Question about casting for rifle. Is it more difficult?

[Arkansas Paul]

Hey all. We're about to give boolits a try in a .30-30, .308 and .30-06. I bought a Lee .309 150 grain flat point mold and gave it a whirl the other afternoon.
My problem is, I can't get them to fill out well. With .45 Colt, .40 and .38 Special, I'm getting edges so sharp it's crazy, with it being very rare to get a cull. With the .309 gas checked boolits, over half end up back in the pot because I can't get the edges sharp. What gives? I know they've got to be good and filled so the gas check will seat. It's really stumping me.

Do I need to add some tin to the allow to get better fill? I've heard this helps.

Anyway, help me out please.

[Faret]

Guessing have to cast faster or hotter I run my lee pot about 6.5 -7.5 and have the same mold.

[badboyparamedic]

I have found that when I cast with my Lee 309 in 180 grain, I have to cast about 50 degrees hotter than I do with my pistol molds.

Not sure why but helps with fillout.

[saintdel]

Maybe hotter melt but also a second or two longer holding the dipper or spout against the sprue. If using a dipper, make sure the dipper is full each time. I assume the mold itself is clean and well vented.

[runfiverun]

the long skinny boolits usually respond better if you aim the spout right into the hole and fill it quickly.
the other issue is heat, you have more metal surrounding less hot lead.
speed it up a click.

[Arkansas Paul]

I can definitely see where hotter melt and faster pace would help. The bullets may frost a little, but I've never found that to be a big deal when it comes to shooting them.

Thanks

[quilbilly]

Yes, run you smelter a little hotter and add a little more tin.

[1Shirt]

Yep, hotter and faster. Rifle is no harder to cast for w/long blts than for short stubby handgun fodder.
1Shirt!

[jonk]

Assuming the mold is fully degreased, the only other option has to be heat. Either the alloy isn't hot enough, or you aren't moving fast enough. Because while tin HELPS with fill out, more heat can combat lack of tin.

I agree, short, fat bullets under 250 grains are usually the easiest to cast. Rifle isn't MUCH harder though.

I usually run 2 molds. Get one up to temperature to where it's tossing good bullets, while another warms on the hot plate. Then start switching; set one down while the other gets filled. This keeps the sprues from being torn off by impatience and leading to craters. And if I can run TWO molds at once with good fillout, running one shouldn't be an issue. IN fact, if a Lee 1 or 2 cavity, it will quickly get so hot that it HAS to cool, or wait time to cut the sprue gets excessive. I've even seen it on a Lee mold that I opened it and the bullet slumped as it was still soft in the center, and I was running my pot on a '6' setting- nowhere near top end.

Speed up, heat up. Then find out if you need more tin.

[williamwaco]

Paul,


You didn't mention what metal you are using.
I would say you need at least one percent tin. More than two percent is wasteful.
If you are using clip on wheel weights, or range scrap, you probably do not have that much tin.

I agree that your mold is too cold.

I think it is better to heat up your mold by casting faster and pouring a larger sprue puddle. NOT by raising the temperature of the pot. The mold is too cold, not the metal.

Cast faster than normal. drop the bullets and immediately refill the mold. Continue this until the mold is so hot you can tilt it sideways and pour the sprue off like water - three seconds after you close the spout. At this point, slow down and start inspecting the bullets carefully, They will probably be frosted and may be poorly filled because of severe frosting. Slow your pace gradually until they come out perfectly and them maintain that pace. At the proper pace, the sprue should take two to three seconds to harden.


Check this series of images to see a mold coming up to temperature

http://reloadingtips.com/how_to/mold_warmup.htm

The second and third images on this page show undersized bullets caused by severe frosting.

http://reloadingtips.com/how_to/frosted-bullets.htm

When your bullet looks like the second bullet, you are too hot and need to slow down.





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