Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Rimfire Alternative: Part Deux

BD: I did the cast bullet thing for a few years, but finally tired of it...lubing was worse than casting. It will do as you say though...


But then again, you're crazy.

The voices in my head bother me not. You?

FWIW, I only do conventional lube with BP cartridges. Smokeless gets a dip in Alox cut 10% by volume with mineral spirits. Some add Johnson's liquid wax to the mix, I don't. I do dust 'em with a blend of mica and graphite while still just a bit tacky. Then they get sized as needed. No muss or fuss with the seating die that way.

Most use alloy harder than needed as well, IMHO. 30:1 covers a lot of bases. The Hornet bullets are 50/50 wheel weight/lino. Fastest I've gone with the softer alloy is about 1800 fps in a .30-30. I've experienced leading twice, both with the Sneezer and 800X.

Dusted bullets look like this before reloading. I tumble lube the small bullets, butt dip 7mm and larger calibers.

Tom,

I shoot cast bullets mostly in my .22 Hornet. Use a Lyman mold that's supposed to be a gas-check model, but after making a bunch out of wheelweights did some experimenting and found they shot best (around an inch for 5 shots at 50) without gas-checks or sizing. i just cast 'em and then roll 'em around in Lee Alox. Pretty easy and simple.

MD, I have an over active imagination and your "roll 'em around" verbiage tweaks my curiosity. Sounds like you're doing something other than tumble lubing. You have a trick up your sleeve I need to know about?

Or have you just sparked a new methodology? I'm thinking it sounds like a shallow "flat" maybe stroked with an Alox dripping brush....rolled not shaken in a manner of speaking.

Dan,

I put maybe a teaspoon of Alox in a small plastic tub, like the one the local supermarket sells their homemade salsa in, then dump in a bunch of bullets and roll them around gently. Once they're coated I pour them onto a sheet of waxed paper. Might ease them around on the paper a little 3-4 hours later as well, but might not. The next day they're dry and ready to load.

Thank you, pretty much what I do as well. But...I might try my imagination out on that.

I use the wax paper as well, and usually relocate them after about 45 minutes and a swipe of the base across a paper towel on the way to the clean spot on the W.P. It makes a difference on paper later on.

Another thing I discovered during experimentation with the Hornet is the as-cast bullets are just the right diameter (around .225") to seat WITHOUT neck-sizing the cases. So I just deprime, reprime, drop the powder charge and seat the bullet.

I much prefer keeping things simple and quick with the few rifle cartridges where I use cast loads. My Li'l Sharps .38-55 also shoots best with a certain alloy as cast from a Lee mold, then Aloxed.

This thread with out a doubt has brought sooooooooooooo much fun back in to my reloading shooting habits, all I can say is what powder is next, I actually knew about most but not Blue Dot , I started with Trail Boss, Blue Dot, HS-7, Steel, H4198 now off to try 4227 and Titegroup my 223s are liking life again,

Thank you guys

tag for future experimentation, thank you for the info