Iam I cast-aholic

I shoot old Winchester rifles in a variety of WEIRD calibers so reloading and casting is a necessity.

Also cast .45 ACP for plinking using the old standard H&G 200 gr SWC mould.

Fortunately stocked up well on lead years ago back when wheel weights were still "for the taking" at tire shops.

Casting just one step in the boolit making process BUT for some reason it seems the most enjoyable! Sizing/lubing can get to be boring ...
 
Yes i am, maybe a boolitaphile. Love the silverstream since a kid making tin soilders with my grandfather. The only part i dont care for is sorting wheel weights, a filthy job but must be done. Love to source raw materials and make them into usable freedom seeds. Have had many failures and fliers, and keyholes down range but every failure led me to success. Have had mostly usable ammo but every once and while a ragged hole. Love to play with mouse phart loads the most, around a 1000fps less report and lots of fun, not much good past 50m but still fun as riding a humpback whale in a hurricane. Less wear and tear on your rifle and every good shot is good trigger time. With the price of reloading components it is a great alternative. Lots to learn too, take most of your reloading knowlage and dump it and start over. Great way to feed milsurps too.
I still giggle like a little girl when i find a large wheel weight, might lead poisioning, dont know.
be safe
 
Agree with the mouse farts my favourite is the 32 RB pure lead in any of my 30 cals and couple grains of pistol powder. Yah the keyholeing is frustrating but that's the best part, figuring out how to make it work. Lastly now I REALLY want a lead solider mold that sounds so cool, yah I know I'm too old, and my little nephews mother would kill me if I gave him a lead solider, but dam I want.
 
Just started to collect lead as I wander into the casting world. I have been reloading now for three years and it seemed a natural way to progress. I went to the local salvag/ mechanical shop and they were happy to provide lead wheel weights. The owner then asked if I could do him a favour and take away a few pails of lead that someone had dropped off a few years ago .

Now I have 5 pails of huge lead chunks of unknown origin. I know it's lead but not sure what else might be in them? Is this a good source and can I use this lead safely ?
 
Depends what the "chunks" of lead look like. If they look like a shaft spun inside a core, they could be babbit bearings.

Could be pieces of lead left over from somebodies other lead project (making lead soldiers maybe?)

If they're babbit material, then they could have high levels of tin, antimony, and zinc in varying percentages.

If you melt them down, keep them separate, and labeled as such, until you can find out what they're made from. Or, you can err on the side of caution and make fishing sinkers from the unknown lead. The guys at work love it when I hand out fishing wieghts.

Don't skim off and discard stuff that floats to the top: you might be getting rid of tin.
 
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