Making large quanties of bullets bad idea?

[1longshot]

Just wondering what input can be had from the idea of casting large quantities of bullets for later use. This would include not sizing or lubing? Or, if that is not a good idea, sizing but not lubing until wanting to load. Any comments would be great.

[noylj]

Once I get casting, I want to cast all the good bullets I can.
I tumble lube in large (500-1000) bullet batches also.
The shelf life is decades.

[evan price]

Only negative I can see is that what if you decide you don't like that boolit later- wrong style, won't feed, sold the gun- Then you just melt them down again and the time's wasted. Plus it's easier to move 4# ingots than a bag of boolits.

But, if you know this boolit is one you will have a lot of shooting with, why not make 'em up while you can and stockpile them. Maybe you want to go out and need to load some up quick. Save time, they are made already.

[HATCH]

Boolits don't have a shelf life.
The only thing I could suggest is that if its gonna be months that they sit that you wait to size/lube them. I have heard that the size of the boolit may change slightly over time.

With that said, I have 800 41 mags cast and sized, 300 38 swc's cast and sized.

[btroj]

Define large quantity. For a avid hand gunner that might be 5000. Might be 10,000. I see no problem as long as you have room to store them.
I prefer to cast a bunch at one time so I don't feel the need to cast at the last minute so I have what I want to shoot in a day or two.
I have been shooting 38 wadcutters that must be 15 years old. No problem. Had a thousand or so left and decided to finally use em up.

[Doc Highwall]

There is nothing like stocking up because the weather might not be what you want to be casting in, either too hot or too cold.

[Tazman1602]

Casting is no different from shooting, tennis, hockey, or any other sport -- you have to practice to be any good. When I cast large quantities and then have to melt them back down, I don't feel bad at ALL.

I get lots of practice and the more I cast, the better I get at it.

This forum BAD. I've got over 1000 rds of bullets I've bought over the years that are going to get smelted into ingots next summer.......

[Bret4207]

Just wondering what input can be had from the idea of casting large quantities of bullets for later use. This would include not sizing or lubing? Or, if that is not a good idea, sizing but not lubing until wanting to load. Any comments would be great.

Did someone out there in internetland give you the idea casting up large batches was a bad idea? Ridiculous.

[btroj]

Come on Bret, we all know that internet land is the home of the REAL knowledge on most any topic. Any old idiot can go out and do something but only in internet land can you sit on your butt all day and be an EXPERT.

Maybe the question should be this- how many of you cast new bullets before each trip to the range? Bet it isn't many, or at least not anyone who shoots much.

[chaos]

I cast all winter long, every chance I get. I size, lube and shoot the most during summer. I do so with water dropped slugs and so no ill efffects to the sizer or boolits. I've never checked hardness, but they work just fine.

[bcr]

I have had this same question and the only thing I wondered is if the size will change over extended periods of time (years).

[btroj]

The hardness and size may change over the years. Can't say as I don't measure either one. I cast, I load, I shoot. Period.
Too many worry about too much. Keep it simple. In only a few applications is all this muss and fuss needed. Find a bullet/lube/gun com be that works for YOUR needs then go shoot. Stop worrying about what "others" say you have to worry about. If it works for you why care what others say?
Look at discussions here. How many times do you see somewhat heated discussions about topics like bullet hardness or water dropping bullets? A lot of them. Because two different people have found separate answers that work for them. And they are not going to change because some internet expert said one or the other is the BEST.
This site has a wealth of knowledge to be gained, but it also can lead you down the road of too much worry, not enough shoot. Don't go that route, it doesn't give you the knowledge, or personal experience, you need to become a knowledgable cast bullet shooter.

[old turtle]

Here in Florida it is to hot and humid to cast in the summer. I try to cast up as many as
I can during the winter. I water drop my Linotype, ww's and my 1 Linotype to two ww's. No problems.

[bobthenailer]

i usually cast , size / lube around 10,000 bullets in the month of febuary for the whole year ! ive been doing it for years,
even though i allready have around about 30,000 + stockpiled ready to load. i have about 25+ different moulds . ive have several bullets designes i made 10 + years ago that were sized & lubed and stored but i havent used all of them yet without any problems , but i do use a hard bullet lube so i dont have any lube migration problem.

[WHITETAIL]

Yes I cast a lot during the winter.
And load alot for the summer.:Fire:

[Jack Stanley]

Storing them in bulk isn't a problem if it's a design you are going to use and you have a place for them so you don't have to move them a lot . They are just as handy if you want to melt them down and do it again though I don't think I'd size and lube if I was going to do that .

Only downside I think I ever had was a couple drawers full of thirty-eight slugs I didn't use for years got a little oxide coating on them . It wasn't bad , just felt a little rough . That was when I thought came to me about tumbling them in Johnsons paste wax . It worked like a champ on them , when I ran them through the lube sizer they slid right through .

I have other batches of bullets cast but not lube-sized that have sat for nearly as many years and show no signs of oxides . I'm guessing it's something to do with the amount of tin but I really don't know other than these are hard and the others were on the softer side .

I have a strong storage unit My father in law made for me that uses heavy wood drawers that hold almost the capacity of a shoebox . One drawer will hold about twenty-two hundred double-ended wadcutters for the thirty-eight special . Perhaps when I get another thirty years on my frame I won't want to move that much but for now it really helps when you need to load ten or twelve thousand of a particular type .

I don't know as they eat any more wheather they are left in the rough , cast into ingot or cast into bullets . I'd say it's up to you to decide how you want to use the stuff and what works good for you . As you've already learned from this thread we all go about it different ways .

Jack

[243winxb]

If the alloy changes with each pot, you could run into problems. Leading. If the large batch is made up of a proven alloy, cast away.

[Kraschenbirn]

I've maintain "moderate" (400-600) stocks of about a half-dozen styles/weights...my "go to" boolits like the 311291, 312-185-1R, or the 312-155-2R...that I use regularly. Otherwise, I tend to cast what I estimate I might need in the next month or two.

Bill

[home in oz]

Spring and fall are the times to cast in my AO.

[dnepr]

I cast about 2800 lee 430-310-rf of straight wheel weights water dropped in 2005 I was concerned that they may have lost their hardness over time , I got a lee hardness tester for X-mas so I tested one to see they are still 22-23 bhn , this is probably a lifetime supply of hunting bullets for my .444 but I am glad I used the dead time I had to cast them then. when life gets busy it can be hard to find time to cast,load, shoot, or hunt so I like the idea of having a good supply of boolits on hand

[white eagle]

I don't see any problem with it
Hi my name is Dave I'm a castaholic

[Blammer]

I cast what I think will be enough, and it usually turns out it isn't.

I have tried to cast in large quantities for later use.

Apparently 400 isn't enough. :D

[mdi]

Come on Bret, we all know that internet land is the home of the REAL knowledge on most any topic. Any old idiot can go out and do something but only in internet land can you sit on your butt all day and be an EXPERT.

Maybe the question should be this- how many of you cast new bullets before each trip to the range? Bet it isn't many, or at least not anyone who shoots much.

Excellent post, thanks...

BTW; I like keeping a few thousand "mini ingots" on hand. They can be size/lubed or melted. Easier to weigh for alloying too! :wink:

[XWrench3]

i make up at LEAST a large coffee can of bullets every time i cast. for any caliber i am casting for, UNLESS i am trying an experiment. obviously. i make about double what i think i will need for the experiment, because for some reason, i never actually cast what i need. i have found it to be a lot better to have more than i need for an experiment, than not enough. you can always melt them down again. i also usually cast 40 - 60 pounds of lead at any one session. i very seldom fire up the pot for a few pounds of castings.

[376Steyr]

Anybody have any horror stories about a large quantity of stored boolits going bad? Aside from annoyances like lube melting or flaking off? Surely someone out there has managed to do something silly that seemed like a good idea at the time.

[HeavyMetal]

Depends on what I'm casting for.

Currently have a 458122 HP mold and ladle cast for this one. Being a single cavity "production" is not an applicable word. If I make 200 at a session I think I've done good.

Move to the 45 auto and it's another story. I have been using Lee's copy of the H&G 68 for years and can't complain about feeding or accuracy.

Bought two 6 bangers and have a pair of bottom pours stacked over each other. This set up nets me a bunch of boolits in a few hours running. I store these unsized in a cover container and size and lube as needed.

Since this is my go to boolit for the 45 it only makes sense to have a large supply of them around. I do the same with my 429421 and the RCBS 38 150 as these are also a go to boolit for each caliber.

[mdi]

I had about 800 boolits cast and stored them in a coffee can. Just to put them somewhere I dropped in a box, about 50 - 60, of 125 gr J-boolits in the can with the lead boolits and put the top on it. About a year later I checked the can/boolits and they seemed to have grown copper jackets. I didn't know that's how j-word boolits evolved! :kidding:

[lwknight]

Anybody have any horror stories about a large quantity of stored boolits going bad? Aside from annoyances like lube melting or flaking off? Surely someone out there has managed to do something silly that seemed like a good idea at the time.

I lost the use of several perfectly good ammo cans and may have strained my back because of casting OCDness.

[1longshot]

Holy smokes! I didn't expect this kind of reply volume. WOW! Thanks everyone. My main concern was actually sizing after letting the bullets sit for prolonged periods after casting. I didn't know if there would be any issues.

Thanks for all the responses. I hope this thread helps new casters like me.

[Gunsmoke4570]

I store quantities of bullets I shoot most of. I know they will get a little harder with time, but I've never measured the size before and after. After a few months, IIRC, I usually see about 1BN increase. Nothing that hurts my loads.

[Moonie]

I have read that some people have had trouble sizing boolits that have been left for long periods, I believe these involve sizing down more than .002 when the boolits were water quenched WW.

[454PB]

I've posted this before...

I have 60 pounds of Lyman 452424 boolits that I cast in 1982 from WW alloy and water dropped. When I cast, I always put a note in the storage container with the date, alloy, and any other specifics. Back then, I didn't have a hardness tester, so I have no clue what their hardness was. About a year ago, I tested a few out of curiosity. They now measure 18 BHN.

[sargenv]

I know a gent that doesn't stop casting until he has 5 gallons of already cast bullets.. and then he uses those to load ammo over the course of the shooting season.. he casts about 30 mins at a time, usually early in the am with few distractions.. I say make up as many as possible.. in my case I try to stay a month or two ahead.. that can be anywhere from 1-2k.

[David2011]

I've noticed that my 180 gr .40 boolits are noticably harder to push through the sizing die if I don't lube and size within a day or two of casting, using a Star sizer. My alloy is 20 lb WW + 1/2 lb monotype. I've never waited more than 3 months to size but they do get harder as they age. How much harder would depend on the alloy, whether water dropped and how much larger they are than the die.

I tried to explain this website to a non-gun lib the other day; how the little details are truly fascinating and the broad spectrum of people from us average guys to the "used an electron microscope for that before I retired" types. (Admiration- not dissing anyone) I realized in about 2 minutes how these details would be lost on someone that took several weeks to tile their kitchen backsplash.

David

[Nora]

I just like to cast period. I don't worry about having to many of one size or style. If the 15,000 of size X proves to be to much for the rifle I seldom shoot that just means that I've got a stash of emergency lead on hand should my ingot pile runs low, and I've got a new mold to try. Though I haven't run into that yet. The bulk of the rifle boolits are left alone after casting with a few hundred TLed once but not sized or checked. Wile there is also around 200 set to load for each rifle I've got. The hand gun boolits are all TLed once and ready to size if needed. But with them the stand by quantity will very depending on which hand gun it's for.
I don't believe there is such a thing as to many on hand, but I do believe that that there just isn't enough time to shoot them all. I'm willing to error on the side of causing and continue to cast more just to make sure I won't run out.

Nora

[Harry]

After my dad passed in 1969, I took his Lyman reloading equipment and dies. He had cast, sized and lubed hundreds of WC's and SWC's and stored them neatly in those old round plastic cheese wedge containers. I have been and am presently loading and shooting those with good results. Another box of unsized and lubed bollits are awaiting my attention. I size and lube with a Lyman #45.

[nanuk]

would you guys suggest sizing soon after casting?

I would think it might be prudent to leave unsized in the event they need to fit a larger bore, later in life?

[MtGun44]

Water dropped will harden over time (days to weeks) and then soften again over longer
times (years). If you cast and then size they will be soft and easier to size. I do not
water drop (find no advantage to the extra fiddling to get harder boolits) so I do not care,
size and lube when I am ready to load. Lubed boolits can get dirty if not stored well, so I
prefer to leave them unlubed.

Bill

[Crash_Corrigan]

I usually cast at least 20 to 40 lbs of alloy at each session. Then the next week is spent lubesizing the little guys. Then I put them away in coffee cans with tight plastic lids and pile them wherever they can fit well. I alway include a slip of paper to indicate the date I made them, size, lube, sized to what dia, hardness if tested and the number of rounds made at the same time.

I have boolits all over the house and even though it is a small tin trailer it hardly moves much in heavy wind beause of the weight of all my stored boolits and ingots.

Kidding aside I like to lubesize them pretty quick as they do gain some hardness over time and are harder to size down if you wait a month or so.

As far as BPCR boolits go I just cast them and put them away. They need no sizing at all and I pan lube them as I need them. I seldom make up more that 60 or so at a time as I can endure only so much fun when shooting my 50-90 Sharps even with a recoil pad strapped on my shoulder.

Reloading for BPCR is a much more deliberate and slow process than reloading for my .45's and 9 MM's. The pouring of the powder alone is a loooooong process for each round. Then insert the wad and compress the round in the press. Put them all into a loading tray and then insert the boolits later on very carefully and then resizing the completed round just a mite to ensure chambering in my rifle.

[mpmarty]

I hate waiting for the pot to heat up so when I do cast I go at it with a vengeance for several hours. I don't size at all and although I've got a Star and a Lyman 45 I use LLA/JPW mix for everything. The sizers are just for seating gas checks and I've got half a dozen Lee push through sizers for that also.

[Dan Cash]

I cast enough bullets to fill the brass in the calibers of interest. Those bullets are loaded and the ammo stored in lots of 500. When about half is shot up, I start casting again. When the ammo is three fourths gone, I have enough to lube and load it all up again. I do cast lots - several thousand - of competition bullets over winter for the shooting season. Bullets are not lubed until loading time. The only precaution I take is to orient all the bullets and ammo north and south when placed on the storage shelf. They are all turned 180 degrees each month to maintain proper crystaline structure of the projectile. This prevents shrinkage, changes in hardness and leading.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I have five plastic Folger cans filled with cast boolits. The more I cast, the more I learn. I have quite a bit of ingots that I have to cast up yet. When a can is full, I mark on the outside what it is and what alloy, the date and alloy. Then I put some silicone caulk around the inside of the lid and squash it on. This is an airtight seal and should store for a very long time. The Folger cans stack nicely.

[Southron Sanders]

Go to the "Magma Engineering" website.

Order one of their "Master Caster" casting machines.

I purchased my first Master Caster back in the 1980's and purchased another about 5 or 6 years ago. Have cast hundreds of thousands of bullets on those machines over the years.

You can cast several hundred bullets per hour and better yet, once you learn how to use the machine correctly, you can make better bullets than you ever can by hand casting!

[thx997303]

The only precaution I take is to orient all the bullets and ammo north and south when placed on the storage shelf. They are all turned 180 degrees each month to maintain proper crystaline structure of the projectile. This prevents shrinkage, changes in hardness and leading.

Umm, is this sarcasm, a joke, magnetic superstition or what?

[DIRT Farmer]

I store bullets in glass jars, makes it easy to see what is in them, except for 200 grn 45 SWC,38 WCs or the 311 284s, these are stored in 30 cal ammo cans. A quart of 55grn 225s last a while.

[geargnasher]

Umm, is this sarcasm, a joke, magnetic superstition or what?

What, you don't do that?

Gear

[Nora]

The only precaution I take is to orient all the bullets and ammo north and south when placed on the storage shelf. They are all turned 180 degrees each month to maintain proper crystaline structure of the projectile. This prevents shrinkage, changes in hardness and leading.

I use to do this but then found that storing them in a zero gravity environment removes the need for the monthly realignment.

Nora

[zxcvbob]

I'm running out of peanut butter jars to store them in.

[runfiverun]

i use 5 and 7 gallon buckets.
the ones i use most get cast and stored in them.
for smaller rifle lot's i use 5x5x5 boxes they hold between 7-,1000. and something like a trillion rcbs 22's
and other assorted sized boxes for stuff i use more of.
i have the lyman 38- 158 rnfp, 429421,lymans 200 swc [forget the mold no.] 452664 and 454429.
all in 5 and 7 gal buckets waiting to be sized.
i'll shoot them at some point.

[legi0n]

the only problem I see is not being satisfied with the hardness or lube in the long run but then again, you can melt them and get new ones.

[RP]

http://http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg31/Ricky1965/RELOADING/019.jpg
This is how i store mine, some are sized and lubed stacked in the cans with cut up drink cartons between them. I did get some from a former caster that the mice liked the lube one drawback that I have not seen posted. I smelt in large batches so my alloy stays about the same WWs no mixing. I have just gotten into adding lino mono and some babbit to the mix but that is for my rifle boolits. My plan for those are to mix up a batch of alloy one that is large enough to last me awhile. The way I look at it what shape you store your lead in. Only draw back I have see so far is those cans are heavy and would do some damage to a finger also how much more will my floor hold.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

That looks great Ricky P! I hope you are not casting in the attic. That is a lot of weight in one area. Good job.

[casterofboolits]

I mix my alloy in 60 pound lots and use WW, range scrap and a lino/tin sweetner. I try to get two 5 gal buckets full of 2.5 pound ingots cast in cast iron muffin pans.

Then when I cast my standard boolits, I like to cast at least 5,000. H&G 68's never go bad!

[thegreatdane]

Ricky P,

That's one incredible boolit supply.

[theperfessor]

Running out of bullets is a bad idea!

[Artful]

Only problem I ever had was stored in open top coffee cans in storeage shed - roof leaked and caused some kind of reaction between the lead + water + can - made a white oxide coating on the bullets (unlubed). but I say get ahead as far as you can - I store in 30 cal can's (50's too heavy) or free cardboard boxes from post ofc. I don't store lubed.

[1Shirt]

Ricky P-Great pic! There is just no such thing as having to many blts cast, or to many primers, or to much brass, or to many guns. There is a law however about having to many wifes (at least at the same time)!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[HammerMTB]

There is a law however about having to many wifes (at least at the same time)!
1Shirt!:coffee:

Let common sense be the guide....
1 is all I can handle, and at that sometimes it's a trial....
The ol' "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em" adage comes to mind.
But I wouldn't have it any other way! :bigsmyl2:

[HammerMTB]

Bringing this back on topic, I thought I had a big stash of cast-up boolits. From the looks of it, my supply pales....
I have found you may not want a lifetime supply.
I have about 2-3lb coffee cans of .40 cal 175TC Lees. They've been working great, and I have a load that has been working well.
All of a sudden I am getting some leading. I haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet, but I will.
If the change needs to be to the boolit, I will have a lot of boolits to recast. Not the end of the world, but I don't care to do things twice.

[mdi]

Umm, is this sarcasm, a joke, magnetic superstition or what?I thought everyone did that. BTW; my best deer slayers are cast on the last full moon of the month...:mrgreen:

[Patrick L]

I am still shooting boolits that I cast, lubed and sized prior to October 1994. How do I know that date? That's when we moved into our house, and I spent many an evening or a snow day doing that in our apartment. I am definitely a member of the stockpile ahead camp.

[Shiloh]

Just wondering what input can be had from the idea of casting large quantities of bullets for later use. This would include not sizing or lubing? Or, if that is not a good idea, sizing but not lubing until wanting to load. Any comments would be great.

It is a great idea.

In mid fall, before the weather turned, I cast up .30 cal, several varieties of .358's, and .452's. Almost 2300 boolits. All the tumble lube have been sized and lubed. Many have been loaded, some fired. the .30's are sized and lubed as needed.

Shiloh

[Dale53]

I cast regularly throughout the year. Some years ago, I had a utility barn built. I had it insulated, installed a window air conditioner and electric wall heater, and had it properly wired. I had a built in dedicated casting station.

Being a "Certified Old Fart" I am generally satisfied with casting 20 lbs of finished bullets at a time. I size/lube them shortly after casting and store in air tight plastic boxes properly labeled:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/BulletBoxes-3722.jpg

I try to keep at least 10,000 bullets on hand ready to load.

The "Eleventh Commandment" is, "Thou shall NOT run out of bullets!"

Dale53

[just.don]

Holy smokes! I didn't expect this kind of reply volume. WOW! Thanks everyone. My main concern was actually sizing after letting the bullets sit for prolonged periods after casting. I didn't know if there would be any issues.

Thanks for all the responses. I hope this thread helps new casters like me.

I have some Lyman 429244 that I cast at least 16 yrs ago using LET"s crushed antimony and alloyers flux / ww for what they indicated would be lino.
Sized .429 then, today they are .432.

Could not find the die when I made this post. I thought I had lost it for sure and was working on memory.
Today (29 Apr. '12), rummaging through long stored stuff looking for something else, I found that sizer die and it is .431.
While they did swell, it was not as much as I indicated.
My apologies to all for this misinformation.

[thegreatdane]

Sized .429 then, today they are .432.

They can GROW?

[just.don]

apparently

[truckmsl]

Let common sense be the guide....
1 is all I can handle, and at that sometimes it's a trial....
The ol' "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em" adage comes to mind.
But I wouldn't have it any other way! :bigsmyl2:

I always thought that was " can't live with 'em......pass the beer nuts."

[Nightfisher]

I went back to casting this past New Year’s weekend and cast about a rough count of 2000 bullets to add to the 3500 that I have on hand. I had to bring the New Year in right. I need to cast up about another 1500 to get my inventory back up for the year. I do not like casting in the middle of the summer if I don’t have to. I will usually wait until I am going to shoot them before sizing and lubing.

[Dale53]

This past week i have cast 60 lbs (three RCBS pots full) of finished bullets. One each of .32 Keith 100 grs, .44 Special 200 gr Wadcutters, and 260 gr .44 Keith bullets.

I really ought to run a couple of pot fulls of Mihec's #68 200 gr SWC for .45 ACP but it may be a day or two before I get to that.

I try to keep about 10,000 bullets of various calibers on hand when the reloading bug hits me.

I nearly always size/lube shortly after casting. The bullets are softer when "fresh" and take less sizing effort. I use Lars White Label Carnauba Red bullet lube and it doesn't dry out and fall out of the grooves. The bullets work well whether they are new or ten years old (I actually had some bullets get shoved to the rear of a shelf and sat for ten years before I discovered them. They worked perfectly well (they were lubed with NRA 50/50 but Carnauba Red is even better for long term storage).

I keep all of my finished bullets boxed and covered...

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/BulletBoxes-3722.jpg

FWIW
Dale53