Soft Lead:Wheel Weight ratio?

[honkey]

A few weeks ago I went to a tire shop that told me they would sell a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights for $50, and I thought that was a fair deal, but when I got over there, I saw it was actually a 3 gallon bucket with a bunch of bolts, zinc, and cigarette butts. I declined that sale. I did go to a scrap yard and got a few pounds of wheel weights for free, but I was pulling them off tires with a screwdriver and it took about ab hour just to collect 2 lbs. So now I have a guy saying he will sell me a 5 gallon bucket with nothing but lead wheel weights in it for $75. I know this is more expensive than what a lot of people find lead for, but it is the best I have found around here. I am trying to figure out if I really need to get the wheel weights.

I have about 25-30 lbs worth of bullets that I've picked up "bermining" (I'm anxious to see how much lead will come out of that) and I know I need to mix the soft lead from that with wheel weights to harden it up, but what I do not know is what ratio of soft lead to wheel weights I need to use. I've got 2 lbs of wheel weights that I got from the scrap yard, 5 lbs that Nitesite gave to me, and 5 lbs of lead already in ingots. If all I need is a few pounds of wheel weights for the soft lead, than I will probably just go back to the scrap yard on a free day and pull however many pounds I need, but if I need a 50:50 mix, than I probably will just buy this bucket. If I do get the bucket, I may just save the soft lead for slugs and use the wheel weights for my handguns.

 

[nitesite]

honkey~

If you ever get into black powder guns (US mail delivery right to your door, way cool) then it's good to have very soft PURE lead for the balls and Minie projos you'll wind up making.

If you're shooting bullets you cast for your .38-Special I think you could well get by with a 50:50 mix of soft/pure:wheel weights. You WANT the bullets to obturate to your barrel bore and not only grab the rifling but seal off any expanding gasses trying to force themselves past the base of the bullet (that leads to leading). Honestly, a LOT of the finest bullseye shooters have loaded soft swaged lead wadcutters and semi-wadcutters for target work for sixty years and those bullets are far more accurate (at the velocities they load for) than any hard-cast bullets. Soft swaged lead bullets are waaaay softer than wheel weight bullets. In fact, swaged .38-Special ammo is still on the shelf as very expensive target ammo for competition shooters. Those guys NEVER shoot hard cast bullets.

Now, for your 9mm endeavors, I think you have basically two options:

1) Shoot your 124-gr cast bullets at 1200-fps and use straight wheel weights, or

2) use a 50:50 mix and water quench them right as they drop from the mould to harden them up close to what straight wheel-weights would be that weren't water quenched.

Your .45 Auto is, again, a 50:50 water quenched or straight WW proposition to get the right hardness. But your .38 can shoot some pretty soft lead if you just want casual plinkers that you keep to around 750-fps.

BTW, I have a chronograph if you ever think you need to get your loaded ammo checked for actual velocities.

 

[honkey]

Another perfectly detailed response... Thanks again! I need to order a mould for my .45, get some gloves, and I think I am going to get one of those Lee stands for my press instead of getting a desk to save some space in my apartment. I am getting anxious to start on my first batch.

 

[nitesite]

Another perfectly detailed response... Thanks again! I need to order a mould for my .45, get some gloves, and I think I am going to get one of those Lee stands for my press instead of getting a desk to save some space in my apartment. I am getting anxious to start on my first batch.

honkey~

Let me see if I can get a hook-up on some lead wheel weights for you.

And as far as the Lee stand for the press, it's so limiting in it's extra space around it that i would recommend

1) A used Office Furniture rolling computer stand, like this one that I bought when I first started out and paid $45 for it.

Or 2) a Black and Decker Work-Mate which lets you have some more room on top than the Lee stand offers. And it stores in a closet.

 

[honkey]

That would be awesome if you could find a wheel weight source. I've asked all around Huntsville and this was the best I could find. I'll probably look around at thrift stores for a desk like that once I am done with my finals... I am in crunch mode with 2 projects and a paper due on Monday.