I Am A Lead Scavenger.

[Dirty Tiger]

I plan to start casting .357 158gr flat nose bullets for my Winchester Trapper 94.

I have been picking up slugs at my outdoor range,

I just melted 11lbs into 1lbs ingots, it is a mixture of cast bullets and jacketed bullets.

I have loadbooks that give me the info for cast loads.

Here is my question: Is this scavenged lead going to be too soft to shoot?

If so how many wheel weights should I add per pound?

Thank you in advance.

[peakoftherut]

I am sure there are a lot of people here that know more about bullet casting than I do, but I will give you my opinion. You need to know the hardness of the material you have, the hardness of the material you want to add, and the speed at which you want to achive with your bullets.

The lead from the jacketed bullets will probably be a lot softer than the lead from the cast bullets. So if you collected a lot more jacketed bullets your mixture will be softer than if you collected more cast bullets.

It kind of depends what you want to do with the bullets. If your just plinking it doesn't matter, just check your barrel for leading and back off on you loads if it's apparent. If your hunting you want the bullets hard enough to give good velocity, but not so hard that they don't mushroom, or fragment. If you want top velocity target loads than the harder the better.

Midway has the Lee hardness tester on sale this month. I havn't used it myself but plan on giving one a try. You also might want to go to Beartooth bullets and check out their forums, they have a lot of stuff on cast bullets.

[ron haralson]

Like a famous gun writer said about 40 years ago, you have to ask your rifle. I doubt that the lead would be too soft for 357 in a rifle, but if it gives you trouble, I'd try adding a little tin first. Often rifles will show a marked preference for a lead - tin alloy. assuming you have a good bore, you probably won't need to add antimony(wheelweights) until you approach 1700 - 1800 fps. My 45 - 70 and my 30 - 30s both do noticeably better with 20:1 than with ww + 2%tin. So did a 35 - 303Br. I used to have. Trying it is the only way you'll know for sure.

Ron

[Dirty Tiger]

Thanks for the replies,

My Trapper is not a big game rifle, it's not legal in CO.

This is my plinking/ fun gun.... I may use it for small game.

I plan to keep velocities below 1700fps, most likely around 1100-1300fps.

I'll probably use the ingots as they are.

[Chuck White]

Dirty Tiger

Also keep in mind if you cast a gas check style bullet, your alloy can be a little softer than in a plain based bullet!

[Gavinator]

If you don't have access to a chronograph, you need to be aware that some 357 loads for a pistol can reach almost 1800fps in a carbine length barrel, that's with a 158gr slug too.

[ButlerFord45]

Hey'ya Dirty!  I take it you got your mould.  the cast bullets you've picked up will probably have enough antimony and arsenic content that if you need to heat treat them, you should be able to.  I really doubt that it'll be necessary though.  You'll probably want your lead a little hotter and cast a little faster to keep the aluminium mould hot enough to get good, consistant bullets.  I'm not sure of what all you've learned and read but just in case:  make sure you clean the moulds really well before you start.  You can cast for hours before you get good bullets if you're trying to burn grease or oil off the mould.
Actually, if you feel safe in PMing me your mailing address, I have something for you.