First time casting

[No Good]

I cast for the first time today. It went great I think.
The boolits filled out well and nothing blew up.
Well, I was a little nervous starting out.
But I asked for advice here before starting and followed the advice and ya'll steered me right. Thank you!
I've wanted to cast for many many years!
Got lots to learn but right now I'm a real happy camper!

[jsizemore]

The proof of how good they are is in the shooting.

[462]

Sounds like you are on your way. Give us a range report.

[No Good]

looks like i will have to get set up for sizing before i can shoot them.
this is a lee mold for 45-70, 405 gn hb.
they came out at between .461 and .462. though i havnt slugged the '73 springfield that's probably too big. but i'm new. any suggestions?
really hoped i wouldn't have to buy any more stuff. i'm a dreamer i guess. lol.

[grubbylabs]

slug your barrel and then if you need to size look at the Lee sizer dies that go right into your single stage press. less than 15.00 bucks at midway when I bought mine. No need to buy a sizing press with those. They seat gas checks to. However your only lube options are to pan or tumble lube.

[bigted]

I cast for the first time today. It went great I think.
The boolits filled out well and nothing blew up.
Well, I was a little nervous starting out.
But I asked for advice here before starting and followed the advice and ya'll steered me right. Thank you!
I've wanted to cast for many many years!
Got lots to learn but right now I'm a real happy camper!


welcome fellow caster. this is a hoot huh? i just recently got back into casting...been away for some 30 years...and the thrill is just as cool as when i cast my first boolit years ago. welcome to the family and fasten your seat belt as the "stuff" that is required to cast is only a shadow of the "stuff" that will soon be "required" to continue. seems like stuff begets stuff and the more stuff you get...the more stuff that you realize you will "need" for certain satisfaction. its always the same without direction and disipline. these are the "best" days to enjoy!!! these first boolits and the first shoot and the first ...on and on and on...

looking forward to reading your shooting with these boolits and the rest that certainly comes along with. again welcome to the addiction8-)

[MtGun44]

Welcome! I hope you have good results. If not, ask around, maybe we can help.

Bill

[runfiverun]

bet they aren't too big.
if you have an old fired case from the rifle around, measure the inside of it.
that will tell you about how big you can chamber.
.001 under that is your max size.

[Wayne Smith]

bet they aren't too big.
if you have an old fired case from the rifle around, measure the inside of it.
that will tell you about how big you can chamber.
.001 under that is your max size.

Depending on the rifle, I would agree. Now if it's a C. or Shilo Sharps maybe not! An old one or a Marlin lever I would be willing to go ahead and shoot them- pan lubing isn't that hard.

[No Good]

Thank you everybody for the welcome and for sharing your hard earned knowledge and experience.
Really, I appreciate it.
Well it's the beginning of a long and interesting experience I'm sure.
And yeah, I'm already hooked!

[runfiverun]

wayne it's a 73 springfield, unless it's a repro i doubt they are toobig.

[dragonrider]

Ok you passed the first test, "nothing blew up"
Well done and continue to cast safely.

[Dennis Eugene]

Welcome to the sweet science. Dennis Eugene

[looseprojectile]

Try to fit your boolit into a fired case. If you can push it in with little effort it is a go.
After you lube it it will tend to stay where you seat it. And if you are using black powder the powder and card wad will keep the boolit where you put it. Different black powders require different compression.
I shoot a repro rolling block 45 70 and this is the way I do it.
Most guns I load for I deliberately try to find the boolit that fits a fired case.
No crimp needed, no sizing needed, no expanding needed.
You can use Alox lube with smokeless powder and black powder lube when using black.
Be good for us to know what kind of load and boolit you intend to use.
Welcome.

Life is good

[WHITETAIL]

NoGood, Welcome to the forum.
+1 in what bigted said.:popcorn:

[No Good]

Thanks everybody for you help and comments and encouragement.
This casting thing is gonna be way interesting.
I did try the putting the boolit in the fired case thing. They wont go in past about half way starting at the nose.
I havn't figured out how to slug the barrel properly yet.
What I have fired so far mainly is berry's bullets 405 gn hard cast.
They were on top of 23 gns of IMR 4198 with a cotton ball wad.
No crimp. New starline brass and WLR primers.
They come out about 1200 fps with no sign of pressure problems.