45 acp Cast Bullet Load for IPSC

[Jeremiah]

I'm going to try to casting some bullets for my habit. I have all the wheel weights that I could use. Should I cast them straight, or should I incorporate them into an alloy of some kind? How hard should I be looking to get them? I don't have a hardnest tester. Could someone recommend an alloy to start with?

What is the general consensus on bullet shape?

What lube should I go with? I have been looking at a tumble lube type of bullet with lee liquid alox because then I wouldn't have to spend bucks on a sizer/luber. I am open to all suggestions on this.

What is the deal with the tape weights that come mixed in with the wheel weights? They seem to be softer. Should I keep these out?

Thanks.

[Shipster]

Wheel weights work really well, there is tin in them allready you should be fine with straight wheel weights. Yes the tape weights are softer leave them out and sell or give them to a friend that shoots a muzzle loader. 230 gr Round nose and Hogdon Clays works real well, nice and soft.

As far as a lube-a-sizer, if your wanting top accuracy the lube-a-sizer is the only way to go. A guy I know just runs them through the lub-a-sizer with no lube, then he molly coats them via the tumbler method.

Good luck

[Jeremiah]

What shape bullet do you recommend? RN, TC, or SWC?

Have you ever used a lee sizer die that goes into a press? It seems like it would be a good thing because you don't need any seperate dies or top punches. If I would use the liquid lube, it seems like the way to go. I would also use a micro band lee bullet if this would work.

[Shipster]

Jeremiah RN's seem to work really well in a 230gr bullet. My shooting buddy has not had any luck with the 225 TC's but the 230 RN's run 100%.

I have never used the Lee sizer die but it should work, then using a dry or liquid lube. You might also check into using molly, it's simple, fast, and less messy then a liquid lube.

[Jeremiah]

Really, the moly isn't as messy? I haven't looked into it yet.

I was going to go with the 230 gr bullet at first, but I want to shoot about a 170 pf, and I thought that the 230 would be to slow at 740 fps. Would I notice the lack of speed compared to a 200 going at 850? Probably not, but I thought I'd throw it out there. I hear that the heavier bullet would feel softer at the same power factor as a lighter bullet faster, but I havent' had a chance to test that myself. (I'm relatively new to the practical shooting sports)

How will a straight wheel weight alloy bullet drop out of a mold? Will it run smaller or bigger than a harder alloy? I'm planning on using a lee six cavity mold, and I don't want to run the danger of undersized bullets.

Would you recommend Lee liquid Alox as a viable lube? What other options do I have in a liquid or dry lube, besides the moly?

Thanks for your help.

[Patrick Sweeney]

Back when I was casting, wheelweights dropped out of my moulds close enough to have used them unsized. The only lube option I had was a lubrisizer (no tumbling coatings back then) so they got sized anyway.

The only way to be sure if you'll need to size is to cast your alloy in your moulds and measure the results.

[harley45]

I use a Lee 200 gr. swc (not the tumble lube design) in a six cavity mold and a Lyman sizer with Thompsons blue Angel lube. I size to .451 instead of the more traditional .452 this gives me less leading and the same auccracy as I had at .452. I used 5.8 of ww231 for a long time to make major however I just picked up a pound of Clays to try. I use straight wheel weights and don't add anything.

Eric

[Harmon]

with the lee micro band bullet, you need not bother sizing them,

i can say that the best lee bullet for this is the lee 230 grain round nose TL it shoots accurately and plenty soft with a small dose of clays.

the only thing i can gripe about is the length of time it takes for the lee liquid to dry, sometimes in excess of 24 hours depending on humidity.

as for wheelweights, yes use them..you dont have to add any tin or antimony. i have a 45 with 10000 rounds fired through it before it saw a jackted bullet...i can shoot pure lead bullets at 1000 fps and still get No leading..

a 230 at 800 fps or less isnt going to be a problem unless the bullet is undersized...then leading is going to be terrible, regardless of speed.

Clays is awesome in under 85 degree weather but i had some issues with it last summer when the temp was around 101 degrees..i think im gonna go to WST or give titegroup a second chance(at least in the 45)

that VV N310 shoud be the ticket if i can lay hands on it.

[JFD]

Straight wheel weights are perfect. Since the velocity needed to make major with a 220 - 230 bullet is so low, adding anything to wheel weights is a waste. I have found that a 50\50 alloy of wheel weights and whatever I dig out of our berms (jacketed/cast mix) works equally well.

Lee Liquid Alox is fast, easy, and cheap. However it's messy and I tired of using it in short order. Rooster liquid lube takes care of most of the mess. The one drawback is that either one smokes more than traditional hard lube and I've decided that either one is unacceptable, even for practice.

I use a lubrisizer with either Blue Angel or Rooster Red Zambini lube. I'm also trying a Blue Angel look-a-like I got from e-bay that costs something like $1.50 a stick. So far it's been good stuff. I'd have to get home to report the brand if anyone is interested.

The only Lee moulds worth bothering with are the 6 cavity moulds. It takes about 2 hours for it to pay for itself. The W/W bullets will drop larger than a hard alloy.

If you have at least a 20 lb lead pot, then the way to produce the max number of bullets with the minimum amount of wasted motion is to use a pair of 6 cavity moulds. I have a 20 lb pot, another 15 lbs pre-melted on a wal-mart hot plate, and still run out of alloy that's hot enough to cast with in a couple of hours.

The 228 LRN bullet mould drops 220 grain bullets for me using straight wheel weights. If you want to try something different but slow, get the HP single-cavity version of this mould. I had to order 3 moulds just to get 1 that didn't suck, but the HP bullets are the most accurate cast bullet I've ever used. They drop at 213 grains.

[Jeremiah]

Thanks for the info guys.

That blue angel lube is pretty popular judging from some of the searches I have done on various sites. Who makes the Rooster liquid? Is the company rooster? I'll have to check on that stuff if it's not as messy.

I think I'm going to go with a 230 gr round nose tumble lube six cavity from Lee. It seems to be the economical choice.

I'm still up in the air right now about the lube and the method of lubing the bullets. I don't have a lubricizer, but I may get one. I think I'll try the tumble lube method first, if for no other reason that to create a benchmark to compare other lubes to.

Have any of you guys slugged your barrels? Do you think it's necessary to get the proper fit? Or, do you let your fouling tell you to go bigger?

Keep it coming guys, you've all been incredibly helpful.

Jeremiah

[dickwholliday]

before i found a guy not too far away that sells 200 SWC cheap....i used to use whatever 200 SWC mold i had (i think a Saeco) and used Lee tumble Lube ...had no problems at all...but you know what....now that Lee has the Factory crimp die who cares if you size'em or not....the FCdie will take of all that when it sizes the loaded shell.....DICK

[MoNsTeR]

I hear that the heavier bullet would feel softer at the same power factor as a lighter bullet faster, but I havent' had a chance to test that myself.

Though I buy into this theory of loading in general, I found it not to be the case when comparing 200gr and 230gr loads in .45. It is very much worth experimenting to learn which you prefer.

[harley45]

I agree with Monster on the weight issue I have always felt that a 200 feels lighter than a 230 no matter how I load them.

[JFD]

I like the push of a 230 bullet better than the snappier recoil of a 200, but after an hours worth of practice I doubt if either would affect my score.

Check here for the Rooster liquid lube.

Personally I think you'll end up using a lubrisizer, but the Lee sizing dies are so cheap that it doesn't hurt to check that method out first.

Check here for the cheapo hard bullet lube I've been trying out lately. If anyone wants, I can provide contact info for the guy to avoid using e-bay.

The main thing I like about the really hard lubes is that they smoke less than the softer lubes. As far as smoke and handling goes, I consider Orange Magic a soft lube even if it requires a minor amount of heat.

I've been having severe problems with "lubrisizer elbow" lately. Major pain after a sizing/lubing session that takes forever to heal. Can't decide if it's from operating the main handle, or from the "T" that pressurizes the lube. Thinking of welding a cutdown bolt on top of my RCBS unit so I can use a ratchet for minimum effort. It wouldn't be much of a problem to extend the main handle to see if it makes a difference.

That or I need to form a partnership with someone willing to size/lube the bullets I cast.

If you go with the 200 grain #68 copy Lee bullet mould, I have a trick using a piece of a soda can that keeps lube from filling up the bevel on the bullet. Let me know if you need it.

[harley45]

JFD your trick on the lee 200 grain bullet do you mean the bevel at the base? If so let me know what it is, and also contact info for the lube.

Thanks Eric

[JFD]

Basically you just need a piece of soda can and a pair of scissors. Cut a roughly dime-sized piece of metal. Center it on a bullet and run it through the sizer. Peel it off the bullet and trim any excess that extends past the bevel. Once it's trimmed, it will stay in the die and prevent lube from getting in the bevel. If it goes anywhere, it will be under the piece of soda can. It can take a bit of trial and error to get the metal cut correctly, but it's still a quick project.

The #68 type SWC sucks up a lot of lube, so it's good there's a cheaper option for a good hard lube. I've been getting Jakes Purple Ceresin Bullet Lube off e-bay for $1.50 a stick. Call 309-645-6201 for phone orders, and his e-mail is jhilde@aol.com. I haven't noticed any difference between it and Blue Angel or Rooster Red Zambini.

[harley45]

Thanks JFD as soon as I run out of Orange Magic I'll try some.