i cast bullets for all of my handguns and lever guns. Any one else here do any casting? 
these are .38spl/.357 150gr swc
250gr keith swc
173gr .308
124gr tc 9mm
these are .38spl/.357 150gr swc
250gr keith swc
173gr .308
124gr tc 9mm
Sidearms & Scatterguns any of you guys cast bullets?
- Thread starter Waco
- Start date
I choot cast boolitz in a couple pistolas, but never got around to casting me own. I wanted to, had some moulds, just never got a pot or found the time.
I doubt they can confiscate all lead pots, moulds and wheel weights.
check out castboolits
great forum, even better people.
great forum, even better people.
I just started casting. Using wheel-weights, and carefully monitoring the melting temperature. You can use a lead-tin alloy phase diagram to calculate the alloy composition then alloy appropriately with tin to get the desired hardness.
Wheel weights
Be careful with the wheel you get they are putting something in the weights that screw up the bullets. The new weights are real shiny I messed up about 50 lbs of mixture. I have not cast any since then. If I start up again I will not use wheel weights. I started using molly coated bullets and the cost is not to bad.
Be careful with the wheel you get they are putting something in the weights that screw up the bullets. The new weights are real shiny I messed up about 50 lbs of mixture. I have not cast any since then. If I start up again I will not use wheel weights. I started using molly coated bullets and the cost is not to bad.
I started casting for .40 when I started shooting Limited. I'll never go back as far as pistol goes.
200grs
200grs
I rarely cast anymore, except for the .50 Alaskan and .510 Whisper.
Those big bullets are not cheep so it makes it worth the time.
I've got molds in every handgun and rifle caliber I own tho.
And with over 1000lbs of Linotype, I'm good to go whatever might happen.
Those big bullets are not cheep so it makes it worth the time.
I've got molds in every handgun and rifle caliber I own tho.
And with over 1000lbs of Linotype, I'm good to go whatever might happen.
0.o you lucky, lucky man
Back around 1996 or so I got settled into Maryland after retiring from the Army. I was doing a lot of shooting, reading Ed McGivern and Elmer Keith got me motivated to get back into reloading (a hobby I dabbled in briefly in high school before enlisting in 1976) and casting bullets seemed like a good idea. A guy I used to shoot with make up hollow point loads he'd fill with lead azide compound which was a lot of fun on steel targets (boom - clangbang!) and extolled the virtues of bullet casting.
I worked in a clinic at the time that remodeled its X-Ray suite. There was about a ton of 1/8" thick lead sheet/shielding behind the drywall they removed. The contractors took it out in rolls and left it by the curb for a recycler and I decided I'd recycle it.
I probably got a couple hundred pounds of the stuff. And another hundred or so from a pistol club member who was moving - free for pickup. I melted it all and cast ingots in a Lee mold until I had so many of them in a crate I couldn't lift. Did a lot of casting for .44 magnum following various recipes I found online. 45 acp too (I was into shooting steel and bowling pins for a while), .38 SPL DEWCs, and .69 cal ball for a Charleville musket I used for Colonial/1st American Revolutionary War reenacting. I even bought antimony and tin to play with. I eventually put the equipment aside and the lead in the shed. Just recently started into cowboy action shooting and with the recent "panic" found that supplies of 45 cal bullets were sketchy at best so I bought a mold, hauled out the melting pot and lubrisizer and started casting again. I can make several hundred in a few hours' time, listening to talk radio or music. It's time-consuming, but it keeps me off the streets at night. Thing is, like a lot of reloading, if you find a load or a bullet you like, and make up a LOT of it/them, you only need to do it once every other year or three.
I did take precautions with exhaust fans and avoiding vapors - even had my serum lead level (zero) checked a few times.
It can be fun, rewarding, somewhat economical, but who ever heard of a true hobby that saves you money?
I worked in a clinic at the time that remodeled its X-Ray suite. There was about a ton of 1/8" thick lead sheet/shielding behind the drywall they removed. The contractors took it out in rolls and left it by the curb for a recycler and I decided I'd recycle it.
I probably got a couple hundred pounds of the stuff. And another hundred or so from a pistol club member who was moving - free for pickup. I melted it all and cast ingots in a Lee mold until I had so many of them in a crate I couldn't lift. Did a lot of casting for .44 magnum following various recipes I found online. 45 acp too (I was into shooting steel and bowling pins for a while), .38 SPL DEWCs, and .69 cal ball for a Charleville musket I used for Colonial/1st American Revolutionary War reenacting. I even bought antimony and tin to play with. I eventually put the equipment aside and the lead in the shed. Just recently started into cowboy action shooting and with the recent "panic" found that supplies of 45 cal bullets were sketchy at best so I bought a mold, hauled out the melting pot and lubrisizer and started casting again. I can make several hundred in a few hours' time, listening to talk radio or music. It's time-consuming, but it keeps me off the streets at night. Thing is, like a lot of reloading, if you find a load or a bullet you like, and make up a LOT of it/them, you only need to do it once every other year or three.
I did take precautions with exhaust fans and avoiding vapors - even had my serum lead level (zero) checked a few times.
It can be fun, rewarding, somewhat economical, but who ever heard of a true hobby that saves you money?
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