lead alloy questions

Moderators: gds, bakerjw, Dolomite_Supafly

Post Reply
BJK
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:30 am

lead alloy questions

Post by BJK »

Gents, I know very little about bullet casting (more like nothing) but I started a few months ago casting #4 buckshot and learned quickly how to do it and fill the mold. Not the easiest thing to do I learned later. Then moved to extremely easy 12 ga slugs. But I have all this COWW lead and a .300BLK...

So I'm going to start to cast 9mm bullets and wet coat with Hi-Tek. So if I can do that is the .300BLK so difficult? I'm going to find out.

I'm pretty sure the COWW lead will work fine with heavy subsonic bullets, but how fast can I drive the alloy supersonically without problems? Below there is a thread re: supersonic bullets and a NOE mold is linked to that uses a GC even though the bullet is coated. Will I need a gas check? Or is a better question, at what velocity will I need a gas check?

I'll get a LEE push through sizing die. Will that seat the gas checks if in fact they're needed?

By all means treat me as though I know nothing and you'll have it correct. Start at the beginning and I promise I won't get insulted but I'll thank you for the thorough explanation.
User avatar
Netpackrat
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 661
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:06 am

Re: lead alloy questions

Post by Netpackrat »

It's also usually possible to raise the hardness of wheelweight alloy bullets a bit through heat treatment. I forget for how long (I have it in my notes somewhere), but you put them on a cookie sheet in an oven at 400F (IIRC) and then dump directly into ice water (I used to do this for my 10mm loads). You can also get much of the same effect by dropping them directly from the mold into water, but I don't particularly like keeping a bucket of water in my casting area.
BJK
Silent But Deadly
Posts: 355
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:30 am

Re: lead alloy questions

Post by BJK »

I plan on baking the coating at 400°F so after the final coat it would be easy to quench them. I'll research it. Thanks.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests