[bullseye308]

Finally got off my butt and ordered a mold to start me off on this wonderful new extension of my favorite hobby. Got the Lee 124 gr TC tumble lube double cavity 9mm and started cranking them out. Already had 200 lbs smelted into muffins, so spent a couple of hours turning them into bullets. Now I'm anxious to order some 6 holers and get cranking on some 38's and 357's. Thanks for all the info here. Not a bad start for a first timer. :)

[AgentAdam]

Boolits! Where did you get the lead?

[waverace]

Good on ya :D its as you said an extension and if it all works out good you will have even more enjoyment making those nice little cloverleaf patterns on the paper :)

[Griz44]

OMG - Those are bacteria cells. They are multiplying and dividing and taking over all your free time and money. You better get treatment FAST before it metamorphoses into other calibers and spreads even further. The only known treatment to get rid of them is gunpowder and brass. HURRY!

:D Looking good! Fun isn't it?

[fireflyfather]

Griz, that treatment only works in conjunction with primers.

[bullseye308]

I got 200 lbs of free wheel weights to start me off, so these first few thousand rounds will be cheap. I don't know why I waited so long.......:banghead: Now I gotta go get more WW's for the other calibers, I think about 200 lbs each will do. :what:

[bullseye308]

The sad thing is my 9 is in the "shop" getting a glitch fixed. At random times the I have to re-cock the hammer and hit it again and sometimes I have to cock it cause the hammer rode foreward. I miss my baby and I want to try these out, geuss I'll have to call for a loaner. :D

[dmftoy1]

Just wait til it gets too cold out to shoot . . .my lead supply dwindles pretty fast when it drops down near 0. :)

[RugerBob]

Welcome to the world of casting bullseye308. I have only been in it about 1 1/2 years and wonder why I didn't do it sooner. Pic looks good. good luck and be safe. Bob

[bullseye308]

After looking closely as some of these boolits I noticed that some are kind of rounded on the bottom and the driving band is not as filled out as others. How will this affect shooting them, or do I need to throw them back in the pot?

[.38 Special]

Throw them back. The bases especially need to be sharp cornered and square. Otherwise they'll have minds of their own after they leave the gun.

If you don't use some method of heating the molds prior to casting, you'll find that the first bullets are usually not filled out.

[snuffy]

After looking closely as some of these boolits I noticed that some are kind of rounded on the bottom and the driving band is not as filled out as others. How will this affect shooting them, or do I need to throw them back in the pot?

Yup, some of those are candidates to be re-melted. I took a closer look today, after just glancing at them last night. Some have wrinkles in them from too cold a mold or you missed the sprue hole with the lead stream.

It depends a lot on what use you will make of those boolits. If you're shooting close range IPSC or casual target games, you don't need perfect boolits. Ones with wrinkles or rounded bases will still shoot rather well,(at close range).

BTW I have the same mold, mines a 6 banger. It works real nice for 9mm AND 357 sig, which is why I bought it. I tumble lube them with LLA, no leading in my after market KKM bbl. for my glock m-22. My lead mix is nearly WW in hardness, maybe a bit harder.

[bullseye308]

These will just be used for plinking for now, so I'll try them and see how they work for me.

[snuffy]

.38 Special


Throw them back. The bases especially need to be sharp cornered and square. Otherwise they'll have minds of their own after they leave the gun.

38, those are beveled base boolits, they're supposed to have round heels. However SOME of those were not filled out as well as they were supposed to be.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=340779

[.38 Special]

38, those are beveled base boolits, they're supposed to have round heels.

My bad. I'm used to screwing up bullets on my own. Leave it to Lee to produce bullets that come "pre-screwed up". :neener:

[RustyFN]

Congrats, I'm fairly new to casting my self. Add 2 or 3 feet of 95/5 solder ( 95% tin and 5% antimony ) and it will make a world of difference in helping the lead fill out in the mold. I remelted a bunch of my first cast because of rounded edges. Looks good for your first time.
Rusty

[armoredman]

Check the diameter of those bullets - I use the Lee 124 RN tumble lube mould, and it drops at .360. I can size it for either 9mm or 38 Special, and it works well for both.
Welcome to the world of casting!

[EMC45]

Good looking bullets! Get as much WWs as you can. I just unloaded 2 1/2 5 gal buckets out of my truck yesterday.

[472x1A/B]

It's too late now bullseye. You'r hooked now buddie and you'll never be able to shake it. You're a caster for life. I hope you know it's bad luck to throw bad booltis and sprus back into the pot the same day you cast them. If you do you'll never cast a good boolit ever agian. Cast safely and good luck.

[AgentAdam]

How do you get the WW? Just ask a tire shop?

[bullseye308]

Guess I'm screwed. I dropped the sprues into a stainless pan and when the action got slow I dropped them back in the pot with another ingot. I am using the 2 holer for now and it drops them right at .356 just like it says on the box.
I ran a few more and it seems that the front one will have a flat, nicely filled out bottom while the back one seems to be rounded on the bottom almost every time. Any ideas or what should I look for?

[bullseye308]

Adam, you can try, but they seem to be getting harder to get hold of lately. You may have to try all the tire shops in your area then start hitting the scrap yards and recycling centers around.