Casting bullets

[Fox]

When I get through saving up $500 im going to (hopefully) buy a dillion and the stuff to cast lead (i already have a rockchucker) I plan on starting on my no4 .303, then im going to get a .338-06AI and cast some bullets for this.
Anything I should know? What gas checks should I use?

 

[gns4me]

Check out castboolits.com for all your casting needs. there is a lot of equipment used to cast bullets and a lot of info to understand about sizing and velocity and gas checks and lube and lead hardness and, and, and................ Its pretty like taking up a whole nuther hobby that is fun to learn and work at. If you havn't reloaded yet start there and expand out later. get the feel and see if you like all work. Me I love to cast as much as reload and shoot.

 

[scrat]

its an art. when buying your first molds i would suggest a two mold or 6 mold cavity. stay away from the one mold cavity. Proper heat distribution is the key to making good cast bullets. the molds need to also be heated up to the proper temperature. a lot of people start out learning how to cast using nothing more than an old pot, propane torch or old camp stove. This is good for the beginer to get used to casting. The molds need to be properly lubricated. Once you get the concept and the practice experience casting you will want to get a proper lead melter. The best ones to get are the bottom pour lead. As its a lot easier to pour from the bottom than using a laddle. Same time the lead seems to be better at the bottom as the pot usually has the junk you disgard at the top. Never except poor quality as a good enough. if it looks bad re melt it. Do not think your first bullets will come out perfect. it might take up to an hour to start casting good bullets. but once you start casting them correctly you will be on a rythm that will go a long time. Make sure you do plenty of reading. Everyone one gets burned. Mechanics gloves are your friend. As you can deal with the heat more. Be selective on the lead you choose. You may want to get a brinnel hardness kit. Lee offers a ver low priced lead hardness kit. Used supplies are great. However on molds and handles i would get new. to make sure the cast structure is still good. LUbe Lube Lube. make sure you size and lube your bullets. if you have a bullet that seems to be bigger than others after sizing and lubbing disgard it. it is bigger the sizing process is supposed to press down the bullets to a proper size. yours was way to big to begin with.


ok thats all for now.

Another trick once you start pressing bullets in to shell cassing. take some bullet lube. dip the tips of the bullets in wax to give them one final coat. to hopfully prevent leading of the barrel.

 

[scrat]

check out www.handloads.com

they have a lead casting section. a lot of guys with some good knowledge

 

[Bula]

I just started casting this weekend. I bought the Lyman casting kit from Cabelas. It's fun. It takes ahwile to get going but it's worth the effort. I have been scrounging and smelting wheel weights for the past few weeks and ended up with about 350 lbs of clean ingots. In 2 casting seesions, with a ladle and a 2 cav Lyman mold, I ended up with a nice pile of about 450 255 grain 44 cal SWC's. Haven't sized/lubed them yet. lot's of guys stress the bottom pour pots, I can see why, that ladle is a bit of a PITA. But I figure for a newby, and the fact that the melting pot/ladle is pretty much free with the Cabelas kit, the dipper works fine. Good molds are spendy ($80 with handles) but I figure in their lifetime they will provide me A TON of bullets. I plan on casting for everything I shoot but I started with the 44 mag as it was my most expensive bullet purchased. .357 mag, 38 special, 45 acp and 45 colt to follow. I'll probably end up getting a Bottom pour pot and some 4 or 6 cav molds. But for your rifle, I'd say the 2 cavity route and a ladle should be fine. Good luck. From what I read, go with Hornady gas checks. They provide a better 'grip' than the lyman brand.

 

[tasco 74]

scrat is right about that site i go there alot... as for the lead pot it's really alot easier to use a bottom pour model.. i have a lee production 10# pot i like really well...... don't forget to flux often and stir the bottom of your lead good to get the crap out of it.........

 

[cracked butt]

For rifle loads, start them out slow. Most cast rifle bullets shoot best around 1600-1700 fps. Don't let the low velocity scare you away, you will be able to shoot your .338 all day long without it beating the heck out of you.

For starters I would start with something easy, such as a 30-06 or even your .338. The Enfields tend to have oversized bores and even more oversized grooves. All of mine run from .313-.314" in the gooves. Some companies such as lee offer moulds that cast at .312" for enfields, but these will be too small, you need something that will cast at leas .314"- you can always size down.

A Lee production pot IV sells for about $50, it works well for casting as a bottom pour pot. It works excellent once you lap the valve to its seat on this pot.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Also use search option for THR files of the past

It is great to have personal input here on THR but do not forget that years of answers can exist in our list files.

On the whole list or individual lists there is a search button to find answers to just about anything you can think of regarding our shooting and other sports here.