Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting What Are The Chances

Wanted to cast a thousand 452 fly teacups. So I got to work and cast until I got tired.

I was casting these.



When hands, butt, and back said that is enough this is what I had.



1,032 good ones and three culls. It had to be blind luck but I'll take it.

Now to powder coat.

Pink, inside, black outside. Yella racin' stripes.

There may be some pink in the batch.

You boys ain't right, but you're allright. DANG!! Them's some purty bullets. Gonna be ever purtier with them yeller racing stripes.

Scott, couldn't help but see your signature line about Meniere's. I've had two or three attacks per year off and on over the last 20 plus years and your remark about it is somewhat understated if you ask me.

Sorry to hear (pun intended) you suffer from it too. My attacks vary from weekly to daily. Tube in the affected ear drains every day.

But life goes on and I still have fun most days.

Yep. That's all any of us can do. At least I am located in the north Georgia mountains where it was 58 degrees when I got up for coffee this morning and will get up to about 84 today, going up a little every day to about 90 by Sunday. I think about Ron out there in Phoenix with 120 degree temperatures. He's gonna hafta put all his cast bullets in an insulated ice chest to keep'em from melting. I've been in 115 degree temperatures in the People's Paradise of Viet Nam and it ain't very pleasant, no it ain't. But it's a heckofva lot better than those dam dizzy spells.

Here in Oregon I didn't roll up m shirt sleeved all day yesterday. Might not have to do it today.

Six hours working in the garden this morning then started powder coating. About 3/4 done. Tomorrow I should finish.

Lot of color in that box. Just started powder coating, putting Powder by the Pounds glossy black on NOE 260283 for my 25-20 WCF. They shoot just as good as bare/Lee Liquid Alox but with lots less mess and buildup on the seating stem.
I'm in the process of getting a Marlin 336 30-30 bored out to 38-55 and looking at molds. Planning for fairly soft alloy to use hunting. Hope to powder coat these as well.

Well now THAT is something that would be mighty beneficial because lube build up in the seating die is a PIA. I may hafta take ah nuther look at this powder coating business.

Finished coating all 1,032 bullets this afternoon. Tomorrow plan to load around 250 45 Colt then bad up a bunch of plated bullets as gifts for a few friends at Quemado.

Looking at those bread pans full of color and realized you might be shooting rainbows. Never considered that option in the past. Good job BTW.

I never started casting till last year , but I had been buying molds, RCBS pot and other supplies for a few years, the first bullets I cast I powder coated.
I had bought some PC bullets before and really like not having the sticky fingers and gummy dies. PC is easy!
Ronnie

I started casting bullets and sizing and lubing in 1958. That gives me a 58 year time span to learn a few things about it and a little bit of an edge doing it. Lube build up in the seating die means it may require that I clean the die maybe every 2 or 3000 rounds. Big deal. I have two Lyman sizer/lubbers and about 50 sets of various sizing dies. It's no problem to size and lube the bullets all at one sitting and not have to do any painting or oven baking.

Right now, I'm thinking this powder coating business is much ado about nothing. It is a solution to a non existent problem.

But if anyone wants those pretty colored bullets, I'm all for them doing it. Right now though, I've got to go lie down in the front porch swing under the overhead fan and take a nap. Alla this colored bullet business has made me sleepy. Yawl try to keep down the noise while I'm napping. I've been able to shoot for the last 58 years without powder coating and I can probably manage to get along without it until my nap is over.

i've got a lyman mold i think 247grain, i originally bought for 38.55. but, it also works for 375winchester, and i have powdercoated some. chron'd at about 1800fps no issues in barrel very clean, and a lot cleaner and faster to powdercoat than traditional lubes. I ain't going back.

I've got bullets waiting on the rifle to be finished. Lee 38-250rf, half powder coated with the Durable Black Gloss, and half with a modified Emmerts pan lube(50%beeswax, 40%Crisco, 10% Vaseline). Going to start out with low velocity loads, 12-1300fps, 9-10 grains Unique or Universal. Might move up to 15-1600 with 4198 at some point, we'll see how things work.

Fun experiment. Pleas keep us informed.

Going to need a new mold, the Lee had venting issues from the start and some drop out problems. Retraced the vent lines, added some new ones at problem areas of the bullet, and spun a bullet in the cavities with some comet on them. Tried to loosen the sprue pivot screw and the darned thing snapped off. I got about 400 decent bullets out of it so I'm set for a while but will need another mold.
Don't need a real fat one as Jesse at JES Reboring says he uses a .366/.376 bore/groove. Looking at NOE 379-279-FN which is a version of the Lyman 379449 and Accurate 38-250B cut to drop .377. Heard good reports from both, but kind of like the way the Accurate bullet tapers into the full dia. driving band ahead of the crimp.