Why do you cast ?

[tracker]

Why do you cast ?
I started thinking about casting some time ago. I tried it years ago at a friend’s Dads house and remember how fun it was. I didn’t know what I was doing but it was fun. The reason I want to learn is so that if the anti gun nuts want to try and tax it out of existence like they did to cigarettes, I would have a good hunting bullet to use to take game with. I am not saying that they will do this, but the price of bullets and powder and primers may be taxed to get us to not be able to shoot as much. Just look what the prices are now. It could even be that lead will be targeted as an environmental hazard ! I have a bit of a survival gene inside of me. I also want to get back to a, do it yourself attitude, and it just feels good to know that I made it myself. Other reasons may follow with time.

Tracker

[Char-Gar]

I started casting in 1958 as a pure economic measure. I was still in High School and money was in short supply. I had a Remington 14 in 25 REmington and a Smith and Wesson 38 Special. Casting was the only way, I could shoot as much as I wanted.

Somewhere along the way, bullet casting become and end in itself. Getting a rifle to shoot accurately with condom bullet simply became to easy and routine. There are so many variable in cast bullet shooting that one lifetime is not enough to understand it all.

[Willbird]

I cast purely because of $$.....

I buy WW for .10 an lb, buy range lead for .05 or less, as low as .01 at times, thus I only need to buy powder and primers to shoot, the lead and casting cost some but not nearly as much as buying projo, store bought cast usually cost like hell to ship, and they suck.

9mm jacketed can be bought pretty cheap, BUT once again shipping, and fuggetabout buying 45 jacketed.

Bill

[Paul B]

Take note of the other thread on certain rounds becoming difficult to get. I've told this story before, but I guess I'll have to tell it again, as lessons from history that are not learned are doomed to be repeated.
Many, many years ago, I knew an old gentleman named Louie. Old Louie was not only a reloader, but a serious bullet caster. As a little kid, I used to sit and watch him make those shiney silver bullets using an old camp stove and a dipper. As I grew older, he gave me lessons in castiong and told me that if I liked to shoot, cast bullets were easier on the gun and for all practical purposes, just as good as jacketed bullets on game, if I knew how to shoot. At times, he talked about how hard it was for people that had not gone to way (World War Two) to get any ammo for hunting ans just about all production was for the war effort. The only ammo available was either .22 LR for farmers to shoot rabbits and such that were destroying their crops and 30-30 for ranchers to protect their livestock from predators. Anyone else really had to know somebody to get either one of those rounds.
Old Louie did a pretty good business, to hear him tell it. He'd load up a cast bullet over what ever appropriate charge of Unique was right and "rent" you five rounds for $5.00. Bring the empties back and he'd refund $4.00, if you brought back all five. One thing he brought home to me. If you have a good bullet mold, some Unique and a supply of primers, you can have ammo to hunt with. You can have independence.
When I was a kid, Old Louie was quite old, and the last time I saw him was just before I went into military service. He had children who inherited his house when he passed, and when I saw them, then told me he was 102 years old when he died. I still can remember sitting on the front steps of his house, talking with him, smelling his stinky old pipe, his Dutch accent and the gentle way he took a budding bullet caster under his wing. But most of all, I remeber his telling me, that as long as I can cast a bullet, have some Unique, and a supply of primers, I can shoot. I can have independence.
Paul B.

[Leftoverdj]

I cast so I will have what I want, when I want it. Started with casting for muzzle loaders when that boom was just taking off, and you had to be mighty lucky to find what you needed on the shelf. Then I lived a few years 75 miles from the nearest place that had reloading supplies. Final straw was when I was shooting shooting PPC seriously and there was no reliable supply of wadcutters. I had been doing a bit of casting all along, knew what decent cast bullets were, and was plumb disgusted with what I could get when I could get them.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Serious casting started in the middle sixties for me, as a way to support my Bullseye shooting. Later, a friend who was a pretty good caster introduced me to rifle CB. When I found out you could make a rifle shoot accurately with loads that cost little and were easy on shoulders and barrels, I became addicted. It took me about six years to finally achieve a CB rifle load that I was proud of, and I am still loading essentially to the same recipe in a variety of calibers. Over thirty years of (mostly) success have taught me that anything can be made to shoot CB well, if you work at it.

[Newboy]

because I like to shoot, and I'm too damned cheap to buy anything I don't just have to.

[DOUBLEJK]

Like most here I started castin' outa neccessatie as a kid.....not nuff money n a bad shootin' habit....:)

Only got worse with age....course the fact I enjoy watchin' them shiney silver pills pile up don't hurt none either....

[buck1]

I started out casting a little latter.
I started reloading with my dad when I was a kid, and by the age of 10 I took my first buck with my 270 handloads, but never cast anything.
I resisted casting, it didnt have any draw for me.
Then I bought a .444 .
Jacketed bullets would go to pices at 2000fps!
Wile visiting my dad he again sugested cast bullets. With nowhere else to turn I bought a GC mold , and began to find out everything I could about casting.( I had no idea how much I didnt know!!!

The 444 digested the CBs better than the condums, and I was shocked and amazed and totaly hooked for life!!
The chalange was back in loading / shooting , and back with a vengence!!!
I havent shot any more than a few brake in jacketed bullets since I started pouring my own!! And jacketed now seem like training wheels to me now!!
I have been hording WW and lead like crazy so I will be able to cast for the rest of my days!!!!! ....buck

[waksupi]

I had a muzzleloader, and no convienient supply of roundballs, so basically started out of necessity. And liking to shoot, the low cost was a big plus. There is no way I could have supplied my jones without casting.
Today, I went up the mountain, and shot my .358 Winchester to my hearts' content. (Love that rifle!) I couldn't have afforded to do it with jacketed bullets.
So, it boils down to economics.

[carpetman]

I had considered for years getting into reloading. Back in those days,the first step would be get a center fire. I had shotgun only. I got orders to Alaska and that sealed the deal. I bought a 30-06 and a .357 Mag and bought a Lyman reloading manual and another book about reloading. The Lyman had a section on cast bullets and a couple of points made good sense and stuck with me. One was that they had shot two 30-06's one with jacketed and the other with cast. They said when the jacketed barrel was worn out there was no measurable wear on the cast barrel (STARMETAL--the barrel wasn't cast I am referring to bullets shot in it). So I got interested. Article said if you shoot pistols,casting your own was the only way to go. So when I ordered reloading equipment(from Gander Mountain)I ordered mold.dipper and cast iron pot and Lyman luber. Economy was the HUGE reason. I have not gotten into getting every available mold for cal. I only have one .30 cal mold and I bought it used--it's a single cavity Lyman 311291.

[StarMetal]

I'm glad you cleared that up Ray. You know, actually, Brazil had some 98 Mausers made for them that had some sort of cast steel barrel. My dad had one and later sold and my best friend who is a moderate collector later asked about it. Haven't dug much into it. Maybe some poster here know more about them.

Anyways in your post you said: Article said if you shoot pistols,casting your own was the only way to go. I'd be interested in knowing how you went about casting your own pistols. What kind of steels you used, what you used for a heating source, etc.

Joe

[jh45gun]

Economics for me too I started out casting for muzzle loaders and 45/70 ammo as all them large size bullets get expensive. Now I cast for all I own except for my 6.5 swede. I will not shoot that enough to worry about jacketed bullets and it will be primarily a deer gun. Besides I have heard some here say that caliber is hard to get to shoot well with cast. It is a tack driver with jacketed and like I said I will not shoot it just to shoot it that much but mostly use it for deer hunting. For shooting cast I have my 8mm and 2 mosins and my Swiss K31 to play with and my 45/70.That is enough to keep me busy plus 3 muzzle loaders. OOPs forgot my 30/30 too. :):):)

[David R]

My dad had a 38 when I was a kid. We would shoot a dozen rounds and put it away. We usually shot 22s off the back porch. When I had a wife and the first kid on the way, my dad was given some reloading stuff for his '06. He tried it out, then got some used dies for his 38. I saw what he was doing. Instead of a dozen rounds through the 38 we would blast off a whole box full. I applied for my pistol permit right away. I bought Lee loader and a few other things, then one day I found a used 105 gr lee 38 cal mold at a gun show. I took it home, melted some wheelweights, and showed every one my own made cast boolit. I carried the first ones around in my pokcet for weeks. It was the ONLY boolit that shot in my Dan wesson 357 to point of impact with fixed sights. Then I bought a 45 auto............................

That was in 1987. I was using a 45 cal Tumble lube 6 cavity mold when I was shooting bowling pins every week. I bought a Lyman 450, and shot bullseye matches for years. Now I am working cast boolits in rifles. Of course I still shoot the 45, but I had to get rid of the Dan because I wore it out twice. (they refurbished it for free) I am sure the 45 auto has shot tens of thousands of rounds and maybe 800 or 900 Jacketed. I always wonder why the heck anyone would shoot jacketed in a 45 colt.

I don't save any money because I get to shoot more. Besides I am truly addicted.

I get much more practiced in using cast boolits which makes me a better off hand shot and that is what I do best.

[felix]

Strictly for entertainment from day one, starting back around circa 1974. The 222 ackley bench gun I have started petering out after about 1500 rounds of 65K CUPs and was absolutley no longer competitive against the new 6PPC's coming on the line. I never was that good of a weatherman, which is a must when shooting a 224 mouse against a 243 rat. Instead of trading up, I decided to get into making cast boolits which would allow the gun to continue until this day. 10,000 rounds later, the gun still shoots better than I can. ... felix

[JohnH]

Why do you cast ?
I started thinking about casting some time ago. I tried it years ago at a friend’s Dads house and remember how fun it was. I didn’t know what I was doing but it was fun. The reason I want to learn is so that if the anti gun nuts want to try and tax it out of existence like they did to cigarettes, I would have a good hunting bullet to use to take game with. I am not saying that they will do this, but the price of bullets and powder and primers may be taxed to get us to not be able to shoot as much. Just look what the prices are now. It could even be that lead will be targeted as an environmental hazard ! I have a bit of a survival gene inside of me. I also want to get back to a, do it yourself attitude, and it just feels good to know that I made it myself. Other reasons may follow with time.

Tracker

Sounds kind of fear based to me. I figure that by the point that one has ammo one shouldn't, it would be very unwise to advertise that fact by firing any of it.

Like others, I cast so that I can enjoy shooting. it is a simple matter of economics, through casting, I shoot at a cost of about $3.00 maybe $4.00 per hundred. Last I looked, any factory ammo I would be likely to shoot was running in excess of $12.00 per 20. Even at $4.00 per hundred, I get 15 times the amount of shooting for the same dollar. Factory ammo for the 38-55 runs circa 22.00 per 20, I'm shooting 550 rounds for that money, 27 times what I could with the factory. If you are shooting a mere 100 rounds a month, casting will pay for iteslf in less than a year, increase the amount of shooting you do and save you money all at the same time. Don't know if it will keep the revenuers away......

[Elcope]

Initially I started casting to obtain bullets that are not available in my area, mainly 250 grain Kieth for my 5" 629. When I started competing in IDPA & bowling pin shoots with my 1911 I could buy .452 200 grain SWC for $19 per 500. They are now $40 per 500, so I cast them as well in my H&G 8 cavity mould.

Ed

[sundog]

ummm, 'cause I can. Scrap and WWs have always been a no (low) cost venture, so it just seemed kinda natural to use what was at hand so I could shoot more. That's all well and good until one mould begets another, begets a sizer luber, begets a top punch, begets, begets, begets....$$$$. Tailored hand loads for 25-20, 32 Win Spl, 32-40, and a few other that you just can't get there without some doins of your own. And LOTS of steekin pissola boolits. Just seems natural. Don't think I'd enjoy the military bolt matches near what I do if it weren't for cast boolits. sundog

[Buckshot]

............I can't really pick a point as to when I began what you would call legitimate boolit casting. It was a kind of gradual slither, and slide type thing. I have always been fascinated by making, building, and using your hands to create. The gun thing must have been genetic as my dad who is an old Arkansas farm boy had used guns as tools and not for recreation. My maternal grandfather had several guns but he was not a shooter either. He did have a pretty nice Winchester 22 bolt action and it was very rare that I got to shoot it. They raised citrus and on those rare times it was behind the house shooting at oranges set on field boxes.

Grandpa had a Colt 1862 Police, and I aquired it :-). I guess I was in the 8th or 9th grade when I brought it home along with a can of Lafflin & Rand black powder. I don't even know where the caps came from. In my dad's shop in the back yard I made a mould out of Plaster of Paris poured into little masonite boxes. A mould half in each box. I don't recall how I figured out to do that, or where the idea came from. At the time dad was a journymen pressman and he had a bunch of linotype in the shop. I used a gasoline blowtorch and dad had a big steel ladle so it used that.

I don't recall now what I used to make the cavities in the Plaster of Paris, but I'm thinking ball bearings. Dad, due to his upbringing always had a good supply of junk around. I don't remember shooting the pistol with any slugs I might have made, I just recall doing it. This was in the 60's and it was the Civil War centenial and muzzle loaders really became popular. There used to be a discount chain store called Fedmart and one was a few miles from the house. My friend I grew up with and I both purchased cap and ball revolvers. This was before we moved to my grandparents in Redlands, and that was after the 10th grade, so this was sometime before.

My pistol was a copy of a Leech & Rigdon 36 cal and my buddy Steve got a brass framed 44 cal that looked like a 51 Navy. They even sold us powder and caps. I don't remember where the balls came from, but we may have been casting them as I had one of those funky brass 2 cav moulds. Probably out of linotype too, as dad could bring home an unending supply.

Someplace in that time period I also bought a 58 cal Zouave, and that is the one I shortened up recently to make an artillery carbine kinda thing. I got a Lyman 575213 Minie' mould form someplace. Also along in here I appropriated great grandpa's double bbl 12 ga muzzle loading shotgun. It was a William Moore, and kind of a nice one. Via the gasoline blowtorch and the steel ladle and linotype I made my own drop shot. Melt the lead, climb a stepladder and then pour the lead out in a stream into a bucket of water.

The shot looked like icecycles and teardrops. Used newspaper wads. You could just about de-foliate a tree with a couple barrels of that. All the gun stuff went on hold after we moved and it was cars and girls through the 11th and 12th grade. After I got out of the Navy it was more cars and girls, and dunebuggies and dirt bikes. It seems to me that the whole idea of guns and casting boolits just struick me and this would have been early 70's. I remember calling all the gunshops around the countryside trying to find casting equipment. It was real scarce.

The first mould I bought was a 2 cav Lyman 311410 as my grandfather had bought a Ruger BH in 30 M1. He had also given me the 03 Springfield sporter (which I blew up, years later) and at that point I was off and running.

I had no real reason for being interested in casting except it was you doing the stuff, and I think that must have appealed to me. In addition there was all the nifty doo dads and odds and ends that went along with it. Now I can't even concieve of NOT casting :-).

............Buckshot

[swheeler]

Enjoyment, pride, and RELAXATION! $$$$$$ too

[9.3X62AL]

Casting sorta came last in line for me--I started re-stuffing shotshells first at about age 16 (1971), rifle and handgun rounds circa 1976. As the handgun hobby expanded into 32 caliber, I was obliged to start casting to provide boolits for the revolvers (1982 or so).

HEY, THESE THINGS WORK.

I expanded to home-poured 38 Special/357 Magnum and 45 ACP/Auto Rim soon thereafter, and the casting hobby stayed handgun-centered for several years. There were intermittent ventures into rifle boolit casting--largely 30-30 WCF--during that time.

THOSE WORKED, TOO.

Commencing around 1995, the rifle involvement steadily expanded to its present state--that is, 95% of the rifle rounds fired are of the poured variety. That same rate has held true for the handguns since the late 1980's.

I enjoy being involved in the crafting of the projectiles I shoot. It's time-consuming and the initial outlay has costs, but the pleasure I derive from the outcomes downrange--and the chase when those outcomes aren't so positive--is fascinating to me, and worth every effort taken and hour spent.

[harley45]

Money is an issue for me but I really think I cast for the fun and enjoyment of the craft. That and It is the only way for me to get a good Keith style Boolit that will run in my 1911s. A Saeco 58 has become the standard slug with a 452423 for the heavy stuff.

[JBMauser]

Silliest question I ever read here, everyone knows it would cost to much to make your own brass from scratch, I form my own from other brass but you could blow your head off making your own gun powder powder and primers. Gotta be a law against it. If it is illegal to make your own liquor it must be illegal to make your own gunpowder. It's easy to cast bullets in comparison you only have to be diligent and have quick reflexes and luck to avoid very unpleasant encounters with molten material. If you keep your wits about you it can be just plain addictive. Though, reloading primers, that would save me a bundle, I'll have to think on this and check out my homeowners policy. how hard could it be........JB

[StarMetal]

It's not illegal to make liquor...you are allowed to make so much for your own consumption. Lots of folks make wine and beer too. We got enough rights taken away from us or having to pay for a license for some privilage that was a right before.

Joe

[HotGuns]

I started casting about 15 years ago. Lead was cheap enough back then that I decided to start buying in bulk and saving my time to shoot rather than cast.

Awhile back I ran out of .45 bullets and went to buy a box of 500. I dont know if anyone else hads noticed how the price of lead is going up, but Ive decided to start casting again as I shoot extensivley.

So far, Ive got 9mm,357,40,45acp,45LC and 44 lyman 4 cavitys as well as several Lee molds. Im thinking about casting a good .30 caliber spitzer bulelts if I can find on for my milsurp collection.

Im also in the market for a 650-750 grain cast to experiment with in the .50BMG rifle that I built.

[David R]

The match or league what ever, starts next week. I have been practicing and preparing. If I win, it will be with my own home made Boolits!

[waksupi]

It's not illegal to make liquor...you are allowed to make so much for your own consumption. Lots of folks make wine and beer too. We got enough rights taken away from us or having to pay for a license for some privilage that was a right before.

Joe

Joe, I do disagree with that statement. I'm out of the business for some years now, but I was a moonshiner, as was my grand dad, and learned the ins and outs of making liquor.
Yep, you can make it, as long as you tell Uncle Sam, and post a big sign on your property. And, you are open to 24/7 unannounced inspections. All alcohol must be made denatured, unless you license as a regular liqour distillery. No amount of distilled spirits may be made for personal use. None. Nada.
If you aren't playing to those rules, you open yourself up to a ten year paid vacation, with a free health care plan. And you loose the property on which the spirits were being made. That's why kids were the ones running the big mountain stills on public land, as they couldn't be effectively prosecuted, being minors.
When I was still "in the business", I kept the cap arm hidden deep in the woods, off my property. I never sold any, but shared quite a bit. Back at that time, there were five stills operating within a mile of me that I knew of. All the yuppies moved in, old timers died off, and I don't think there is a shiner left on this mountain. There was some damn fine rye, corn, and sweetgrass whiskey being made back then.
As long as the connecting cap arm isn't there, all you have is a large copper boiler, and an interesting copper thumper and coil inside a cooler bucket, neither of which are illegal in thierselves. I do know there are stills sold as curiosities in antique stores, but suspect the collectable aspect wouldn't play big with the BATF.
Another interesting aspect of the business, that the vendors of raw materials aren't aware of. If a person purchases more than fifty pounds of surgar at one time, the transaction is supposed to be reported to the BATF, to try to keep track of the shiners.
Grand dad blew up a still in the basement of his house during Prohibition, and come close to burning it down. The flame scorching was visible on the basement bricks until the day the house was bulldozed in the late 1970's.
I was running a batch one day, and was working out in the shop as it was cooking. A car pulled in, and it was a county Sherriff's car. I was quite relived to see a good friend get out. He was looking to serve a warrant on up the mountain, and needed to know where to find the guy. The wanted guy wasn't familiar to me, as he was a transient type. So, my friend says, "I'll just use your phone to call into the office and get instructions."
He walked into the cabin, and there sat the still bubbling away. He stood there looking at it as he made his call. The only thing he said as he left, was that he wanted some when it was done.

Remember the Darling Family on the old Andy Griffith Show? They were actually the Dillards, and are still recording, last I knew. I still sing this song when out and about.

Dooley was a good old boy,
He lived below the mill,
Had two pretty daughters and a forty gallon still.
One would watch the boiler,
the other'd watch the spout,
His wife would cork the bottles,
and ol' Dooley'd haul them out.

[fatnhappy]

because I like to shoot, and I'm too damned cheap to buy anything I don't just have to.

I second that motion, although I prefer the term frugal.

[StarMetal]

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa boys! Damn horses...Tennessee Walkers ya know. Ok, I stand corrected . Hey, I'm living in one of the biggest moonshining areas in the south. On up my creek is was a big gris mill. In fact in my tractor shed are the two gears from it. The big 7 footer from the water wheel, and the little two footer that it turned. All the mountain side use to be corn field. I asked the neighbor down the road how in the hell did they plow the side of THAT mountain. He said with a horse or mule. Yeah you can find bottles and stuff all over the place and tons of stories. Now it's all changed to meth labs.

Joe

[jh45gun]

Well guys I stated before because of ecconomics. Consider this I can cast a lot of lead bullets for my 45/70 for next to nothing. I mean a lot of them. Saw in a catalog tonite from Cabela's 50 yes 50 cast bullets 45 cal for shooting black powder cartridge shoots were $17 + change. About the cheapest factory jacketed you can buy are bulk Rem Corelocts around 12 buck a 100. Now that is not bad but I can cast a lot of bullets for nothing out of free wheel weights and they are easier on my guns too. I tell you what guys the 2 deer I shot this year with a 30 cal cast bullet out of my 308 Encore killed that buck and doe just as dead as any jacketed bullet would have. Jim

[KYCaster]

Dooley was a good old boy,
He lived below the mill,
Had two pretty daughters and a forty gallon still.
One would watch the boiler,
the other'd watch the spout,
His wife would cork the bottles,
and ol' Dooley'd haul them out.


Dooley, sneakin' up the holler,
Dooley, tryin' to make a doller,
Dooley, give me a swoller,
I'll pay you back some day.

One of my all time favorites.

Jerry Dillard

[Bullshop]

Just call me Rumpel Stillsckin spinning lead into gold!
BIC/BS

[45nut]

because I like to shoot, and I'm too damned cheap to buy anything I don't just have to.
Yeap,frugal. If I didn't cast and had to buy Woodleigh's for my 500A2 and premium Barnes types for my 416 and 458's I would get no shooting in.
Wel,,some,very little. very,very little. And I would really have to get more reasonable cartridges,instead of obscure one's like my 38-56 Win.
And think of the time to pass doing something else?

[dogdoc]

I found that the women really dig us bullet casters so it became a no brainer.

[MGySgt]

Started casting in 74 to feed my habit of shooting, married, one child and a Staff Sergeant - couldn't afford to shoot 38's much less 44 mags without casting. Even then had to moonlight to pay for powder and primers. I don't think I have fired more then about 1000 jacketed from my 45's, 38's and 44's since then. My carry gun has jacketed, so I do shoot some each year, but the practice ammo is cast!

I know I can get better accuracy with home cast in a pistol then with any factory bullet.

Now my 45/70's and 45/90 - they don't need factory, home cast fitted to the gun shoots much better and more enjoyable!

Drew

[JohnH]

Beer and wine makingare not illegal, up to 200 gallons or 100 gallons per adult in the house. I been making my own brew for just over a year now. Check out www.brewboard.com this is one of several populated by folks like us, they like rollin'.....er, brewin' their own.

[waksupi]

Dooley, sneakin' up the holler,
Dooley, tryin' to make a doller,
Dooley, give me a swoller,
I'll pay you back some day.

One of my all time favorites.

Jerry Dillard

KyCaster, are YOU Jerry Dillard, or just identifying the writer?

Revenoors slippin', around through the woods,
Old Dooley stayed behing him, and never lost his goods.
Dooley was a merchant, and into town he'd come,
surgar by the bushel, and molasses by the ton.

[crazy mark]

Because I got tired of paying $3.87 -$3.95 for a box of 20 30/30's. Found out I could cast my own and load them for about $.80 a box and brass was free for the picking where people shot. Then I started buying milsurps and never looked back. I couldn't afford to shoot as much as I do if I didn't cast and reload. Mark

[Finn45]

Well, why not?? Hehe, I believe there's no need to quote my local prices of factory ammo or those premium bullets which won't survive without a jacket in any weather; just no true and unconditional necessity for them right now, maybe ever.

[Leftoverdj]

"Hauling water and chopping wood.
The church folks say we ain't no good
But we run a hundred gallons every day,
We run a hundred gallons every day."
Hamper McBee

Waksupi, there ain't a lot of commercial moonshining left in my neck of the woods, but there are a fair number of families who do a run or two a year with granddaddy's old still, just because the family has always done it. There are even more folks with five and ten gallon stovetop stills striking a blow for freedom.

Get you a copper kettle.
Get you a copper coil.
Lay there by the juniper,
And never more you'll toil.

My grandfather he made whiskey,
His grandfather did too,
And we ain't paid no whiskey tax
Since 1792.

[StarMetal]

Last night the History channed did a couple hour long show on moonshining. According to that show moonshining is FAR FAR FAR from done with. Seems one of the biggest booze runners was John Hancock, one of our founding fathers, also seems this country was founded on moonshining. Lots of interesting facts on that show, like moonshining started in Pennsylvania and only when the do good folks got on their asses did they move to the south. The interesting thing though, not having directly to do with moonshine was one day right after the countries freedom, John Hancock came to George Washington and said George, we're out of money. I'll say, they (the just new U.S.) were in debt to the tune of 70 million dollars. Okay here's the good part. We just had a bloody war and one thing it was over was taxation, right? Well George says "Hmmmm, we're going to have to make a tax to raise money" DAMN! DAMN! Can you believe that? Maybe our forefathers wouldn't be turning over in their graves if they knew what Washington was doing today. Anyways they decided to tax making rum. That's what started moonshining. Great country we live int, but guess what, it sucked from day one. There were alot of interesting facts in that show and I'm glad I watched it. Could you fellows imagine the devil of a time we would have given our history teachers if they had the History Channel back when we were kids? Seems there's not much in the school history books that is very accurate. Another thing I recently learned on the History Channel is that one of the biggest influential players in the decisive battles of the beginning of the revolutionary war (one who got no credit for it) was Benedict Arnold....yeah the traitor. His very important battles and wins were overshadowed by the more glamous George Washington. Yup, old Ben led a very large battle group of soldiers and won some very important battles that did decide the outcome of the war. I hated history when I was a kid, God do I love it now.

Joe

[Willbird]

Well I would take what is on the history channel at times with a grain of salt too :-) Dont just swallow it down as fact....dig a little bit.

ever wonder why you don't hear about the dinasouar T-Rex any more ?? I was told they discovered now it didnt exist, that a guy mixed bones he found from two differant places into what he thought the animal looked like.

another good one they pulled off is selling that the civil war was about slavery (I was born and raised in oHIo and even I know that aint zactly so)

Bill

[waksupi]

I do believe what followed was known as the Whiskey Rebellion.
As far as Benedict Arnold, he was screwed over by the powers that were, resulting in his future actions. He was one of the best American commanders up until that time. His history makes an interesting read, and in light of more modern actors on the national stage, not all that bad.

[StarMetal]

Ric

Yep, that was the Whiskey Rebellion in Pittsburgh, Pa I do believe. You're right about some of the more modern national actors. On another note is think this Mr Felt, who was just recently named the man who "Deep Throat" in the Watergate scandal...I think he's a low down snitch. The honorable way to have done it would be to do it right up front...like a man, instead of the coward that he was and is. Personally I think Nixson was a pretty good President. He certainly didn't do any worse then Presidents ahead of him, nor after him.

Yup the Whiskey Rebellion, right in my own back yard where I grew up...dang.

Joe

[Bass Ackward]

Ric

Yep, that was the Whiskey Rebellion in Pittsburgh, Pa I do believe.
Yup the Whiskey Rebellion, right in my own back yard where I grew up...dang.

Joe

Joe,

Ehhhh! Wrong. The headquarters for the Wiskey Rebellion was right here in Washington, PA. About 1/2 mile from where I live.

It's a government historical site that you can tour through on South Main street. Ironically, it is just above the State Store. (PA sells liquor out of these stores all owned by polititions.)

[StarMetal]

Bass

Geez, by backyard I meant the general area. I grew up 20-25 minutes down interstate 70 East from Washington.

Joe

[Bret4207]

No info on 'shinin' from my neck o' the woods. I'll leave that to you guys. Seems a lot of work just to kill brain cells. ( Holy jeeze! Does years of dealing with drunk jerk show through or what!?!?!) Now, a nice cold glass of draft beer is another story.

I cast due to a number of reasons. I'm cheap, I like creating something from "waste", I can make up odd or commercially unavailable loads, I can make low powered plinking loads, I can shoot more without worrying about wearing a barrel or gas cutting a top strap, all the usual reasons. Plus, it's interesting, it's relaxing and I'm reusing the brass and making last and last. The biggest thing for me is a combination of cheapness and stuborness. It galls me beyond belief to have to pay full shot for jacketed bullets and then once they're shot they're done. I can dig my range scrap out of the sand bank and reuse what I find. I'm providing for myself when I do this, rather than depending on someone else. That appeals to me. For hunting I can make and load up appropriate loads for small and large game. The 32 S+W Long and a Lyman 311316 at 1100 fps is deadly on all manner of small critters. The same goes for the 32WCF, 25 WCF, 30WCF, 45 AR, 7x57 etc. A good WW RN 240 gr NEI 331-245 loping along at 1650 fps from the 8x56R makes a great all around tractor/truck gun. Same goes for the 8x57 Mauser, 30WCF, 308Win and 35 Whelen. Up the speed and pretty much any round or flat nose WW design above maybe .270 caliber becomes at least an adequit large game round, or maybe even a superior round depending on application. All the same for peestols. You guys know the score, we do it because we CAN. And, I suppose we kind of feel a bit superior to those who just don't know what they're missing.

Re- Ben Arnold, T-rex etc. There's a lot of history that's been altered to fit the contemporary view on things. Same with statistics. You have to look yourself at raw data to really get a good idea of what goes on. We can't even begin to know how much we don't know. As far as Watergate- to label Nixon a criminal and FDR a hero is the greatest example of hypocracy in American history.

[Shuz]

Got started casting in 1962 whilst I wuz in Uncle Sam's Air Force and stationed at Loring airplane patch. Ol Tech Sgt John Mong got me started with a 429360 for my brand new .44 Ruger Blackhawk 6.5 inch flat top. Economics back then led to casting, when you wuz making $85.00/mo and all you could eat in the chow hall! My hobby has grown a mite in the past 43 years, but I still own that old flat top, although I now have many other .44(cylinder) mouths to feed!

[Buckshot]

Shuz, you musta been in the Wing Wiper Corps when Carpetman was. Before he was a recruiter I think he worked on Spads.

.............Buckshot

[Shuz]

Shuz, you musta been in the Wing Wiper Corps when Carpetman was. Before he was a recruiter I think he worked on Spads.

.............Buckshot
Yeah, Rick, I wuz the crew chief for the Wright Bros.!

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I cast so I can afford to shoot more.

[7br]

I started casting about 92 or so. I was shooting a lot of bigbore silhouette and general plinking. Even without kids, I was cutting into my food funds. With three kids, time and money are both at a premium. I shoot a lot less, but I still need to save money. I also shoot a .41. There is a big lack of bullet selection in the .410 diameter.

[Bullshop]

I started casting about 92 or so. I was shooting a lot of bigbore silhouette and general plinking. Even without kids, I was cutting into my food funds. With three kids, time and money are both at a premium. I shoot a lot less, but I still need to save money. I also shoot a .41. There is a big lack of bullet selection in the .410 diameter.

7br
WOW!!! Your 92 and have three kids, what kind of viatmins do you take? I want some!!!
BIC/BS

[wills]

I started casting about 92 or so.

.

It's great you're still shooting. How old are you now?

[BLTsandwedge1]

20 or so years with pistol 'cause it was a whole lot cheaper. As some may have noticed in my most recent posts, I'm bran' new to this rifle casting thang. Bran' new as in no more than 200 cast .30s- I did buy a 311041 to go along with a "bran' new" A303. BTW, that A303 turned out to be virtually unissued. When I looked at the bore in the gun shop, it looked a bit smoky- turned out to be dust. I scrubbed the bore with solvent- maybe 2 or 3 passes an' damn if the subsequent patches didn't come out clean! No stock wear at all, no finish wear at all. I'm very pleased.

Regards........

BTW, the rifle was made by Remington and has a flaming piss-pot (I'm a former ordnance officer- that's what we called the ordnance insignia) and the date of 4-43. I was unaware that the gov't was still buying bolt guns in the middle of WWII- could it be that the need for M1s couldn't be met fast enough?

[Scrounger]

20 or so years with pistol 'cause it was a whole lot cheaper. As some may have noticed in my most recent posts, I'm bran' new to this rifle casting thang. Bran' new as in no more than 200 cast .30s- I did buy a 311041 to go along with a "bran' new" A303. BTW, that A303 turned out to be virtually unissued. When I looked at the bore in the gun shop, it looked a bit smoky- turned out to be dust. I scrubbed the bore with solvent- maybe 2 or 3 passes an' damn if the subsequent patches didn't come out clean! No stock wear at all, no finish wear at all. I'm very pleased.

Regards........

BTW, the rifle was made by Remington and has a flaming piss-pot (I'm a former ordnance officer- that's what we called the ordnance insignia) and the date of 4-43. I was unaware that the gov't was still buying bolt guns in the middle of WWII- could it be that the need for M1s couldn't be met fast enough?

Could it be that the military AND big business was just as corrupt in 1943 as it is today? Nothing new-or old- about a military officer seeing that a certain business got a lucerative albeit unnecessary purchase contract in return for future considerations.

[7br]

7br
WOW!!! Your 92 and have three kids, what kind of viatmins do you take? I want some!!!
BIC/BS
A rancher friend was talking to a neighbor about problems he was having with a bull servicing the cows. Neighbor tells him that he had a similiar problem. The vet gave him some medicine for the bull. After the first dose, the bull ran down the hill and serviced all of the cows. "Well", says the rancher, "Just what is this wonder medicine". Neighbor replied, "Don't rightly know, but it kinda tastes like licorice".

Actually, I am one of the young' uns on the board at the tender age of 40. Either my eyes are starting to slip, or my arms are getting shorter.

[The Nyack Kid]

Howdy yall

why do I cast ?

Cause im cheap thats why
I can make a sized, lubed, gas checked and heat treated .459 boolit out of free wheel wheights for about $.03 apiece . if i where to buy the same thing from LBT or some other big casting outfit the boolits would cost me about $.33 each. Heck i save myself some $.30 for each one I make . Course with all the casting stuff i had to invent in , I have to shoot some 2500 more boolits out of my rifle just to break even ;-) I also love the feeling of freedom and independance from casting ,making and shooting my own ammo
Also a wise oldfart once told me that i would go to hell and/or Kalifornya for shooting jacketed boolits out of a 45-70 only lead boolits are kosher. :grin:

[The Nyack Kid]

[ if i where to buy the same thing from LBT or some other big casting outfit the boolits would cost me about $.33 each. ]

oohs Lbt dont sell boolits they sell boolit molds ( they have 3 molds i would love to get my grubby dirty mits on ) I ment LBT STYLE boolits from the big casting outfits like CPB , BTB and the rest :oops: :oops: this is what happens when i dont have my coffe ;-) ;-)

[BLTsandwedge1]

[/SIZE]

Could it be that the military AND big business was just as corrupt in 1943 as it is today? Nothing new-or old- about a military officer seeing that a certain business got a lucerative albeit unnecessary purchase contract in return for future considerations.

Could very well be Scrounger. Low bidder is low bidder. I also thought that the A3s might have been issued to National Guard units not yet deployed.

Regards.......

[Scrounger]

Could very well be Scrounger. Low bidder is low bidder. I also thought that the A3s might have been issued to National Guard units not yet deployed.

Regards.......

Most likely in 1939 they figured they were going to war and we know the Garands weren't even being issued yet. Someone heard they were going to the draft and get a 2 million man army, saw how slow the Garands were coming out, saw how many '03s they had in reserve, and said, "Oh, ****..." So someone gave Remington a big contract for the '03A3 and a bunch of '03 parts. They were probably still fulfilling that contract in 1944. Of course the Garands were just flying out of the factory by then and most likely nothing Remington made was actually used, but our hindsight has always been better than foresight anyway...

[Junior1942]

think this Mr Felt, who was just recently named the man who "Deep Throat" in the Watergate scandal...I think he's a low down snitch. The honorable way to have done it would be to do it right up front...like a man, instead of the coward that he was and is. Personally I think Nixson was a pretty good President.
JoeJoe, I also think Nixon was a "pretty good president." However, there's a possibility that if Felt hadn't leaked info Nixon could have become president for life.