Casting 95 bullets using 7+ pounds of lead

[tigrr]

Had a wee bit of free time and needed to cast some of my new Lyman 535 gr postal bullet mold. Melted straight wheel weight fresh from the tire store. Remove clips cast bullets. Cooked off machining oils and sprayed entire outside of mold with liquid graphite.
Then made these 1 at a time. Darrell would be proud!!



So as the title says you get 13 bullets per pound of lead... 10 lbs disappears fast. Just for a comparison.



These will be sitting on a pile of 70 grains of Goex 2F Black powder and shot out of my Pedersoli 1874 Sharps Competition. Yeehaw. LIG

 

[Bassmaster]

Those look like some nice thumpers!!

 

[yomomma]

Coww not to hard for the old girl?

 

[jethunter]

I would go a bit softer than ww. Half ww and half pure lead would bea good mixture for that bullet rifle combo

 

[LUTNIT]

I've shot a couple hundred pure WW water dropped 500 grainers in my H&R Buffalo Classic over 2Fg and 3Fg to good effect. I didn't notice much of a difference versus some pure lead bullets I tried. I guess it's fine in modern barrels? I've never tried it in an antique/period barrel.

 

[hunter64]

I have been using one of Boomers PGT copy molds (http://bpcr.net/site_docs-results_schedules/documents/pedersoli_gunn_trenk_bullet.htm ) for a while in my Sharps rifle and it is shooting great. Like the others have said I thought straight Clip on WW where too hard so I started to mix 50/50 with pure lead with a bit of tin added for fill out. Honestly I haven't seen any difference with 50/50 mix or air cooled COWW's. No leading to clean out and accuracy was the same.

I was reading Ken Waters (Pet Loads) the other night and he used Lino and pure lead (about 15 for hardness) for his testing of the 45/70 and that included orig. rifles all the way up to a Ruger No.1 which was kind of surprising to me as I thought he would have tested with a Lyman #2 formulation.

Now I just use air cooled WW to save on my pure lead. Wish I had a private range so I could build a bullet trap to try and recover those big missiles.

 

[grouch]

I can't speak to what works in a Pedersoli Sharps, but certainly my rolling block (Bauska barrel) shows a marked preference for 20 : 1 lead and tin.
Grouch

 

[c.t.smith]

I shot that bullet cast from WW in my LOTT with good results

 

[tigrr]

I've recovered a lot of my bullets after the snow melted. Pure lead versus wheel weight showed no difference in depth of rifling.
Wheel weight quenched is too hard for hunting though.
I need time to test the 40 inch drop tube with BP. I will fit 70 grains in a 45/70 case, somehow. Maybe just give up and go with 68 grains of 2F.