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I'm to the point I really need to do some casting, but I don't know where to start. Recently I have been shooting bigger bore rifles (375/416). Especially with the 416, there is no such thing as a practice/plinking round. The closest bullet is the 350grn Speer mag tip, and they are running .75 ea, when they can be found. I dislike practicing with $1.00 bullets, and shooting CXP4 bullets at my gongs is simply devastating them. Over the years I have been collecting a little lead here and there. I have about a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights, and around 100 lbs of X-ray lead (pure lead I believe). I have just purchased Lyman's cast bullet book, and am just beginning. These are my my questions: How do I measure the Brinnell hardness? Is the Lee tool useful? What do you like for sizing? My BIL uses a Lyman 1500, I think. Is this preferred? The bullet mold I need for the 416 is from RCBS. Are their molds good, and are the handles interchangeable between different molds? I think I need gas checks, since I want to push a 400 grain bullet over 2000fps. Where do I buy gas checks in 416? Does harder lead cause more barrel leading, or softer lead? Where do you get tin for making alloys? I know these are a bunch of newb questions, but I know nothing about casting. This is solely a value play, since I should be able to make 15 bullets from $1 in lead vs a dollar apiece for coppers. It is unlikely that I'll be casting for handguns. The savings isn't that high compared to rifle. Any advice is appreciated. Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus | ||
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| Avoiding slam fires  |
Lot of questions,wheel weight are good to start with in hardness. I add nothing. Gas checks I got from midway for the 44. Lube ,I got away years back. Powder cote for me.[Red works best for me from harbor freight. Oven from wal mart.$50. Try to size right away ,they get harder in a few months[learned that the hard way] Turkey fryer to do your w/w melts.I melt 1/2 bucket at a time ,more and you got a mess with the floating steel and junk. Long handle dipper to remove steel clips,Bee wax in this melt to start. Makes real clean smelt.Bout 650 is temp you want. Dont let turn blue,gold is tipping point on just right temp. Hot plate for mold heat,propane torch also helps to clean steel molds of factory oil.even after you wash with dawn liquid. I use rcbs pro for my melt pot for casting,lee is the shits,you go this route and buy two,you will need spare parts. Lyman is my go to molds,cant afford the nicer ones. I size mostly on the Starr with auto feed.but lyman also gets used on a few short runs. That will get you headed someway right. | |||
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The Lyman book is a great start. Also visit the Castboolit forum, lots of good stuff there. If you are not doing a ton of bullets, the Lee sizing dies work fine on any ss press. For a lot of bullets, the Star/Magma is the way to go. To properly measure BHN, you need a tool for that. The Lee works but is a PITA to use. I like the Cabin Tree or LBT better. RCBS molds are great. The only down side is they are two cav. Hornady makes gc & yes IMO, you will need them to go to 2000fsp. At that vel, you will want a harder alloy for less leading. Though bullet fit is the key. I enjoy casting & shoot about 8K rds of handgun a year, so casting & coating my own saves quite a bit of $$. The most I ever shot the 404 was about 300rds in a year. So 75 a bullet wouldn't have killed me. I feel your pain looking for cheap practice big bore bullets. I shoot a 404 Jeffery & while I tried cast, didn't like scrubbing between jacketed. Fortunately a 300gr 44mag bullet only needs to be swaged down to 0.423", which I can do in two steps with Lee dies, from 0.429" to 0.427" to 0.423". I run those at 2000fps with good accuracy for practice. IF YOU AREN'T HANDLOADING, YOU AREN'T SHOOTING ENOUGH! NRA Instruc: Basic Pistol & Met Reloading | |||
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I use hi-tek coating, you don't need a gass check but you can use them if you like. You can also get away with softer bullets without worrying about leading. The last benefit is that you don't need to have a lubsizer, just a push through size die and a single stage press. This is how I do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8tWaN5PrTY | |||
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Wheel weight lead is fine as long as velocity stays below 1000 fps, brinnell hardness runs 10 to 13, ex-ray lead runs 14 to 16 on hardness scale, Linotype lead runs 18-24 on the brinnell scale. Go to metal recycling yards to find more ex-ray lead and linotype which is considered best for rifles. Hard lead usually leaves less leading in barrel of gun but needs good quality lubes. Coatings such as Hy-Tec poly coatings. www.hypreformancebulletcoatings.com or powder coatings from Harbor freight, Wal Mart catalog, or another source is www.prismaticpowder.com. The coatings cure quite hard and will give good lubrication at higher velocity. If you are sizing the bullets do it right after coating. For more lead alloys try this link www.rotometals.com. Another good reference on Casting bullets is www.handloads.com. I saved the best for last; Google this: from ingot to target. I think this is the best reference I have ever read on casting bullets. Down load it and save for future ref. | |||
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semi-reformed sailor |
try this http://www.lasc.us/LASC_Article_Index.pdf "Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein “You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020 “A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker | |||
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Fred, thanks for this is idea. I had never considered this route. Lots of good suggestions. I'll get started on this soon and report back how it goes. Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus | |||
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The hi-tek coating has a much higher melting point than lead, you can actually melt all of the lead inside the coating and it will contain it. Powder coating is another method some folks use and while better than wax lubed bullets didn't get the best results for me.    | |||
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I tested HT coated vs PC coated in my 6.8 running 130gr @ 200fps, no gc. The PC bullets were reasonably accurate, 3" @ 100, probably better with a harder alloy. The HT never even made it to paper. I think HT is best kept under 1500fps. IF YOU AREN'T HANDLOADING, YOU AREN'T SHOOTING ENOUGH! NRA Instruc: Basic Pistol & Met Reloading | |||
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Buy a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook... It is very useful and has all the info you need to cast qualilty bullets. fWIW Chuck Hoist on High the Bonny Blue Flag that Bears the Single Star!!! Certified SIG Armorer Certified Glock Armorer | |||
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