The right lead and tin alloy for your c&b revolver

[Zbigniew Bergander]

Hello everyone. How much tin do you add to the lead for chewing ball for a c&b revolver?

 

[ppg1949]

None. I only use pure lead for my
C & B revolvers and all my muzzleloaders.

 

[64Springer]

You don't need tin for a lead ball.

Tin is to help with pour and mold fill-out. Generally, 2 to 3 percent of lead weight. Lyman #2 takes 5%.

So bullets with bands have much crisper bands.


PS: What is Chewing ball?

 

[R Ellis]

0%

 

[Grenadier1758]

I'm in the 0% camp.

Chewing the ball means applying dimples to surface of the ball in holes of having the dimples straighten out the ball in flight. Balls are not chewed but placed between two very coarse rasps and quickly rotating the balls between the rasps to apply the dimples. This slightly gives a slighter larger diameter at the height of the dimples. For revolvers, at normal revolver ranges there is no advantage to chewed balls.

 

[maillemaker]

I don't see how there could be any benefit to a dimpled ball in a revolver. When the bullet is pushed into the chamber, the sides will be wiped of any dimples.

I suppose if all you had were slightly undersize balls, dimpling could bump them up enough to "stick" in the chambers under recoil. But with a properly-sized mold to start with, I don't see a benefit to dimpling the ball.

Now dimpling can be used to obliterate the sprue, and maybe there is a benefit to that.

 

[NorthFork]

None. 100% lead.

 

[Packrat]

If lead is yo hard you can break or bend your rammer, pure or almost pure is the best

 

[Zbigniew Bergander]

If lead is yo hard you can break or bend your rammer, pure or almost pure is the best

I add 1% tin so that with a large amount of powder, the bullet will stick better to the rifling in the barrel.