Help identifying cast lead bullets.

[Dan Forrester]

Hi everyone. Five years ago a friend gave me around 35 pounds of cast lead bullets that her deceased father cast.

The .357 bullets look pretty standard. But aren’t they supposed to have lubrication grooves?

What about the .380 diameter bullets? Anyone have any idea what these go to?

And the 0.456 diameter bullets are a little bit of a mystery too. If they were 0.458 I could see them going into a .45-70 but these are too small. Do these go in a muzzle loader?

Thanks,

Dan

 

[AJC1]

It appears as you got as cast bullets that are unsized...
the 456 bullets might be for a 45 colt that slugged a little large.
The 357 bullets look to have a lube and crimp grove.
.380 no idea.

 

[35 Whelen]

Hi everyone. Five years ago a friend gave me around 35 pounds of cast lead bullets that her deceased father cast.

The .357 bullets look pretty standard. But aren’t they supposed to have lubrication grooves?

What about the .380 diameter bullets? Anyone have any idea what these go to?
And the 0.456 diameter bullets are a little bit of a mystery too. If they were 0.458 I could see them going into a .45-70 but these are too small. Do these go in a muzzle loader?

Thanks,

Dan

The lead HP's are swaged and were made by Speer and intended to be loaded in light .357/.38 loads.

The second photo are of bullets cast from a Lyman 457191 mold and are for .45 caliber rifles.

The third photo is of bullets...OK, I have no idea!

35W

 

[Dan Forrester]

For the Speer 158 grain LSWCHP it says they are non coated per the Midway USA description. Should I coat these with Lee Liquid Alox bullet lube or something similar before I load and fire them? They were sitting in a rusty coffee can in full Florida humidity for probably a good decade or more. Of course I would wipe them all down with a rag or something before loading them. I will push at low to medium velocity for use in a .38 special revolver.

That Lyman Lyman #457191 mold looks like a match. Per the item description on Midway it should casts a bullet 0.458-0.459 in diameter. Unfortunately these don’t do me any good at 0.456. Is there any way to swage these back up 0.458 for use in my .45/70 or should I plan to just melt these down eventually?

Thank you for all the help!

Dan

 

[AJC1]

Powder coat solves all your issues in one swoop.

 

[Seedy Character]

Powder coat solves all your issues in one swoop.

I concur

The .380 may go through a sizer ?????

Powder coating will make the .456 bullets good for .45-70. Or resize to .454 for .45 Colt.

The .357 can be lubed and used or run through a .357 sizer and powder coated.

You could trade them for something more usable to your needs. ????

 

[kcofohio]

Looks to be a Lyman 37583 maybe.

 

[kcofohio]

Looks to be a Lyman 37583 maybe.

To add;
The 3rd photo of the .380" 147 gr., if it is the Lyman/Ideal mold. Could be sized for a 38-50 or .375 Winchester. Probably a few other cartridges. But that was a quick search and what I found.

 

[35 Whelen]

For the Speer 158 grain LSWCHP it says they are non coated per the Midway USA description. Should I coat these with Lee Liquid Alox bullet lube or something similar before I load and fire them? They were sitting in a rusty coffee can in full Florida humidity for probably a good decade or more. Of course I would wipe them all down with a rag or something before loading them. I will push at low to medium velocity for use in a .38 special revolver.

That Lyman Lyman #457191 mold looks like a match. Per the item description on Midway it should casts a bullet 0.458-0.459 in diameter. Unfortunately these don’t do me any good at 0.456. Is there any way to swage these back up 0.458 for use in my .45/70 or should I plan to just melt these down eventually?

Thank you for all the help!

Dan

Per the Speer website, the lead SWCHP's are coated. I'd just load and shoot them.

Did you measure the .45 bullets with a caliper? If they are .456" then they're not much use.

35W

 

[mdi]

Yep, the .357 bullets appear to be the Speer, dry lubed bullets. OK for lighter loads (38 Specials) as they are pretty soft and "dry" lubed...

 

[Dan Forrester]

Yes all my diameters were taken with a pair of Starrett calipers.

Powder coating looks interesting but as a new reloader I don’t think I’m ready to get into that yet. At least I have some .357 diameter projectiles that are ready to use and a good amount of lead for when I’m ready to try bullet casting.

Thank you everyone for helping me sort these out!

Dan

 

[AJC1]

Yes all my diameters were taken with a pair of Starrett calipers.

Powder coating looks interesting but as a new reloader I don’t think I’m ready to get into that yet. At least I have some .357 diameter projectiles that are ready to use and a good amount of lead for when I’m ready to try bullet casting.

Thank you everyone for helping me sort these out!

Dan

If you can bake a tray of chocolate chip cookies you meet the skill requirements of powder coat. If you always burn them then maybe not.

 

[35 Whelen]

Yes all my diameters were taken with a pair of Starrett calipers.

Powder coating looks interesting but as a new reloader I don’t think I’m ready to get into that yet. At least I have some .357 diameter projectiles that are ready to use and a good amount of lead for when I’m ready to try bullet casting.

Thank you everyone for helping me sort these out!

Dan

I'm sorry, I meant to ask if you'd measured the bullet diameters with a micrometer, not calipers.

35W

 

[garandsrus]

You probably can’t powder coat these bullets. The bullets need to be unlubed to coat.

The .380 are probably for a 38-55.

45 caliber is interesting:
.452 - 45 ACP
.454 - 45 Colt
.458 - 45-70

You could resize .456 to .454 pretty easily.

 

[Series70]

For the Speer 158 grain LSWCHP it says they are non coated per the Midway USA description. Should I coat these with Lee Liquid Alox bullet lube or something similar before I load and fire them?

I have similar swaged .358 130 grain bullets made by Alberts Corp. Fairfield, NJ. I believe they were dry lubed with some type of powdered graphite. The lube is almost imperceptible. Mine don't have lube grooves. I don't remember having any leading problems while using them as-is but I suppose you could shake them in a baggie with Alox if needed.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I have similar swaged .358 130 grain bullets made by Alberts Corp. Fairfield, NJ. I believe they were dry lubed with some type of powdered graphite. The lube is almost imperceptible. Mine don't have lube grooves. I don't remember having any leading problems while using them as-is but I suppose you could shake them in a baggie with Alox if needed.
View attachment 1125730

Those would make a good defensive bullet in 38. Soft lead at low velocity.
Plus one on Alox. I just started using it and am sold for low pressure rounds.

 

[Dan Forrester]

I just got out my grandfathers micrometer. I’ve actually never had a reason to use it before today. Its probably the only thing I have from him. It’s also made by Starrett so I guess he must have also thought that was a good brand. He was a machinist for Pratt & Whitney and also worked making artillery brass during WW2 I think for Remington. I guess I need to start keeping it handy now that I’m reloading.

I measured the bullets by slowly opening up the micrometer they slid into the opening. They still measured the same however.

Dan

 

[dcarr]

If you can bake a tray of chocolate chip cookies you meet the skill requirements of powder coat. If you always burn them then maybe not.

Think i will continue to buy coated from Acme, eggleston etc. I might have or be able to develop the skill set but definitely losing the sight. Hey I'm old, what did I expect? I forget already...

 

[Bfh_auto]

If you can bake a tray of chocolate chip cookies you meet the skill requirements of powder coat. If you always burn them then maybe not.

But you can't cook powder coat by smell...

 

[AJC1]

But you can't cook powder coat by smell...

And absolutely not by taste.