Magnumdood
Member
I want to start casting bullets for my 500 mag. That is something I've never done. Is it something that I can learn here, or do I need to purchase a book on the topic?
I'm like a cold sore...I never go completely away
- Thread starter Magnumdood
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Something I haven't searched for but willing to bet that a quick GOOGLE will turn up tons of stuff. BTW, you will probably need to use a very hard alloy. Wheel weights may work but were a bit soft for a 44mag. Find yourself a good source for lead before investing in a lot of equipment. Some places sell alloys for so much it may cost more to cast than to just buy.
mr mom
Member
ive been casting for 40 plus years now and love it !!!!!! just starting to cast for the kids rifles. wheel weights work good . you can drop them from the mold into water to get them alittle harder.
when i started all i had were single and double cav. molds. ive been replaceing them with 6 cav!!! what use to take a few days i can do in a hour......
once you get started you ll want to cast for more..
try looking around www.castboolet.com . its all about casting..
mr mom
when i started all i had were single and double cav. molds. ive been replaceing them with 6 cav!!! what use to take a few days i can do in a hour......
once you get started you ll want to cast for more..
try looking around www.castboolet.com . its all about casting..
mr mom
mr mom
Member
sorry !!!! www.castboollits.com
mr mom
Member
OP
Magnumdood
Member
Thanks Mom!
Thanks Mom, I knew I was always your favorite!
Do you have a reasonable source for lead and the other alloys needed to cast for the S&W 500?
Thanks Mom, I knew I was always your favorite!
Do you have a reasonable source for lead and the other alloys needed to cast for the S&W 500?
ohiococonut
Member
Ask enough questions and you'll learn. There are two books that I can think of right off that deal with casting. One is RCBS and the other Lymans.
Before you buy any components I'd suggest you find a supply of lead. Wheel weights will work just fine, I've loaded hundreds of them and they will probably be the easiest to get. Don't be concerned with "other" alloys just yet until you get your feet wet and have a better understanding of casting in general. There are other pitfalls to be concerned with. Other wise you'll spend an extraordinary amount of time experimenting with alloys And trying to figure out why your bullets have voids, wrinkles or are to heavy/light or even look frosted. One step at a time.
What ever you do try to keep your supply of lead consistant. In other words keep salvaged range lead together and wheel weights together. Don't mix them, again, until you have a better understanding of casting.
Before you buy any components I'd suggest you find a supply of lead. Wheel weights will work just fine, I've loaded hundreds of them and they will probably be the easiest to get. Don't be concerned with "other" alloys just yet until you get your feet wet and have a better understanding of casting in general. There are other pitfalls to be concerned with. Other wise you'll spend an extraordinary amount of time experimenting with alloys And trying to figure out why your bullets have voids, wrinkles or are to heavy/light or even look frosted. One step at a time.
What ever you do try to keep your supply of lead consistant. In other words keep salvaged range lead together and wheel weights together. Don't mix them, again, until you have a better understanding of casting.
mr mom
Member
i just use wheel weights ... .44..444 marlin , .45 acp and .357's...
at the top of the home page at cast coolit there is a tag at the top called rotometal they have differnt hardness lead , but like i said all i use is wheel weights. a 5 gal. bucket gives you alot to work with ......
someplace i have a site that gives the diffent hardness of diffrent kinds of lead. ill se if i can find it and ill post it ..
1 of the things ive been working on is a take a .40 s&w brass and trim it. anneil it and set a pure lead .40 cast upside down and run it threw a sweddging die .. you should see the nasty .44 hp that it makes... i think b t sniper at the swedging form of cast boolit might has even made a die to make a jacked bullet for a .500... ????
mr mom
at the top of the home page at cast coolit there is a tag at the top called rotometal they have differnt hardness lead , but like i said all i use is wheel weights. a 5 gal. bucket gives you alot to work with ......
someplace i have a site that gives the diffent hardness of diffrent kinds of lead. ill se if i can find it and ill post it ..
1 of the things ive been working on is a take a .40 s&w brass and trim it. anneil it and set a pure lead .40 cast upside down and run it threw a sweddging die .. you should see the nasty .44 hp that it makes... i think b t sniper at the swedging form of cast boolit might has even made a die to make a jacked bullet for a .500... ????
mr mom
Titegroups
Member
Check youtube for some videos, a good resource.
Mike_in_VA
Member
Um...Bullet hardness should be matched to the velocity/pressure of the load. Shooting a very hard cast bullet with low pressure / low velocity loads, particularly in a revolver, will cause a LOT of leading. So will shooting too soft bullets at high velocity.
OP
Magnumdood
Member
Velocity
I believe for the most part, I plan to have 'em cookin' as they leave the barrel...
I believe for the most part, I plan to have 'em cookin' as they leave the barrel...
Very true. In my case when I loaded maybe 2/3 of the way between start and max loads I got very little leading. The loads I were doing, which were pushing max, leaded very badly even when dropping the cast bullets into water as mentioned in an earlier post.
Never ordered from them but you might want to check out
Casting Bullet Alloys from Rotometals
If you order at least $99, most alloys ship free. Lyman #2 and linotype are priced at slightly below $3 per pound. Don't know what bullet weight you have in mind but you would get a few less than 20 350 gr. bullets per pound.
Bullet casting can be fun. I got into it for black powder shooting. Finding pure lead was a real pain back then.
mr mom
Member
without a gas check i keep everything under 1000 f.p.s. . no leading problems. back when i was younger everything i loaded was hot !!!. my best load now is about 900 f.p.s. on target every time a easy to shoot. i use to use gas checks when the were 11 bucks a box , now they are 40 ??? im in the prosses of making a gas check maker .
i also have a lead puller , but havent used that in along time.
you will get sore and get away from full house loads and be alot happier
i also have a lead puller , but havent used that in along time.
you will get sore and get away from full house loads and be alot happier
nicky4968
Member
For very low pressure loads, like wadcutters and such, I prefer lead.
Very few loads are so hot that Lyman #2 can't handle them. If there any such for pistols, I don't want to know about them.
Very few loads are so hot that Lyman #2 can't handle them. If there any such for pistols, I don't want to know about them.
OP
Magnumdood
Member
Beginning handloader?
I'm not a beginning handloader. I've been rolling my own since 1995. The largest majority of reloading I do is for my rifles. I load for accuracy, not speed. Rarely is the maximum load the most accurate. The accuracy nodes are generally in between the starting loads and the max loads. I know I haven't seen everything, but I've yet to see an animal die from a really fast miss.
I'm not a beginning handloader. I've been rolling my own since 1995. The largest majority of reloading I do is for my rifles. I load for accuracy, not speed. Rarely is the maximum load the most accurate. The accuracy nodes are generally in between the starting loads and the max loads. I know I haven't seen everything, but I've yet to see an animal die from a really fast miss.
mr mom
Member
ive seen guys show up at our sight in day at the club. a few show up with handguns and try the running deer target. 1 guy had a .44 with factory loads couldnt hit anything !!!! i gave him a few of my light hand loads and he had some nice hits ...
this guy is now loading his own .....
this guy is now loading his own .....
