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Thinking of casting my own bullets..?


IGOTGLOCKED

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I believe this should be a new topic, apologies if not... After realizing the cost savings of switching to coated vs: plated I'm interested in what needs to be considered regarding casting and coating my own bullets?

Thanks from IGG!

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Make sure you have a good lead supply. It is time consuming. It can be done with very little equipment. There is some really nice stuff out there for casting. There is a learning curve. Go over to castboolits and read up.

  1. Find lead
  2. render into ingots
  3. melt into casting pot
  4. pour into mold
  5. mix up Hi-tek
  6. 2-3 coats and bake each coat in your convection toaster oven
  7. size boolits
  8. load

These eight steps take quite a bit of stuff to complete. I like to load in 30 pound batches. It takes me a few hours to make the 30 pounds of lead into bullets, depends on the mold and amount of cavitys. I coat three times. It takes about an hour to bake the batch. I coat and let them dry overnight and repeat until three coats. Then you have to size them. Say you have 1500-1600 bullets, you have to size each one, takes time. Just like reloading you can do it on a single stage or progressive, same thing. Good luck

 

 

Edited by zombywoof
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Zombywoof gave a great overview, I do something very similar with my casting and HT coating.  

When someone talks about starting in casting I always question them on why they want to. If it is to make large amounts of bullets to shoot USPSA then I will say unless you have a great source of lead and a decent amount of time you would be better off just buying coated lead bullets from one of the normal vendors to our sport. Casting has changed from what it was in years past. In the past lead wheel weights were common and a cheap(or free) source of lead that was everywhere.  That made casting very attractive but now most of the wheel weights are being made out of something else so the main source of lead caster used is drying up. When the lead is free/super cheap then the time and equipment needed to keep you shooting is worth it but when you have to start paying a decent price for the lead to start with plus your time and equipment then just buying them starts to make a lot more sense.   

I started casting to be able to make bullets for odd calibers/weights or ones that were expensive even though they were cast lead like heavy weight gas checked bullets for .44 mag. This wasn't so bad because I wasn't using up much lead. Then since I had the equipment I decided to make handgun bullets in quantity and while it was not too much trouble and I could get a decent production rate running two six cavity moulds at once I found I was going through my lead much faster. Since I don't have a giant supply of lead I realized that I could buy lead to cast but then I was getting into what I discussed above. These days I just buy bullets for my competition guns, blue for the autos and Bayou for my revols.  I still am casting a lot but it is mostly bullets for my milsurp rifles (303B/54R/8x56R) my 30-30 and 45-70 lever guns and lower quantity bullets for my handguns 357/10mm/44/45 Colt. 

I guess I rambled but I think you get the idea. 

Neal in AZ 

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18 hours ago, Solvability said:

I tried it and my Blood lead went from 11 to 21 - no more casting for me.

Whoa, this too is a concern of mine...

 

17 hours ago, zombywoof said:

Make sure you have a good lead supply. It is time consuming. It can be done with very little equipment. There is some really nice stuff out there for casting. There is a learning curve. Go over to castboolits and read up.

  1. Find lead
  2. render into ingots
  3. melt into casting pot
  4. pour into mold
  5. mix up Hi-tek
  6. 2-3 coats and bake each coat in your convection toaster oven
  7. size boolits
  8. load

These eight steps take quite a bit of stuff to complete. I like to load in 30 pound batches. It takes me a few hours to make the 30 pounds of lead into bullets, depends on the mold and amount of cavitys. I coat three times. It takes about an hour to bake the batch. I coat and let them dry overnight and repeat until three coats. Then you have to size them. Say you have 1500-1600 bullets, you have to size each one, takes time. Just like reloading you can do it on a single stage or progressive, same thing. Good luck

 

 

Thanks zw! Sounds like a good hobby. I was assuming one just bought lead..?

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Its a lot of work and some expense to get started, but if you keep a sufficient amount of lead on hand you will never go without bullets. Or, you can solve the problem by simply buying and keeping a large supply of bullets. During the last shortage there were more than a few people who could not shoot (or shoot as much as they'd have liked) because they had no supplies.

Finding lead is not that easy (as noted in post above) but you can buy clean bullet lead and make bullets significantly cheaper than you can buy them. If you spare time is worth much though, just buy bullets.

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29 minutes ago, Intel6 said:

Zombywoof gave a great overview, I do something very similar with my casting and HT coating.  

When someone talks about starting in casting I always question them on why they want to. If it is to make large amounts of bullets to shoot USPSA then I will say unless you have a great source of lead and a decent amount of time you would be better off just buying coated lead bullets from one of the normal vendors to our sport. Casting has changed from what it was in years past. In the past lead wheel weights were common and a cheap(or free) source of lead that was everywhere.  That made casting very attractive but now most of the wheel weights are being made out of something else so the main source of lead caster used is drying up. When the lead is free/super cheap then the time and equipment needed to keep you shooting is worth it but when you have to start paying a decent price for the lead to start with plus your time and equipment then just buying them starts to make a lot more sense.   

I started casting to be able to make bullets for odd calibers/weights or ones that were expensive even though they were cast lead like heavy weight gas checked bullets for .44 mag. This wasn't so bad because I wasn't using up much lead. Then since I had the equipment I decided to make handgun bullets in quantity and while it was not too much trouble and I could get a decent production rate running two six cavity moulds at once I found I was going through my lead much faster. Since I don't have a giant supply of lead I realized that I could buy lead to cast but then I was getting into what I discussed above. These days I just buy bullets for my competition guns, blue for the autos and Bayou for my revols.  I still am casting a lot but it is mostly bullets for my milsurp rifles (303B/54R/8x56R) my 30-30 and 45-70 lever guns and lower quantity bullets for my handguns 357/10mm/44/45 Colt. 

I guess I rambled but I think you get the idea. 

Neal in AZ 

I appreciate the time it took to share this info with me, very much appreciated! The "time" component of this did flash in my mind and I may have dismissed it a little too early as I currently realize I don't have as much time on hand to do the loading I'd like to do and that is with a stash of bullets I've bought that are just waiting to be loaded and a 650 to do it on...

I appreciate you giving me reason to pause and rethink this...

 

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17 hours ago, zombywoof said:

Make sure you have a good lead supply. It is time consuming. It can be done with very little equipment. There is some really nice stuff out there for casting. There is a learning curve. Go over to castboolits and read up.

  1. Find lead
  2. render into ingots
  3. melt into casting pot
  4. pour into mold
  5. mix up Hi-tek
  6. 2-3 coats and bake each coat in your convection toaster oven
  7. size boolits
  8. load

These eight steps take quite a bit of stuff to complete. I like to load in 30 pound batches. It takes me a few hours to make the 30 pounds of lead into bullets, depends on the mold and amount of cavitys. I coat three times. It takes about an hour to bake the batch. I coat and let them dry overnight and repeat until three coats. Then you have to size them. Say you have 1500-1600 bullets, you have to size each one, takes time. Just like reloading you can do it on a single stage or progressive, same thing. Good luck

 

 

ZW, I just re-read your post. WHat does "#7 size boolits" consist of?

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Biggest suggestion is good air flow away from you - nitrile gloves your skin and avoid the vapors. I still cast for 44 mag and 45-70 because of the relatively few I shoot and the cost of those heavy slugs - my Blood lead has steadily fallen but we check it every year - some of us have more affinity for lead uptake than others.

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 I cast and powder coat (PC) for a 9MM.  Research the shake and bake method using cheap Harbor freight Powder paint.  

Cast, shake, bake, size.  

I have a source of lead from a indoor range.  I can get away with almost pure dead soft bullets using PC.  This makes finding the magic alloy a none issue. 

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1 hour ago, IGOTGLOCKED said:

ZW, I just re-read your post. WHat does "#7 size boolits" consist of?

First you need to slug the barrel of your firearm, this determines the diameter of your barrel bore.  You want the diameter of your bullet to be .001-.002" over your barrels groove diameter. It seals the bore and prevents gas cutting of the bullet. I have 9's that are all over the place. One wants .358", one .357 and one .356". So for this example I want a mold that drops a bullet with a diameter of .358 or larger. You then buy sizing dies at different diameters. They can be as simple as a die that screws into your press and push the bullet through and it sizes it to the desired diameter. The dies are only around $10.  Like I said, each step needs lots of equipment.

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3 hours ago, zombywoof said:

First you need to slug the barrel of your firearm, this determines the diameter of your barrel bore.  You want the diameter of your bullet to be .001-.002" over your barrels groove diameter. It seals the bore and prevents gas cutting of the bullet. I have 9's that are all over the place. One wants .358", one .357 and one .356". So for this example I want a mold that drops a bullet with a diameter of .358 or larger. You then buy sizing dies at different diameters. They can be as simple as a die that screws into your press and push the bullet through and it sizes it to the desired diameter. The dies are only around $10.  Like I said, each step needs lots of equipment.

So if the bullet fits the barrel better, theoretically it should also be more accurate right?  How do I "slug the barrel" and where do I obtain the materials to do so?

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Slugging the barrel is a time honored method for setting up cast bullet rounds. Make it easy and find the largest bullet diameter that works in your chamber.  

Chambers and mixed brass is a issue with 9MM.  I'm using a  147+ grain bullet SAECO #928 and the tapered 9mm case restricts seating depth.  Many use the Lyman mold that spits out a tapered heeled bullet.  I like the SAECO quality better.

Our local commercial PC caster recommends .358.  That size works for me, and its easier to push through the sizing die.

 

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I have been casting for 28 years.  If you start,  start with cheap equipment to see if you like it.    You will have a hard time finding cheap lead these days.   I buy my lead and make about 10 different bullets.     Last time I had my lead level checked it was 4.      If you wash your hands, face and don't drink or eat while casting you will be okay.   I went over 100,000 bullets couple of years ago.    I shoot cast bullets in everything from 38 special to 300 Winchester magnum.

Edited by dannyd
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I have only ever come across one person who cast their own bullets. He showed me the whole process and it was pretty cool. That being said... I thought it was something I wanted to do until I saw it all first hand. Looks like a lot could go wrong...fire, lead posining, noxious fumes, screwing up the hardness etc. I can barely keep up with reloading to support my shooting habit let alone casting bullets as it would add a whole lot of time to the reloading process. I'd have to be retired with literally nothing else to do before I could get into casting.

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This made me think.  I've been casting since I was 22, am 70 in a few days.  I got into casting because I was intrigued about lower powered 30-06 loads.  I worked in a gas station and got used wheel weights for nothing. Over the years I cast for everything from .222 to 45/70.  Experimented with different alloy blends, bullet lubes, and heat treatment, even though I never got into the coating process. I think now with the inexpensive bullets available for our sport, casting no longer has the appeal for volume shooters.  It does take a lot of time to produce the number of bullets we need.  Coupled with this is the fact that cheap lead in the form of wheel weights is very difficult to come by. I only now cast for a few oddballs, such as my 44 special, because my lead supply is dwindling.  Plus we have a local club member who sells cast bullets for $60 per thousand. A couple of years ago I had my lead levels checked and they were normal.

To sum it up, I think you're better off spending the time practicing instead of sitting at a loading bench casting bullets.

 

Edited by dons
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On 10/14/2016 at 2:33 PM, Solvability said:

Biggest suggestion is good air flow away from you - nitrile gloves your skin and avoid the vapors. I still cast for 44 mag and 45-70 because of the relatively few I shoot and the cost of those heavy slugs - my Blood lead has steadily fallen but we check it every year - some of us have more affinity for lead uptake than others.

Right, thx!

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On 10/14/2016 at 2:33 PM, Solvability said:

Biggest suggestion is good air flow away from you - nitrile gloves your skin and avoid the vapors. I still cast for 44 mag and 45-70 because of the relatively few I shoot and the cost of those heavy slugs - my Blood lead has steadily fallen but we check it every year - some of us have more affinity for lead uptake than others.

Right, thx!

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On 10/14/2016 at 1:59 PM, wheelie said:

Its a lot of work and some expense to get started, but if you keep a sufficient amount of lead on hand you will never go without bullets. Or, you can solve the problem by simply buying and keeping a large supply of bullets. During the last shortage there were more than a few people who could not shoot (or shoot as much as they'd have liked) because they had no supplies.

Finding lead is not that easy (as noted in post above) but you can buy clean bullet lead and make bullets significantly cheaper than you can buy them. If you spare time is worth much though, just buy bullets.

Indeed, the cost difference will be play a big part of the decision...

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