My first casting

Yeah, I'm sure it's no big deal to those of you who have been doing it for years.

The same gentleman who talked me into reloading some time back finally convinced me to learn casting.
I spent about 6 hours at his place Wed casting my first .44's.

Got them home, spent yesterday on and off sizing them.
Got them lubed and drying now.
By weight guesstimates we figure there's about 1200.

I won't say it's the most fun I've ever had, but I feel all warm and fuzzy not paying cash and shipping for bullets.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f172/barbecuejoe/IMG_7357_zps8557b754.jpg

Beautiful... :)

looks real nice

Holy smokes Batman, thats a nice bunch of 44's,- that's the bullet I use in my 44 Mag.

Smokeyloads

I'm still waiting on my stuff. :(

Awesome - what did you think about the whole process? I buy lead from Missouri Bullet Company and after shipping it's $55 for 500 wad cutters. Are you saving or coming close to equaling that cost?

I'd love to cast my own for the .44, it just seams fun - but it also seems like A LOT of mess and pissing around.

Casting isn't as much fun as reloading but it not a bad way to spend an afternoon. The rewards are great and its just another part of this addiction we have. Enjoy

Anmut, if you are only buying one box at a time from Missouri Bullet, you arent maximizing your shipping cost. They will ship up to 2K 200gr bullets in one flat rate medium box. Also, they do offer that 5% discount to THR members.

I started casting to help cut cost I'm retired so time isn't a issue to me and shooting IDPA matches you go through a lot of ammo.
So group buys for powder and primers and with free range pickup lead it dosent take long to pay for your equipment.
And like said above it brings every thing full circle.

My son gets me free wheel weights, so the bullets cost for a bit of fuel, and lube.
The tools quickly pay off.
It is a great part of the "addiction".

Nice going.

I won't say it's the most fun I've ever had
Well, duh. The fun starts when you go and shoot 2-3 times as much as you usually do. :)

Awesome - what did you think about the whole process? I buy lead from Missouri Bullet Company and after shipping it's $55 for 500 wad cutters. Are you saving or coming close to equaling that cost?

I'd love to cast my own for the .44, it just seams fun - but it also seems like A LOT of mess and pissing around.
I believe we figured 2-3 cents a round.

With things the way they are, I'm not shooting as much as I used to, but it's comforting to know I have all I need when the time comes.

I don't see much mess in the whole process, it just consumes time.
But the best part was hanging out with my friend, cussing and spitting and telling lies.:D

Getting ready to do that very thing.

I've never cast before either.

I just got my copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook from Midway yesterday, was reading it some last night.

I have a 20# electric pot that's never been plugged in, a 6-cavity 45 mold, and about 600 lbs. of wheel weights (about half have been melted in to ingots).

I *was* planning on doing rifle shooting today, and competing in a USPSA match tomorrow, but it was called for weather. Rain all damn weekend.

So I'm gonna make me some BOOLITS!

I have been accumulating tools and lead to start casting. I have acquired lead from whatever source I can. My most expensive (by far) is $75 for 60# of WW ingots.
Using this, my cost is 3.571¢ per bullet, or $17.86 per 500. You can currently buying the very good MBC 200gn RNFP for about 9.29¢ each, delivered in 2K lots.
That is a pretty substantial savings.
This is also dependant on having the time and inclination to cast.

...If only we could reload primers.

I started with the same bullet, 19 years ago. I had a stainless steel pot, a Coleman stove, a Lee ladle, and a Lee mold (240 gr. SWC, T/L) and the mallet from my Lee Loader days. I had access to a bunch of wheel weights and fluxed with candles and soon went to sawdust. Slotted spoon from Ma's kitchen and a soup ladel from the Army-Navy surplus store. I tumble lubed with alox and shot a bunch of them in .44 Special and Magnum through my 5, .44 Magnums. I used this set-up for several months (mebbe a year and a half) before I went to a bottom pour. I still have that mold (along with 7-8 others) and still cast some up once in a while. No need to start out w/high $$$$ kits and a bunch of dedicated "casting tools". K.I.S.S.!

Taking some dirty, greasy wheel weights and scrap lead, melting it into clean ingots, then using those ingots to cast custom bullets specifically fitted to your guns, lubed with lube specifically formulated for your guns, is prolly the most satsfying aspect of home made ammo...

I have no idea what it costs to cast/lube/shoot my bullets, and I don't care. For my entire shooting hobby(s), casting bullets is by far the most enjoyable, no matter what it costs.

I have no idea what it costs to cast/lube/shoot my bullets, and I don't care. For my entire shooting hobby(s), casting bullets is by far the most enjoyable, no matter what it costs.
And they're purdy too.:D

I can so see the benefit to casting.
Looking around, casting equipment is slim to none right now.
But lo-and behold, I found this exact mold that I just used at midway in stock!!!
Woot!
I also found the 20 lb lee pot backordered until may, but with a quick search I found one at a tackle shop.

I can wait for the rest of the stuff....38 and 9mm next.

ETA: also found the sizing die at midway.

Very nice, that should keep you shooting for a week or two.

BBQJoe, that's ingenious. Looking at a tackle shop for a lead casting pot!

Hats off brother. That shows some skill at acquisition. :)

Gentlemen,I'm sure everyone knows already but when melting lead be very careful with lead fumes. Many years back I was a plumber and worked pouring lead in soil pipes, be careful lead poisoning.

Gentlemen,I'm sure everyone knows already but when melting lead be very careful with lead fumes. Many years back I was a plumber and worked pouring lead in soil pipes, be careful lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning isnt really that big of a concern when casting, as long as one takes basic precautions.

Yup, decent ventilation is all you should need.

The bigger concern (by far) is fire. Want to make sure there's nothing around which (if introduced to a pot full of 700 degree melted metal) isn't going to flame up or do any other nastiness.

Awesome - what did you think about the whole process? I buy lead from Missouri Bullet Company and after shipping it's $55 for 500 wad cutters. Are you saving or coming close to equaling that cost?

That's funny.
Now don't get me wrong, Missouri Bullets is a hell of a company. They put out a fine product at a very reasonable price compared to the competition. I've never been less than completely satisfied with their bullets.

However, when you start casting your own you REALLY save some dough. I'm paying $35 for a five gallon bucket of wheel weights. That bucket usually yields me around 100-110 pounds of lead.

Assuming it's only 100 lbs, that's apprx. 2,745, 255 grain SWC .45 Colt bullets for $35.

Now, you're gonna have a little time invested in that. It's sure worth it to me. Hell, I'm loading .45 Colt for about $70 per 1k and .38 Spcl for less than $60.

Quote:
Gentlemen,I'm sure everyone knows already but when melting lead be very careful with lead fumes. Many years back I was a plumber and worked pouring lead in soil pipes, be careful lead poisoning.
Lead poisoning isnt really that big of a concern when casting, as long as one takes basic precautions.

Correct. Lead fumes aren't an issue at the temperatures that lead pots get too. It has to get hotter than they're capable of to create lead fumes. The smoke and smell you get is merely the oil and dirt burning off the wheel weights, assuming that's what you're smelting.

Other than that, just use a little common sense and you'll be fine.
Make sure you have ventilation.
Wear gloves and long pants. No sandals. (Don't ask me how I know that).
Wash your hands before eating, smoking, going to the john, etc.

It's really not that big a deal.

The wheel weight ship has kinda sailed here behind the tofu curtain. Lead WW have been illegal for awhile. I've decided to start casting & was going through the scrapper last week. I'd say over 90% of the WW in the bin were zinc.:cuss:

However... I DID get 100+ pounds of dive weights, ingots and fishing weights for $50. ;)

The whole casting thing caught me totally off guard. I started it off simply to feed my 454, but it quickly morphed into somewhat of an addiction. I now have molds in some form or brand for just about every caliber I own, and enough lead to last probably into my 3 grandsons lifetime.

To me it is a hoot to blend it all down into the final product, then head out to test it and see how it does. I also have several HP molds which brought another aspect into it which was blending the alloy to allow expansion but not fragmentation. That is where I am now with a couple of my revolves. I have the 45 ACP and Colt alloy down, now just to get the alloy for the 41's and 44's to cooperate as nicely.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f285/41nag/Shooting/Cast%20Boolit%20Loading%20and%20Shooting/P1010011.jpg

I started off with all of the KISS intentions, but somehow got sidetracked once I got my first HP mold. I can also add, the two best thing I have invested in bar non were a thermometer for the lead pot and the PID controller I hooked up to my Lee 4-20. With those I know with a predictable degree of accuracy exactly what I am doing temp wise and what produced the best bullets from the get go, with what alloy. Yea I know it's a bit more than a basic set up, but it was all for a good cause right?

Lead poisoning isnt really that big of a concern when casting, as long as one takes basic precautions.
My buddy told me when he was much younger, he started casting in his basement (no ventilation) and was melting his lead on a coleman stove.
I'm guessing his temps weren't monitored whatsoever.
After some time he became quite ill, and it turned out to be lead poisoning.
From what I understand, (and I could be severely wrong) heavy metals are only released from the body through hair and fingernails.
he said he had black lines or streaks in his for quite awhile.

I see no reason not to be careful when handling or working around lead.

And a question for the scroungers: how do you tell lead WW's from zinc, or is it really obvious?

Here is where I found the melting pot:
www.barlowstackle.com
A bit higher than midway, but hey, I'm the kinda guy who'll pay more for something to have it now than wait.

Joe,
Some are marked ZN, the seel ones FE, but I test each suspicious weight by tying to snip a corner with a diagonal cut plier, you can cut a lead weight and if you are a 500 pound gorilla you MIGHT cut a zinc weight, and they make a diferent sound when striking a weight against a heavy steel object. If you keep your smelt temp at 600-650 the lead will melt and the zinc and steel will float, you can scoop them out with the clips, but you have to keep a close watch on the temp. It's hard for me to do on a turkey fryer.

After two or three sessions like you just accomplished you'll get savy real quick !

You know you're a real caster when you finish shooting and just can't stand to leave those perfectly good chunks of lead in the backstop so you then go dig the boolits out of the backstop so you can re cast them!

Very nice!

And a question for the scroungers: how do you tell lead WW's from zinc, or is it really obvious?

Most of the zinc will have "Zn" stamped on them. Like dagger dog said, once you do it a little bit, you'll be able to spot em pretty quick.

I see no reason not to be careful when handling or working around lead.

Oh, absolutely. I was merely saying it wasn't a big deal, AS LONG AS you took the basic precautions. If you just throw caution to the wind and ignore basic safety principles, just about anything is dangerous.

You know you're a real caster when you finish shooting and just can't stand to leave those perfectly good chunks of lead in the backstop so you then go dig the boolits out of the backstop so you can re cast them!

Now that's funny, because I've done it a lot of times. I usually fill up a big coffee can at least every time I go to the range. Its not a lot, but it's 2-3 ingots. :)

We have guys out "sifting" our backstops at my local club ALL the time.

You're required by law to report the weight of the lead you remove from the site to the EPA, by the way.

You're required by law to report the weight of the lead you remove from the site to the EPA, by the way.
I'm certain that way the environmentalists can be certain of how many pounds of lead weren't eaten by seagulls.:what:

I didn't know that. Since that it's my only source for lead I'll have to check with the DNR guy.

Good stuff.

I know those 44's from Lee when I see 'em- I have cast more than a few m'self.


They work great hardcast, with LLA thinned 50% with mineral spirits.

I've since moved on for my own 44's, but I get a lot of requests for these. Its a great starter bullet !

Sorry,
you guys are right about melting lead and fumes. I was thinking more in the line of when I would soldier copper pipes with 50/50 soldier when they used it many years ago.