Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Who's casting what...

Scott, before spending money on a powder coating gun, just buy some powder (NOT the Hobo Freight junk) and dry tumble the bullets. All you need is a plastic container from butter/yogurt/sour cream, etc, just dump the bullets and some powder in, and shake well. I'd be happy to share more info if you want.

I fired up the pot last night and attempted to cast some bullets, but kept getting poor fillout, possibly due to low alloy temps. I hope to get another chance to try playing with temps tonight. I'm going to have to break down and get a casting thermometer so I can know what I'm dealing with rather than chasing possibilities when I have casting problems.

I have to develop 158SWC for .357. Once I have the right load, I will turn 10 pounds or so to boolits to have a stash for my weekly trips to range.

On top of that I keep casting 200 RNs for SBH in 44, great plinking bullet. Will try so hunting with it in rifle season.

My son needs to practice with his 30-30 - already got bullets casted for that.

Right now, its Auto Rims for a 25-2 and a Smith 1917:



But I've got lots of stuff loaded with lead....

Very cool. I have always wanted one of those 1917's. Just don't want to pay Gunbroker pices. One of these days....

What I read about dry tumbling had mixed reviews with a lot of problems. I would love to keep it simple. If you don't mind would you share your secrets?

Knocked out a couple hundred of these fat bad boys-custom Postell mould 530 gr for my 45-70.

Dayum Kitch, you mad at something?

Dan

I lost my mind awhile back. Everything from .25 to .45 and a few in between.

Kitch, I'm pretty sure I see a flaw in that bullet. You should mail that mold to me for further "beta" testing before you cast a bad bullet and miss your target.

Ed

(Actually, VERY good looking bullet there! Nice work! )

Flaw? Yep, that was a reject. You should see the good ones! that mould is from Brooks' custom moulds, not cheap but a great mould.

You need to fill in those grooves with putty, wrap it in paper and head out to Gillette for the Wasserberger Mile.

What a coincidence ............

I have a Winchester 1892 with a model 53 barrel, rebored to .357.

It seems to go out more often than the .224 CF's lately.

I cast some Ideal 358477 and 358439 today for this hybrid.

Favorite all purpose load is the '477 powered by 4.5 grains of HP-38 for 1070 FPS.

The '439 is loaded with 11 grains of old 2400 for a slightly more powerful load. Both loads are assembled in .357 cases.

Not as cool as a 53 but fills a similar niche!

Let's see - a Postell from a custom Brooks mold? I like your style! I had Mr. Brooks cut a mold with the older original Postell nose shape (more rounded) using the same driving band/lube groove design from his 540 gr Creedmore. It comes out at 543 gr with 30:1...



And I just used one to let the air out of this guy a couple of weeks ago...

Impressive. Nice Ballard, too.

Next thaw: 40 (S&W) cal TC's and 45 (ACP) SWC's. Completely out.

I've got a 22 cal mould that the fedex man is bringing tomorrow. It is one of the Lee bator 6-cavs that Midsouth carries. Excited to run some plain-base 55's out to 1800 or so, and some gc at 2200 or as warm as they will shoot in my Bee. Kicks hell out of rimfire! Hope it works out. Before this, 30 cal has been the smallest diameter I cast, and those were fairly simple once the moulds are hot. Likely the same with these 22 cals. Nothing runs as smoothly as a 300 gr 44 cal. I can almost take a nap while casting those.

I love my .22 Bator mould and the bullets it makes. I found it to be the most accurate design in my 5.6x35R ("Euro Hornet"), but it does have a rapid twist- 1-9". It is the t*ts in my 30's vintage .22 Maximum Lovell Krag single shot too (1-14" twist).

Gnoahhh, if you favor the design, then I made a good call! I've not cast any yet, but upon looking at the mould, the design is just what I am after. I'd read about some coming from Lee with funky bases. Some too narrow, some too short for GC seating. The 6-cav I got looks perfect. Excited to get these shooting!

They'll be run through 2 14 inch contenders from BullBerry: one in 218 Bee, the other in 221 Fireball. As well, a Remington 700 in 22 K-Hornet. And since Ruger is now making LH Americans, I'm planning to pick one up in 223, and will load it with these Bators, as well as heavier jacketed.

Mostly I cast bullets for my 45 Colt Vaquero and Ranch Hand -- 200 grain semi wadcutter and 255 grain RNFP. I like the heavier ones better. I also cast quite a few 405 grain FP for my 45-70s. The Buffalo Classic likes them with 25 grains of AA5744. I use that one for sniping empty 12 guage hulls at 50 yards.

I also have a couple different moulds for my 50 cal Flinter and a plethora of .358 and .356 pistol bullets. I cast everything except the muzzle loader bullets from wheel weights. The 405 slugs, I water quench.

Also have a mould for a 405 Winchester - 300 grain round nose. Loads of fun