What alloy/mix for the blackout

[Paisano]

Hi All,

New guy on the board with a few questions on bullet casting… actually new to the board, new to the blackout, new to casting bullets and new to reloading bottle neck cartridges. I’ve played with molten metal before (mostly aluminum and brass) but never cast bullets. The plan is to initially cast for subsonic but would also like the ability to cast supers as well.

From what I’ve read on the board powder coating seem to be the way to go for cast bullets in the blackout. If I am going to powder coat what alloy do I need? It seems like most people are using 50/50 lead and wheel weights but locally it appears the all of the sources for wheel weights have dried up. I have been able to scrounge about 150 lb. of pure lead. Rotometals has the tin and antimony available but I have no idea what mix to go with.

More to follow as my adventure begins

Paisano

[bangbangping]

Welcome. Speaking about subs:

I think a BHN of around 12 is fine, but how you get there depends on what you plan to do with them. If you want hollow points to hunt with, you don't want them too brittle. More Sb, more brittle. My current HP alloy is about 2.2% Sb and 3.3% Sn. My general purpose alloy is 2.9% Sb and 1.4% Sn. Both are about the same hardness (~12) and shoot equally well, but the one with more tin expands a lot better while holding together.

You definitely want 1% or so tin to help with mold fillout. Another 3 to 3.5% antimony will get you in the ball park. If you can, mix all your alloy at the same time so you have consistency.

[Paisano]

Thanks for the quick response...

I probably should have given a little more info on the intended use… Pistol with an 8 ½ “ barrel on an AR platform. No Can. Mostly used for plinking, possibly used for hogs, definitely used for pissing liberals off because it has a 30 rnd magazine. I haven’t even finished building it and already have had 3 or 4 uninformed members of the public tell me “You can’t do that, it’s illegal”.

Tomorrow’s payday, I foresee a trip to Rotometals website in my future.