Recommended lead for casting big bore slugs

[Verminstalker]

I wondered if anyone here casts their own slugs and if they could shine some light on what the recommended hardness is for slugs vs. pellets. I think pellets are around BHN 8? Should cast slugs be the same or closer to cast bullets made for cowboy action shooting which is around BHN 12? Mostly referring guys shooting .257- .45 cal. slugs at high power.

[nielsenammo]

I cast and swage slugs for 22 to 50 caliber.  Swaging wants as soft as lead as possible, 5-6 BHN.  Casting is hard to do with pure lead and you will get greater weight variance with pure lead.  50:1 lead makes a better cast and more consistent results since it flows and fills in better. 40:1 (lead / tin) is easy to find and works very well with our airguns.  I would not use antimony in your mix because it makes the lead much harder.

[sixshootertexan]

I use 1% tin in my cast.

[PakProtector]

Soft is good. The Tin is used to educe surface tension and allow the alloy to flow into small details better. Makes for a more consistent slug. Up to 2-3%, depending on how they load and shoot.
cheers,
Douglas

[rsterne]

Anywhere from 1-2.5% tin in pure lead works well.... I use 1%.... Some guys use harder mixes (more tin), but most stay away from Antimony.... The more tin, the lower the melting point, and the lower you can cast and get good fillout....

Bob

[Verminstalker]

Great info guys! I've done lots of reloading for my regular guns for several years but since I've recently been bitten by the airgun bug, I've decided to try and cast my own slugs now. This hobby is going to be bad for the wallet!

[KnifeMaker]

I've used pure, 20/1, 30/1, 40/1 and a few other mixes.  So far, 1-2% @ 690-700 Deg. does a fine job, and gives very consistent bullets. 

Knife

[Verminstalker]

Been finding cast bullet manufacturers that have pistol bullets for cowboy action shooting with a BHN of 10-11. Would these be decent slugs to shoot in airguns as long as there was no lube on it?

[rintafile]

Only way to find out is try...Some airguns has "real" gun barrels..So 10-11 isn't  necessarily to hard..

[TPL]

I've tested this some years ago and found out the best hardness for accuracy was about 9 -10 BHN in my gun and barrel. Although I don't know if this is the case in all guns(power levels) and barrels. I recommend testing too.

[KnifeMaker]

I usually cast at 2% tin in the mix.  The last batch of lead had a little antimony in it, although it was sold as pure. Also, the last batch of tin I bought was from pewter, and it also had a touch of the antimony in it.

The bullets are indeed slightly harder yet they shoot fine, and are performing just fine in the hollow points I cast. So the percentage must be really small.

But left with a choice, 1-2% tin in pure lead mix works the best for me.

Knife

[William]

I have shot a lot of bullets recently cast in the BHN range from 5 to 12, I seen no difference in the same bullet in groupings, I dont cast but this is just what I have found.

Follow the other comments on the 1-2% range or what ever makes them pour and fill out better. I think that once you get your pouring down to a science that you like and works for you, I would make sure the bullet is big enough but not too big to size to the proper spec's of your barrel. I have tested my .357 guns with bullets from .355 up to .361 and some bullets shoot good at .358 and some shoot good at .360, the object is to find the proper size for that particular bullet to each specific barrel. Like I mentioned Hardness didn't really have that much effect on groups (Size Did)!

William

[Verminstalker]

Thanks for the advice so far guys! I've got plans to try casting .357 slugs & plan to try and get a 97% blend when I make ingots. Until then, I wanted to try buying a few different weights and designs that were already made and see which shoot halfway decent for plinking after running them through a sizer. Then I was going to buy moulds for the style that worked best and fine tune the weight and sizing. Most commercial cast pistol bullets are around 12-17 BHN and I knew that airguns liked the softer blends around 8-10? Found some from Crown Bullet that are 10-11 BHN and figured that they may be soft enough to try.

[Tofazfou]

Sid,

Lotsa GREAT info already.  I shoot pure lead and 1% tin mix.  The 1% makes a difference in fill out for sure.  When you mix 1% tin into pure lead, it only makes the bullets .3% harder.  So if pure lead is 5 BHN, the adding 1% tin will only make it about 6.5 BHN.  Adding 1% antinmony will make a pure lead bullet about .92% harder for roughly 9.6 BHN.  So 1% of tin or antimony will EFFECTIVELY increase BHN of pure lead.

I use 1% Tin and like Nick said, it really makes bullets MORE CONSISTENT.  The other day, out of roughly 300 bullets, i threw back about 15 of them cause they were just a TAD over my .5 gr tolerance parameters.  But that is also NOT SAYING those bullets were way out of wack.  They were not at all and really could have been sized and shot with the rest.  That is NOT BAD at all to only through back so few bullets out of so many cast.

With harder bullets well into the double digits (10+) just be careful with ones that are way bigger than your bore.  Thats a good way to get a bullet lodged real good down the pipe.  It will happen with soft bullets to BTW

The 5-10 BHN should suit you well IMO............

[Verminstalker]

Thanks Cedric. Was that lead the type you used to cast the .257 bullets in your soda can shoot video? I thought that was around 400yds? BTW I really like the videos you and Baxter have on Youtube.

[Tofazfou]

Thanks Cedric. Was that lead the type you used to cast the .257 bullets in your soda can shoot video? I thought that was around 400yds? BTW I really like the videos you and Baxter have on Youtube.

Sid,

The lead i used in the 446 yards soda can shoot was PURE LEAD (certified).

1% shoots the same but cast much easier than pure lead.  I bet 2% cast even PURDIER.....lol

Another thing too about lead that is just a PINCH harder due to harder alloys is that you clean a little less also. 

Thank you also for the video PROPS.  Your awesome.............

[jimreed1948]

I have been getting my lead from Rotometals.  Are y'all using the same source or other sources?

Also, do any of you use a lubricant before sizing or after sizing?  I read on another forum someone uses Ballistol after sizing.  They placed them in a bag, sprayed Ballistic in the bag, move it around a bit and they're ready to shoot.

[rsterne]

Something that hasn't been mentioned.... The softer the lead, the lower the velocity required for the bullet to expand.... of particular importance with HollowPoints....

Bob

[Tofazfou]

I have been getting my lead from Rotometals.  Are y'all using the same source or other sources?

Also, do any of you use a lubricant before sizing or after sizing?  I read on another forum someone uses Ballistol after sizing.  They placed them in a bag, sprayed Ballistic in the bag, move it around a bit and they're ready to shoot.

I have bought from RotoMetals and their lead is verified which is a good thing. I buy my tin from RotoM also.  Yes, RotoM is expensive.  Too expensive.

With EBAY, which i have bought before, you really have no idea of what you are getting.  More often than not, if its from EBAY, its range lead that's mixed with every metal known to man and sold AS........PURE LEAD!

Other folks i know in different states get Roofing Lead by the sheets and or they have good sources from people they know.

I usually dont lube as i don't size by very much as i get my molds about .001-.002" over bore.  Nothing wrong with LUBING before sizing.  The only thing is if you hunt medium to big game, you might now want the smell of aerosols IN/ON your clothing and skin.