New mould !!

[Gunslinger1911]

Ok, so I'm working with the 500 S&W mould from NOE (awsome mould by the way !!!), 450, 500, 550, 600 g.
Stream from the bottom pour, maybe a inch away - no dice, figured the cavitys were too big for that.
Pressure pour - good fill out, but the boolits look "rough".
Ladle - sweet ! good fill, smooth, purdy !

I don't mind ladle pouring, this isn't a high volume use like my 45 acp's just strange to me.

Any thoughts ??

btw, pot at ~700 - 750 deg, mould ~ 450 deg. Fluxed well with saw dust and a little boolit lube - my normal usage.

[longbow]

I ldle pour everything because I like simple. I have tried bottom pour pots and even owned one for a while but prefer open pot and ladle.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the bottom pour pots.

I think for large cavities though ladle can be better. Several people have posted that they get better results using ladle for large cavity moulds.

Not sure if it is a faster pour, more controllable, that it allows air to escape the sprue hole while pouring, or all of the above. I find pouring to the side of the sprue hole helps too especially with shotgun slugs.

FWIW

Longbow

[stubshaft]

I gave up bottom pouring years ago and switched back to ladle casting. I seem to get better control and have fewer culls when doing so. I don't see too much difference in production with the ladle vs. bottom pour.

[runfiverun]

for anything over about 400grs the ladle is the way to go.
if you can get a good hard fast stream from your bottom pour pot straight into the nold that will sometimes work well.
but why bother.

[Gunslinger1911]

Cool, thanks for the replies. I have a Lee ladle, do I remember reading the Lyman or other is better ?

[runfiverun]

you got the lee give it a try, it can be modified with a drill bit and stuff if you see fit.
sometimes a wirebrush and some mold prep helps a ladle out.