[pisgah]

Plimber's lead is usually close to pure. If anything, too soft for most smokeless loads, although it can perform very well in BP loads. It's impossible to determine the exact alloy with home methods, but you can make a guess by trying to scratch it with a fingernail -- if you can make a mark easily, it's soft. Or, drop an ingot on to a concrete flooor. A dull "thud" means soft, a ringing sound means you're looking at something of at least wheelweight hardness. Or, you can spend some bucks and get a hardness tester which, accuracy-wise, will give you a result somewhere between these methods and a labaratory analysis.