Here is an excellent opportunity for a metallurgist scientist to come up with a suitable substitute (metal/alloy) with similar qualities/properties as lead... you think?

Pete

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NRA, GOA Lifer

Here is an excellent opportunity for a metallurgist scientist to come up with a suitable substitute (metal/alloy) with similar qualities/properties as lead... you think?

Pete

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NRA, GOA Lifer

Do you know what I found to be really simply ingenious?

Lewis & Clark carried their gunpowder in lead canisters sealed with wax. When the lead canister was emptied, they melted the canister down to make bullets from it.

The World of the Shotgunner has already come up with a number of replacement materials since the use of lead pellets were banned in shotgun shells many years ago.

People have cast zinc bullets for many years.

The only problems with "pot metal" bullets are the facts that they are hard, brittle, leave lots of deposits in barrels, and are of questionable value for hunting use.

However, zinc is fairly cheap, can be found now as wheel weights, and can be cast with the same equipment used for lead. Just never use equipment used with lead for zinc, or vice versa. Zinc contaminates lead and makes it useless, and vice versa.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Unfortunately, the non-lead shot replacements tend to have much higher melting points than lead, meaning home casting is much harder...

Lead: 621F
Copper: 1981F
Zinc: 786F
Bismuth*: 520F
Tungsten: 5432F

All of these have trade-offs ... Bismuth is more dense than lead but very brittle. Zinc is fairly soft, but has about 60% the density of lead. Tungsten would be very hard to work at home. Copper is becoming very expensive and is also hard to work because of melting point...

But, since the powder was all gone...

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You're shy a few manners.

They planned ahead:

15 Prototype Model 1803 muzzle-loading .54-caliber rifles "Kentucky Rifles"
15 Gun slings
24 Large knives
Powder horns
500 Rifle flints
420 Pounds (191 kilograms) of sheet lead for bullets
176 Pounds (80 kilograms) of gunpowder packed in 52 lead canisters
1 Long-barreled rifle that fired its bullet with compressed air, rather than by flint, spark, and powder

These days, taking on the world is a bit more complicated.

Personally...I'm for fighting the misinformation regarding these silly lead bans. Seeking alternatives is basically giving up.

Spoke with both my Senators two weeks ago about a few 2nd Amendment items as well as the backdoor attempts such as lead bans, components taxes, etc.

Senators Baucus and Tester were succesful the past few days with amending the errors recently made regarding banning the sales of GI surplus small arms brass to individuals. Some of the Politicians ARE trying to help keep our Rights alive. DO write or better yet call your elected Officials. Maybe it's a Montana thing but my guys have almost ALWAYS called me back or e mailed me.

FN in MT

BarbC,

The Corps of Discovery possibly camped overnight in my front field. Twent years ago the U of M team dug things up, but couldn't say for sure if they found anything supporting that claim. Apparently from info in their Journal they thought my field was their camping spot that day.

The idea of the LEAD powder contaiiners is one of my favorite's as well. Talk aboout ingenious!!

FN in MT

Frank did they find any mercury? Seems they used mercury for what ailed them and it was a dead give away to where they camped.

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Dom

Must be but then all of mine a Democrats anyway except for the Representative but then he's more of a Democrat than most Democrats but he wears the Republication Badge at Election time. I've written many times over the Years but the only reply I've ever gotten was a request for money!!!

KKG - both Montana U.S. Senators are Democrats. Pro 2nd Amendment Democrats. This is not an oxymoron. For the life of me, I've never been able to understand why so many Democrats have decided to limit our 2A rights.

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It's around here somewhere!

History Channel told me once that Lewis and Clark could be traced by mercury deposits (latrines). Like Hunt said, they used mercury for what ailed them, which included social diseases. Wild stuff!

At Bunker Hill when they ran out of ball they loaded pebbles and stones.