Wheel weights good or bad?

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W/W -lead alloy 50-50 air cooled or W-Q is well known as a great alloy for consistent BHN increases for what ever use where increased BHN over pure lead (hardness) is desired . Hunting and getting less expansion at moderate yardage when trying to save the front shoulders being trashed by your favorite rifle. Also good for moderating the amount of slump in long profile boolits by again increasing BHN . I as others have a use for W/W cause it"s available and affordable ,and works pretty good as intended . I personally would not be shooting near as much with (store bought) alloys though acknowledged to be of more consistent quality , I make do/Ed
 
I located a 90lb pail of WW for a friend years ago. In exchange he kept me in round balls for my Hawken with the Green Mountain barrel. I killed a lot of deer with those. Killed a lot of deer with pure lead. Cant really say there is a difference as far as round balls go. Never recovered pure lead or WW from deer. A .50 hole through a deer is terminal pure lead or WW.
 
WW is ok depending on what you're casting for. In BP muzzleloaders, that will depend on what you're shooting. In a PRB gun, it's not critical. In a smoothbore, if it fits, shoot it. For minies, absolutely NO.

Also depends on your intended use. For competition, best to have a known, repeatable alloy. For plinking, use what you like that's fairly accurate.
 
They are to Hard for Blackpowder Velocities. I have shot them in the past, accuracy was reasonable in my Old Stainless 50 Cal, Keep in mind that Even if you get them to Shoot ok, You Won’t get much, if any Expansion, Unless you are Shooting a WALLOWED Out Hollow Point Type Bullet. Wheel Weights are a POOR Choice for Muzzleloader, You are MUCH better off to Get Pure Lead, and up to 20-1 Alloy for Real Blackpowder Velocities.
Lewis, I should get 20-1 for my Lee REAl and pure lead for my round balls right? I cast 70 Lee REAL's yesterday with pure lead because that is all I have. But I will order some 20-1 for my conicals if you think this is the better option? I trust your input friend.
 
Lewis, I should get 20-1 for my Lee REAl and pure lead for my round balls right? I cast 70 Lee REAL's yesterday with pure lead because that is all I have. But I will order some 20-1 for my conicals if you think this is the better option? I trust your input friend.

James, No need for 20-1 for your Application, In fact it would be the WRONG WAY to go for what you are Doing. I would DEFINITELY STAY with your PURE LEAD For the Lee R.E.A.L.s, and Your Roundballs :lewis:

20-1 is AWESOME Stuff, It is a Favored Alloy By MANY Serious “World Class” Shooters where they are using LONG, Sleek Bullets with Real Blackpowder. I just Spoke with Dave Gullo (Our World Champion) about this, i asked Dave if he knew of ANY Serious Level Shooter that used pure lead in Competition? His answer was NO, That they ALL SHOOT AN ALLOYED BULLET
 
James, No need for 20-1 for your Application, In fact it would be the WRONG WAY to go for what you are Doing. I would DEFINITELY STAY with your PURE LEAD For the Lee R.E.A.L.s, and Your Roundballs :lewis:

20-1 is AWESOME Stuff, It is a Favored Alloy By MANY Serious “World Class” Shooters where they are using LONG, Sleek Bullets with Real Blackpowder. I just Spoke with Dave Gullo (Our World Champion) about this, i asked Dave if he knew of ANY Serious Level Shooter that used pure lead in Competition? His answer was NO, That they ALL SHOOT AN ALLOYED BULLET

Not if they're shooting Minies.......
 
James, No need for 20-1 for your Application, In fact it would be the WRONG WAY to go for what you are Doing. I would DEFINITELY STAY with your PURE LEAD For the Lee R.E.A.L.s, and Your Roundballs :lewis:

20-1 is AWESOME Stuff, It is a Favored Alloy By MANY Serious “World Class” Shooters where they are using LONG, Sleek Bullets with Real Blackpowder. I just Spoke with Dave Gullo (Our World Champion) about this, i asked Dave if he knew of ANY Serious Level Shooter that used pure lead in Competition? His answer was NO, That they ALL SHOOT AN ALLOYED BULLET
Thank you Lewis! That is a relief on my shoulders.
 
Dave951, Did anyone mention Minie’s here besides you? NOPE! But since you bring up a Minie, Of Course a Minie needs Soft Lead for the Skirt to “Flare” That’s Common Knowledge/Sense with Minie Balls

And to your point, your original reference to Gallo was a blanket statement leaving a reader who doesn't know about minies to believe that serious competitive shooters largely love 20:1 which is a great alloy for bullets other than minies.

In a greater sense, many bp shooters need to understand this simple thing, a serious competitor will strive to control EVERY variable within his control to maximize the effect of his/her skill in marksmanship. For some folks, just getting a bullet downrange is enough. Want to stand on the podium, get trophies or medals, better get really serious about variable control.
 
And to your point, your original reference to Gallo was a blanket statement leaving a reader who doesn't know about minies to believe that serious competitive shooters largely love 20:1 which is a great alloy for bullets other than minies.

In a greater sense, many bp shooters need to understand this simple thing, a serious competitor will strive to control EVERY variable within his control to maximize the effect of his/her skill in marksmanship. For some folks, just getting a bullet downrange is enough. Want to stand on the podium, get trophies or medals, better get really serious about variable control.

Nobody asked about Minie’s Here, had someone of asked about them i would have answered accordingly
 
And besides, 20-1 with the tapered REAL bullets are a woolly booger to get started down the barrel...

Sam A.

Sam, I would say they are even worse than that. My only experience with them, was some 20 years ago when I made some that were about that hard, and it was a good thing I had a steel ramrod, as I had to drive it down the barrel after it stuck halfway down. I learned darn quick to stay away from anything that I couldn't prove was pure for the r.e.a.l. bullets, along with the modified minie ball die that I bought from Lee company that works in a 50 caliber. The only problem for me, was the skirt seemed a little too thick to properly expand unless I used a good-sized charge.
Squint
 
Sam, I would say they are even worse than that. My only experience with them, was some 20 years ago when I made some that were about that hard, and it was a good thing I had a steel ramrod, as I had to drive it down the barrel after it stuck halfway down. I learned darn quick to stay away from anything that I couldn't prove was pure for the r.e.a.l. bullets, along with the modified minie ball die that I bought from Lee company that works in a 50 caliber. The only problem for me, was the skirt seemed a little too thick to properly expand unless I used a good-sized charge.
Squint

I agree! Hard lead with a Bullet Such as the Lee R.E.A.L. with a LARGE Driving Band (Same as Maxi Balls Etc.) is a BIG NO NO! I size my Bullets to “Bore/Land Ride” So i can push ANY of them Down NO Problem, But Alloys such as 20-1 is Just Not Necessary with Bullets Such as the Lee R.E.A.L., TC Maxi Ball, Maxi Hunters Etc. PURE SOFT Lead is the BEST Way to Go with these Types of Bullets :lewis:

20-1 Alloy EXCELS with LONG Sleek Bullets such as the Elliptical, Money, Postell, Prolate Etc. That SERIOUS Competition Guy’s Compete to 1,000, even 1,200 Yards With.
 
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