Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting first time with pictures

I shot 3mags worth, 24 rounds last night after our clubs weekly bowling pin match.
Accuracy was good and they fed fine. I cleaned the pistol today and there was no lead in the barrel.
I bought a Lyman big dipper and a thermometer when I was at Cabelas this morning, I'll be doing smaller batches and should have better control of the tempature.

Sounds like a plan coming together.

Yay! You're off to a good start.

Selmer- I may have come off a bit harsh regarding my assassination of the word "boolit", for which I apologize. It certainly wasn't my intent. Sometimes I just get carried away!

In today mail I got a 3 pound bar of 30% antimony 70% lead and 1pound of tin.
Everything I read recommends a different mix. The last batch of bullets shot well without any leading so I want a mixture close to that with a little antimony for hardness.

In the end, whatever alloy gives the results you are looking for is a good one. The only thing I would advise is to seek an alloy that uses the least amount of tin you can get away with, because the stuff is so bloody expensive these days.

The 45 is a low pressure, low velocity round, so if the bullet is too hard, it won't expand to fit the bore, and poor accuracy and leading can result. I've never had a leading issue with the 45, but shooting bullets that are too hard can double group size.

A good basic alloy is around 95% lead, 3% antimony and 2% tin. 95/3/2. Hardness is controlled by heat-treating. For 45 you don't want it to be too hard, so air cooling is fine, but if you water drop, the bullets will be harder, and the same alloy can be used for magnum handgun and rifle. The point is that now you can control the hardness just by varying the heat-treating temp.

In order for this system to work, the alloy has to be reasonably close. Run your pot hot, and mold some ingots of your pure lead, antimony alloy and your previous lead/tin alloy. Work out the math and add them to the pot in the right combination to achieve the right blend. 95/3/2. Flux a few times to blend everything well.

This alloy will produce a hard, but not brittle, very high quality bullet that is versatile and better than most generic pre-cast bullets you will find. It's a good alloy to work with for just about anything up to magnum pistol and rifle, and better than is needed for 45 ACP.

For 45 and most handguns, the above alloy could be mixed with pure lead down to about 97% lead, 2% antimony and 1% tin, (97/2/1), with similar heat-treat capability and good results when water dropped.

For 45 and most handguns, the above alloy could be mixed with pure lead down to about 97% lead, 2% antimony and 1% tin, (97/2/1), with similar heat-treat capability and good results when water dropped.
This is is the mix I'm going to try, water dropped.

I've shot 150 of these now with great results so I cast 1400 more.
This will last me almost 4 months.
97% lead, 2%antimony, 1% tin! water dropped. Good accuracy and no leading.

Thanks guys for all the advise and suggestions.
You guys sure saved a lot of time and aggravation.

You sneak! You never said a word that you were going to get into casting! Nice job!

What powder are you shooting under them?

I've been shooting bullsey but I just came into 4 pounds of titegroup so Ill be switching.

I am casting the Lee 230 gr truncated cone tumble lube and shooting them without sizing. The are shooting clean in my RIA.

I hope to try this one day! just dont seem to have the time or if I have the time , not the money to get started!

Buy the equipment then when you have time, you can cast bullets without having to shell out any more money.

And start laying in a supply of wheel weights now if you plan on using them as a source for casting lead.