Lead vs Alloy Penetration Test

[alacran]

I was thinking of buying a pound of Bismuth and cast some .600 balls as an experiment. The only real concern I have, is that Bismuth expands 3% when it freezes into a solid. Not sure how that would work in a mould.

[Hungry Horse]

Every round ball I’ve cast from anything other than pure lead, turns outoversized to some degree.

  Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

Some alloys have greater expansion than others. As well, ball diameter also has an effect on growth

as the actual mass/quantity is also important - the greater the diameter of the mould, the greater the

 diameter of the cast ball - or bullet, for that matter.

[Craig Wilcox]

Alacran, moulds are made in all sorts of sizes.  Select one 3% smaller than what you want for a finish size.

[alacran]

Actually I am just curious about casting Bismuth. I don't have a legal requirement to use it in AZ.
 I figured I would try it in a .530 mould which I have. I have a GRRW barrel that shoots a .530 or a .535 ball very well. 
The experiment will let me know the practical amount of expansion .
Then I will have to shoot them to see just how brittle they really are.
Would like to go hunt feral hogs in CA.

[axelp]

I have experimented with bismuth a bit. I live in CA and have been dealing with this lead ban since 2009.

I tried 100% bismuth and the ball shattered when I dropped a hammer on it from about 12 inches (gravity only). I then added increments of tin. The ball stopped shattering when I was at about 80 bismuth / 20 tin. There is a company that touts 90/10 but that did not work out as well as my 80/20 balls for me anyway. The ball does mould a little bigger as bismuth expands when it cools.

The other issue is that bitsmuth and tin seems to want to separate after you reheat it. So you need to keep it stirred. If you dont, your balls will just crumble as you release them out of the mould.

also Bismuth and tin roundball IS an approved projectile by the CA Fish and Wildlife as far as I am aware, as is ITX roundball from Tom Bob..

Ken Prather

[heelerau]

I have shot minnies against boiler plate and seen them flatten completely like a flat washer ! I have had balls alloyed with linotype shatter like glass on a hard surface.  I think hardening with tin they stay together.

[Iktomi]

I have experimented with bismuth a bit. I live in CA and have been dealing with this lead ban since 2009.

I tried 100% bismuth and the ball shattered when I dropped a hammer on it from about 12 inches (gravity only). I then added increments of tin. The ball stopped shattering when I was at about 80 bismuth / 20 tin. There is a company that touts 90/10 but that did not work out as well as my 80/20 balls for me anyway. The ball does mould a little bigger as bismuth expands when it cools.

The other issue is that bitsmuth and tin seems to want to separate after you reheat it. So you need to keep it stirred. If you dont, your balls will just crumble as you release them out of the mould.

also Bismuth and tin roundball IS an approved projectile by the CA Fish and Wildlife as far as I am aware, as is ITX roundball from Tom Bob..

Ken Prather

 I'd have to look to be certain, but I believe that any lead free projectiles used in CA must be tested, approved and certified by the state to be legal for hunting. This pretty much rules out roll your own ammo.

[Hungry Horse]

Enforcement agents would have no way of knowing if a projectile was lead free or not if that were true. They have a field test that reacts if the projectile contains lead.

 Hungry Horse

[Iktomi]

Enforcement agents would have no way of knowing if a projectile was lead free or not if that were true. They have a field test that reacts if the projectile contains lead.

 Hungry Horse

 From the CA DF&W website.

Effective July 1, 2008, ammunition used for hunting of big game and nongame species within the range of the California condor must use a projectile which has been certified to contain less than or equal to 1 percent lead by weight. Projectiles here are defined as "any bullet, ball, sabot, slug, buckshot or other device which is expelled from a firearm through a barrel by force."

In addition, Assembly Bill 711 has been chaptered into law requiring the phase-out of lead ammunition when taking (hunting) any wildlife in the state by July 1, 2019. Phase-in regulations have been developed that begin implementation of AB 711 on July 1, 2015, and are designed to impose the least burden on California's hunters while still implementing the intent of the law.  AB 711 builds on the previously enacted ban on the use of nonlead ammunition for big game and nongame hunting within the range of the California condor.  Existing lead restrictions in the California condor range remain in effect.

CDFW and the California Fish and Game Commission have developed a process to certify projectiles as meeting the nonlead threshold (less than or equal to one percent lead content) for purposes of these regulations. Manufacturers are required to undergo an application process to have their ammunition certified as legal for use. If you would like your product(s) considered as legal projectiles in California, please submit a Nonlead Cartridge/Projectile Certification Application.

https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Nonlead-Ammunition/Certification

 Before you use any ammunition, it appears that it must be certified by the state. This would seem to rule out DIY cast balls. Since the standard is 1% or less lead content, which allows for at least *some* lead, a field test likely couldn't tell if you had 1%, 2%, or 10% lead content. GAAAAHHHH, I can't wait to leave this miserable state 

[axelp]

In California, if the material used is approved, (of which bismuth and tin most definitely are) I see no problem making your own and using them. Ultimately is the burden of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to prove that your projectile is made of a banned material (lead), and they have ways of testing it even in the field. Its really not that difficult. There are pre-made options on the market as well that will work--albeit not as good as lead.