[308Prepper]

A few questions fer the ‘experts’ about casting.

Let me begin by stating I’m a total noobie when it comes to casting bullets. I’ve been hand loading for 40+ years, but casting would be a new adventure for me.

Been looking at the equipment available, and of course it goes from the inexpensive Lee brand, to the more expensive, RCBS, Lyman, Star, etc. I of course wish to spend the least, but get the most from my investment.

Have a pretty good handle on how everything operates, except for one step with the Lee equipment. Bullet greasing into the grease rings during sizing. The RBCS, Lyman, etc, all use grease sticks in the press, which of course is forced in the groves of the bullet, during sizing. The Lee does not do this, so how does one add grease to the grease rings?

I noticed that Lee markets molds labeled for ‘tumbling’ with grease, which have smaller rings. Does the initial adding of grease before sizing, tumbling, then running the bullets through the sizer, move the grease into those small rings? If so, aren’t the bullets a greasy mess, since it appears the grease is over the entire bullet, instead of in the rings only?

Also, noticed with the RCBS, Lyman, etc, that one constantly has to manually keep pressure on the inserted grease stick, in order for the grease to be forced into the grease rings. Is there a press on the market that automatically keeps the correct amount of pressure on the lube, eliminating this step? Sorta like a grease gun used in the auto repair process?

Lead. I’ve been informed that the tire stores around me no longer give/sell their old balancing weights to the public. New EPA rule maybe? Don’t know, doesn’t matter. So, alternate sources for lead suitable for casting bullets?

I’m not necessarily considering getting into bullet casting solely to save money. I’m looking for every avenue to become less dependent upon reloading suppliers (Midway, MidSouth, etc).

Take care