Shiloh Rifle Forums

the list of offenders would not be complete without kurt.
and of latter years distant thunder.
and if pp is not included, zack always lurks around.
bruce.

Well since you've mentioned Lyman #2, according to Dan T. here is his favorite alloy. 7# of lead, 3# of Lyman#2 9.8BHN. Worked with PP or GG.

In 20# of Dan's mixture how much antimony would be in there, maybe it is close to what Kurt is making. Maybe someone can run the numbers on it and see where it stands.

Coltsmoke wrote: ↑Fri Dec 11, 2020 7:14 pm In 20# of Dan's mixture how much antimony would be in there, maybe it is close to what Kurt is making. Maybe someone can run the numbers on it and see where it stands.

Not much number running to do!

97% Lead
1.5% Tin
1.5% Antimony

Quite a while back I extracted information regarding lead / tin / antimony alloys from William Metford's correspondence with Sir Henry Halford in the 19thC. It provides a fascinating insight into the experimentation conducted by these gentlemen in the pursuit of accuracy. See: Metford & Bullet Alloys

David

So,

If a small percentage of Antimony makes the nose profile hold up better, ie less nose set back. It should in theory equate in less elevation required. And perhaps a bit better wind deflection in theory. Better scores, more hits and less wind deflection.

Sounds like a good experiment for the mile target


Kenny Wasserburger

Perhaps these antimony sweetened bullets are going to be the next new trend..



Kenny Wasserburger

A couple weeks ago I cast some bullets that contain some antimony. My go to alloy is 14:1. I have been using this with my bore diameter bullets for several years now. My bullets are bumping up a bunch so I wanted to see what some antimony would do. I mixed up 16 pounds of pure lead , 1 pound of tin, and 4 pounds of wheel weights. At the time I made the mixture they were about the same bhn has the 14:1 bullets but I expect them to harden a tad over time. I am going to test them against my standard alloy on some rams here in a couple more weeks and see if there is a difference in elevation. This experimental alloy is about 3 grains heavier than my standard alloy.

From the results I've seen with specially hardened alloy the elevation changed little from 16-1, but the age hardening from to much antimony the accuracy declined over time. If I were to do that hard alloy again. I would cast up just what I needed just before using them, and repeat for each match. But in that instance the hardness almost doubled from the time I cast them early in the season until I used the last of them at the end.
Will be interesting to see how your tests turn out.

I wondered how that would go. With only 4 pounds of WW in a batch of alloy that weighs 21 pounds I am hoping that it would be minimal. Casting just before a match is not what I want to do. I will essentially need to be able to cast them now but be at a suitable hardness from March to November.

I agree, this time of year is good to cast up enough to go the season, and not have to worry about casting to go to the last match or two.
With no more antimony than what you have in there I don't think age hardening will be an issue. I've made bullets from 9 lb lead and 1 lb ww that held up well, but that was back in the day when ww composition was pretty consistent.
The original #2 alloy was 10 parts lead, 1 part tin and 1 part antimony.

I think your alloy you have mixed up now will be fine, but the proof will be in what the target tells you.

Hey Don, the current Lyman #2 alloy is 9 parts lead, 1/2 part tin, and 1/2 part antimony.

I did not know that it used to be so different.

i thought it was 90/5/5.
bruce.

Aviator wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 6:39 pm Hey Don, the current Lyman #2 alloy is 9 parts lead, 1/2 part tin, and 1/2 part antimony.

I did not know that it used to be so different.

Yup, but that's straight out of the Ideal Handbook 75 anniversary edition printed in 1953.

Ideal Handbook #32, Page 51, copywrite 1936.
Ideal Bullet Metal #2, 90 parts lead, 5 parts tin and 5 parts antimony. (Can be considered same hardness as 1 part tin to 10 parts lead.)
Ideal Bullet Metal #4, 1 part tin to 20 parts lead.
Ideal Bullet Metal #6, 1 part tin to 40 parts lead.