Thinking of casting my own

[grubbylabs]

I have a XD 45.

I am thinking of casting my own and would like to cast 230grn round nose.

What have you used and worked good?

Thanks

[greco]

I used a Lee production pot, and a typical ladle. Got the molds up to temp, then it was just a cake walk. (Single and 4 hold molds). Make as many as you feel like. I used wheel weights, and fluxed with Alox. Use in a well vented area (like outside).

[dahermit]

The shape of a 230 grain being what the .45 Auto was designed to function with, they are a real good choice to use inasmuch as there are fewer problems (with function), using them than other designs. If you load them to the over-all length of factory rounds and use a powder charge that functions the action smartly, you will have few (if any) problems.
RCBS makes an excellent 230 RN double cavity mould that I have used (along with their excellent semi-wadcutter .45 auto design).

[chris in va]

I use the bottom pour production pot (highly recommended) and the Lee tumble lube 230gr 'boolit'. Shoots great out of my Sig 220, very little leading. We put 200 rounds through it last range session with zero problems. The mold drops at exactly .452 so there's no sizing needed. Load and go.

Do you have good access to wheelweights?

[kraigwy]

I'm a believer in sizing bullets. You might get a mode that throws the weight you want with your lead mixture, but if you mic. the bullets you often find out they are out of round. I've found that sizing them, or swedging them through a sizer die corrects this.

I have a RCBS 225 grn RN bullet for my 45s that works great. Thats all I shoot except for leg matches witch requires a Jacket RN 230 grn bullet per CMP Rules.

My cast bullets shoot better though.

[11B-101ABN]

Mostly we use cast lead for paper targets. If you're gonna shoot paper, you don't have to run hot loads, which means less leading the barrel, less recoil, and longer barrel life. SWC puts nicer holes in paper than RN. I load for several guys in the club, including several law enforcement people I grew up with. The most popular (.45) load by far, is a 190 gr Lee cast SWC mostly wheelweights, sometimes I add a few ounces of 60/40 solder for more tin which fills out the mold and gives sharp edges. Put that on top of 8 to 8.5 grains of Blue Dot, and run it through a Dillon 550B. I check the first ten rounds carefully, then one every ten for about fifty rounds, then one every fifty. Never go more than fifty without checking, then if you find a mistake, you only have to back up 50. The powder drop is usually rock solid after 5 rounds or so, and that Blue press can pump out 500 per hour easy. OAL is right at 1.195". They go through the chrono at about 950fps, and cycle the gun reliably. I use a Beretta 8045 Cougar .45 and it will eat just about anything I make. Some of the 1911's are finicky but usually its when I don't size the slugs. If a gun REALLY don't like that load, I take the decapping pin out of a .45 sizing die on a single stage press and run the loaded round through it. If the gun still has problems we try RN, then jacketed bullets. Somewhere in the process you will find a reliable round, you just have to play with some of them.
I know the "safety" guys are grinding their teeth, but over the last 23 years I've punched out nearly a million rounds of .45 and probably had to "resize" 10K and NEVER had one detonate on the loading bench.

[zippy13]

We each have our own preferred way of casting: Like greco, I cast only outside and use Lee 6-cavity molds and their bottom feed pots. I typically mix reclaimed range shot with wheel weights and tin. With two pots going at once, I don't have the down time when re-loading the pot and waiting for it to come back up to temp. Running two molds gives them time to cool before opening while I pour the other. Once I get the rhythm going, it's a very efficient method. I'm with kraigwy about sizing, I use a Lyman with a heater so the wax isn't messy at room temp. If you are going to go to the effort of sizing/lubricating, then it makes sense to have your die match you specific barrel size(es). For paper punching with the 190 or 200 gr SWCs, 3.5 gr of Bullseye works well.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Yep, we have each come up with works best for us.

However, I can cast large circles around any standard bottom pour pot and do so with an OLD Colman gas stove on which I have a 30 - 35lb cast iron lead pot.

That with the use of a Rowel bottom pour ladle is one fast combination.

When casting for handguns, I like to run 3 - 5 molds at one time and if I am working with a partner we can cast up larges number of bullets very quickly.

A bottom pour pot simply will not provide the volumn of bullet material I want.

I was recently casting, by myself, with a single cavity RCBS 405gr. mold for my 45/70 and thought one of my Lyman dippers might work for this application. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!

That bottom pour ladle just flat has it over any other method I have ever tried.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[snuffy]

Yep, we have each come up with works best for us.

However, I can cast large circles around any standard bottom pour pot and do so with an OLD Colman gas stove on which I have a 30 - 35lb cast iron lead pot.

That with the use of a Rowel bottom pour ladle is one fast combination.

Yeah, fast but not very consistent. There's no way to control the temperature with a set-up like that. Temp control is VERY important in consistent weights, diameters, and fill-out of the sharp corners of any bullet. If all you want is something to plug the opening on top of the brass, then it's okay.

I've seen people shooting home made bullets like that at ISPSC matches, wrinkled, poorly filled out. But they went bang and hit somewhere on the target.

I use a lee pro-20 bottom pour production pot. I can make 4 pours a minute with a six cavity lee mold, that's 24 bullets/min. Rejection rate is seldom up to 10%, most times 2-3%

For 45 acp, I'd go with the 230 grain 2r tumble lube in a 6 cav.



http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=148534

Using that mold, you won't need to buy a sizer, just a bottle of this;

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=466811

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Well, the few wrinkled and not filled out bullets I come up with get recycled.

As I have already said, we all have our own systems that work for us, and this one, as stated does work for me.

Producing quality bullets which are more then just worthy to "plug" holes in my brass.

They shoot, and shoot well.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[PDshooter]

Been casting since 88.......$1.50 per #50

[Edward429451]

I've never been able to find a better cast RN than that from the Lyman mould