Are wheel weights hard enough for casting or do you have to add other ingredients? I've never cast a bullet before and would like to start. Are there any good references out there? I currently have a garage that gives me all of their weights and being a plumber I come by a lot of old lead pipe. I know they recommend pure lead for round balls but can you use harder alloys? I used to load a lot of shot shells but don't do it much anymore and I have plenty of shot laying around, Is this any good for casting? Thanks for any input.

Renegade

Lyman has a dandy cast bullet manual that is a wealth of information. Pure lead is fine for casting muzzleloader projectiles. Wheelweights will work for general bullet casting, but I prefer to add some linotype for harder bullets. Read the manual and you can decide what works best for you. All the best...
Gil

Lead pipe will more than likely be pure lead. Great for M/L. Never cast anything but pure lead with M/L's.

Wheel weights already have enough other garbage in them, you do not need to add anything else. Linotype might be good to add if you are relaoding for a high velocity round like a 30/06 or something. But I have found that as is they are just fine. Just use alot of flux to scrape off all of the impurities. You will see them they look like a rainbow on the surface of the melted weights. The weights are of #2 hardness.

You should get a basic casting book to read first or get someone to instruct/show you how. There are alot of things you need to know to make good shooting cast bullets. An example of what I mean is Mould preperation. The mould needs to be in good shape and free of all lube or dirt etc...

I could go on and on about casting, but I am no expert and do not want to pretend to be. I can only tell you of my experiences. So my best advice would be to get that basic casting book and take your time and be safe!;)

Renegade;
You questioned the use of shot in bullet casting.
Because of its high arsenic level, shot should be used ONLY if you need the arsenic for Roundness. This is why it is found in shot. It is added to aid in making round shot. The characteristic involved is a diminishing of surface tension.
Too much arsenic in a cast bullet alloy will tend to give rounded bases and lube groove corners.
Get Lymans cast bullet handbook.
Pepe Ray

I almost bought an extra copy of that Lymans cast bullet book today. I am working the gun show this weekend here in Ventura County CA. and there was a M/L reloading book and a Cast bullet book both byt Lyman at a good price. One was $5 and the other was less then $10 I believe.

It is a good book.

Hi renegade -

Ditto on the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook.
Get a copy and pay attention to the technical articles. You'll be way ahead in short order.

Pure lead is Brinell Hardness Number 5.0, wheelweights 9.5ish BHN, Lyman #2 16 BHN, linotype 22BHN.

WW often works fine as is, but all alloys have particular uses/characteristics - your purposes and whether or not your gun will shoot well with a particular powder/charge wt./alloy/lube/size/bullet are the basic issues.
Those things only you can decide and determine.

Lead shot is lead - it can be mixed w/other alloys.
Arsenic is of importance in cast bullets only when/if you get into heat-treated, very hard cast bullets (28+BHN). Ignore it otherwise. Some arsenic is ESSENTIAL for this process, however WW's almost invariably have a little arsenic in them.

regards,