Any substute for lead?

[Carbon 6]

The fumes from casting zinc are extremely toxic.

 

[Black Hand]

The fumes from casting zinc are extremely toxic.

Isn't it know as Welder's Palsy seen in those that weld galvanized metal?

 

[Carbon 6]

Isn't it know as Welder's Palsy seen in those that weld galvanized metal?

I'm not sure. I think that's manganese poisoning from welding..Zinc is often called metal fume fever. You don't want either.

 

[8 BORE]

Isn't it know as Welder's Palsy seen in those that weld galvanized metal?

Isn't it know (KNOWN) !!!!!!

 

[Carbon 6]

Those darn typos.

 

[Colonial Boy]

On gold bullets; they do work and work well.
In my younger years, I lived in the historic gold mining town of Hill End (NSW, Australia) and made part of my living by specking (walking around looking at the ground after rain) and by panning.
The late Linton McKenzie, of gun engraving fame and I cast some gold ball and tried them in a set of flint duelling pistols that he owned at the time.
The shots were fired in the ground floor of my house and into a bullet trap, no improvement over lead as far as accuracy went but we did have the satisfaction of firing around $500 a shot (at the times' prices).
The retrieved balls were recycled into my bank account!!
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Hill_End_Vista_001.JPG
That's my former home as it is today except that I'd painted it, there had been a doorway knocked through the wall and my handiwork can still be seen where I bricked it closed and it is much as it was when I lived there in the 1960s; the town is now the centerpiece of a National Park.

 

[Britsmoothy]

So errr has California banned zinc?

I have suffered zinc fever, infact welding handling aluminium gives me colds too.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Can't seem to find a more perfect place to research than with you guys. Is there a more ecological substance than lead for casting ball that won't wear your barrel out?

Please quit drinking the blue koolaide. That manure is rotting your brains out. The pure lead we shoot can be found naturally in every stream bed from the Mississippi to Pacific. For millions of years it has been washing out of the mountains. Yet, there are still deer, bears, moose, elk, rabbits, pipers, ducks, ... well you see, every critter including man has drank that water since the first critters drank water. The water they drank then, and the water they (and us) still drink today, does not have blue Koolaide in it. That's the real poison we are plagued with.

 

[Eterry]

Actually, Gold is probably the most ecologically friendly muzzle loaded projectile material. In its pure form, it is soft enough to take the rifling, heavy enough to provide good down range energy and can be cast at a low enough temperature to be practical for the hobbyist. It is also completely non-toxic. Lead is only second best. I am pretty sure California won't pass legislation banning gold bullets. On the other hand gold might prove a bit more expensive than lead but worth it for those who want to protect Mother Earth. It will provide an added incentive to make every shot count!

The problem that comes to mind if you wanted to play Goldfinger and use gold bullets, (other than supply, cost, etc) is that gold melts at around 2000 degrees F. That's well over twice what lead's melting point. The local gold buyer lights his melting pot 1st thing when he opens, keeps it lit until 30 mins before close.

OT. People can come in with gold jewelry and sell and he drops it straight in the pot. Makes it tough to identify stolen items that way. He's very familiar of the Loop Holes to avoid problems.

 

[Baxter]

Many years ago, there was a TV series called Centennial, set in CO, and, IIRC, the Native Americans were found to be using gold balls in their MLers. They were finding the gold in a river next to their village. I always wondered if that was a TV portrayal of the founding of Bents' fort?

 

[arcticap]

Pure silver is roughly 7.5% less dense than lead.
It has a Brinell Hardness Number [BHN] of 24.5.
While the BHN of commercial bullets made by the large manufacturers is not always known, depending on the source it's said to be 22.5 - 24.
1 oz. = 437.5 grains
The spot price of silver today is $15,27.
Go get'em and make your shot count.