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Old 03-11-2012, 03:09 AM
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Default .357 hard cast bullets

Who makes a good Hard cast bullet and sells at a good
price in bulk? Reloading for my .357's and .38's
Must pass the fingernail test and be cost effective.




Thanks in advance Chuck
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Old 03-11-2012, 03:26 AM
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Missouri Bullets.Com direct or go to Dillon Precision they sell them. Also Lazer Cast. Both work great. No leading and group well.
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Old 03-11-2012, 03:40 AM
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Thank You my friend. I'll check em' out.



chuck
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Old 03-11-2012, 09:16 AM
Nick B Nick B is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chud333 View Post
Who makes a good Hard cast bullet and sells at a good
price in bulk? Reloading for my .357's and .38's
Must pass the fingernail test and be cost effective.




Thanks in advance Chuck
The finger nail (hardness) test is only part of it . What lube are they using ? Most commercial casters use a hard, crayon type lube which is totally useless . You can dig the bullets out of the berm and the lube is still intact .
I've taken commercial cast bullets that gave heavy leading and re-lubed them with LBT (Lead Bullet Technology) soft lube and had no leading at all with the same bullet and load .

Last edited by Nick B; 03-12-2012 at 06:11 PM.
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Old 03-11-2012, 09:20 AM
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Penn Bullets makes some darn good hard cast bullets. Welcome To Penn Bullets INC.

So does Rogers. Better Bullets / King Shooter Supply
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Old 03-11-2012, 11:42 AM
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chud333 before buying any cast bullets pay attention to the BHN#. I looked at the Rogers bullets, they are way to hard for .38 SPl velocities with a BHN 21. You will most certainly get leading with those bullets at .38 SPL velocities. Anything between BHN 12-15 will serve you well.

There is a poster here that goes by nkjnut who is the proprietor of Tennessee Valley Bullets. His product is very very good and his prices are in line with others. Here is another place to look at Standard cast lead Bullets
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Old 03-11-2012, 12:27 PM
Cpt. Obvious Cpt. Obvious is offline
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Look at bayou bullets, coated in some proprietary green stuff that supposedly cuts down on leading and smoke.
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Old 03-11-2012, 01:26 PM
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Quote:
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Look at bayou bullets, coated in some proprietary green stuff that supposedly cuts down on leading and smoke.
Snake oil?
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Old 03-11-2012, 01:36 PM
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Donnie Miculek makes bayou bullets, doubt its snake oil.
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Old 03-11-2012, 02:14 PM
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If you insist on hard lead, you'd better be sure that they are not undersized for your gun, even slightly. With a hard small bullet you will guarantee leading in your barrel.
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Old 03-11-2012, 05:29 PM
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I guess I'll pile one and just say that proper fit is more important than hardness. If you're looking for a .357 diameter bullet for your .38 Special/.357 Magnum, then I will guarantee you that you're going to get leading. If it were me, I'd be looking for a .358 diameter bullet.
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Old 03-11-2012, 05:41 PM
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Correct sizing, and a quality bullet lube are more critical for success than hardness. Part of the responsibility for the bullet sizing rests with the purchaser, who needs to be aware of what diameter they need, and ask for it up front.
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Old 03-11-2012, 09:37 PM
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Thanks to all who responded. Again i learned something on here
today. I ordered 1000 of the lasercast bullets .358 diameter SWC
from Oregon Trail and i'll be sure to use a good lube as recommended.
Also have 500 rds. of new Remington .357 brass coming so i'll
get some different powders to try and some primers and i'm good
to go.


chuck
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Old 03-12-2012, 02:57 PM
Robert Palermo Robert Palermo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chud333 View Post
Thanks to all who responded. Again i learned something on here
today. I ordered 1000 of the lasercast bullets .358 diameter SWC
from Oregon Trail and i'll be sure to use a good lube as recommended.
Also have 500 rds. of new Remington .357 brass coming so i'll
get some different powders to try and some primers and i'm good
to go.


chuck
Chuck , those bullets won't need to be lubed as they already come lubed from Laser cast. They are good bullets.For magnum loads use H110 or ww296 witha mag primer.

Last edited by Robert Palermo; 03-12-2012 at 03:50 PM.
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Old 03-12-2012, 08:39 PM
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I buy from a guy named Gerry Allred in Utah. Name of the outfit is Silver Star Cast Bullets 801-564-0424 or [email protected]. He makes an excellent bullet and his prices can't be beat. I'm surprised he's not better known.
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Old 03-13-2012, 05:30 AM
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Before I began casting my own bullets I had excellent luck with Montana Bullet Company. They list the BHN for all of their bullets. I had great luck with their cast #358156 and #358429 bullets. You definitely need to check the diameter for the bullets though because if you are off you will get leading. Eventually though if you can I would say take up casting your own, its cheaper and you would be surprised how quickly you can turn out 100 bullets. All I use is a little Lee ladle pot and a few moulds, most single cavity and in no time I have 100 bullets or so from a handfull of wheel weights. I have not had to buy bullets for a long time and can tell you unless I really had to I would not start again. Just get the Lee Alox squirt lube and a sizer die (have had good luck with Lee) and away you go. But you can't go wrong with Montana Bullet Company.
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Old 03-13-2012, 07:09 AM
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If you have some commercial bullets with hard crayon type lube causing leading you can dump them in a ziploc bag; squirt a small amount of Lee liquid alox on them; tumble them around in the bag and set them on wax paper to dry. Once they're dry they'll usually work just fine with no leading
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Old 03-13-2012, 10:53 AM
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You can also boil the lube off them and apply your own lube. If you don't have a lube press you can always do pan lube.
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Old 03-15-2012, 04:42 PM
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Hardness is only one indicator. The more tin, which is much harder than lead, the lower the melting point, which leads to leading. The lowest melting point (eutectic alloy) has 63% tin, melts at 370F, and can't be dented with your thumbnail. Alloys with 3% tin plus 6% antimony are hard, but with a high melting point. Pure lead is soft, but melts at 670F. Other lead alloys melt somewhere in between that and the eutectic point.

Last edited by Neumann; 03-15-2012 at 04:46 PM.
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Old 03-15-2012, 05:05 PM
amazingflapjack amazingflapjack is offline
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I have had very good results with midatlanticbullets.com which are 18 BHN. I have had very good communication experience and customer service with them, and their prices have been very reasonable. A very well made bullet.

Last edited by amazingflapjack; 03-15-2012 at 05:09 PM.
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Old 03-19-2012, 04:14 PM
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Anyone have experience with this company: CB Bullets at:
CB Bullets > Bullets Order

Prices are very reasonable.
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