Bullets from Wheel Weights?

[dovehunter]

Can wheel weights be used for cast bullets without any other additives, etc.? If so, do they produce pretty hard bullets?

[Jack]

Yup, they can.
Not super hard, in my experience- nothing like linotype. But, good enough for medium speed loads or target loads in a handgun.
Those new stick on type wheelweights often have zinc in them- sort those out and discard them- they'll mess up a batch of alloy, I'm told.

[jimiowa]

Wheel Weights used to be a good source for lead.
It's getting to be hard to get anymore around here. Many tire stores will no longer sell them. Claim they have to be disposed of through a Haz Mat processing center. Hazardous Material, Green Earth BS??

[bounce]

In my opinion wheel weights are much too hard for Muzzel loaders or old large calibers as 45-70 at standard vislosoty for them. but work on the smaller ones like 25-20

[dovehunter]

The reason I asked is the store-bought cast lead handgun bullets I had been using have more than doubled in price over this past year. Example: 45 ACP 230 gr. LRN (500 per box) had sold for $24.95, now they are $54.95 per box. I have been sort of stockpiling wheel weights for years now and have a pretty good batch. At the current price of commercial hard cast lead bullets I figure I can probably amortize the cost of the bullet casting equipment. There's a heck of a difference in cost when bullets increase in price from 5 cents a piece to 11 cents a piece.

bounce:
I want fairly hard bullets as I will be shooting them in my modern cartridge handguns. No more than I shoot my MLs, I can probably still afford to buy commercial bullets (usually round balls) for them.

[bounce]

I would think your lead would work well in 45 ACP

Funny thing about this type lead, if you cast the bulet & load and shoot right away the lead will likely be much softer than when you shoot the same bullet 6 months later and find it hard as all hell. Learned this when I was starting to shoot trapdoors and a freind had a good shooting load worked up, I bought some from him and they worked well. However 6 months later I tried shooting them and They would barly group on the paper. what happened was it was wheelweight lead and got too hard to seal the lands & groves at black powder vol.

[dovehunter]

Nov 24, 2009 18:46:05 GMT -5 bounce said:

I would think your lead would work well in 45 ACP

Funny thing about this type lead, if you cast the bulet & load and shoot right away the lead will likely be much softer than when you shoot the same bullet 6 months later and find it hard as all hell. Learned this when I was starting to shoot trapdoors and a freind had a good shooting load worked up, I bought some from him and they worked well. However 6 months later I tried shooting them and They would barly group on the paper. what happened was it was wheelweight lead and got too hard to seal the lands & groves at black powder vol.

I don't doubt your experience but that sounds sort of weird. At any rate I plan on doing a little more research into bullet casting, etc. before I lay out big bucks to buy everything I need (according to my Lyman reloading manual) to get started.

[Jack]

Dovehunter, you don't need a whole lot to cast on a basic level.
A mould, a pot, a heat source, and a dipper.
Lee makes cheap moulds that work fine. For a pot, any small cast iron pot you have around, or you can buy one (Lyman makes one, maybe Lee, also). For a heat source, a hot plate works fine, or a camp stove (use that outside). Actually, you don't have to have a dipper, you can use a big spoon, but you'll find the dipper worth while.
That is enough to get you a decent bullet. If you use some of the tumble lubes and don''t size the bullets, that's all you need to get started.
Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook is probably a wise investment for you, too.

[twomoons]

I have shot tons of wheel weights. As cast a wheel weigh bullet will be about a BH of 7-9 and if you quench them, drop them into water as you cast, they will harden up to 12 or more. Now what this means is that wheel weights as they come are good for up to 1100 fps or better in a handgun with no gas check. With a gas check they are good to 1600-1800 fps in a rifle. I make all my 45 acp bullets from straight wheel weights and have no problems, the only time I add lino is if i want a different diameter bullet. The harder the bullet the more it shrinks. A wheel weight bullet in a rifle is good for deer hunting if you can push say a 170 grain bullet to 1800 fps. Our deer this year were all cast bullet kills and I shooot a 30-40 Krag with a 220 RNFP bullet aT 2000 FPS. The bullets are cast from 3/4 w/w and 1/4 lino and will expand nicely at the 2000 fps.