Hollow Points in the raw...

[Beagle333]

Some Clip-On WW, some Pure lead, and one small Pewter cup.
Ready to mix and pour!

[FrankenMauser]

Did you break the glass out of the bottom of the cup, or just scoop it out of the melt?

[Beagle333]

This particular one is a small solid pewter cup. No glass.

I haven't used the glass-bottom mug yet, but I'm going to work on it with the hammer before it goes in the pot.

[Beagle333]

And..... presto! Purple hollow points for the Whelen.
(NOE 360230 RanchDog)

[FrankenMauser]

Oooh.

That .340" HP cavity is gonna leave a mark.

[30cal_Fun]

Please excuse my ignorance but why are they pink? Is it some kind of lube or hard coating?

[reloader28]

Powder coating.
Its all the rage. The newest in condom covered bullets.
They say you dont need lube and it will shoot like a j-word bullet.
I've never tried it yet.

[30cal_Fun]

Thanks for the explanation.

[Mike / Tx]

I've never tried it yet.

He just makes them like that and sets them on a shelf in a glass display...

But others now swear by that coating. I haven't had any issue (yet) that have pushed me that direction.

[Beagle333]

I would explain it, but I gotta go out to the shop and make some more sections for my display case. haha!

[LAH]

Once again, great lookin' bullets.

[mikld]

They are pink 'cause it's Breast Cancer Awareness month...

[Beagle333]

The 8mm are pink!

[Swampman1]

Powder coating.
Its all the rage. The newest in condom covered bullets.
They say you dont need lube and it will shoot like a j-word bullet.
I've never tried it yet.

Well, I don't know. Seems to me that with each added dimension of casting brings you that much closer to the "J" bullet in cost. Especially when you consider all your combined time-from aquiring lead to powder coat finish. Besides, I like my bullets shiney and silver. But I guess for some, it's all about putting out something different. For me it's all about making something that works well at a BIG savings over factory ammo. I get satisfaction from that.

[Beagle333]

But I guess for some, it's all about putting out something different.

That's about it. I got about 3 cents of lead in em and about 3 more in powdercoat. But it comes down to what my free time is worth, and this is my hobby. 'Nothin wrong with J-bullets though. I still buy em and shoot em too. And almost anything is waaay cheaper than off the shelf!

Happy Shooting!

[FrankenMauser]

Well, I don't know. Seems to me that with each added dimension of casting brings you that much closer to the "J" bullet in cost. Especially when you consider all your combined time-from aquiring lead to powder coat finish. Besides, I like my bullets shiney and silver. But I guess for some, it's all about putting out something different. For me it's all about making something that works well at a BIG savings over factory ammo. I get satisfaction from that.

How much you save with cast bullets versus jacketed bullets depends on what kind of jacketed bullet you're talking about...

The 215 gr Woodleigh Weld-Cores I use in my Mosin Nagant? Yea, expensive. No doubt about it, or way around it.

The 275 gr Soft Points I use in my .444 Marlin(s) and .44 Mag? Three cents apiece. ...Up to 5 cents apiece if I use an alloy and bond the core to the jacket.

Free .40 S&W brass. Free (or close to it) pure lead. A cent to smelt and cast the cores (.410 195 gr SWC). And they get 'mashed' into shape in a $5 7x57mm sizing die.


2,332 fps muzzle velocity, recovered in the neck of a 6x6 bull elk -- cup-and-core version ('unbonded'):
(A second bullet penetrated the full width of the body, but did not exit and was not recovered -- lost in the gut pile, somewhere.)



A quote on that bullet:

275 gr Bonded version, at 2160 fps.
mt sourdough noted: "It is possible that this is the hardest hitting 44 cal bullet that I have tested in this weight range." (He has tested over 80 bullets in .444 Marlin, with the majority in the 250-300 gr weight range.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIWmMt7685s

[mikld]

For me and my ammo, it ain't about cost! I cast bullets because I like to. Even if it would cost more than j-word bullets, I prolly would still cast. This seems to be the only hobby that is considered only workable if it's "cost effective". I don't hear anyone talking about comparing the cost of a specific home made Salmon lure with the cost of store bought lures. Has anyone added up the cost of their fishing stuff and compared the cost of the fish they catch to the cost of the fish in a supermarket?

Jes sayin', money ain't everything...

[Beagle333]

Oh, let's not even try to calculate the cost of fish....
I got a catfish pond, and if I were to consider fertilizer, natural predation (turtles, otters, coons and cormorants), weed chemicals, aeration supplies and electricity, feed, sneaky neighbor's kids, and restocking costs........ it would make any fish just shy of a sushi grade Bluefin tuna seem cheap!

[FrankenMauser]

I don't hear anyone talking about comparing the cost of a specific home made Salmon lure with the cost of store bought lures. Has anyone added up the cost of their fishing stuff and compared the cost of the fish they catch to the cost of the fish in a supermarket?

The last edible fish I caught was in 1998.
And the only fish I have caught since was a little 1.5" "Pumpkin Seed". (I can't remember the proper name - they look like a blue sunfish and like nearly-stagnant, very shallow water.)
I'm not doing too well in the cost effectiveness department...


However, I raised channel catfish as a hobby when I lived in Florida. They were quite cost effective, at about $1/lb after all expenses* (breeder price, food, water, electricity, water filtration, tank maintenance, etc). The best part was that you had a fantastic conversion of food to fish weight: 1 pound of food (~$0.30/lb) yielded about 7/8 lb of fish -- as long as you didn't over-feed and waste it.

But, those catfish were just like my cast and swaged bullets. I don't do it purely to save money. I do it mostly because I enjoy it. But, if I can save money while having fun... well, why not?


*(I bred indoors, in tanks. I really miss those fish. They never peed on the rug, puked on the carpet, chewed on my shoe, scratched up my recliner, barked at visitors, dropped dead mice in the hallway, licked my legs after a shower, or took off down the street because they saw a squirrel 40 feet up a tree.... They just turned themselves into food, as long as I took care of them.)

[skizzums]

I have always wanted a .45colt. I have been dead set on it for most of the year. but every time I see frankenmauser bullets, I think....screw it, I HAVE to have a .44 mag. but if I do that, then I have to buy a .40.....i hate .40s

regardless, I love those jacketed bullets man, they are probably the sickest rounds I've ever seen. did you come up with that idea on your own?

[Vance]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/foru...php?41-Swaging
Cast Boolits has a forum for swaging your own jacketed bullets.

[FrankenMauser]

regardless, I love those jacketed bullets man, they are probably the sickest rounds I've ever seen. did you come up with that idea on your own?

Thanks. I like them, and my family (through their own testing) seems to be sold on them, as well.

I came across a thread on the Castboolits forums a few years ago, where a gentleman was sort of thinking out loud, pondering the feasibility of using a reloading die to draw down .380 Auto cases for use as jackets for .375" bullets. Having just been looking at shoulder dimensions of a bunch of cartridges, for some reason, it just popped into my head that the 7x57mm family generally had shoulder dimensions right around the desired diameter for .44 caliber bullets. And, I already knew that .40 S&W was the preferred case for the job.

I did a little more research, and started scouring the local classifieds for suitable dies. When the 7x57mm Bair Cub dies popped up, they were mine ...and the rest of the tools were already on-hand or fell into place from there.

-

Don't get too set on .44 caliber, if you'd rather go for .45 Colt. .40 S&W jackets also work fairly well for .45 caliber bullets. I can't remember what reloading die would give you the correct diameter (if you wanted to try that redneck method), but I do believe there are a few options. Since I started swaging my .44 bullets, I and another member have posted two lists of what dies work for which calibers (and whether the die needs modification), on the Castboolits forums. I, however, can't find either list right now. (It's been a few years... )

And, don't buy a .40 S&W. All you need is the brass. Everything that I use for my bullets is scrounged - mostly from the desert/mountains, a little bit from ranges, and the odd handful of 'scrap' cases from my father (who owns several .40s).

[skizzums]

Cool thanks. I alway poke around cat boolits swaging stuff, bit they all seem to use the 3-500$ swaying dies, which would be awesome, and maybe save me in the long run on certain calibers, but if I could just do experimenting with sizing does, that'd be way more reasonable. Thanks

[fshfindr]

The powder coat looks pretty. I would like to know more about the HP mold. I have yet to see one that is reasonably priced. Care to share where you got them? Thanks.

[Beagle333]

That particular one is from Night Owl Enterprises.

www.noebulletmolds.com

It is the 360-230 RF and here is a link directly to it:
They start on page 6 and continue onto page 7
The RG models are the HP molds. (RG stands for Removable Guide)