New to casting

[mortre]

I've been reading the sticky up top "From Ingot's to targets" and I think I'm on the right track, but I would like some conformation from the more experienced. And a couple of questions that are kind of odd ball I'm sure. But the wife bought me an RCBS melting pot for Christmas and I'm itchy to try it out.

1st question is out of these options, which caliber would be the best for me to start with. 9x19, 38 super, 45 ACP or .44 Special. I'm guessing it's the .44 special. I have no luber/sizer so I will be using lee sizing dies and liquid tumble lube. Can the tumble lube with something like the Lee 429-214-SWC or 429-200-RF? I am assuming those would be the most appropriate for my S&W 696 L-Frame.

2nd question would be that air cooled wheel weights would be the preferred alloy for either the .45 ACP or .44 special, but that may not be an option? Would pure lead work, or would I need to add something like 50/50 solder to it?

3rd question would be what is the second best source for lead, after wheel weights. Apparently the wonderful state of Washington requires tire/wheel shops to turn in the used wheel weights to recycling centers and save the receipts for auditing. I can buy range scrap ingots from the local gun store for $2.50 per 1 pound ingot... I have found people on craigslist selling lead for .80 to $1 per pound, but I don't know what is in it, or if it's actually pure lead. Most of them just state lead for casting fishing sinkers. But you never know, so I am wondering if that is my best bet or not.

[Mk42gunner]

1. I would go with either the .44 Special, (cast lead will do anything that needs doing with this caliber), or the ,45 ACP (lower pressure ound than the 9mm or .38 Super, thus easier to learn with).

2. I have only cast .45 ACP with wheel weights, but you need a little tin to help mold fillout. I have read of some people having success by using pure lead in the .45 though.

3.
Apparently the wonderful state of Washington requires tire/wheel shops to turn in the used wheel weights to recycling centers and save the receipts for auditing.
That reeks.

I have just about given up on trying to scrounge WW around here. Most of the tire shops trade them in for credit on new ones, and don't seem to be interested in selling them to me for a better price.

Rotometals wil ship you lead in just about any usefull alloy that you want. You can also buy ingots from the swapping and selling section here.

Robert

[littlejack]

mortre:
If you are going to use the LLA, then you may want to stick to a Lee tumble lube mould. These two will work together to give your best performance. Not saying that the other grease groove moulds will not work, just saying that the tumble lube boolits are mini-grooved to hold the LLA lube better.

Air cooled is fine for all, providing the fit is right in the bores.
It would be better to use ww metal or at least 50/50 ww/lead. The alloy is better with a little tin, and some antimony that is in the ww metal.

If you have pure lead, you may be able to swap someone here on the forum.
Buying ww metal here on this forum would be a better than buying from from someone else unknown. I realize that you may not know the members here, but there is a real good honor system here and I have not been stung buy anyone, or any of my transactions in the years I have been a member.
That being said, Rotometals is also one of the favorite sites of the forum members to buy alloys from with no problems.
Jack

[Down South]

Or you could pan lube for boolits with a regular grease groove. There are some pretty good deals in the Swapin and Sellin section for WW and other alloys That would work. WW should work fine.

[dragonrider]

Choose the caliber you start with by the one you shoot the most. None of them will be any more difficult than another.
I can't counsel you on LLA as I have a deep and abiding hatred of it. Many here use with great satisfaction so pay heed to them on how to use it.
I use only straight wheel weights I never add anything to my lead. and I water drop every boolit I cast,they do exactly all I need them to do, I don't have any problems with them, But the only huntingI do is the illusive paper target, they're tough to sneek up on I tell ya.

Welcome to the forum Mortre, is that French?

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

Find Recluses 45-45-10 JPW recipe for tumble lube in the boolit lube forum. I've been using it on regular boolits without issue, and it dries way faster than the straight Alox stuff.

[MBTcustom]

X2 what Jim Flinchbaugh said.
9mm is picky, picky. 38 super and 44 are higher pressure rounds that will require a little more attention to detail.
My money is on the .45ACP all day long. I learned to cast for the .45 when I was just 16 years old. It is very forgiving assuming you have a good RN profile. I can run any lead alloy that there is through a 45ACP it will even shoot pure lead quite well.
I disagree with littlejack about needing a Lee mold with the tumble lube grooves. Tumble lube works with any boolit style, and it works quite well. Especially when you use the 45/45/10 version. (by the way, I have an extra bottle of the stuff that I made up in the summer. Its probably enough to lube up 5000 45 boolits. shoot me a PM and Ill hook you up)
I have pushed it all the way to 2000 FPS with minimal leading.
I would also suggest that you always remember that the first thing to do before you cast for a new gun, is to slug the barrel, measure and make shure your boolits are at least .001 oversize.
Get yourself a set of calipers and a 1" micrometer from harbor freight. They are worth their weight in gold.
Welcome to casting, and congratulations on such a nice Christmas gift!

[mortre]

Mortre is a handle I have used sense back in my younger days of online video games... No clue if it comes from somewhere or not =p. You all have been more than generous with advise, and the offer of the lube goodsteel, but I'll look it up and see if I can make some myself. I appreciate it, but casting is about being more self sufficient in the end isn't it?

Anyway, the moulds from the corner gunstore that I picked up are the TL452-230-TC and TL429-240-SWC. I think I will try and make a run in .45 and 44 special. I have powder and primers and brass on hand for the 44 special with loads straight from my lymans manual.

I am betting trying to get the 230 grain TC bullet to feed correctly might be tricky, probably have to seat pretty deep in the case to feed correctly. I was running 5.2 grains of universal @1.25 with a plated 230 RN and I still have some leftover. So I will play with seating depth until I can get the TC to feed by hand and compare how much extra powder space is being eaten up.

Question on slugging the bores...

I've got 5 different .45 ACP's. Can I slug all 5 and then just size for the largest? I generally don't get overly critical about reloading pistol ammo. I only use reloads for plinking so if the groups are a little large or dirty I just deal with it. I don't have a load for each pistol, I just want a load that they will all eat safely.

[littlejack]

I have used the 230 TC, it is a very good boolit for the 45 acp.
I am not a fan of the LLA, but I did use it on these boolits. I had a lot of time on my hands so I just took a small paint brush and covered the mini-grooves with it. I do not like the lube all over my boolits. After a day of drying, the boolits were good to go. I did not size this boolit.
They are accurate for me in my Taurus PT1911, and getting them to feed was not a problem at all.
I have not heard of anyone having any problems getting this boolit to feed.
Jack

[mortre]

That's good to know. I haven't loaded anything except for 230 plated round nose so far. I've always figured paper wouldn't know the difference and there are no sharp angles for it to hang up on.

[Lizard333]

Slug all of your guns. You never know if you have an odd ball. My bet would be to size you boolits to 452 and see how they shoot. It is usually what works. You will find the 45 is probly the easiest to start with, not real picky. I have only used RN boolits in my 45's but some guys have had good success with the SWC.

I use 50/50 WW to soft lead on my 45's and I water drop mainly for the lazy factor. I don't need the extra hardness, just easier to make a pile of boolits. I go through a lot of 45's as I cast for myself, and my dad.

Enjoy yourself. Your going to make mistakes, but the nice thing is you can always remelt them and start again!!

[MBTcustom]

Nothing wrong with TC boolits. Some 45s like 'em and some dont. I carry a Rock Island compact and it will eat anything, but my IAI Hardballer will only take RN (its ok though, she earns her keep with those RN boolits just fine.)
If you are going for accuracy, you may find that each gun has its own little sweet spot for boolit size. However, with the right alloy, you may find that shooting them at the size they drop from the mold is the closest you can come to a catch all.
The one thing about slugging your bores is that it will warn you that a certain gun will definitely lead like crazy, before you find out the hard way.
Most reloading manuals have a couple of pages in the back for personal notes. That is a realy good place to write down the slug size of every gun you own just for future reference.
(Let me know if you need some pure lead to make slugs with.)
Now as to your question on buying lead, I would say that anything you can find for $1 per Lb. or less should be snapped up. Just get it while the getting is good. Like you have been counseled, 45 will eat anything. This sight is a valuable resource for finding lead that you know what is in it. You may want to carefully schmelt together an alloy that contains equal parts of tin and antimony for the 38super and any rifle you may want to cast for. Again, if you care about accuracy, you may want to pay closer attention to whats in your melt so that you can duplicate those results in the future, but if you mostly shoot for defensive training, minute of Copenhagen lid at 15 feet is plenty.
Still, If you need some solder to sweeten your pot, I am the guy to see, just shoot me a PM. I have a small supply of eutectic solder, its 63% tin.

[mdi]

In my experience .44 Special is a pretty forgiving caliber. I have cast/loaded/shot thousands of bullets for my .44s and they seem to shoot just about anything fine. I'd suggest a tried and true bullet/load in your .44 to get your feet wet; a 240 gr SWC cast from air cooled wheel weight alloy, over a medium/light load of Unique (I've shot a lot of Lee's TL430-240-SWC, which was my first cast bullet). Alox/xlox works on standard lube groove bullets too (thin the alox/xlox with mineral spirits and it'll dry quicker and less tacky) or use the easy to make and apply 45-45-10 developed by Recluse. Lee makes a good push through sizing die kit but it would be better to slug your cylinder throats first to see what size bullet is needed, or you may not need to size depending on what the bullets measure from the mold.

Check the vendor-sponcor's page here to find some good lubes (Lar's White Lable) and lead (The Captain) and lube making stuff (RandyRat)...

[mortre]

Well, it may be heresy, but I don't have any unique. I do have universal and it is supposed to be pretty similar. So I will give it a try with that eventually. Oh, the corner gunstore had sold the lee TL 240 mould before I got there the other day. I wasn't sure what else to try so I just picked up the 45 mould... they are not expecting anything replacement stock in until after the new year.

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[Mk42gunner]

mortre,

I know we all want to hold a mold in our hot little hjands before paying for it, but most times you can get a Lee mold for less (including shipping) from Midsouth than from the local gun pusher. Last time I looked they wanted $18.06 for a two cavity Lee mold, I don't remember what shipping is, but it isn't much.

There is a lot to be said about supproting local gun shops, though.

Robert