Beginners tips for loading lead

Learn how to cast then how to powder coat them.

Saving money by casting is like saving money reloading! You don't!

Loading cast is not much different than loading jacketed. You might need a little bit more bell on the case mouth. And your seating punch needs to fit the bullet. As far as health issues go, just use common sense. Don't eat, drink or smoke when handling lead. Wash your hands before you use the bathroom. Use enough ventilation when casting to avoid any smoke. The correct bullet diameter if more important than the hardness. You can get excellent accuracy with cast but I don't know about better. Many Bullseye matches have been won with cast bullets and many records have been set.

Equipment wise, you can spend as much or as little as you want. From a cast iron pot on an existing camp stove using a Ladle and a 2 cavity Lee mold and tumble lubing to a custom mold and a PID controlled Master Caster pot and powder coating.

A good place to look at would be the Cast Boolits Site. Lots of info on all aspects of casting.

OP never said anything about casting.....

Continue to use common sense handling of lead; wash hands always after a reloading session and also if interrupted. Like Lightman says, you may have to bell the case a little more.

Slugging your bore before you buy lead bullets will save you a lot of frustration.

Slug it then measure the slug with a micrometer. Buy bullets that are at least .001" larger and preferrably .002" larger than your groove diameter.

When you order bullets, measure them with a micrometer to make sure they are actually the diameter stated on the box. Better over sized than undersized.

lightman said:

Saving money by casting is like saving money reloading! You don't!

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Maybe not, but I've got a buuunnnnncccchhhhhh of bullets.

98s1lightning said:

Why more bell? Does the lead want to gall on the brass? Or lead gets cut by mouth easily?

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Without enough bell on the mouth you'll shave lead.
I find best accuracy using lead. I wear rubber gloves when I load to reduce my lead exposure. As others have said, ensure the bullets are properly sized and everything will be fine. Lead will give you higher velocity compared to jacketed loads with the same powder charge because it has less friction (resistance). Jacketed is easier to load but in my opinion lead is best at velocities under 1800 fps or so. If you're pushing them fast, a gas check helps. I use some powder coated, but they stink and I've never seen any benefit really over a properly sized and lived bullet.Good luck.

What caliber (s) are you loading. Coated bullets are all the rage these days, but I don't like them for high accuracy applications. I do like them for casual plinking in my 9mm as they feed really slick and don't rub lead on the feed ramp.

If you're loading for a manual loading rifle or revolver, I'd stick to conventional cast. KISS...pick a bullet style and weight for which you have specific data. Ditto on powder. Lyman manual has cast loads for many rifle cartridges, most common pistol rounds can be found with various weights of cast bullets in online data.

Don't know if lead will give better accuracy, but it certainly may equal the accuracy at low velocities in rifles vs jacketed. I've done both in 7,5 swiss for a low velocity plinker, and got good accuracy with both jacketed and cast "carbine" style bullets over Unique.

We have some guys that shoot that round out of contenders for silhouette pistol to 200m. They are firing subsonic, I believe 150 or 170 grain cast bullets. These would obviously be single load only.

With the speeds you're shooting, you should be fine to 100 or better. My .357 mag single shot rifle holds within 4" at 100 with 158 gr .38 cast. You won't know for sure until you try it.

Only subsonic due to the heavy bullet and no desire for loud blast. No idea what powders, won't see them again until late April.

I know Penn bullets will cast from a harder alloy upon request if you wanted to run them faster. With most reasonably hard cast bullets such as ACME at BHN 15 you should be good up to 1000fps. No experience with your specific cartridge, but I'd think Unique or Trail boss would be a good starting point if you want to stay subsonic. I think they'll shoot better than you think at 100, although the wind will push them around a bit (as they do with my .38s). Was just out shooting in the backyard, and holding about 5" of Kentucky in a 10mph breeze at 100 yards.