Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting I guess...

I guess nobody cast's bullets any more [img]images/icons/frown.gif" border="0[/img]

i'm still trying to figure out how to make my rifle go 'bang' everytime i close my eyes and yank the trigger... no way i could handle making my own bullets, too!

I will get into it as soon as i have a good place to start (more guns & reloading stuff) and a bit of cach to invest.

I'm interested in casting. I have trouble throwing good bullets. They seem to have wrinkles on them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.<P>BTW-I am trying to cast 45-70 and 30-30 bullets.<P>Chunker

punkinchunker,<P>Two things to consider:<P>1) Is your lead furnace set high enough?<P>2) Are you casting enough to get your mould heated?<P>The lead has to be hot enough to really flow into the mold without cooling. Try turning the furnace up a little and see what happens. It will take anywhere from a half to a couple of dozen bullets to get the mould heated. Until it is heated, it will produce "wrinkled" bullets. Once you get it heated, you will find that you will establish a rhthym that keeps the mold at the right temp. <P>One other thing to think about. What are you using for lead. Linotype, pure lead, wheel weights, etc? Sometimes, ipurities like zinc can be found in scrap lead. One potential source of zinc contaminated lead is wheel weights. Not all of them, mind you, just some odd ball ones out there. If you get a batch of lead that just wont pour nice bullets no matter what the temp is, you may have a contaminated alloy. If that is the case, there isn't anything you can do with it. <P>If raising the furnace temp doesn't help, try getting your hands on a known "good" bar of lead and see what you can do with it.

I'm with Stush, turn up the heat a bit. If you cannot (like on mine) pour your mould full and let set a bit,(count to 5) discard do it again or a couple o times. Also to get the temp up, let the lead "soak" in the pot a while (20 min) this will make sure the pot is hot enough. Plus do not add any more lead during your casting session I mean ANY even from bullets you just poured. This will help keep the pot hot, and get your mould up to temp.<P>With those big bullets you will need to get your mould HOT, don't be afraid to get that mould really hot from casting. It won't hurt it.<P>to help in heating the mould, try to overpour or overfill the mould, let the lead run off the sprue back into the pot. Just hold the mould at a slight angle over the pot an pour fast!<P>Frosted bullets shoot JUST FINE!

test

Pumkinchucker- One of the biggest culprits is a dirty block. You need to make sure no oil or debris are on the mould before you start. I clean mine with a toothbrush and strong detergent when I first get them. Look close at the vents and make sure they are clean; a toothpick will usually get them open. I cast a couple styles for the 45-70 and they are some of the nicest to work with. It wouldn't hurt to have a thermometor to check your melt either. HTH

If any of you want a real fine bullet casting outfit, I have one for sale. I have a Magma Engineering (Bull-X bullets and many others use their equipment exclusively) for sale. It is the Master Caster series and has two cavity molds for 200 grain .45 SWC, 125 grain semipointed round nose, 158 grain .38 caliber SWC, and 240 grain .44 flat nose. I also have the lubisizer for all the obove, plus lube and accesories. This machine drops approximately 1000 bullets in a 3 hour period, depending on outside temperatures. It is a very nice settup and is in mint condition. If interested e-mail me at kbeardalnuskin.net. I am still debating on price, but it will be about half of what a new one costs, which was around $700. Flinch