COWW hardness

Range lead is not considered "hard" lead.

Most guys will do half half with COWW.

You need tin/arsnic/antimony in the right quantities to get lead to harden. Lead by itself does not quench harden
 
Tin do not necessarily harden, but rather make the pour flow smoother. Antimony is the most used for hardening alloy. Old pewter is a mix of tin, antimony and a bit of copper. The old pewter is marked BM so if you find those marks on a trinket priced few bucks is worth buying. The new "pewter" is tricky. The content it is not tin like we all like it.
I found a seller on ebay from Ottawa who sells many many items presented as pewter but when I checked the marking it was the new (fake) pewter. So I had to pass even the guy wanted to sell me the whole stash for cheap. Same thing on Kijiji, I found a guy who was selling a small table presented as pewter. I went there to buy it but when I put the torch on the bottom side of the stand it was obvious is not pewter but aluminum. It was also very light.
If you see marks like Stede, Wilton, Armetal these ARE NOT pewter. So don't get all excited because it sells for cheap but rather check for marks, sound and weigh.
 
I cast some bullet for my .45 colt rifle. using hard lead shot quench in water. Shot a few into a block of D fir fire wood and they didn't mushroom, not even a little bit.
If I added 25% pure lead to the next batch would that soften the bullets enough so they would mushroom a bit?
 
From what I understood he was not complaining about the bullets leading the barrel or not accurate but rather bullets who would not mushroom which has no relation with correct sizing.
 
Did you read the question which is "If I added 25% pure lead to the next batch would that soften the bullets enough so they would mushroom a bit?"
I would actual read the question first.
yomomma said:
I would actual swage my barrel first to find diameter of bore. Then make sure my bullets are about two thou over that. Then I would start worrying about hardness.
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I never tried that but don't expect miracles as lead not alloyed will only harden that much no matter what you do to it. At least that's what the metallurgy lead chapter says.
The best way to harden the bullets is to add into your alloy some hard alloyed lead, Linotype, tin etc. Do not add pure antimony because the melting temp is double than the lead and at that temp the lead will boil and release incredible toxic gases and vapors. Let the big guys do that for you in specialized industrial furnaces and you can buy from them.
Linotype/monotype is hard to find but hard lead can be found more often.

The worst case scenario is to buy a harder lead straight from a smelting plant. They usually have any hardness you're after. Even at their prices if you cast your own bullets you still gonna be cheaper than buying ready made cast bullets.
 
Personally playing with Linotype and what I'd consider basically pure lead.
What kind of ratios have you seen in your experiences.
I've tried adding 1.25oz linotype per pound to what I'd consider soft lead and don't feel its enough just yet; getting smearing towards muzzle after twenty-fourty rounds in sucession in .308cal barrel, projectiles sized to .310.
 
I never casted yet bullets for rifle. Rifle cast bullets are finicky due to a lot of factors, speed, pressure, accuracy. A 308 goes over 2000-2500 fps and at that speed many variables are at play. At those speeds a gas check is required. I don't have the knowledge in this matter so I won't dare misguide you in any way. Anyway at over 2000 fps you will need minimum 22 BNH. I've never been there.
I cast only handgun bullets and never needed more than 12-14 BNH.

To get 13 BNH I alloy pure lead (that I bought from a company who sell lead alloys) with linotype(that I bought from a CGN-er). 95% pure lead with 5% lino. Simple and is right on the money without having to quench the bullets. If I quench I can get them even harder.
I love playing with lead and alloying things. It's so awesome.
 
Moose_Master said:
I never casted yet bullets for rifle. Rifle cast bullets are finicky due to a lot of factors, speed, pressure, accuracy. A 308 goes over 2000-2500 fps and at that speed many variables are at play. At those speeds a gas check is required. I don't have the knowledge in this matter so I won't dare misguide you in any way. Anyway at over 2000 fps you will need minimum 22 BNH. I've never been there.
I cast only handgun bullets and never needed more than 12-14 BNH.

To get 13 BNH I alloy pure lead (that I bought from a company who sell lead alloys) with linotype(that I bought from a CGN-er). 95% pure lead with 5% lino. Simple and is right on the money without having to quench the bullets. If I quench I can get them even harder.
I love playing with lead and alloying things. It's so awesome.
Click to expand...

That sentence is very true, I might even have replaced "finicky" with "absolutely frustrating" for some guns...The rest of that paragraph has been conventional thinking (and very truthful) for eons. However "conventional" has been replaced by the "unconventional" in the past couple of years...Powder coating cast rifle bullets has changed the cast sport to be most enjoyable.

Not so much emphasis has to be placed on bullet alloys or "dropped bullet" size anymore. There are lots of reports (Castboolits.com site) of .308-30-06 and other "faster" calibers shooting plain WW composition bullets with no GC's at way over 2200 fps. with no leading whatsoever. I haven't shot any that fast but have shot some up to 1700 fps in a 30-30, no leading and the best groups I have ever shot with that gun...jacketed run about 2" while the PC'd cast are running about 1.2". Basically every rifle I have tried cast bullets in with a PC coating have cut the group size in half from conventional hard cast, lubed bullets.
 
The tool is called .... hardness tester, of course. There are few manufacturers out there(cabin tree, lee, saeco, LBT). Different prices, shapes and different ways of measuring the hardness. I tried them all and they all have pros and cons but they all do the job.
When you cast is essential to know the hardness of the bullet you gonna shoot.
 
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