#2279025 - 06/27/08 12:20 PM
Halp!!!! New to bullet casting!
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Royce
Campfire Ranger
Registered: 12/28/03
Posts: 1515
Loc: zip code 59604
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I just bought a Ruger Bisley in 45 Colt with a 5 1/2" ( I think it's 5 1/2) barrel, and plan to shoot it quite a bit to develope some skill with it. The main use of the piece in addition to just fun shooting will be to carry in back country when I am rambling around.
Are Lee dies acceptable? If they are, can anyone suggest which of their molds would cast a good bullet with a flat meplat of around 275 grains?
Also, how sensible is the practice of buying shot to cast bullets with? Should I use gas checks?
Thanks in advance for any info you can help with.
Fred
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#2279421 - 06/27/08 04:10 PM
Re: Halp!!!! New to bullet casting!
[Re: 340mag]
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458 Lott
Campfire Tracker
Registered: 01/29/01
Posts: 6166
Loc: Conundrum, Alaska
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Lee makes good molds, if you want to shoot in quantity, do yourself a favor and get one of their 6 cavity molds. The only caveat to those molds is the sprue plate is aluminum, so you need to cut the sprues before they become too hard. The other option is to get a pair of 2 cavity molds, they work well in concert, let one cool while you are emptying and filling the other mold.
A friend had Lee make him a slick semi-custom mold, they took the 300 rf mold, machined the back of the mold to remove the gas check and it produces a 280 gr plain base bullet.
Based on their current molds and similar ones I've used I'd lean towards their 252 swc and the 255 rf.
The upside of gas checks is they are more tollerant to bullet alloy, sizing and lube. The downside is cost and time to install them.
But since you are casting your own, you can tailor the bullet alloy, lube and sizing to your gun for best performance. Hence, gas checks shouldn't be required.
Wheelweights make for great bullet alloy, and are reasonably priced and should be available. If you have trouble finding lead locally, there are guys that sell wheelweight ingots on e-bay for about $1/pound plus $10 for shipping in a USPS flat rate mailer, typically in a 50# batch. $1.20/lb isn't bad when you factor in the time and effort to melt down and clean ww's.
_________________________
I'm not a gunwriter, that's 458 win. I'm just a gun-nut in Alaska.
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#2279657 - 06/27/08 05:55 PM
Re: Halp!!!! New to bullet casting!
[Re: 458 Lott]
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Royce
Campfire Ranger
Registered: 12/28/03
Posts: 1515
Loc: zip code 59604
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340 mag and 458 Lott
Thanks for the information. Next week I am going to hit the local tire shops.
Fred
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