I've been loading cast bullets since about 1959 and have never stopped learning. I load for everything from 222 Rem up to 444 and 45-70 plus everything but 40 in handguns (stopping at the 45 colt but have had and loaded for a casull.
The most impressive things I've learned over the years, and which have worked for me....
A. It isn't always best to size to groove size...in revolvers, cylinder throat size is more often better.
B. The hardest bullet is not always the best in revolvers if you want to avoid leading..see A
C. You can easily heat treat linotype and similar cast bullets and get in the 2000 fps range easily
D. You can't have too much lube (I've had a few rifle moulds with one skinny groove and I guess it was expected to carry enough to go through a 24" barrel. It wouldn't
E. Having been taught to "size everything" I was pleased to learn many years ago that right out of the mould worked for many of my handguns...both with pan lube and kookiekutter lubing as well as tummble lubing.
F. Some guns just don't like cast bullets (or I ran out of patience before I found the load it liked....I'm 67 and want to make the best shooting out of the time I've got left)
G. It seems to work out best if you use a good manual and use the same components as the authors set out.
H. Shotshell loading is easier as you aren't worrying about MOA, drop, and so on. Still have to follow the recipies. I make my own slugs is why I put shotgun in.
I. OLD Gun Digests and American Rifleman mags, from the fifties and sixties often had great cast bullet information, a lot of which is still quite useable.
J. You can adapt cast bullets to odd calibers. I used to love Rolling Blocks and often found I could get good results by paper patching slightly undersize bullets for some of those old BP honeys. (still like them, just don't have any anymore)
I shoot flat point, round nose, spitzer, SWC, RNFP, and have about fifty moulds...mostly Lyman but quite a few RCBS, a few exotics and a few Lees. All work.
Cast bullets are fun, cheap (have you noticed how gas checks have gone from 9 or 10 bucks a thousand to about fiftY?) and can provide great accuracy. I use a 224 diameter cast bullet and tiny gas check in my .222 and .223 for squirrels to eat and ground squirrels in my garden. I've shot deer with the Lyman 454424 and RCBS 45-250KT. Coyote with .308, 30-06, 30-30 with the M1 Carbine bullet..311316.
The most impressive things I've learned over the years, and which have worked for me....
A. It isn't always best to size to groove size...in revolvers, cylinder throat size is more often better.
B. The hardest bullet is not always the best in revolvers if you want to avoid leading..see A
C. You can easily heat treat linotype and similar cast bullets and get in the 2000 fps range easily
D. You can't have too much lube (I've had a few rifle moulds with one skinny groove and I guess it was expected to carry enough to go through a 24" barrel. It wouldn't
E. Having been taught to "size everything" I was pleased to learn many years ago that right out of the mould worked for many of my handguns...both with pan lube and kookiekutter lubing as well as tummble lubing.
F. Some guns just don't like cast bullets (or I ran out of patience before I found the load it liked....I'm 67 and want to make the best shooting out of the time I've got left)
G. It seems to work out best if you use a good manual and use the same components as the authors set out.
H. Shotshell loading is easier as you aren't worrying about MOA, drop, and so on. Still have to follow the recipies. I make my own slugs is why I put shotgun in.
I. OLD Gun Digests and American Rifleman mags, from the fifties and sixties often had great cast bullet information, a lot of which is still quite useable.
J. You can adapt cast bullets to odd calibers. I used to love Rolling Blocks and often found I could get good results by paper patching slightly undersize bullets for some of those old BP honeys. (still like them, just don't have any anymore)
I shoot flat point, round nose, spitzer, SWC, RNFP, and have about fifty moulds...mostly Lyman but quite a few RCBS, a few exotics and a few Lees. All work.
Cast bullets are fun, cheap (have you noticed how gas checks have gone from 9 or 10 bucks a thousand to about fiftY?) and can provide great accuracy. I use a 224 diameter cast bullet and tiny gas check in my .222 and .223 for squirrels to eat and ground squirrels in my garden. I've shot deer with the Lyman 454424 and RCBS 45-250KT. Coyote with .308, 30-06, 30-30 with the M1 Carbine bullet..311316.
