So Im getting some molds for a 45 auto and a .30 cal for a 308. These will be the 225gr and 160gr bullet mold. I'v done this with my dad for his sharps 45-70 but wondering if I should go with a differant ratio on my lead. Any of you guys have experiance with this for either of these bullets. I will be using modern day powder, HS-6 for the 45 and varget for the 308. Also wondering on the patch below bullet to help from as much lead fouling. And what about velocity or powder charge, can I shoot the same load as what I do now with similar bullet weight? Not really wanting to shoot these all the time, just as you all know bullets are getting hard to come by and I would like to know I had somthing that works. Thanks for the help guys.
Lead alloy ratio for .45acp and .30 cal 308
- Thread starter hooksz86
- Start date
Water quenched wheel weights have always worked for me, through the various magnum revolvers, 45-70 and some limited work with 140gr 7mm bullet in 7 TCU Contender. Drop straight from mold into cold water and let age harden a couple of days and they should attain most of their final hardness. They should run about 20-22 brinnell and hard enough to hold the shallow rifling of most 1911's and your 308, though I'd advise a gas check on 30's if you are going to push them beyond medium velocity. Try castboolit.com site for a lot of useful tech data. Take care to correctly size bullets and use a good lube.
+ 1 on the castboolit site, lots of good info there! I shoot straight wheelweights in my handguns, both revolvers and autoloaders. I add some linotype/monotype to wheelweights in my rifle bullets. I don't shoot a lot of cast bullets in rifles. Almost everything that I load for handguns is cast. Water quenching is a cheap, easy way to get bullets harder. Correct diameter is important. Lightman
I run about a 12 in 1911s. In my silhouette days I used Carlton Shy's alloy formula: Six parts WWs, three parts linotype and one part chilled shot (IIRC). Water dropped got me about 25. You could heat treat and hit 30 plus, but I never felt the need.
Good advice there. You might consider the Lyman 311291 in the .30 caliber. It penetrates a deer completely from almost any angle. In the .45-70 I like the 350 grain flatnose. If you need more expansion either a soft nose caster or make a split nose with strips of aluminum foil crosswise in the mould.
I think a good starting place would be the Lyman #2 alloy: 90 percent lead, 5 percent tin and 5 percent antimony. Some tin is particularly important if you're using Lyman molds. I was getting undersized bullets with wheel weights; Lyman support said their molds are cut for the #2 alloy. So I added some linotype until the mold filled completely. The ending tin content was probably around 3 percent.
And another vote for the castboolit forum. Some very experienced people and lots of references.
Cheers,
Richard
And another vote for the castboolit forum. Some very experienced people and lots of references.
Cheers,
Richard
And if you want to water drop/harden the bullets, they need a wee bit of arsenic...you get that from the chilled shot.
One more item to add-do not allow any zinc wheel weights or zinc content onto your alloy-it'll contaminate your whole batch.
