Where to buy highest quality alloy?

[paulsnapp]

I am just starting to cast boolits and looking for some advice. I need to buy some alloy and right now looking at Lyman#2 type to start. There are many websites and places to buy alloy. If you do not take price into consideration, who do you think makes the highest quality pure alloy? Thanks!

[SL1]

Please take what follows in a constructive manner.

It seems strange that you are looking for "purest" alloys for seveal reasons.

For one thing, an alloy is a mixture of metals, so it is not "pure" in the sense that a single metal (say lead) is pure. Lyman #2 is composed mainly of lead and tin, but will almost certainly contain some "impurities" of alimony and arsenic. Those additional metals are actually beneficial if you want hard metal, because they allow hardening by "heat treating".

On the other hand, some "impurities" such as zinc are to be avoided because they will keep the alloy from properly filling-out molds, leading to imperfectly cast bullets and loss of accuracy. I doubt that this is a problem with anybody selling "alloys" for casting. But, if somebody is selling "wheel weights" (or ingots that they cast from wheel weights), then zinc might be a problem, because some wheel weights are now made of zinc and those must be separated from the lead ones.

One alloy that some casters like a lot is "linotype". It is a mixture of lead, tin and antimony in very specific proportions that was developed for casting printers' type, because it fills molds extremely well and allows for clearly detailed characters on the faces of the type used to assemble plates for printing newspapaers. That means that it will also cast very pretty and accurate bullets. But, although linotype is hard, it is also more brittle than other lead alloys that have been heat treated to make them as hard (or even harder). So, for hunting bullets, linotype may not be as desireable because it can shatter on impact and not penetrate as well.

There are also some "proprietary" alloys that include other metals such as silver. The Oregon Trail Bullet Company touts its "silver bullets" that contain about 2% silver.

"Pure" (or almost pure) lead is very soft. That is sometimes a problem for bullets used in cartridges. But, it is a good quality for bullets that will be used in muzzle-loaders. So, some people are looking for "soft" lead to make their balls or bullets for use in flintlock and caplock muzzle loaders.

Most people who cast bullets are trying to shoot more for less money spent. They most often use scrounged lead, including wheel weights, discarded printers' type, lead liners from shower stalls, etc., etc. They may add some tin to increase casting qualities, or add some alimony to increase hardness (usually using lead/tin solder or even a little shotgun shot). But, the idea is to make a lot of decent quality bullets for very little money.

However, sources of lead to scrounge have become increasingly rare, and several vendors are now selling alloys to shooters. By the time that you pay for alloy and the shipping required to get it to you, you may be better off just buying the bullets cast and sold by somebody else, especially if you are not going to shoot a very large number of them.

So, until you can tell us more about what you intend to do with the bullets that you plan to cast, it is hard to give you advice about what would be "best" for you to use or do.

SL1

[paulsnapp]

Thanks for the reply and great insights. I am just starting and no reply with help is taken in any way but constructive. I am going to be casting only .44-40 WCF and primarily Cowboy Loads for plinking and shooting at both indoor and outdoor ranges. Muzzle velocity of somehere between 950 to 1000 fps. Something in the range of 100 rounds per outing. I have been reloading for many years for my M24 (.308 Win) because I am shooting ranges out to 800 yards and my reloads are much more consistent and reliable than anything I can buy - and I enjoy reloading as a hobby. The enjoyment is my primary objective for casting my own boolits. Nobody would want to waste money, but even if I could buy cast boolits cheaper than I could cast them I still want to cast them. Having said that, I want to be able to produce as high a quality (or higher) than anything that I can buy. So, I was just starting with the beginning - the alloy. I want to buy the best that is available and know that there is a whole lot of experienced casters who can keep me from going down rabbit trails. Just as I have helped many long range shooters with reloading. Opinions I am sure will abound, but those who have been doing this for a long while will know best. RotoMetals has been suggested to me as one of the higher quality providers. What do you think? Thanks again for the advice and help.

[dahermit]

I am going to be casting only .44-40 WCF and primarily Cowboy Loads for plinking and shooting at both indoor and outdoor ranges. Muzzle velocity of somehere between 950 to 1000 fps.

Cowboy Action Shooting, from what I have surmised, is commonly done with very light loads to enable accuracy while at speed without the handicap of heavy recoil. If that be true, then the speed you desire from your loads is way too fast unless you plan to use a 44-40 Carbine. You may consider slower loads...205 grain cast bullet over 6.0 grains of Unique for 750 fps, ala Lyman's 47th edition (starting load). Then, the cheapest and most common of the lead alloys (wheel weights) becomes a viable option that will serve just as well as the more expensive but more "pure" alloys.
Many casters use just wheel weights, others add up to 2% Tin. "Cowboy" handgun bullets do not need harder, more expensive alloys. No need to carry a silk purse when a sow's ear will do just as well.

I want to be able to produce as high a quality (or higher) than anything that I can buy.

The "highest quality" cast bullets you buy, will look and perform no different than the cast bullets you can make from wheel weights plus 2% Tin. Also, if you need high velocity and want a harder bullet, wheel weights will allow you to heat treat them to a hardness way beyond pure Linotype.

[David Bachelder]

To answer your question.

Rotometals carries it.

You can save a little mney if you can find lead on your own, then buy tin and antimony. Blend the alloy yourself.

Lymans #2 is:
95% Lead
2%Tin
2% Antimony

Lymans #2 is a pretty hard alloy (BHN around 15 or so), I doub't if it would make good hollow point bullets.

Wheel weights are pretty much a thing of the past, I wouldn't spend a great deal of time looking for them. Pure lead can be found at some Plumbing Supply Houses (call and ask). There are several people selling tin and lead on e-bay, I'm told. Scrounging lead is pretty easy, all you do is start asking people you know or work with if they have any or know where some might be. Scrap yards sell it as well, expect to pay between .50 and 1.50 per pound. Depends on who and when you ask.

[chiefr]

Concur wholeheatedly on using pure or soft lead with anitique rifles

[snuffy]

Roto metals will be happy to sell you certified alloy. The percentages will be exact.

In your application, I would go with 20-1 alloy, that's 20 parts pure lead to 1 part tin. That's IF all you ever want is for bullets for you 44-40, AND you only want the powder puff loads the SASS shooters usually shoot. However IF you would someday want to shoot lead boolits in something a bit hotter, then you could easily harden that 20-1 alloy by adding some antimony.

CAUTION! Bullet casting is addictive! If you're fascinated by the reloading process, you're a prime candidate for being hooked on casting. It can go as far as buying a gun so you can shoot the bullets from that mold you were 1, given, 2, saw at a gun show, or even 3, you saw/bought it on Midway.

Also IF you really want to know a bunch of info about casting, go here;

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/

Be advised, you should spend several weeks reading a couple hours each day on the castboolits website. Then register to ask questions. Great bunch of folks there, MOST will answer questions freely for a new caster. Read the stickies on the cast boolits sub forum.

Lyman #2 alloy is 90% lead, 5% tin and 5% antimony. Too hard for your application.

[schmellba99]

http://www.leadproducts.com/

This is who Friendswood Bullet Company purchases their lead stock from. He makes some nice projectiles.

[mehavey]

RotoMetals -- as has been recommended above -- is first class

I'd get 30-1 for the BPCR's you mentioned
and Lyman #2 for the higher velocity work

I use both.
The first for Ram Bashing with Sharps/HiWalls/Rolling Blocks 45-90, 45-120, 38-55, etc
The second for my 94 Marlin Lever action 45-70, the 30-06 and various full-up 45 Colt/357 loads in rifles

[SL1]

For the best cast bullets that you can make yourself, I think that the money is best spent on the molds, rather than the alloy.

Especially for the low-pressure loads that you want to make, alloy hardness is not an issue. While it may need to be soft to avoid leading if there is a big mis-match between your cylinder chamber throats and your barrel's groove diameter, that mismatch is the real problem. Getting the cylinder throats to be about 0.001" to 0.002 inch larger than the grooves and making the bullets match your throat diameter will be your best bet for good accuracy with minimal leading, even when the alloy hardness is not optimum for the pressure of your loads. I think the rest of the leading problem is picking a good lubricant.

With molds that drop bullets of the right diameter (or slighty larger and then sized), that are round and well filled-out, you should be able to get good accuracy that "better" alloy will not improve.

SL1