Fishing sinkers for round balls

[elbow]

Lead fishing sinkers are outlawed in Vermont now and I have a lot of friends who still have some laying around.Are the good for making 45 and 54 caliber round balls for deer hunting?Are wheel weights any good ?

 

[pargent]

Pure lead is what you need for casting round ball , most wheel weights are an alloy and could be suitable for casting for b/p cartridge bullets .

 

[BrownBear]

Check the fishing weights with your thumbnail. If they'll scratch, they're fine.

If they were local cast, who knows what was used for lead. I use range lead for casting my own, so they're harder than pure lead but a bit softer than wheelweights. Not an issue with a little thinner patch. Same patch adjustment for wheelweight balls, as a matter of fact.

 

[silly goose]

If that is all you have, they will shoot much better than snowballs. :wink:

 

[Billnpatti]

It's hard to say without seeing the sinkers. Sinkers are often made form whatever the manufacturer can get and it is not always soft lead. Harder lead will work but soft lead is more desirable. Having said that, if you can get your hands on those lead sinkers, grab them. Even if they are not pure lead, they will work for round balls. Hard lead is not worth a darn for something like R.E.A.L. style bullets or MaxiBalls because they are used without any patching and the lead has to be soft enough for the lands in the bore to cut into the rings on the bullet when you load it. But grab those weights, you can figure out later how to best use them.

 

[Dphar]

Lead fishing sinkers are outlawed in Vermont now and I have a lot of friends who still have some laying around.Are the good for making 45 and 54 caliber round balls for deer hunting?Are wheel weights any good ?

Depending on the rifling form they may be difficult to load. In Green Mountain barrels or others with narrow lands WW alloy works fine though it will cast slight larger than pure lead and this coupled with the hardness may require a slightly thinner patch. The old wives tale that only pure lead is usable does not stand up to present day testing or historical documentation. In Africa and India for example hardened lead balls were the norm for heavy game. Years ago Turner Kirkland attempted to shoot and Elephant in Africa with a 4 bore using pure lead and penetration was lacking. Had he done his research and used a hardened ball such as heatreated WW alloy he would have at least gotten sufficient penetration. But he believed the old wives tale....
So try WW balls in your rifle and see how they work.
Most sinkers are pure lead.
The lead scare, sinkers and lead shot etc in MOST cases/locations, is just PC ******** at work.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

Should say most sinkers are pure lead or close too it.
Depends on who is making them and what they use for lead to make them from. Split shot is pretty soft. Others may be harder. None are likely to be so hard as to be unusable unless the barrel has lands wider than the grooves.

Dan

 

[George T.]

While lead is legal for fishing here in Texas the sinkers are not pure lead any more. This came about the last time the prices went sky high.

Geo. T.

 

[Dphar]

While lead is legal for fishing here in Texas the sinkers are not pure lead any more. This came about the last time the prices went sky high.

Geo. T.

What are they using? Most if not all metals that are alloyed with lead cost more than lead does.

Dan

 

[pargent]

It is much easyier and less confusing to say to newbes to use pure lead then to confuse them about some alloys and their use like all the things you have mentioned which ring true . That is why I said use pure lead .

 

[nkbj]

While lead is legal for fishing here in Texas the sinkers are not pure lead any more. This came about the last time the prices went sky high.

Geo. T.

What are they using? Most if not all metals that are alloyed with lead cost more than lead does.

Dan

Scrap in the land of petro-chem. As in melted down stuff previously partly manufactured from lead.

 

[matt denison]

It is much easyier and less confusing to say to newbes to use pure lead then to confuse them about some alloys and their use like all the things you have mentioned which ring true . That is why I said use pure lead .

I agree with this statement. With experience it can be determined when alloys are or are not suitable for muzzleloading guns. Different circumstances either allow it or don't. Books could be written. When in doubt, use pure lead in a muzzleloader.

 

[George T.]

My guess is that it has tin in it. It is not as heavy and it is much harder to crimp. Also it does not darken like the pure lead ones do.

Geo. T.

 

[gmww]

I've used pure and Wheel weights for different applications. For hunting deer and Elk I'll go with pure. For plinking and a needing a deep penetration for buffalo I've been successful with wheel weights. Just remember wheel weights are lighter.

 

[Patocazador]

When is your "nanny" state going to outlaw lead bullets? I'm sure it's coming. :cursing: