Bud Hyett
posted this
06 March 2018
An alloy of 92% Pb / 6%Sb / 2% Sn was the alloy I used at the beginning of experimentation at Windhill when I lived in Illinois. I got this from my uncle who used it for everything from Bullseye Pistol to 1800 fp rifle loads. He dropped all the bullets from the mold into a bucket of water with dry ice to quench and harden. When we shot his .45 ACP loads into a steel backstop, they shattered into fine crystalline powder.
HIs theory was only 2% Sn is needed to get optimum flow characteristics and 6% Sb for hardening. Where he got these figures, I do not know.
Then we at Windhill Range went together and bought eleven tons of linotype which became the alloy of choice. When the linotype was consumed, I went back to approximating my uncle's alloy for hardness, without the ice water drop. These softer bullets shot as well, at least my scores stayed the same.
Alloy hardness is one factor, and I concur with Ed Harris that "Fit" is more important, There are so many factors in each shot that isolating one factor is difficult. The only way to ensure a conclusion is valid is data and that will be a side trip on the year's competition season. I will endeavor to test hardness for each casting and record the results from practice and matches. However, the scores I shot with my uncle's alloy have been as good as with linotype or with 50% linotype / 50% wheeleights.
Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest
