OK folks I'll get right to it and ask because I can't find the information I need using the search feature or FAQ section.
I'm new to casting but learning quickly with help and lots of research here. Thanks. Right now I do not have anything but pure lead from roof flashing made into ingots. Yes I'm trying to locally find wheel weights.. or pewter...or salvaged berm slugs...but I don't have any. I just don't. I did some first time casting yesterday with so-so results making pure lead 125 grain Lee .358 diameter RNFP for my .38 Special and .357 LIGHT loads. I plan to keep the loads in the 700 to 900 feet per second range, just like my Ruger Old Army's shoot with Triple Seven, that marvelous BP substitute I can get locally.
As I said, I do shoot Ruger Old Army BP revolvers using Triple Seven and pure lead round ball There's no leading in the guns after lots of use. I have half a pound of Trail Boss powder and am waiting on more. Trail Boss is, I understand, ( *I have since been told that pressures are different) supposed to mimic the pressures and performance of the old BP loads. I hope somebody here can tell me if Trail Boss burns at about the same temperature as Triple Seven or black powder. And tell me if I'm just wasting my time casting what I have to make light Trail Boss loads. If TB burns so hot that it melts the slugs in my barrels, I'll quit right now on the .358 slugs until I find the alloying materials I need. I don't need any more round balls. Thanks as always. Don. Bowling Green, KY