Lead alternatives for the C&B crowd?

[Pathfinder45]

Handy

I don't remember what western series it was in the 60"s but there was this one episode with an old timer that had a muzzle loading shotgun that he loaded with gravel instead of shot.

It was on, "The Big Valley". I think the character was called Handy. He said using gravel cut down on his overhead. Back to the gold idea: It would probably swage easier than melting and casting.