How soft an alloy can I cast 200gr 45LC for low power CAS?

[Walstr]

My CWW [clip on wheel weights] cache is getting low. I'd like to stretch my supply by adding lead [fishing downrigger balls, & stick-on wheel weights] to the alloy. I have no other use for this soft lead.

I'm casting with a LEE #90697, 45 Colt, 6 cavity mold, Xlox tumble lube'g & 5.0gr Trailboss in annealed cases.
Bar-B-Sue is using a brace of SASS New Vaquero's & mine are just blued.

How "soft" have you gone without leading, etc.

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum!
I'd suggest you check out the castboolits forum. But the real way is to let your gun tell you what it'll take. Experiment with different mixes to see.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I cast all my CAS (cowboy ) .45 bullets from 50/50 pure lead and wheel weights.
I load them to around 825 f.p.s. Without any trace of leading in my guns. I am sure you could even use 1/3 WW and 2/3 pure lead without any leading with cowboy level loads.

 

[mikld]

Don't have a 45 here, but I do have 5, .44s I shoot. The softest alloy I've used for my revolvers is about 9 BHN (which is pretty soft), but because I fit my bullets to my guns, they rarely lead. I size my bullets to fit the cylinder throats (measured with pin gauges and micrometers) and although I've not tried pure lead, soft bullets work fine.

 

[gwpercle]

50-50 works fine , even in 9mm and 45 acp, and can probably be cut more.
I was reading Elmer Keith's book Sixguns and he said there was no use using a mix harder than 1 part tin to 16 parts lead . Another article also mentioned 1 part tin to 20 parts lead. I don't have access to my data and reloading books, but when I get home will try to find a mix with COWW and lead to approximate that 1-16 alloy.
My source of unlimited free COWW's retired from the tire business , that's when I discovered 50-50 worked as well or better.
A 16 to 1 mix might make those COWW's go even farther ....Old Elmer did know a thing or two about bullets !

Update:
I did some searching and found a mix of 70% pure lead to 30% COWW will give the approximation of a 16 to 1 lead-tin alloy. Which sounds about right to me, next casting session I'm going to try it out.
Gary

 

[gramps]

Hi Gary, where do you get pure lead at reasonable rates?
gramps

 

[RUFFBIRD]

I have found some pure stuff from scrounging those smaller scrap yards. I have picked up lead pipe & roof sheeting. Over the last 5 years or so I got about 75 lbs total, of those little foils from those X-ray things they put in your mouth at the dentist who saves them for me! Every little bit helps. I just add it to my wheel weight mix to keep the alloy on the softer side. Another thing I mix in is 2% tin, which I derive from pewter which helps more in the forming better detail, when casting the actual bullet. Wheel weights do have about a half of 1% already but not quite enough in my opinion. The tin does harden the lead, but ever so slightly.....
It is harder to find last few years as the environmental rules/bull is keeping it from the little guy, but persistence pays off over time.
Happy hunting......

 

[Rodfac]

I cast all my CAS (cowboy ) .45 bullets from 50/50 pure lead and wheel weights.
I load them to around 825 f.p.s. Without any trace of leading in my guns.

My experience too. My Ruger NV had undersize cylinder throats, however, and I had them reamed out to a uniform 0.4525" so that may be a factor in your use.

I push them up to 900 fps using Unique and/or Win 231 with no leading. I use Lyman's old .45 Colt mold: 454190 (it may be listed as 452190 now) and size them using a 0.453 or 0.454" Lyman die. 50-50 is the lube. If you have leading issues, you might try Lee's Liquid Alox thinned 1:3 with mineral spirits, warmed, then use the swirl lube technique as recommended by Lee. I do this with any commercial bullets that I buy as they are usually overly hard for my applications and avoid leading.

HTH's Rod

 

[ph_redhawk]

I agree with about a 50/50 mix. Works fine in my low velocity 44 mag, 357 and 45 ACP.

 

[frontstuffers]

In an article from Skeeter Skelton, he mentioned using 20 to 1 (lead to tin) as a regular alloy and referenced 16 to 1 as a "hard" alloy. I believe he used these in just about everything. FWIW