Where to start with pure lead for 9mm and .45?

[Timbers]

Hello everyone,

I have the Lee 124GR round-nose 9mm mold and the Lee 230GR round-nose .45ACP mold.

I have quite a bit of pure lead which I have tested with pencils to be in the 4-6 BHN.

I like reloading with Titegroup for 9mm and .45ACP

I'm not opposed to powder coating, but will probably start with Alox for now.

What should I add to my pure lead for a starting alloy? Whatever I add I will probably have to buy from Rotometals because I don't have access to linotype or wheel weights, etc, unless I get lucky and find it online. I've heard I should aim for about 10BHN when loading 9mm and .45?

I'm just looking for a starting point on my alloy. I can experiment with dropping in cold water, powder coating, slugging, sizing, later. I'd just like to get some boolits made so I can start somewhere. Thanks.

[contender1]

Pure lead will be too soft for 9mm & .45 acp. Even if you powder coat them.

You need to alloy them.

If you plan to order from Rotometals,, you can call them & ask them what they suggest in their alloy's that can be added to your pure to harden it.

Or,, do a search around here,,as there's a chart that shows how to blend metals for whatever hardness you seek. (I can't recall where the chart is at the moment.)

[Barry54]

https://bulletmatch.com/pages/lead-alloy-calculator

[gwpercle]

Pure lead , even when powder coated is too soft for loading into a 9mm Luger .
When you seat the boolit in the case it gets squeezed down and the soft nose deforms on the feed ramps .
I mix pure lead and COWW 50-50 for a bhn 8-9 and this works if you are careful with boolit seating .
You are going to need something to alloy with your pure lead for semi-auto use ...
Call Roto-Metals and talk to tech. , explain what you are loading for and get advice as to most cost effective alloy to mix with your pure lead .
Pure Lead is a good thing to have ... lots of other alloys out there can be mixed with it for boolit metal .
The 50-50 mix (pure - COWW) is a great revolver boolit alloy too ... I use it , air cooled , for just about all handgun needs .

Gary

[Timbers]

Great thanks for the help I’ll call them and see what they say!

[AlaskaMike]

RMR Bullets has leftover lead from their jacketed bullet manufacturing for a better price than Rotometals. It's about 10 BHN.

I use it for 10mm and .45 auto all the time. If I had a mold for 9mm I'd use it for that as well.

[fredj338]

Issue with pure lead in shallow rifling is getting good stability. Just adding a bit of tin helps, certainly a bit of harder alloy like lino makes a big diff. I shoot a lot of range scrap with very good results. I PC but used to shoot lubed with equal results, just dirtier & in 9mm, more leading.

[mehavey]

Pure lead , even when powder coated is too soft for loading into a 9mm Luger

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

However in the 45 ACP, it can work well at target velocities:
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...=1#post5521279
Cast HOT (800 dgr or so)

BTW: Tin adds very little if any effective hardening.

[Half Dog]

Just my 2 cents worth, if you care to add your location to your avatar someone local might be able to suggest where they get their metals.

Good luck.

[Willie T]

Adding 5% tin will give you 20/1. A very good pistol alloy. Bhn 10. Good expansion. Been used a long time. Tin is pricey if you can’t make scrounging it work for you. I scrounge pewter. I alloy my own red neck 20/1 with pewter. I’ve cast and shot both 9mm and 40 S&W with my redneck pewter 20/1. My results have been satisfactory.
Good luck finding a solution to making your pure soft work to suit your 9mm.
Willie.

[mehavey]

One of the reasons Lead/Tin alloys give good expansion is that that they are soft -- even at high (and expensive) tin ratios.
When actually measured/tested for hardness, 30-1 is ~BHN 5.8, and 20-1 no more than ~7.8.

Making sure that they are sized to properly fit the barrel, they perform exceptionally well and are GREAT for hunting even
at (what are nowadays) "moderate" velocities.





(But 30-35,000 psi 9mm is a bridge too far for such soft alloys -- Lyman #2 is your best bet)

[GONRA]

GONRA sez "Range Lead " verks Just Fine for plinking with common Auto Pistol calibers.
Bet the PC innovation makes it even better? ??

[Loudenboomer]

Plenty of alloys will get you there. Keeping the cost down will depend on what is available to you. Tin is king but expensive. Adding 20% linotype and 2% tin will also get you there.

[Shanghai Jack]

Adding 5% tin will give you 20/1. A very good pistol alloy. Bhn 10. Good expansion. Been used a long time. Tin is pricey if you can’t make scrounging it work for you. I scrounge pewter. I alloy my own red neck 20/1 with pewter. I’ve cast and shot both 9mm and 40 S&W with my redneck pewter 20/1. My results have been satisfactoryWillie.

Well close

4.76 percent tin gives you 20-1

[Shanghai Jack]

Just measured out this coming weekend's melt- 304 pounds of pure lead and 96 pounds of Foundry metal. Should come in at BH 15.2 according to the calculators. Just a little softer than hardball and a little harder than lyman 2.

[Willie T]

QUOTE=Shanghai Jack;5729326]Well close

4.76 percent tin gives you 20-1[/QUOTE]

Close enough for my 9mm and 40S&W. Lots on here seem to get wrapped around the axle over insignificant minutia. I suggested what I do to pure soft that works well in my 9mm, which is what the OP wanted to hear about. Maybe you should suggest the OP alloy 4.76% tin with his soft lead if that is what you do, If you think it will work better in his 9mm than the 5% pewter I alloy and cast for my 9mm? Most of us scrounge our casting material. Tin content using scrounged pewter is a SWAG. It is not pure tin. I shared how I use it to alloy what I referred to as “redneck 20:1”. Enlighten me. How do you get content accuracy of a hundredth of a percentage point alloying 20:1 using pewter with an unknown exact tin content, since you saw fit to correct how I alloy it.

Having something to say and having to say something are two different things.
Willie T

[243winxb]

70/30 lead/linotype.