Options for lead

[csi-tech]

Ok, all joking aside. Lyman has used it and my second choice after lead is brass. It is everywhere and easy to braze/melt into a mailable, if not molten substance with which to make projectiles.

[2000ShadowACE]

I work at a car dealership that has a tire shop. I dig about 20 lbs of wheel weights out of the scrap pile every day. the alloy weights would work in a pinch but it is really easy to separate them from the old lead weights and the lead weights are still fairly common around here.

[Seneca]

The weights with the adhesive are generally pure lead. the clip on weights are typically alloyed with antimony and tin. The Zinc weights are the ones to watch out for, they will mess up a pot of lead and make casting a clean bullet nearly impossible, you might get by with missing one or two, if you miss several about all you can do is make fishing sinkers out of the alloy.

Aluminum is not a good alternative, Bismuth would probably work but is expensive. The best bet may be to shop the mom&pop gun shops that carry reloading supplies. Often they will have linotype and lead ingots for sale.

[azrancher]

DU --- Depleted Uranium, if it's good enough for the military, it should be good enough for the plinkers.

Rancher

[bigwheel]

Think the Japs and Germans both used wooden bullets back during the Big War.
The use of wooden bullets by Axis powers in WW II in Trigger Time General Discussion Forum
Solid copper makes great bullets. |
Remington Hog Hammer Ammo 223 Remington 62 Grain Barnes Triple-Shock X

[paraquack]

Hey Kemo Sabe, how about silver?

[PaulS]

The best metals (not too expensive, too hard or too hard to find) are lead, copper and bronze. Soft lead can be swaged or cast easily. Soft copper can be swaged on stronger hydraulic presses or turned on a lathe. Bronze bullets have to be turned on a lathe. The rest of the metals are too hard (silver is one of those), too expensive (silver, gold and bismuth) or too hard to find.

There are smelters still smelting lead from ore in the US - only the recycling smelters have closed their doors.

[Seneca]

There are smelters still smelting lead from ore in the US - only the recycling smelters have closed their doors.

This article sure makes it sound like they're all shut down, and if the article is correct then shutting down the last smelter in the US has had an impact ammunition production.

EPA Closure of Last Lead Smelting Plant to Impact Ammunition Production

[tango]

Bullets are best cast from a mixture of lead and some tin.
There are still a lot of lead wheel weights around, plumbers lead can be found,
The tin may be harder to find.

[PaulS]

This article sure makes it sound like they're all shut down, and if the article is correct then shutting down the last smelter in the US has had an impact ammunition production.

EPA Closure of Last Lead Smelting Plant to Impact Ammunition Production

That smelter was working with recycled lead. The production of new lead in the US is 406000 metric tons a year. All the bullet manufacturers use new lead in their production.