Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Which is better???

NEI .35 cal mold for Whelen bullets. They offer top pour and bottom pour. What's the reason for one over the other?

Mike

Mike somebody smarter than me, which ain't difficult to do, may can give you a reason. I can only give you my experience as I have had both styles over the years. My experience is that it is easier to get good bases and grease grooves with bottom pour molds than with top poor. Unless I am very, very careful and have my casting temp actually hoter than I really like and pour slowly I will get voids in the grease grooves with top pour molds.

BCR

Thanks Boggy!

I could think of no good reason to pour from the top and I certainly don't want to start learning with some "expert" type trick mold <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mike

Mike,

Generally speaking, nose pour bullets are suppose to be better. Meaning that they have fewer defects in the base after casting, and bullets with good bases on them will shoot more accurately. If you've done much casting you'll notice the bases often have small defects on base pour bullets. When shooting, defects on the base are more critical than on the nose. That extra inspection you do after casting to cull out the poor ones helps, but just under the bases of a lot of bullets are small bubbles that cause the projectile to become a bit unstable. If you nose pour, those defects are held to a bare minimum because they tend to be visible in the small area of the nose, and can be culled easier.
....Geo

Thanks George..

Are they any harder to use??

Mike

Mike,

No!, Once you get into casting you'll find each mould has a soul of its own. They need a special touch to make them produce. That's why a lot of people try casting and give it up. Some very experienced caster will only use a ladle to pour lead, as they've ever learned how to use a bottom pour pot. On the other hand others won't give up their pour as they think it's faster. Learning all the tricks of casting takes time. I've been making lead bullets since 1965. So it's been there done that you might say, but still learning!!..Geo

I think it is a very interesting adventure to begin..I love reading Ross Seyfried and the many facets of casting he discusses like softnose hardbase bullets and techniques like dipping the edge of the mold in the pot to heat it up to temp etc..

I want to start with Whelen bullets because of an article that Mule Deer wrote that caught my attention and then start on heavy .44's for pistols.

Thanks a lot,

Mike

George : Did you frequent shooters talk forum. In the cast bullet section? If so alot of the regulars are now on accurate arms forums. This is a great forum as well. I just happened on to this forum by accident. I do miss the the cast bullet forum on shooters though even though I was mainly a lurker I sure learned alot from those fella's. 8mmshooter

8mmshooter,
Thanks, Way before Shooters went down I signed on accurate arms, but I couldn't find them right away because they had changed servers and my link was so old, it was no longer valid in my favotites, and I'd been a member for a year or more. I've got about 10 different cast forums available to me, but none will ever be like the old Shooters. Some cast forums only have one or two messages a week or some like accurate had only 3 or 4 a day until our gang decended on them. Now it's up to maybe 20 or more posts evey day. I guess I don't want to take time to post as much as some. Gosh you gotta mow the lawn once in awhile. Some of those guys post several times a day. Being that Campfire has a Christian following, posting here and trying to help these people with their cast questions is more meaningfull to me I guess. I had my first casting experience way back in 1964. Since then I've gone from .22 cast bullet to 12 ga. and most between. If any of you on Campfire have questions that don't answered here, try the link below....Geo

web page

Ready, all the above is true. The nose pour gives better bullets, but is more finicky on lead temp, mold temp and pouring method. I cast bullets commercially for several years to fund my own shooting for free <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I sold my business and simply enjoy just shooting the bullets vs. casting them. Get a good melting pot and good molds. Magma Engineering out of Prescott Arizona has fantastic molds and everything you need. Flinch

Thanks Flinch

I have a buddy who was into it pretty extensively who has just been to busy lately so he's going to let me borrow his stuff to see if I like it.

Mike

Unless you're shooting long range competition or BR, I don't think you need to go nosepour. The best group I've ever fired with a revovler was with bullets I'd cast myself, from scrap wheelweights out of a 4 cavity base pour model. 1 1/2" at 100 yds ain't bad for wheelgun ;-) The best I've done with my 350 Rigby is 2" at 100 yds for 5 shots, 4 were into an inch, the other pulled the group to 2 inches.

I'm a lazy caster so I don't oven quench or indidually weigh the bullets. I cast only from wheelweights, and just do visual inspections. I'm sure if I became more anal about it, I could make better bullets, but they've worked well enough for me. I use a bottom pour pot, and sometimes water quench, other times air dry. I cast up ~200-300 #'s a year, just enough to keep myself in bullets, trade with a buddy, and sell a few here and there to buy primers and powder.

The best advice I can give to a new caster is, don't be afraid to cast hot, and make sure the mold is nice and hot before you begin casting. I put the mold on the furnace while it is heating up, and additionall dip the mold for 1-2 minutes in the molten lead.

Most of the old shooters crowd is over in the Accuratereloading cast bullet forum, a great bunch.

Thanks for ther tips! I have earmarked an issue of either Handloader or Rifle Magazine where Ross Seyfried mentions his method of dipping the corners of the mold in the metal to get good first pour bullets. Makes sense to me! If it can handle the heat on the inside it surely shouldn't hurt it on the outside..

I was at my buddies house two weeks ago for a family thing and spent too much time eating and talking to remember the casting stuff <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I may make a run up there this week to retrieve it...


Mike