cast balls from wheel weights?

[Peter LeRay]

I have a friend who owns a tire shop. Any thoughts on whether making lead balls from wheel weights is good/bad??

 

[FishDFly]

Bad.

 

[Wes/Tex]

For plinking and smoothbores they're O.K. for hunting and target shooting for score you'll want pure lead. :thumbsup:

 

[gunner69skmc]

Absolutely NOT! Soft lead is what they were made for, especially the older firearms. :td:

 

[Peter LeRay]

Ok thanks! Damn I thought I was onto something...

 

[Peter LeRay]

Is it harder etc? Im trying to find some lead locally. Seems harder to find than I thought...

 

I have a friend who owns a tire shop. Any thoughts on whether making lead balls from wheel weights is good/bad??

Lots of discussions about weights, here's two. Searched for "wheel" in Shooting Accessories.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/283336
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/283506

 

[silly goose]

If that is what you have, they are better than shooting snowballs. You may have to adjust your patch thickness a bit. I've found wheel weights to cast slightly larger than pure lead in round ball.

I wouldn't pass up on free wheel weights, and if I didn't have pure lead, I'd sure as heck shoot them.

 

[mooman76]

I shot them quite abit and they shoot good. I guess someone should have told me they don't shoot good. Lead is getting harder and harder to find. If you can get them, get them either use them or you can trade them to someone that casts bullets for cartridge guns. It seems often they run across pure lead when they want something harder.

 

[ohio ramrod]

While I only shoot pure lead in the rifles and use the ww and unknown lead in the smoothbores, my nephew consistently beats me and almost all others and he shoots ww balls.The older ww were much more consistant than the newer ones. :idunno:

 

[nkbj]

I use wheel weights in the "Fremont" 1847 rifled musket. Got it working so now it's all yeehah in the shade. Soon my fifty smoothie flinter will be chunking .465" wheel weight round ball.
And there's plenty of reason to give it a try in the .58 flinter. Would be using wheel weights in the .62 flinter if not for only having a rather largish mold.

 

[AZbpBurner]

OK, Here's the Right Answer :thumbsup: :

Wheelweights make great roundballs, but only for certain applications. For target use with a patch in a rifle, they're fine, since the patch engages the rifling, and not the lead itself. For longer range shooting, wheelweight balls aren't as dense as pure lead, so lose velocity a little quicker.

Wheelweight balls won't work in a cap and ball revolver - too hard and cause too much stress on the loading lever & can cause it to break.

At the tire shop, they undoubtedly use a lot of stick-on weights for balancing alloy wheels. The stick-ons are nearly pure lead, and plenty soft for hunting and also c&b revolvers. I have several pounds of RBS in several sizes cast from stick on weights, and they work just fine.

Tip for prepping the stick-ons:

Flatten out the strips, and place in a scrap griddle or skillet with the adhesive face up. Warm up using moderate heat will soften the adhesive and foam backing so it can simply peel off using a popsicle stick. This will get rid of a lot of crud that will otherwise gunk up your lead pot.

 

[George T.]

Great point. I would look around for a used cast iron pot to do the melting fluxing and skimming in prior to pouring ingots to put in the casting pot. I always liked a larger area to get the wheel clips out of the mixture. I did this a lot to pour modern revolver bullets.

Geo. T.

 

[roundball]

Good answer...in addition, if materials like the relatively new ITX hard balls, solid brass balls, and steel ball bearings can be used, there's no reason simple wheel weight lead balls can't be used...in fact for several years Hornady themselves manufactured a hard alloy lead ball which may very well have been like wheel weight composition...don't know if they still do.
Match up the right PRB combo to ensure good patch thickness and enjoy

 

[Peter LeRay]

Thanks alot guys!!!

 

[russecv58]

they're harder than pure lead, so depending on ball diameter you will have to adjust your patch thickness, but they will shoot just fine out of a rifle. :thumbsup:

 

[Many Klatch]

In addition to the other answers. Wheelweight lead ball will be slightly smaller than pure lead ball. This is because the tin and other additives will shrink at a different rate than the lead does. If you choose to use wheelweights because that is what you have, then go ahead, but be aware that if you switch from pure lead to wheelweight and back again you will have a problem with accuracy.

Many Klatch

 

[warhawk77]

Thanks for all the info I'm another that has been wondering that wheel weights. Not to find more so I can start.

 

[Maven]

"Wheelweight lead ball will be slightly smaller than pure lead ball. This is because the tin and other additives will shrink at a different rate than the lead does."

Actually, it's just the reverse: Wheelweights, Lyman #2 Alloy, and Linotype will cast a slightly larger projectile than pure Pb will. See "Predicted Physical Characteristics of Bullets Cast in Various Lead Alloys," p. 58, in Lyman "Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd Edition."

 

[russecv58]

In addition to the other answers. Wheelweight lead ball will be slightly smaller than pure lead ball. This is because the tin and other additives will shrink at a different rate than the lead does. If you choose to use wheelweights because that is what you have, then go ahead, but be aware that if you switch from pure lead to wheelweight and back again you will have a problem with accuracy.

Many Klatch

Not trying to ruffle any feathers with Many, but I personally haven't experienced any accuracy issues with wheelweight vs. pure lead, they shoot to the same point of aim. that being said, depending on how tight of patch/ball combo you normally use, you will have to use thinner patching because the WW material is harder than soft lead and wont compress (imprint) nearly as easily when loading. :v