What do i have????

[Idaho Ron]

I have a lot of lead that was given to me by my Grandfather. I am planning on making muzzleloader bullets.
 Some of the lead ingots is marked "WW"  I am sure this is wheel weight.
 Some of it is marked with a  letter  "B"  And some is marked  "B 1/2 + 1/2 TYPE"   The stuff marked  "B" has a very bright shine and is hard to scratch with a fingernail.  the stuff marked "B 1/2 + 1/2 TYPE"  is very hard and a finger nail does not scratch it deep, and it is a mix of shine and dull.
Then there is some marked  "c coner" I am thinking this might be a name of a man that either poured it or maybe was even the owner of it before Grandpa got it. It is very dull looking, and I can scratch it with a thumb nail somewhat easly.  Then I have a bunch of lead wire and deep sea fishing weights. If it helps this lead is over 25 years old. Grandpa moved here about 25 years ago and I know he had it when he moved here.
Is there any way to tell what I have?
  I also have 4 prestone jugs full of reclaimed lead shot this stuff again would be at least 25 to 30 years old or older. would this be soft lead?  It has been cleaned and has new graphite on it.
 The bullets I am going to make are 50 cal Lee REAL 320's and Lyman Great plains 395's.  The reals measure .517 and the Lymans's measure .508  If none of this is soft lead what problems am I going to face?    Thanks for the help.  Ron

[Anduril]

I agree, WW is probably wheel weight. Could be "MM" but don't know what that would be 
B might be babbit
TYPE is probably lynotype
All 3 of these and your shot is too hard for muzzle loaders, trade it to someone who casts for centerfire rifles or start casting "boolits" yourself

AS a general rule, if you can scratch it with a thumbnail its OK for muzzle loader round balls or maxis.
Too hard lead can be a bearcat to load from the muzzle unless you are laoding undersize balls in a smoothie.
..

[Idaho Ron]

I have about 75 pounds of lead that I can scratch deep with a fingernail.  The stuff marked with a "B" is so hard it is tough to scratch with a screwdriver. The stuff marked "c coner" can scratch deep with a screw driver. I am fairly sure it is soft lead.
So if I pour the bullets with the stuff I think is soft and it isn't then the only problem I might have is just hard to push down the barrel?  Ron

[Tom W.]

Yes, on a R.E.A.L. bullet or maxi-ball it will be difficult to push down the barrel. It won't be impossible, as I have done it in the distant past.

[jgalar]

Invest in a lead hardness tester. I think you can pick up the Lee one without spending a fortune. The scraping with a thumb bit never has worked for me.

[Anduril]

Them bullets will be more difficult to load because 1) they are harder and 2) they will cast a little bit larger diameter than pure lead.
..

[jhalcott]

  Idaho, the hard bullets made from those alloys will probably raise pressures in your muzzle loader when you shoot them. A hardness tester will save you a LOT of grief ! There is a formula to tell how much BIGGER an alloy will cast than pure lead. In some cases it is several thousandths of an inch. You will likely destroy any accuracy potential by pounding the bullet down the bore,AND have trouble determining when you have reached the powder.A few hard wacks at that point COULD be real dangerous. go here and look this over to find out how much difference alloys cast.
     http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm