Getting started in bullet casting

[David LaPell]

I want to get started in bullet casting, other than the obvious (a small furnace and molds) what do I need to get started. The two calibers I want to get into first is .44 and .357.

 

[JeffR]

You'll need something to lubricate the bullets and you may want to size them. Lee liquid alox along with the Lee push through sizing dies are an inexpensive place to start.

The liquid alox can be a bit messy and it will leave a residue in your seating die that will have to be cleaned out from time to time. It's also fairly smokey which can be a consideration if you do a lot of indoor shooting.

Generally speaking you'll want to size the bullets .001" to .002" over - .358 and .430 in your case. For better accuracy you should slug your barrel and cylinder throats, then size accordingly.

You might also take a look at the Cast Boolits forum - lots of knowledgeable folks over there who can help you get started.

 

[Dan Cash]

David,
Casting can be as expensive or as low end as you want to make it. As an absolute minimum, you obviously need a pot and a heat source. I use a cast iron pot I got from Harbor Freight and a two burner propane "stove" from Sportsman's Guide. Total investment with hose and regulator is about $75.00. Get a big, heavy pot and don't waste money and time with little 10 to 20 pound pots. I dip with an RCBS dipper; $17.00. I prefer the RCBS as it is a bit heavier and holds enough lead for a very large bullet or multiple cavities. I do ream the spout to 3/16 inch.

Next are the moulds. I have good luck with most Lymans and always with LBT and Hoch. As JeffR says, you need to know the size of hole you will fill. Slug your bore and cylinder throats if it applies. With Lyman or any other production mould, getting the right size is a crap shoot. With a custom mould such as LBT you should get exactly what you want. I have not used RCBS or SAECO moulds but they are probably equal to Lyman or a bit better. I will be flamed for this yet I will advise to save your money on Lee moulds. They will disappoint. I have several and they are stop gap outfits at best; at worst they improve your vocabulary and wast your time. Spend your money once.

I have had a good bit of success pan lubing bullets and shooting them as cast. I do have a Lyman lubricator/sizer but only pan lube all my Black Powder Cartridge bullets. I have shot many .45 Colt bullets as cast and pan lubed but now have a .454 die that does not size the .453 as cast bullet but lets me lubricate it by machine. The Lee push through sizers may work well; I don't have any. Check the cast boolet site for a video on pan lubing. I use the same technique as the guy in the film. It works good and is very fast. You can follow up with a Lee push through sizing operation if you wish.

You can go from this program which will cost you perhaps $150.00 to almost any level your pocket will stand.

Good luck and have fun.
Dan

 

[norad45]

Something else you'll want are ingot molds. I use an old muffin pan when making ingots from wheelweights. Then, when I am making alloy out of those, I use an ingot mold from Lyman that makes much smaller, rectangular ingots. They fit into the furnace much easier. Having two (or more) sizes makes it easy to remember which is which. In my case, it's fortunately foolproof; if they are big they are straight wheelweights, if they are small they are alloy.

 

[Lou_NC]

I got started a year ago with a Lee 20# bottom pour pot, and several of their two-cavity molds. I use the Lee molds intended for liquid Alox lube since I don't want to invest in a fancier lube setup right now. This works great for me for .38, .40, and .45 pistol loads. Regarding lube, I don't tumble the bullets since Alox on the nose of the bullets gets messy. Using tweezers, I dip them into a small open container (small shot glass) of Alox, base first and keep the bullet noses out of the Alox. Takes a little longer to lube this way, but I can still do several hunded at a clip and let them drain to dry on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper on it. MUCH cleaner than tumble lubing, IMHO.

I cast using wheelweight ingots purchased off of fleabay for around $1 lb. I don't bid higher than around $50 delivered for 50#, though I sometimes do better than that if the auctions end at odd times. At today's bullet prices, these economics work for me, although I would prefer to scrounge wheelweights and range lead if I had the time, to get the cost down even more. Bottom line, is I'm not into "smelting" right now, just casting from ingots to bullets and reloading them to shoot.

I definitely recommend reading and asking questions on Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets! Lots of friendly folks out there. Believe it or not, one guy mailed me his 10# Lee pot and a mold just to try out casting! Talk about trust. All I had to do was reimburse him for his shipping when I returned it all a couple of weeks later. I'm telling you, shooters have got to be the nicest folks out there!

Lou

 

[fredj338]

A good read is the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, the Lee reloading manual has a small section on casting. As stated, you can go cheap to stupidly expensive. I would NOT cast w/ a ladle & open pot. For less than $100 yo ucan get a Lee 10# pot & 6cav Lee mold. Then get a Lee siing kit for your press. You can use the Alox lube that comes w/ the kit or pan lube by melting soem White Label sticks & pouring the lube into a pan full of bullets sitting on their bases (the book will explain pan lubing). The Lee 20# pot is better still & not much more money. IMO, the Lee 6cav moulds are the min. don;t even bother w/ the ubercheap 2cav Lee, crap moulds. THe iron molds from Lyman, RCBS & Saeco & Magma, Nalistcast & LBT are also top quality. IMO, unless you can get your metal for no more than $1/#, I would buy commercial cast unless you just want something to do. That works out to about $35/1K for 230grLRN. You can have them delivered to your door for about $71/1K. New Page 1

 

[imashooter2]

The first thing you need is a source for inexpensive alloy. Without that, there is no sense in buying the casting equipment.

This is the twilight of hobby casting. The humble lead WW is being regulated out of existence and once it is gone so will be most casters.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Follow our example and you can have enough to last your lifetime!

The first thing you need is a source for inexpensive alloy. Without that, there is no sense in buying the casting equipment.

This is the twilight of hobby casting. The humble lead WW is being regulated out of existence and once it is gone so will be most casters.

The answer to that problem is to start hoarding them now! We do!

I guess I am the guy that is doing it the "stupidly expensive" way. I have a few Lee molds. One guy on a casting forum says he is too cheap to buy Lee molds. If I may suggest something it would be this: If you do get Lee molds, steer away from the 1 and 2 hole ones. Also, and this is just me, the tumble lube ones too. They can be hard to get filled our with straight wheel weights without using some additive, namely tin. If you buy the Lee 6 cavity molds for either of the calibers you mentioned, you will want a larger pot than the 10# one or all you will be doing is filling the pot! 6 cavities and greater than 158gr bullets will empty a pot in a hurry!


The "stupidly expensive" thing for me was spending what I have on Hensley & Gibbs molds. In my opinion, and with that and $5 you can get a cup of coffee at Starbucks, they are the best molds hands down. The only Lyman mold I have ever owned was purchased use and wasn't in a bullet shape that I particularly liked so I sold it.

Another suggestion would be to have a well ventilated area to cast in.

Don't dawdle. If you are going to get into casting, do it. The best thing about doing is is that you will never be out of bullets and the ones you use will be of the type you personally picked. You won't be at the mercy of any market changes or supply problems. As long as the neighbors have cars, you can have bullets! (Just kidding! )

 

[imashooter2]

The answer to that problem is to start hoarding them now! We do!

As do I, but the simple fact remains.

 

[epj]

While wheel weights are a primary source of scrap lead alloy, there are other sources. Wheel weights are easy, since the alloy will work "as is" for many, if not most, pistol applications. Check local scrap dealers. Recycled range lead is another source. Several other sources, such as plumbing lead will require alloying with tin and antimony to get a suitable alloy. The economics will work at $1.00/lb. but work better for less. The price of lead has come way down in the past year, but the commercial casters have dropped their prices very little, if any.

 

[fredj338]

The answer to that problem is to start hoarding them now! We do!

I guess I am the guy that is doing it the "stupidly expensive" way. I have a few Lee molds. One guy on a casting forum says he is too cheap to buy Lee molds. If I may suggest something it would be this: If you do get Lee molds, steer away from the 1 and 2 hole ones. Also, and this is just me, the tumble lube ones too. They can be hard to get filled our with straight wheel weights without using some additive, namely tin. If you buy the Lee 6 cavity molds for either of the calibers you mentioned, you will want a larger pot than the 10# one or all you will be doing is filling the pot! 6 cavities and greater than 158gr bullets will empty a pot in a hurry!

Don't dawdle. If you are going to get into casting, do it. The best thing about doing is is that you will never be out of bullets and the ones you use will be of the type you personally picked. You won't be at the mercy of any market changes or supply problems. As long as the neighbors have cars, you can have bullets! (Just kidding! )

Stupidly expensive is something along the lines of my Magma MasterCast. I bought it along time ago & it was almost $400. The RCBS bottom pour is a nice pot but I'm not sure it's 5x better than the Lee 20#. Along w/ a Magma/Star luber-sizer, it starts to get pricey quick. Same w/ molds, you can spend a ton on high end molds & if you cast a lot, probably worth it. I agree on Lee molds, the 6cav ones are only useful, not much better than that. I won't ever buy another 2cav Lee, pure crap IMO.
Yes, the cheap/free alloy is going buy the wayside quickly. Once ww are gone, not much else out there. Lead water pipes are ancient history & lead roof flashing is going prety quickly too. SO buy what ever you can now & save it for later. If you have to pay more than $1/#, IMO, buy commercial cast.

 

[beemerrider]

Bullet casting

Hi Dave: I've been casting over 45 years. The guys above have provided a lot of good information. If you like, give me a call at 503/730-1282 and I will be happy to have a discussion about your near and longer term goals from casting, types of appropriate equipment and overall pros and cons of casting.

Lynn aka beemerrider