do i have to mix wheel weight lead with ant thing to shoot it?

[brokenbone]

i have about 200 lbs of wheel weights that are melted into ingots and are not doing any good. do i have to mix them with anything to make my own bullets?  is it worth it?  i shoot 40 and 45.  any info would be great.

[jdb]

if u wanna get rid of some of that let me know. JB

[brokenbone]

no not at this time. i figure if i can't use it for hunting lead or pistol lead then it will be great for buck shot and slingshots as that is the way we may be headed. with osama's white house agenda

[brokenbone]

no anwers?  i was hopeing some one here was a lead shooter

[300rum]

I didn't reply earlier because I never actually did it but had a friend who used wheel weights all the time.  He just lubed them and we shot them.  He poured them, let them cool and then put them in his oven, not the one his wife cooked with.  He swore the oven hardened them up a bit.  They will do just fine at lower velocity, not much more than 1000fps, better less than 900, but you will need to clean your barrel a bit more.  Just make sure that before you are done shooting you run a few FM J's out the tube and that will help too. 

[SagebrushStalker]

Okay, I've been thinking about getting into bullet molding so I've been doing some home work.  Wheel weight lead is harder than most other leads, as it contains some antimony, only the lead looking weights, not the tape weights or the coated (gray) weights.  If you are going to shoot ww bullets then keep them around 1000.  You can also harden ww lead by putting it in the oven and getting them hot but not hot enough to melt, for 30 minutes, then immediatly pull them out of the oven and dump them in a bucket of cold water.  The hardening process must be done after the bullets are sized, as sizing after hardening would take off the thin layer of harder alloy.
Again this is just what I have learned in the last 2 weeks, there may be more to it, but I hope it helps

[Idabooner]

Idabooner
Site Sponsor
Scout

 Online

Age: 73
Location: Methow Valley
Posts: 375



   
  Re: Bullet caster
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2007, 09:43:25 AM » Quote Modify Remove 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I used to cast for .30 cal., .357-.38, 9MM, .41, .44, .45, & .54. Various bullet styles in these calibers.  I did a lot of experimenting with lead alloy mixtures. I used plumbers bar solder, (it has a lot of tin), pure lead, wheel weights (some tin), car battery's (not much lead here).   I settled for as near as I could get to #2 alloy for a all around mix. For the hotter loads more tin (more penetration, less leading).  If I recall leading will start around 1300 fps., from that and under, after several rounds run a few factory jacketed bullets, helps wipe the lead out.  Over 1300 fps. use a gas check, and more tin you can get into the low 2000 fps. with proper lube and sizing, and still get some mushroom on the bullets.

This is a lot of fun and lowers the shooting cost way way down. It's been a lot of years since I've done much, I have well over a 100 lbs. in 1 lbs. bars of various mixes.  Just give it the old scratch test, pour a 1 lbs. bar and scratch it with a knife point to see how hard it is.  Pour a bullet, shoot it into a rotten stump, dig it out and see the results.

I used the LYMAN RELOADING HANDBOOK for a reference. 

[brokenbone]

i will have to get a book on the subject.  i was going to load some lazercast bullets and it fot me thinking about all the lead i have.  40 bullets are at about 90 bucks b4 shipping from berry.  i could buy a mould and use the lead dipper and melter i have and be way ahead of that cost.  even with gas checks.  thanks for alll the ideas and feed back. i will do some workup and let you all know how it goes.  thanks