Bullet casting question

[BoatTrash]

I was curious if any one does their own bullet casting for larger calibers such as 30-06, 308, or maybe like 223 and if so using gas blocks how bad do they lead the rifeling of your guns? And what alloy you are are using ?

BoatTrash

 

[Gator 45/70]

Visit castboolits.com World of information on the site.Welcome to your new addiction!

 

[courtneydj]

I cast 30-30, and 30 Carbine, using

Description Tin % Antimony % Arsenic % Lead % Weight (lbs) Ounces Grams Hardness
Rotometals Super Hard 0% 30.00% 70.0% 0.9698 15.52 440.00 Brinell 36
Pure Lead 0% 0% 100.0% 8.3069 132.91 3769.00 Brinell 5
Pure Tin 100.00% 0% 0.0% 0.3945 6.31 179.00 Brinell 7

Mixed Alloy Tin % Antimony % Arsenic % Lead % Weight Ounces Grams Est. Hardness
4.08% 3.01% 92.91% 9.6712 154.74 4388.00 12.6

also use gas checks, lead fouling is about same as for manufactured bullets................

sorry the columns don't line up !

 

[Goatwhiskers]

What Gator said. I will say that I cast for .30, .357, and .44 cals, all in long guns and never have a problem with leading using WW. You do need to slug your bore, then cast or size to .001-.002" over groove size, this will basically eliminate any chance of leading, hardness tho often harped on by some is way down the list of things to worry about. When you say gas blocks I presume you mean gas checks on the base of the boolit. Anyway, welcome to the addiction. You will find that free WW are getting somewhat scarce but you can buy all the lead you want at scrap yards tho it often is basically pure and you will have to alloy that to harden it and improve castability. Enjoy! GW

 

[highstandard40]

I use cast bullets in my XP100 for silhouette competition. It's a 7MM TCU and I push velocities from this handgun to about 1800 fps using 150 grain bullets. I do use gaschecks and I use an alloy of 18 Brinell hardness. This particular gun is capable of sub MOA accuracy but I really have to tweak bullet prep to get there. I also use cast bullets in 35 Remington, 7BR, 358 Win, and 30-06. My best accuracy with all of these is with the harder alloy of 18 BH. The only time I use plain base bullets and softer alloy is with low velocity handguns. The key thing to remember, if you want good results, is that bullet fit is crucial. Chamber dimensions must be known and taken into account when casting, sizing, and loading. Alloy strength must also be increased in relation to chamber pressure. Ultimately, the course you take when using cast bullets is determined by your intended purpose. If you are only interested in punching paper at modest distance, you can get by with almost anything. If more precision is desired, you will have to work a lot harder to get results. As Gator said, become a member on the Cast Boolit forum and spend a lot of time reading. There is a wealth of information there.

 

[BoatTrash]

Already have thanks for the response. What about lead in the barrel?

BoatTrash

 

[BoatTrash]

Sorry only saw last response I'm on the clock so was trying to be quick. I'm around the slidell area any one close that wouldn't mind showing me the ropes of it all I'm very interested in it. I've cast fishing sinkers plenty of times but always with pure lead and no specifications to meet long as it don't float which has never been a problem.

BoatTrash

 

[Swampman1]

I cast 9mm and 45acp. The 9mm I use a 3-1 (3 parts soft lead-1 part WW). In my 45acp due to a fairly low pressure round, I use straight soft lead. Little to no leading at all. Here are some 45 HPs I cast recently.

 

[highstandard40]

Already have thanks for the response. What about lead in the barrel?

BoatTrash

To answer your last two posts, I'm near Gonzales so not much help there. As far as leading the barrel, this can be an issue if the bullet is not properly fit to your gun. I'll somewhat agree with Goatwhiskers as far a sizing.......001"-.002" over groove is good advice for pistols but may bring you up short on some rifles. The better approach is to accurately determine the diameter of the chamber throat and size bullets to be a good snug fit in that throat. An example is my before mentioned 7 TCU. It has a groove diameter of .284" but the chamber throat is .287" if I size .001" over .284" I get horrible accuracy and some leading in the barrel. The problem is you can't buy a factory made sizer to fit that throat. I had to go with a custom sizer of .2865" and a hard alloy. Anyway, for that particular gun, sizing .0025"-.003" over groove and a harder alloy was the ticket to success. At the last match I used it in, I fired 5 sighter shots, a 60 round course of fire, and 10 tie breaker shoot-off targets (a total of 75 shots) with zero leading. Now my Rem 700 30-06 has a groove of .308" but if I size over .309" it won't chamber. I also am a firm believer in bore rider design bullets...........that actually do fit the bore. The truth is, there are basic guideline starting points that will help you get started and may work just fine for you, but if you demand the best your gun can do, you have to look beyond the basics. What works for one gun may not by default work for another gun. To sum it all up, it takes a bullet that fits your gun, and alloy appropriate for the pressure level and velocity you want, and a suitable lube. And again, how far you want to take all this should be prefaced by what your accuracy and performance demands are.

 

[340six]

I second Castboolits site I am also 340six over there.
Size is important more so than hardness. I do use Gas checks on HV pistol and rifle though. And i get Larry Larsons lubes. Lars White label lube {Red Carnuba works in every thing for me}
When you ask 30-06 and 2223 if a bolt gun lots of bullet profiles with work and auto will be more picky.
I ended up getting a custom run from NOE {Swed Nelson} he goes in the chat plenty over there
I got a obsolete Lyman 311365 in Brass for my Garand loads from the first run of it and he has sold plenty of that mould.
I also got a 223 62 grain one but from a group run/buy MP he's a great guy.
He also made up some nice Brass moulds In Hollow Point/ flat tip for use in 32 auto that will be used in my CZ52
And have a Nice 45 Hollow point copy of the Lyman 352374
Guess my point is after casting for some time you can get some really nice moulds
Heres the 311365
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/P1010004-3.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/P1010005-3.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/P1010003-4.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Red Carnuba/Lyman311365.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Red Carnuba/311365-168A-Max-1.jpg
I gave 4 guys on the CMP where given some of these so we could shoot them in various guns. They all shot better than the A Max with 34 grains of IMR4895 or H-4895
Heres a few shot of the 62 grain 223 one Miha sent me
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/224Nato-4.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/224Nato-3.jpg
One of Miha's first moulds
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/Mihec-1.jpg
I cleaned up and polished an old 452389 Lyman for 45acp Revolver loads but it does work in my 1911 with 2 mags i got with round Followers
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Bullet moulds/bulletmoulds002.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee87/fast340six/Cast Bullets/P1010002-3.jpg

 

[The_Shadow]

Another of the best sites for cast bullets is here; http://www.lasc.us/

One thing that really makes for better cast rifle bullets is linotype to improve bullet hardness. The rifle bullets I cast are mostly gas checked to prevent the bases form being eroded by higher pressured gases. Lube quality can play a good role in keeping the bore free of lead fouling.

One of the new things that many are using is powder paints as a lube for the cast bullets, it provides a very good lube property and encapsulates the lead as it never touches the bore. They are reporting some high velocities using just the baked on powder paints.

Info for the powder painted bullets is listed at the Castboolits forum, and seems to be working well in most applications. However not all powder paints are the same and some may be eroding the barrel rifling (epoxy based powder paints if I recall) so study the info before jumping in on this operation.

Good luck. (If you get in a bind and need some personal casting lessons PM me I'm just west of Slidell and could may ride over to help)

 

[BoatTrash]

So what about the aluminum molds from places like midway are they any good or should I look for higher end molds? At $19 that seems really cheap.

BoatTrash

 

[Swampman1]

So what about the aluminum molds from places like midway are they any good or should I look for higher end molds? At $19 that seems really cheap.

BoatTrash

Absolutely. Lee makes a nice mold(for the most part), at a very reasonable price. I have the 356-120TC and 452-230TC and love them both. I also opted for a high quality-precision crafted custom brass mold from MP molds-the MP 452-200. It's a great mold. But for the price, I highly recommend Lee molds.

 

[highstandard40]

So what about the aluminum molds from places like midway are they any good or should I look for higher end molds? At $19 that seems really cheap.

BoatTrash

Many of my molds are aluminum and besides the cheaper Lee, there are some premium aluminum molds available . I have some from NOE, Mountain, and Accurate. I lean heavily towards molds from Tom at Accurate Molds. He can cut custom molds to your specification and deliver them in a matter of weeks.

 

[Redd508]

At $19 that seems really cheap.

I started with the Lee molds for exactly that reason. So far i've had alot of luck with them. I mostly use water quenched coww and 50/50 co/so air cooled. I'm just starting to cast for rifles and use gas checks. The CastBoolits site is a wealth of information to both new and experienced casters. Its defnitely worth joining.

 

[Goatwhiskers]

Just to complicate things, I use home-made GC but only in my .30 cal. The .35 and .44Mag and .444 I use PP. Nothing left in the bore but the trace of powder residue from the shot last fired. GW

 

[BoatTrash]

That's awesome I was really starting to shy away from casting for the leaded barrel aspect. But if done right shouldn't be a problem thanks alot guys for all the info
I'm thinking heavily about buying a 444, how do you like it?

BoatTrash

 

[Goatwhiskers]

BT, I've got one that I'm working with, found it in a hock shop, had a Chinese scope 3-12x, 50mm objective, 30mm tube, red dot on the crosshair, why on a .444? Price was right. Got it home, found that the hinge pin was "shimmed" with electrical tape. I correctly shimmed the slightly loose hinge and put a decent 4x scope, it'll keep 240gr PP inside an inch at 50, 265gr PP that tight at 25, haven't had time to mess with it further. It's a Handi, by the way. GW