Are some airgun pellets made of tin?

[enfield2band]

A friend sometimes drops off a bag of fired airgun pellets from the backstop.
They used to be good for casting muzzleloading bullets because they are soft lead but this latest batch definitely has tin it.
They came from an airgun club and no other guns are used.

Thanks.

[Black Beard]

They might be zinc. If so, keep them out of any casting melt. They make bad fumes and ruin the metal.

[Murphy]

Prometheus made some IIRC.

They marketed them for shooting around farms/food etc where lead would be unsuitable.

[Solvo]

Many of the Lead free "Green" pellets have very high tin content.
They're easy to spot though as they're bright silver and do not deform near as much as a lead pellet.

Also it's common for cheap pellets to be less than 100% lead (or 99.x% if you're being picky). Lead is expensive, alloying it with cheap metals gives a slightly harder but still usable pellet at a reduced cost.

[enfield2band]

They might be zinc. If so, keep them out of any casting melt. They make bad fumes and ruin the metal.

I don't think it is zinc but thanks for the suggestion. I separated a couple like the ones described by solvo. They melt easily and when heated up do not burn like zinc does.

Many of the Lead free "Green" pellets have very high tin content.
They're easy to spot though as they're bright silver and do not deform near as much as a lead pellet.

Also it's common for cheap pellets to be less than 100% lead (or 99.x% if you're being picky). Lead is expensive, alloying it with cheap metals gives a slightly harder but still usable pellet at a reduced cost.

What you describe sounds like that is where the tin came from. I did notice a few shiny ones and assumed they were only fired recently.
If I get anymore I will have to sift through them and separate them.
At least I can use the lead I have got for my .357"

Thanks.

[slug-gun]

The very first DYNAMIC range of pellets made by Prometheus Pellets of London were indeed made of TIN. However as tin became prohibitively expensive, the later Dynamic were made of ZINC as the specific density is very similar.

[robhw97k]

i bought some off flea bay 1000 for a tenner,were ok for mess about in the garden.

[enfield2band]

The very first DYNAMIC range of pellets made by Prometheus Pellets of London were indeed made of TIN. However as tin became prohibitively expensive, the later Dynamic were made of ZINC as the specific density is very similar.

Thanks for that.

While there is doubt about the quality of the lead I will use it for sea fishing weights rather than risk damaging my barrel.

Thanks everyone for the input.

[lensman57]

A friend sometimes drops off a bag of fired airgun pellets from the backstop.
They used to be good for casting muzzleloading bullets because they are soft lead but this latest batch definitely has tin it.
They came from an airgun club and no other guns are used.

Thanks.

The new lightweight ones are of Zinc alloy. Hard and shiny.

A.G