Tale of Three Bullets
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
I won’t argue with the picture at all.
However, in my findings, molds can be as fickle to get them to drop “perfect” bullets as some rifles can be to get an accurate load.
I started a note book a few years back, keeping track of specific molds likes and dislikes.
I will admit to adding tin at times when dealing with a stubborn one.
The various sources of alloys folks use anymore may not be as “pure” or what one thinks they are because the used to be something. So tin may help with questionable alloy?
Y’all need to get on my case, have not fired up the lead pot or cast anything in over a year.
Built and pieced together a few rifles. And, them being smaller than .224 I am reluctant to cast for them, besides driving them at 38-4150 FPS.
FYI, all the pooh pooh that has been put on the 17 Remington for years is just that. It is an outstanding cartridge once one understands it.
I will quit before this becomes an official hijacking.
However, in my findings, molds can be as fickle to get them to drop “perfect” bullets as some rifles can be to get an accurate load.
I started a note book a few years back, keeping track of specific molds likes and dislikes.
I will admit to adding tin at times when dealing with a stubborn one.
The various sources of alloys folks use anymore may not be as “pure” or what one thinks they are because the used to be something. So tin may help with questionable alloy?
Y’all need to get on my case, have not fired up the lead pot or cast anything in over a year.
Built and pieced together a few rifles. And, them being smaller than .224 I am reluctant to cast for them, besides driving them at 38-4150 FPS.
FYI, all the pooh pooh that has been put on the 17 Remington for years is just that. It is an outstanding cartridge once one understands it.
I will quit before this becomes an official hijacking.
Ian
Notorious member
Lots of reasons, of course. One is to gain some stiffness in the alloy (Sb/Sn intermetallic) for HV use. Another is to increase bullet diameter a slight bit. Yet another is to help keep the bullets from "coring" as they cool. A balanced mix of Sb/Sn acts almost like a eutectic alloy and tends not to give the shrinkage puckers in bullet bases...provided you keep the sprue washed out for a couple seconds when pouring so the cavity has an abundance of liquid metal to pull from as the bullet solidifies.
If they all looked that way and weren't cracked from falling to the towel, I might. They will be smaller and less heavy than the bullet in the middle by enough to maybe matter sometimes if the two were mixed and shot for a group. When I want a bullet to be as small as possible and as inexpensive as possible (such as micro-groove .45 caliber pistol bullets that will be powder coated), then I don't add tin to my WW or scrap alloy and I cast with the mould slightly overheated.
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And another reason to add Sn is malleability. Or in other words hanging together that microsecond longer on a steel target which was my prime reason for adding 2% Sn to the 2% Sb WW alloy. Also better mushrooms with a HP with a Sb alloy or in other words the nose doesn't break off quite as easy.
Biggest problem adding Sn is adding too much, if a Sb alloy the percent of Sn should not exceed the percent of Sb.
Biggest problem adding Sn is adding too much, if a Sb alloy the percent of Sn should not exceed the percent of Sb.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Agree with Rick on malleability. I shot lots of varmints and vermin with the 32/20 rifle. Lead and antimony bullets can break if they hit somethin hard like a coyote femur. Adding tin will allow some expansion without the bullet breaking apart.
The classic formula is one third the amount of tin as antimony. My blended stash of 1980's and 90's WW is about 96/3.5/0.5 and a touch of arsenic. So adding a one percent tin is good for me and allows for some oxidation casting 115 grains bullets for an open pot.
The classic formula is one third the amount of tin as antimony. My blended stash of 1980's and 90's WW is about 96/3.5/0.5 and a touch of arsenic. So adding a one percent tin is good for me and allows for some oxidation casting 115 grains bullets for an open pot.
Ian
Notorious member
That extra malleability, up to 50/50 Sb/Sn, also equates to a certain "tough" quality of the alloy. Fiver has been patiently advocating this sort of mix for years when it comes to .22 centerfires and .30-caliber at elevated velocities because it helps the bullet bang through the rifle's throat a little more straight. Such a mix (he goes for approximately a 6 Sb/4 Sn proportion, like Lyman #2 but not eutectic and easier to estimate with questionable alloys without over-doing the tin percentage) can still be heat treated to good effect.
KHornet
Well-Known Member
I like Ian's posts. I turn the RCBS furnace up as high as it will go, and
I water drop everything because I find it convenient. I am usually quite
satisfied when I get nicely filled out bullets with just a tat of frost. I
have been doing it this way for years, and it works for me, so I wont
try to fix it. My alloys usually run around 14 for handgun blts, and
18-22 for rifle.
Paul
I water drop everything because I find it convenient. I am usually quite
satisfied when I get nicely filled out bullets with just a tat of frost. I
have been doing it this way for years, and it works for me, so I wont
try to fix it. My alloys usually run around 14 for handgun blts, and
18-22 for rifle.
Paul
Hhmmm . . . Or maybe even at steel targets out to 200 meters.
Yeah cept I was talkin handguns.
There are however 500 meter handgun matches though I don't know anyone that's done with cast. Could be but.