remember all the details.

That pile of bullets aught to keep you busy.

Good shooting