Hi Chaps,

I've just started playing with casting bullets for my .30-30. (Hopefully muskets, kentucky rifle, 8mm and .45-120 to follow!)

I bought a lot of reclaimed shot from an auction for the best part of naff all. I'm not convinced it's lead tho. It was coated in a layer of oxide and crap, but when I melted it and skimmed it and poured ingots, it set very hard (a piece 4" diameter by 1/4" thick isn't bendable by hand) The ingots 'ring' if you tap them with a hammer.

When it does bend, it seems to 'click' as tin does. It also melts with my lee pot set at minimum, which is meant to be about 450 degrees, the melting point of tin. I cast some bullets with it from a Lee 170 grain mould and they come out at 160 grains or so, so too dense to be tin. What in earth is it? Very hard lead shot?

Can I alloy it with straight lead? What sort of proportions would be a starting point?

Many thanks in advance, Jamie!