Grease groove bullet alloy

[SchuetzenDave]

My targets indicates my 20:1 alloy results in good accuracy.

Many top notch Schuetzen shooters spent years testing differences in hardness of alloys for cast bullets and most people found a 20:1 or 22.5:1 or 25:1 was the best for their plain base cast bullets.
However it took years of testing to prove the minor differences between using the different alloys.

Unfortunately too many people have been lead to believe that a harder alloy is required to prevent leading.
However the base of too hard an alloy does not bump up and seal and gas can start penetrating around the side of the bullet that actaully causes the leading.
Actually softer alloys have less of a chance of leading than bullets that are too hard.

I can easily shoot a hundred bullets without cleaning my rifle using 20:1 lead:tin alloy using Alberta Schuetzen Lube even at 1,900 fps with either smokeless powder or black powder.

I started like everyone else using harder antimony alloys for the first 60,000 cast bullets I fired.
I was always getting leading within the first 30 shots when I used an antimony alloy.
Going to a softer lead:tin alloy I eliminated leading in my single shot rifles.

[desert deuce]

I didn't have any theories about alloys when I started BPCR with a 40-65 with Goex CTG. Ron Long barrel, Ron Long Bullet. Used the recommended 1-25 alloy mix and it worked just fine for silhouette and midrange.

Speaking exclusively of black powder and cast alloy grease groove bullets.

Started with a 44-90 RS for long range (800-1000 yards) using PJ Creedmoor Bullet and 1-20 alloy as recommended. Worked just fine.

Then to 45-90 for long range using new to me Dan Theodore Money Bullets and found that 1-16 alloy gave better down range results than 1-20.

Whatever else is operational in my mind is not as important as what the down range target has to say about results.

When the load holds less than five inches of vertical at 800 yards and will print 4 consecutive shots in a five inch circle at 1,000 yards, that is good enough.

I don't think anyone here can tell you what will shoot best in your rifle. It is up to you to determine what does shoot best in your rifle.

[Don McDowell]

You, the rifle and the intended target will have to answer the question as to what's best.
20-1 is never a bad place to start, heck even mixing 9 lbs of wheelweight with a 1 lb of pure lead can yield decent results as well as just straight wheel weight.Depending on distances shot, and bullet nose profile, you may find 16-1 and don't be surprised if #2 alloy doesn't work extremely well. Bullet nose profile will determine a lot of what works best for alloys.
Fouling control and bullet lube can have as much or more affect on accuracy than the alloy. Never mind powder type, granulation, compression, wads, crimp and all the rest that comes along.


Long story short, the only way to find the answer to "what works best" is to spend long hours and many rounds down range.