cast some zinc boolits today

[Magana559]

I've been thinking about casting zinc bullets for a long time now and today I finally did it.
125gr ideal mold and straight zinc wheel weight.
End product ended up being 75gr and sized to .356.
Originally I thought I would try it in 9mm first and then go to 38 special and finally end at 357 magnum. I decided not to waste any time and shoot straight for the moon and go with the torture test of an undersized bullet in a high velocity pistol round.

I loaded it to one grain below max of a 125 gr jacketed bullet with Titegroup. Loaded up six round and shot them into a pine stump, not checking for accuracy just yet, as of now it was just a safety/fouling test of the first six rounds.

I was actually quite impressed with the zinc bullets, nice round holes and stacked together at about 15 feet. As of now I'm very pleased with zinc. That could all change 100 rounds down the pipe!

Now for the down side.
I was using a spare lee ten pound bottom pour pot I had to melt the zinc. I soon discovered that the pot heats up enough to melt the zinc but not enough to pour the zinc out of the spout! No worries I used a dipper to ladle cast.
Second problem I had was mold getting pretty hot, I don't know how good it is to get a iron mold up to 750 degrees or so and then banging the sprue plate. Finally the force needed to bang off the sprue wasn't excessive but I couldn't cut it with my gloved hand, I used a good wack from a large screw driver handle.

So in conclusion, I would say casting with zinc is very possible but, one would need a pot that can heat up to 900° and have enough head pressure to properly fill the mold.

[Tenbender]

You could PC those bad boys and make them big enough to shoot in a 44 ??? lol

Nice and shiny .

[gwpercle]

Those look darn good. I would think an iron mould would take the heat a lot better than an aluminum mould. Any lube on them and what did the barrel look like after shooting?

This might be a most revealing test. I've saved a few of the "zinkers" up....just in case lead is finally banned completely.
Gary

[Magana559]

Thanks guys, I fired a total of 25 zinc boolits and the barrel looks clean other than powder fouling.

I used zero lube, I've read that zinc was self lubricating so I just didn't lube them, the results speak for themselves!

[Magana559]

Here is a not so great picture of the barrel Pre dry patch. I haven't taken another picture of the barrel after but it's clean.

I'm trying to keep this very scientific so here are my results when shot into wood (ha ha)

As you can see some of the bullets are damaged because they have collided into each other...Accuracy is very nice at 15 feet. The others haven't expanded a bit and stayed on track.

So far so good

[bangerjim]

Zn is definitely castable. Many of the things we use on a daily basis is cast Zn. Pot metal is a version of a Zn alloy used for many things, then plated with brass and other metals to cut costs.

It should be cast in Fe-based molds, not Al due to heat.

Definitely lighter and possibly smaller. Even though some worry about keeping their pots below 750 or so to catch zinkers floating and not go into alloy with the lead, it takes a significantly higher temp to let the stuff flow and cast well! The normal pots we use will struggle to efficiently and correctly pour pure Zn when not in alloy with Pb/Sn/Sb.

Good luck on your future Zn casting!

banger

[runfiverun]

you can open the top of the lee pot and adjust the little strip in there to give you more heat.
I went from just barely getting mine to 625-f when new to over doing it and getting near 1000-f on full bore.
a little tin in the alloy could help your fill out and flow plus help lower the heat required to melt the alloy.
Tin loves Zinc.

[Electric88]

This is very interesting. I've got some zinc wheelweights in the garage, and I didn't want to throw them away. Thank you for posting this!

[fryboy]

r5r hit what i was thinking , some of the bands in the "as cast" foto look a wee bit rounded , much like a cold mold or a alloy that needs a little tin to help fill out ( other than that good looking castings ! )
i was a bit surprised that they didnt penetrate deeper into the wood tho , i discount this however because your " 1 grain below max load" is for a heavier projectile and lighter ones always need more powder to gain the same pressure/velocity

[njc110381]

Good point flyboy. Although another conflicting point would be that the lighter zinc bullets would still be the same size as the heavier lead versions from the same mold. Take care with the reduced case capacity when compared to the same weight of lead bullet as that will raise the pressures considerably...

[Magana559]

Zn is definitely castable. Many of the things we use on a daily basis is cast Zn. Pot metal is a version of a Zn alloy used for many things, then plated with brass and other metals to cut costs.

It should be cast in Fe-based molds, not Al due to heat.

Definitely lighter and possibly smaller. Even though some worry about keeping their pots below 750 or so to catch zinkers floating and not go into alloy with the lead, it takes a significantly higher temp to let the stuff flow and cast well! The normal pots we use will struggle to efficiently and correctly pour pure Zn when not in alloy with Pb/Sn/Sb.

Good luck on your future Zn casting!

banger

Thanks Banger, I'm going to try casting with the zinc again in a few days if I don't become busy.

you can open the top of the lee pot and adjust the little strip in there to give you more heat.
I went from just barely getting mine to 625-f when new to over doing it and getting near 1000-f on full bore.
a little tin in the alloy could help your fill out and flow plus help lower the heat required to melt the alloy.
Tin loves Zinc.

Going to definitely have to try this! I definitely need more heat. If I can get the spout to pour I can pressure cast a better boolit. Thank you for the advice.

This is very interesting. I've got some zinc wheelweights in the garage, and I didn't want to throw them away. Thank you for posting this!

No problem, I have about 8 buckets of zinc ww and no use for them at the moment, if I can get this to work, I'll be more than happy to cast some zinc boolits for some pistols and maybe rifle in the future.
Lead is becoming nonexistent here in ca WW. I sorted a bucket and net 5lbs of lead......

r5r hit what i was thinking , some of the bands in the "as cast" foto look a wee bit rounded , much like a cold mold or a alloy that needs a little tin to help fill out ( other than that good looking castings ! )
i was a bit surprised that they didnt penetrate deeper into the wood tho , i discount this however because your " 1 grain below max load" is for a heavier projectile and lighter ones always need more powder to gain the same pressure/velocity

Definitely rounded and the bases weren't filled. I knew this going in and thought I would give it a go. If it worked (it did for me) I would continue forward and try and use the many hundreds of pounds of zinc I have. I really wasn't surprised on how deep the bullet went. The bullet ended up being 75gr vs 125 in lead. I'll have to try on another piece of wood with hard cast lead and see if I notice a difference.
Also I bet I can go a few grains more with the powder but I'd like to keep it safe I definitely don't want to damage my gun or lose any limbs!

Good point flyboy. Although another conflicting point would be that the lighter zinc bullets would still be the same size as the heavier lead versions from the same mold. Take care with the reduced case capacity when compared to the same weight of lead bullet as that will raise the pressures considerably...

Definitely the reason why I used 125gr load data and not anything lighter, the slug only weighted 75gr vs 125 but, the case volume is the same as a 125gr bullet so that's the reason why I didn't venture off.

[Magana559]

Also, I don't have pure tin only pewter and lead solder. Thought I read somewhere that the zinc would clump with the antimony in pewter and or lead and that is what causes the "oatmeal". Any truth to this?

[Electric88]

Definitely the reason why I used 125gr load data and not anything lighter, the slug only weighted 75gr vs 125 but, the case volume is the same as a 125gr bullet so that's the reason why I didn't venture off.

My next question was going to be how you decided where to start with your powder load. Given the success you are having, I'm inclined to try it myself here in the relatively near future. I have some lead, but I also have some zinc floating around and would prefer to not just throw it away. Thanks again!

[Sasquatch-1]

You may find a problem with the bullet when you back up the distance you shoot from. This will have nothing to do with the zinc but with the diameter of the bullet.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk 357 Convertible. Took it to the range one day with both cylinders and found that at 15 yards half of the 9 mm key holed the target. It is just a warning so you don't get frustrated. Load them to a respectable 9mm round and try them with an appropriate gun.

[Echale3]

I remember years back, and I'm talking 20+ years ago while I was shooting IHMSA Big Bore exclusively with cast bullets, that there was a series of bullet molds made with a tail on the end and you would buy zinc "washers" that would press-fit on that tail. As I recall, the idea was to get higher velocities without any leading or lube needed, since the zinc acted as the lube.

I never tried it nor ever knew anybody that did, but it seemed like an interesting idea. I'm thinking that your experiment may prove that there was merit to the idea.

[Tenbender]

I have a cousin that works for the CIA. He told me several years ago that the CIA and FBI used Zink bullets for training. The reason was the female agents. Could cause birth defects from lead .

[bigjake]

Push the mold up on to spout when using the bottom pour. adjust the pour wide open and hold tight. this worked with WW when I had a problem with fill out.

[Magana559]

My next question was going to be how you decided where to start with your powder load. Given the success you are having, I'm inclined to try it myself here in the relatively near future. I have some lead, but I also have some zinc floating around and would prefer to not just throw it away. Thanks again!

Main reason I tried zinc is because I can't find and real source of cheap lead here in CA. I might have to build a pot and maybe a custom mold but I need something I can plink with.

You may find a problem with the bullet when you back up the distance you shoot from. This will have nothing to do with the zinc but with the diameter of the bullet.

I have a Ruger Blackhawk 357 Convertible. Took it to the range one day with both cylinders and found that at 15 yards half of the 9 mm key holed the target. It is just a warning so you don't get frustrated. Load them to a respectable 9mm round and try them with an appropriate gun.

I figured I'd have a problem once I back up a bit, I definitely will size to 357 next time, I'm a bit worried about pressure on a 358 bullet. The good thing is the lube grooves give a place for the displaced zinc when it enters the forcing cone and finally the rifling. Kind of like a barnes bullet.

I have a cousin that works for the CIA. He told me several years ago that the CIA and FBI used Zink bullets for training. The reason was the female agents. Could cause birth defects from lead .

I'm wondering if they used a jacketed zinc bullet or straight zinc. Would be interesting to find out what exactly they used. Most of the lead vapors come from the primers anyway.

I remember years back, and I'm talking 20+ years ago while I was shooting IHMSA Big Bore exclusively with cast bullets, that there was a series of bullet molds made with a tail on the end and you would buy zinc "washers" that would press-fit on that tail. As I recall, the idea was to get higher velocities without any leading or lube needed, since the zinc acted as the lube.

I never tried it nor ever knew anybody that did, but it seemed like an interesting idea. I'm thinking that your experiment may prove that there was merit to the idea.

I'm guessing the washer cleaned the bore because it was a harder metal, wonder how that played out with accuracy.

Push the mold up on to spout when using the bottom pour. adjust the pour wide open and hold tight. this worked with WW when I had a problem with fill out.

I actually tried that and that is the goal, as of now I can't get my ten pound lee pot to get to a acceptable temperature. I'll have to modify it or buy another 420 pot as that one can get quite hot.

[Shiloh]

Informative thread. Well done.

Shiloh

[Twmaster]

Also, I don't have pure tin only pewter and lead solder. Thought I read somewhere that the zinc would clump with the antimony in pewter and or lead and that is what causes the "oatmeal". Any truth to this?

Did anyone answer this?

I've got a few pounds of big truck wheel weights in Zinc. I also have a spare Lee 4# pot.... Might be worthwhile to try this for plinkers.