time between mold and shooting ?

[jhalcott]

how long will a cast bullet be usable? A friend says they are less accurate after they become oxized. I still have some that were cast when I was an apprentice. They seem to shoot okay,NOT bench rest accurate but goood for plinking and bunnies! They are mostly ,30 and .44 cal

[ku4hx]

Never had any boolits or smelted alloy oxidize to any visible extent.

Having just recently looked at some old labeled boxes I noted I've got some Lyman 358156 boolits I cast in 1986 and they're as shiny and sharp-edged as the day they were born. I've been loading and shooting some lately and they're still pretty much the most accurate boolit I throw.

[btroj]

I have shot bullets that I know were many, many years old. I bet many here have shot bullets over 10 years old. How much older do we need?

Does your friend shoot cast or cast his own? Of not, he isn't a reliable source of info most likely. Most myths regarding cast are spread by people who don't use them. Interesting.

[BulletFactory]

How would a cast bullet become oxidized in the first place. No way to get oxygen on the bearing surface, its covered in lube, and seated in a case. Oxidization on the ogive isnt going to have a bearing on what happens in the barrel.

[williamwaco]

How would a cast bullet become oxidized in the first place. No way to get oxygen on the bearing surface, its covered in lube, and seated in a case. Oxidization on the ogive isn't going to have a bearing on what happens in the barrel.



BINGO. We have a winner.

I cast a lot of bullets and loaded a "lifetime supply" of .38 specials the week my first daughter was born. ( In those days, the women ran the men out of the house so they could "take care of " read -'play with' the baby.)

I still have about 300 of those .38's. They have been stored in the worst possible conditions, in a Texas garage from 1972 to 2011.

They will still group in one inch or less at 25 yards from my TC .357 Magnum. The nose of the bullet which has had no protection at all is slightly gray but shows no signs of deterioration.

[jhalcott]

Well,we were talking about MUZZLE loaders and I was shootng sme 5/6 year old Minies in the Knight .50 cal. HE shoots in the NSSA skirmishers. Most of MY boolits are NOT loaded nor even gc/lubed, just stored in coffee cans with plastic lids. Every now and then I load a few and play with a 30 30 contender or .44mag SBH with about the same accuracy as I got a year ago!
Hope this info helps,thanx for the cmments!
Merry CHRISTmas to all.

[btroj]

Where is he storing them? Keep them in a closed container and they should be good for years with no oxidation or white crud on them.

I just don't see this as being an issue.

[243winxb]

Oxidation happens to boolits & many other things. The photo above shows the shiny boolit has turned gray from oxidation. It will not hurt a thing. Oxidaton forms on the surface. The lands are .003" to .004" tall on average and will cut into the bullet surface, past any oxidation. Over time, a lead, tin alloy will get softer, but i would guess , not enough to make a difference. [smilie=s:

[Revolver]

I typically shoot in my yard but recently a friend who is probably 40-50 years older than me took me to a range to shoot rifles. He brought some boxes of ammo that he loaded in the 60's. Shot great!

[williamwaco]

Oxidation happens to boolits & many other things. The photo above shows the shiny boolit has turned gray from oxidation. It will not hurt a thing. Oxidaton forms on the surface. The lands are .003" to .004" tall on average and will cut into the bullet surface, past any oxidation. Over time, a lead, tin alloy will get softer, but i would guess , not enough to make a difference.



That bullet is already back in storage so I am not going to demonstrate this but the grey oxidation can be removed with a kleenex.

There is no way available to me to measure the thickness of that layer but one twist with a kleenex wrapped around it will shine it up like new and barely leave a mark on the tissue.

If I were guessing, I would guess that layer is no more than one to two atoms thick.


.

[mroliver77]

Even folks that have been shooting for many years can come up with some silly ideas!
Jay

[Recluse]

I'm more concerned about my gunpowder than I am my gun bullets when it comes to reloading with components I've had for years.

Storage is everything and I have some powder from Hercules that I've had for over thirty years that is still loading very, very good rounds for me. Likewise, I have lead boolits that are of the same vintage and that are doing the same excellent job.

:coffee:

[Southron Sanders]

Well, back in 1986 a friend of mine and myself fired about 50 rounds of .577 Snider ammo that was dated "1869." The rounds were almost 120 years old!

The ones that fired with no delay shot accurately. The bullets were swaged rather than cast but they were lead bullets.

[Historical note: When the British Arsenal at Woolrich first started Snider ammo production in 1865, keep in mind that the Brits had NEVER before loaded self-contained cartridges.

The loading sequence went as follows: (1) Fill the cartridge case with black powder. (2) Seat bullet in case and crimp. (3) Seat primer in case by whacking it with a wooden mallet!

After only a few days, the loading sequence was changed because they ran out of workers willing to whack the primer into the primer seat of a loaded cartridge with a mallet! Guess WHY!

[Char-Gar]

jhalcott... You friend is full of it.

[1Shirt]

I ran accross a bunch of 311284's that I cast in the late 60's or early 70's, in a RCBS mold box. No oxidation, and they shot well.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[gandydancer]

Just shot monday 12/19/11 some 45/70 ammo dated 1892 & 1895 and worked just fine. GD

[Sonnypie]

If it has mold on it, it has probably been too long.

At least that works for the refrigerator..... :groner:

Except cheese....

[lbaize3]

When we moved to the new house 15 years ago, I found a number of boxes of 357 that I had loaded in 1976 with lead bullets. Still have a couple of boxes. The Unique powder still burns, the CCI primers still go off, the case is not cracked, and the lead is not oxidized.

[trixter]

Ok,ok we've. discussed old stuff. What about how long between cast and load should you wait? What is the minimum amount of time for boolits to age/cure?

[45-70 Chevroner]

The only boolits that I have ever seen that were oxidized where those I have found laying out in the elements.
Trixter: I have read here on this web site that they should age at least 2 weeks. I do believe though that if you cast, lube and size, and load the same day the will still cure in a couple of weeks. I some times get antsey though and shoot the same day.

[tuckerdog]

I'm still shooting boolits my grandfather cast b-4 I was born in 1968 and they still shoot fine i'm using a can of powder i'm not sure of the vintage but every now and then I break out a can of herco that still has a price tag of $8.49 on it and still shoots ok

[Dave C.]

I have found that for about two weeks they will harden.
After that it does not matter.

[DLCTEX]

No fixed answer as to how long to wait after casting to shoot. Pistol, rifle, muzzle loader, BPCR, different calibers, too many variables to say. For most applications hardness is over rated, fit and lube are more important.

[lead-1]

After only a few days, the loading sequence was changed because they ran out of workers willing to whack the primer into the primer seat of a loaded cartridge with a mallet! Guess WHY!


A few weeks back I was showing a friend of mine that doesn't reload my small collection of LEE loaders and explained the process. I even told him how seating the primers will sometimes result in a pants peeing suprise, he commented that he thought the primer would be last but now understands why its first.

[Dan Cash]

Ok,ok we've. discussed old stuff. What about how long between cast and load should you wait? What is the minimum amount of time for boolits to age/cure?

They really should age long enough to cool down. Hot bullets are hard to lube and handle but if you can get them in the case, it is ok I guess.