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444 · May 22, 2002, 10:40 PM

When we are talking about lead bullets in modern firearms we are not talking about pure lead, we are talking about a lead alloy. What alloy you use depends on what you are going to do with the bullet, mainly how fast are you going to push it. Linotype contains the following alloy: 86% Lead, 3% Tin, 11% Antimony and has a Brinell hardness number of 22. A common alloy for casting handgun bullets is commonly referred to as a #2 alloy. It consists of 90% Lead, 5% Tin, 5% Antimony, and has a Brinell hardness number of 15. As you can see, the #2 alloy is much softer than linotype. This is not bad. You don't need to shoot super hard bullets in a handgun. To answer your original question, in a handgun, I would use the loading data you have. If you notice a significant amount of leading, or you have very poor accuracy, you have a problem. Excessive leading can be caused by one or more of several issues. Bullet size, bullet lube, and bullet hardness being three of them. These same factors also effect accuracy. If you are buying commercially cast bullets, there probably isn't much you can do about any of them. I have shot truckloads of commercially cast bullets and was well satisfied. In some of my guns I did experience leading. I forked over $12 and bought a Lewis Lead Remover from Brownells which removes the leading in one pass through the bore.

FYI, some futher information:
Wheelweights are 95% Lead, .5% Tin, 4% Antimony and have a Brinell hardness number of 9.
Pure Lead is obviously 100% Lead and has a hardness number of 5.

May 22, 2002, 10:40 PM	#10
444 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2000 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,968	When we are talking about lead bullets in modern firearms we are not talking about pure lead, we are talking about a lead alloy. What alloy you use depends on what you are going to do with the bullet, mainly how fast are you going to push it. Linotype contains the following alloy: 86% Lead, 3% Tin, 11% Antimony and has a Brinell hardness number of 22. A common alloy for casting handgun bullets is commonly referred to as a #2 alloy. It consists of 90% Lead, 5% Tin, 5% Antimony, and has a Brinell hardness number of 15. As you can see, the #2 alloy is much softer than linotype. This is not bad. You don't need to shoot super hard bullets in a handgun. To answer your original question, in a handgun, I would use the loading data you have. If you notice a significant amount of leading, or you have very poor accuracy, you have a problem. Excessive leading can be caused by one or more of several issues. Bullet size, bullet lube, and bullet hardness being three of them. These same factors also effect accuracy. If you are buying commercially cast bullets, there probably isn't much you can do about any of them. I have shot truckloads of commercially cast bullets and was well satisfied. In some of my guns I did experience leading. I forked over $12 and bought a Lewis Lead Remover from Brownells which removes the leading in one pass through the bore. FYI, some futher information: Wheelweights are 95% Lead, .5% Tin, 4% Antimony and have a Brinell hardness number of 9. Pure Lead is obviously 100% Lead and has a hardness number of 5. __________________ You know the rest. In the books you have read How the British Regulars fired and fled, How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard wall, Chasing the redcoats down the lane, Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.