I may have a chance to pick up some pure lead, and I have everything ready to cast some .38 150 gr. SWC's & round nose .45 ACP.

50/50 lead/tin solder wire is nearly $20 a lb. where I live, so I'm looking for a cheaper alternative to add tin. I've heard that pewter works well as source of tin with pure lead, but I would like to hear from some voices of experience here on the S&W forum.

If anyone has had success using pewter w/ pure lead for casting pistol rounds, how did you figure out the ratio?

Any help would be appreciated.

Pewter is generally very high in tin (90-95%) and makes a good source if it's cheap.

Generally I use a ratio of 1 part tin to 15 parts of lead for most of my pistol bullets.

Real pewter is mostly tin as noted. Just make sure it is pewter & not zinc. You need very little for good casting, 2% max.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Yes, make sure it is actually marked "pewter". There are a lot of similar looking metals used in hollow ware. They are usually some sort of zinc alloy. Bad Ju Ju.