bullet wts

[cptjack]

new to casting ....I am trying to cast 50 cal maxis for my muzzloe loader...lyman mold 504617......seems the edges donot come out crisp or square.......the bullets i did were 350 gr and suppose to be 370 ....is this an alloy and not pure lead/ also i am using a lee production pot iv ....is the lead suppose to drip or should it be a solid stream? thanks CJ

[R.M.]

You will want a good solid stream. The faster the better. Don't worry about lead running over the sides of the mold. Just have a metal pan under the mold to catch the spillage.

[runfiverun]

definatly a steady stream,a controlled stream.
weight isn't the issue.
you need a consistant heat in the mold and in the alloy.
once you have that a consistent casting pace is needed to keep them that way.

[John Boy]

* heat the pot and mold up to 720 degrees
* Hold the spout in the sprue hole and count to 5 - then release handle
* The bullets will be perfect when the sprue puddle frost in 5 - 8 seconds. If they aren't increase the pot temperature with a 10 second frost

[HORNET]

If you're running those .50 Maxi's out of pure lead (as you should), you might have to go a LOT hotter to get full fillout. I'd go to 750° as a starting point and you'll need a solid stream. You might have to go to direct contact between the sprue plate and nozzle to get some pressure to aid the fill (if you can do it without the nozzle freezing). I get much better results with a dipper on those.
20 grains lighter than spec indicates that you might not have pure lead but I wouldn't worry about it until you can get complete fillout and try shooting some. If they're not real soft, you might do well with a felt wad between the powder and boolit.

[44man]

I cast pure at 800*. It takes more heat.
You might have something else in your lead but if soft enough to get in the bore it is OK. I would not worry about the weight.

[cptjack]

thanks guys been very helpful,,,,,,should the bullet be swagged or paper patched ,cause it drops right down the bore?

[newton]

The mold is no good. Just send it to me and I'll take care of it. :bigsmyl2:

No, seriously, all the above are good suggestions. However, I have a couple of .54 maxi molds that never got real good fill out till I smoked them real good. And now I smoke them before each session and they give me great boolits each time. Don't think that smoking the mold is just so they release good. It helps with fillout also.

[1Shirt]

Go hot and you will probably not have a problem!
1Shirt!

[cptjack]

do i smoke the mold with a candle?

[stubshaft]

do i smoke the mold with a candle?


Do NOT smoke it!