Lead ?

[GameHauler]

Hi all.
some of you will recognize me from other forums.
I do not know anything about casting and have a question.
I pick up a bunch of reloading stuff at a estate sale
and one of the items was about 70# of lead ingots.
I see in catalogs different alloys and was wondering
if there is any way to tell what I have?
I did notice on one of the tubes it says (sinker weights)
and on another it says (wheel weights)

Thanks,
Mike

[jhalcott]

  you can "guesstimate" what you have with a hardness tester. Pure lead is about 5 to 6BHN, wheel weights are about twice that at 12 or 13BHN. I use mostly wheel weight or Lyman#2 (15-16BHN) for most of my shooting. UNfortunately, some guys use any thing that melts as an alloy. Sinker weights MAY be a combination of range pickup, junkyard scrap ,or even Babbit metal. Melt some and see how well it fills the molds. IF it melts at a low temp and fills the molds very well ,it may have a lot of tin content. IF it melts at a higher temp and doesn't fill out well it is probably more pure lead. He probably did not know the content of the metal when he got it, so made it into a "sinker alloy" to denote this!

[GameHauler]

I did not know the man but was told he was BIG TIME into loading.
They said he had over 75 die sets and I think 7 presses set up.
I did not hear about the sale until the third day and just about everything was gone Just gave me the impression he knew what he was doing.
I will try to find someone local with a hardness tester.
Mike

[GameHauler]

I just remembered I stashed 2 more containers under my loading bench.
Another 59 #'s.
One of them was marked salvage.
It did not look as nice as the others
Mike

[GameHauler]

Allrighty then.
I did a little figuring and I guess I need to start casting.

Some quick throwing of figures shows: (Very Rough #'s)

I have apx. 200#'s of castable lead.
7000grs = 1 #.
X's 200# = 1400000 grs of lead
~ by 125gr average bullet weight (lots of .224) = 11200 bullets
~ 100 bullets / box = 112 boxes
X's $20.00 a box = $2240.00 store bought

I know the #'s are real rough but am I way of base?

Should pay for the equipment pretty quick
and have lots of fun learning and casting

Mike

[Badnews Bob]

I don't know if I save a dime casting and reloading but I know I like to do it and it a good feeling when you take game with a bullet you cast out of a round you loaded from a rifle I pieced together. To me thats what its all about.

[Dennis Eugene]

I've spent thousands of dollars saveing hundereds of dollars by casting and handloading my own ammo. But I do shoot more than any body else I know personally and altho I still am a very poor shot I enjoy the shooting casting and handloading as much as I always have and figger when I'm to old to see well enough to shoot I'll still be casting and handloading for my Grandkids.Dennis

[kitchawan kid]

Same here Dennis,just the idea of making a round from scratch is enjoyable.Also here in N.Y. it's very hard to buy any ammo so if you have primers you can just keep on making them.

[Lloyd Smale]

take the ones that are marked ww and cast a couple bullets with them and weight them. then do the same with the alloy that is questionable and weight them. If they are heavier then the ww bullets there softer if there lighter there harder.

[Old Fart]

I've said it before many times and I've seen it many more times. You won't save any money by casting/reloading, you'll just shoot more. Well that's true. But I know for a fact considering the amount of shooting I've done over the years I have more than offset the cost of ALL my casting equiptment several times over.

OF

[mechanic]

With 45-70's at $2.00 per bullet and up, casting and loading is definately cheaper!  Same with 357, just not as dramatic.  Big bullets + big $.  Besides, I get lead free.

[bilmac]

Yea the guys who say they are not saving $s are just pulling your leg. They are shooting lots of bullets, and so overall they are spending money, but the cost per bullet is about as low as you can get if you cast your own, especially if you are not buying lead.

[Sweetwater]

Cost per round is definitely cheaper than buying factory or even someone else's handloads, BUT the only way to save money is don't shoot, and that ain't happenin'! My shooting has to have a spot in the family budget or it doesn't happen. The money gets spent elsewhere. So I scrounge every piece of lead I can find legally and make it work. Even to the point of picking up a wheelweight off the side of the road. Every little bit helps. Been working with Mil-Surp powders lately and that is helping the budget alot!! I also quit buying premium bullets. I will use what is on hand as the need arises and use my cast for my everyday shooting and hunting around home. Just don't see the need to run a Nolser Partition where experience has shown my cast will put it in the freezer. Ooops, think I got a bit off topic, maybe??

Regards,
Sweetwater

[dmitch]

Gamehauler,

If you are really interested in determining the alloy composition of your newly acquired lead stash, I would suggest getting your hands on an article entitled "Determining Bullet Alloys" by Rick Jamison which was published in the July-August 1974 Handloader Magazine.  I
have never found any other method as simple, yet accurate as the proceedure he lays out.  It is excellent.  You will need a good, heavy bullet mold, a scale, some pure lead and your sample....... dmitch