want to start casing my own bullets

[abowlieb]

Hey fellas! I have been reloading for about 2 years now. Haven't had any mishaps along the way. Feel really good about my reloading skills and I keep learning new things.

I now would like to try my hand at casting my own bullets. I watched a few videos on youtube but havent really dug in deep researching things just yet.

I have a few questions. What all will be needed to start casing.

What is the start up cost for everything you need?

What would be a good kit to start out with?

Are the cast bullets just as good as the jacketed bullets you buy at the store?

Do the perform the same on game? I'll mostly cast 30-06 and 38cal bullets.

What effect does cast bullets have on the firearm?

What are mistakes normally made when starting out casting?

Thx for any input!

[Lost Sheep]

Two hours and no responses. I will step up with my EXTREMELY limited knowledge.

Electric melting pot with a bottom pour (without a bottom pour, is very convenient. Without the bottom pout, you have to dip liquid lead from the top surface, which involves more care with dross (contaminants which float to the top). Electric melting pots generally have thermostats, which make it easier to control temperature.

Aluminum molds, do not require oiling for storage to prevent rust (and de-oiling before use), and come up to casting temperature quicker than steel. Aluminum Molds are easier to warp.

Check out the web site/forum "Castboolits.com". The term "boolit", when you see it used i most forums is not a misspelling. Boolits is a term of art for bullets made of lead, as opposed to jacketed or plated. Castboolits.com specializes (as you may surmize) in casting and use of cast lead bullets.

Good luck in your new expansion of your hobbies.

What you will be shooting these in? Chamberings and the firearms/action types. Sometimes that can make a difference. For xample, gas-operated actions may have issues with lead gumming up the works.

Lost Sheep

[shootniron]

If you want to cast bullets, you need to start hanging out over at this link...everything that you need to know is on there.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

I will say that casting bullets added more to my guns and shooting hobby than anything that I have ever done. I would recommend it to anyone...

[chris in va]

I'll be honest here.

Casting bullets is a whole other hobby in itself, and I feel it is much more difficult than reloading. It's not the casting that is so hard, but getting the proper fit to each gun, the right diameter and OAL that allows proper feeding. Then you have to deal with barrel leading and the use of gas checks for rifles.

If you enjoy tuning and tinkering with engines, you'll love casting. If you prefer to buy a car from a showroom and drive it as-is, casting is not for you. IMHO.

On a side note I just tumble lube mine with Johnson's Paste Wax and mineral spirits. Fairly quick and dries in a couple hours. The latest craze is powdercoating but it is labor intensive and takes much longer.

[daboone]

Chris said it very well. It is another initity unto itself. To be successful the cast bullet must fit the bore. The lube must be appropriate for the velocity. If considering Powder coating, it does require several extras but it certainly covers a multitude of issues if done correctly.

[Doc Hoy]

Or other high speed rifles but my thought is that cast bullets might skid in 2000 plus fps applications.

As I say I have no experience in that area but I know that in my loads (BP cartridge) as my velocity goes up, the lead has to be harder. I don't shoot any BPCR at much higher than 1400 FPS.

I have ingots separated as "soft" that is BHN 9 and below, "medium" BHN 9 to BHN12. and "hard" BHN 12 and up.

Getting bullet metal much harder than that takes some doing.

[shootniron]

chris in virginia...powder coating is not labor intensive. I tumble lube with PC and it is just about as quick as the conventional tumble lube that I used before. I just put the bullets in a coolwhip bowl along with a spoon of PC, swirl around and dump them on a pan (normally do 400 per session) and bake them for 12mins...works great and I will never go back to conventional lube.

[Gster]

After a little over 2 yrs. reloading, I too jumped into casting my own. It took me a little while to gather everything I needed, but I now cast and shoot 3 different bullets with great success. I'm always looking for lead and have smelted 100s of lbs. of it in both pure and cowws. I'm always on the lookout for it as well as hitting flea markets for pewter and solder. It's another addiction for sure. Sign up at castboolits forum and ask away, they are a great bunch of guys and you will learn a lot.

[Doc Hoy]

In knowing the success folks are having with high speed bullets. I don't know anything about that part of casting.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

What is the start up cost for everything you need?
Depends on the casting furnace or pot you buy. Some go as high as 400.00 and as little as 25.00. Molds? again depends on the manufacture and material their made of. Cost very 20.00 to 150.00 or more.
Incidentals needed: 200.00 ie up to date Lyman Casting Mannual~handles dipper~ gloves~ eye protection~ mallet~ thermometer, and other whatever's needed. Not included is a PID temperature controller which are around 100.00 or more in cost.

What would be a good kit to start out with?
Lee-Lyman are good kits for most beginners starting out.

Are the cast bullets just as good as the jacketed bullets you buy at the store?
That's a matter of opinion. If anything gas checked cast is very close to store bought jacketed accuracy. Only way I know to increase the performance of cast to near or better than store bought jacketed performance is to learn how to paper patch. But paper patching is a whole new technique to learn in the casting & reloading department.

Do the (cast) perform the same on game? I'll mostly cast 30-06 and 38cal bullets.
Yep they so do. Depending on the hardness of your cast bullet governs its expansion~~or not. You can actually decrease the speed of a cast and increase its terminal performance with the use of a little softer lead so long as the bullet is gas checked or powder coated. Easier on your barrel and brass also. So long as your rifle isn't a ported auto loader you should be able to cast for it and discover a good powder recipe that shoots accurately. Pistol bullets. Casting is the only way to go. I guarantee you'll want to shoot your pistol more often if you cast for it.

What effect does cast bullets have on the firearm?
For wear. Non. Cast is a whole lot easier on any barrel verses jacketed. But you can lead up a barrel which more annoying than damaging by the following: /under size cast/ plan base bullets do to their hardness being to low/ or your powder charge is to fast burning/ or excessive speed beyond the cast ability to achieve. ~~In a ported auto loader you chance plugging its gas port using cast.

What are mistakes normally made when starting out casting?
Safety should be your #1 priority. The slightest splash of lead on the skin surface will get your attention in a hurry.
Honestly: Casting is a lean as you go thing. Same as reloading is. The more you do it the more you learn. I would suggest you read the site link provided and get yourself a Lyman Cast Bullet manual which should be #1 thing's on you're to do list. Have a good time, but be careful, if you, intend to get involved with casting.

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[Bongo Boy]

I think casting can differ quite a bit depending on what/how you're shooting. So, while there may be great benefits measuring, fitting and fussing with bullet-to-gun details, it may be far more important for the benchrest rifle guy than for the IDPA handgun shooter. Very accurate shooting can be done in 40 and 45 cal handgun without measuring or fitting a thing. I cast 'em, size 'em and shoot 'em, and have been able to work up loads that are as accurate as I have gotten using Hornady XTP, Nosler and Montana Gold bullets. I also find folks make a big fuss over lead alloys and get all worked up over what works and what doesn't. I cast what I get from eBay, have no idea what it is, and have run into problems, such as with zinc in the pot. These 'problems' can be dealt with...one doesn't have to send the lead out to be analysed.

>>> What all will be needed to start casing.

I started with a 5 quart Dutch oven from Walmart, a cajun cooker (jet burner), a bottom pour ladle, a mold, an RCBS Lubri-sizer and sizing die.

>>> What is the start up cost for everything you need?

Dutch oven was $35, cajun cooker was $35, ladle was $18, mold was $35 and mold handles were $13.

Are the cast bullets just as good as the jacketed bullets you buy at the store?

They certainly are 'just as good' if you've learned how to manage your gear and materials, and you're shooting paper. For game, I defer to others. At about 1/10 the cost, 'just as good' doesn't matter that much to me because I couldn't afford to shoot at all if I had to buy bullets.

>>> What effect does cast bullets have on the firearm?

From nearly none at all to maybe a little extra cleaning with a bore brush.

>>> What are mistakes normally made when starting out casting?

Not buying and using a thermometer--quite possibly the single most important accessory besides the mold. This was the single biggest mistake I made, given I don't use a temperature-controlled furnace. After spending $35 for a probe thermometer, about 90% of all casting troubles went away. This may not be so important if using a furnace with controller.

Becoming impatient during a casting session and failing to develop a casting 'cadence'...based on observing the bullets that drop, the ease or difficulty of cutting the sprue, etc.

...and maybe not using enough care to keep the mold clean--especially when mistakes are made that leave the slightest splatter on mold faces. It all goes downhill fast after that.

The cajun cooker went away almost immediately, but it got me started. The jet burner type is hugely inefficient and I found a ring burner that uses 1/3 the fuel and makes 1/10 the noise.

The Dutch oven I still use, and because it holds well over 50-60 lbs of lead, this setup helps reduce the negative impact of getting a bad batch of lead. I have 1,500 lbs of lead in the garage, and before a session I mix up a selection of my garbage lead from a variety of sources to reduce the chances of have a 20 lb pot of high-zinc content lead. It works for me.

[skizzums]

i made a short video to show the absolute cheapest you can start casting for. as far as i know anyways. it's extremely cheap. my lee equipment has casted me dozens of thousands of cheap and accurate projectiles. if i was to start over again, i would have started powdercoating out of the gate, it's a lot easier in the long run and takes the alloying pretty much out of the picture, and sizing it also not as important. but for cost savings, alox comes with the sizing die, so it's free.


https://youtu.be/xSuPTxfuXMA

i apoligize for poor quality and crappy sound. i am a terrible public speaker, even when i'm by myself

[hartcreek]

Now we know what SKIZZUMS looks like.

SKIZZUMS Some of that melt that you are tossing off the top of your bulk melt pot is Tin. The tin tends to float to the top if you do not keep stirring especially in the bulk pot as you are losing so much heat off the top of the melt.

[reddog81]

Thanks for the great video skizzums.

I was planning on purchasing the Harbor Freight powder coating gun in the near future but after watching that video I might just try and use the shake an bake method first. It looks like that would be alot easier and the results appear to be very good.

[skizzums]

okay hart. ill try to keep that in mind. the only reason why i cleaned the second time(ater pounring the first ingots), is because i have a bunch of the orangey rust stuff in the bottom of the pot come up to one side of the surface. ill try to study a little more about tin floating to the surface and not to molest it. i am pretty much just winging it, have no experience casting outside of self-learning and a few good pointers here and there from TFL. beagle and mike tx inparticularly.

glad you liked the vid reddog, i am not pro, just wanted to make a visual for the folks that have never done it before, we get alot of posts from first time casters here and usually asking wat yu were, what do i need, how much will startup cost etc.. i am not saying my methods are right or wrong, just that they have casted tens of thousands of shiny, wrinkle free bullets over the last 3-4 years, so i feel like my way is at least one right way to do it. it's not nearly as hard as some will make it sound although proper fit and alloy can be very important business unless you want to scrub lead out of a barrel all night. there was only a couple guns that i had the patience to perfect a size/alloy combo to prevent leading. one being a 357/38 lever and the other a 9mm carbine, both turned out well.

i have a couple guns that have very uneven/rough rifling and groove diameters and they were almost a fools errand to get just right. and my 300blk i could never keep the bullets slow enough not to lead while keeping the pressures high enough to cycle the little pistol length DI system. i could have spent many more hours getting the alloys just right and re-slugging the bores to see where i went wrong, but i found the tumble PC method to be such an amazing shortcut, not to mention i am now able to push cast bullets in the super-sonic territories w/o having to start over on hardness, water drop vs air dry/ gas-checks/ perfect sizing etc. so PC is really the way to go. yes, you can make the arguement hat it slightly more time consuming than just running through a lubrasizer, in the end you are saving time AND money by being able to throw whatever leftover blend that's in our pot down the barrel w/o worry. i believe adding tin is still nessecary, at least a little, to keep consistently shaped bullets and making for easier casting.....a little goes long way.

tumble PC is very easy and very fast. the difficulty comes with long rifle bullets like the lee 230 309's in my above video. you can either rig up a pan that has donuts or washers that fit the bottom of the diameter perfectly so they can stand on there own(maybe have to double or even triple stack the washers) or you can be super lazy like me and just lay them on their sides and make sure they arent touching, and be gentle as to not knock off the PC. PC spray guns make for beautifully show quality coatings, but show no improvement in functionality or accuracy, since the bullets get resized after anyways, the diamter will be consistent. also, tumble PC gives an added benefit of coating the bullet at 100% rather than leaving a bare lead bottom. plus it saves powdercoat in the long run

good luck, let us know when you get set-up and we are always here to answer questions, none of them will sound dumb. you should go back to my first posts

[samfried]

Hey skizzums I happened to find your video on YouTube lady week and watched it twice. Thanks, it was very informative. I was wondering if it was you. (How many skizzums could there be ?)

[skizzums]

there can be only ONE

glad you liked it. thanks for the kind comment

[stubbicatt]

So Skizzums, I noticed your Alpinestars hat!

Thanks. I thought your video was well done. I aspire to create a video one day, but truthfully I don't have a subject matter that would be very appealing.

I liked the segment on powder coating. I have an old Star lube sizer, and make my own bullet lube, so it goes pretty fast. I may try powder coating one day, but as it is, I can lube and size bullets pretty fast in that Star, so I guess I'll keep doing what works.

[Beagle333]

A Star is sweeeeet! If it's working for you, stick with the Star. I do enjoy my powdercoating, but I have a few sizers and use them as well. I have enough dies for my Star to just have the one lubesizer, but I don't like changing dies, so I have a couple more older lubers set up with my favorite calibers.