brand new to the game

[trickyasafox]

hi all, my first post. i found this site by way of thr.

anyway i've been reloading for about a year now, and would like to start thinking about casting. i did a search and checked the article page, and have read what i could find, but is there a bare bones nitty gritty how to cast reference guide you guys could point me towards? everything from what you need to get, to what the cast should look like, to about how many i can reasonably expect to produce with different levels of equipment. i know this is a ton of questions, so please if you only feel like picking one or two per post to answer be my guest.

any and all help is appreciated

mike :grin:

[waksupi]

Welcome aboard, Mike.
Search back through the archives of this site for lots of good info, along with the former sites. Find a copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet book, keep an eye out for the RCBS book, the NRA cast bullet book. (haven't been able to get my hands on this one, myself), and Veral Smith's "Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets".
Check out the Castpics links, and the articles links. These will get you well started. Don't be shy about asking questions here, we'll give you more answers than you can stand!

[Leftoverdj]

Mike, my advice is to just do it. You will wind up reading everything Waksupi recommended and more, but all you need to get started is a supply of suitable alloy, a mould, a ladle, a heat source, and an iron or steel pot. It's like chess. You can get started in an hour, but few manage to master it in a lifetime.

Wheelweights and a plain based pistol caliber mould are probably the easiest starting point.

[JohnH]

A few things I wish I had known when I started casting....

I wish I had known just how good 2" groups at 100 yards with cast actually are. That doesn't meant that smaller isn't possible nor that once you have a load that does that it is time to sit on your haunches. But 2" groups are darn good and are an indication that you are doing all the right things at the right times.

I wish I had done less experimenting (fooling around more like it) with alloys and simply used wheel weights with 2% tin added. This will cover 90% or more of the shooting you are ever likely to do. At the point where it don't, you'll be ready to take full advantage of the high antimony/tin alloys.

I wish I had available to me the kind of resouce that is available here.

Reading is fundamental, but there is as much misinformation available as there is good information. Keep good notes of everything you do and how you do it. The memory is a poor place for data storage.

A leaded barrel is nothing to fear. There is nothing you can put down your bore that a good scrubbing won't remove. You will sooner or later lead foul a barrel so badly it will take a good afternoon to clean. There are two kinds of bullet casters, those who have leaded a barrel and those who will.

Be sure that the bullets are a proper fit in your gun, the better the fit the less likely leading will be, and the greater the chance of good accuracy.

Don't give up. Most of us had mentors of one kind or another, but generally most casters figure this thing out on their own. It ain't that complicated. It is even actually difficult to make a bad batch of bullets. Keep your molds clean and oil free. I store mine in ammo cans with silica gel packs. When I get a mold I wash it good in xylene, laquer thinner or mineral spirits. Spray carb cleaner works good to.

Good luck to ya, keep us posted

[johnho]

I was new to casting about 4 months ago. the guys on this site are great and have a lot of information and will help you through the process. Lymans book is the first one I got and it is good.

BUT-don't do it. It will suck you in to too much fun and satisfaction. It will consume you to make more and more bullets. then you will need more and more molds. then you will need more boxes to hold the bullets. Then club members will want to buy them. Then you'll laugh at them because you don't need to buy bullets and your shooting costs will go down. No-don't do it. Don't beleive these guys when they tell all the good things about casting. They're all sick. they sucked me in and got me now. :)

Now my suggestion from a newbie. Get a good lubrisizer like the Star. It is a dream, a little pricey but well worth it IMHO. Get good molds-I was patient and got three H&G off of ebay. some at a decent price, some I overpaid for but they are great. then I got hooked on ebay but that's another story.

also bought a used bottom pour pot off ebay. Never got stung with anything I bought there yet. bought a good thermometer and I use it. don't knowwhat good it does but I just like to know the temp of the melt. don't really need one, if the pot pours it's hot enough, if it doesn't it cooled down.

Get some of those oven gloves and wear them on both hands. About 15 bucks each at Walgreens. the hand you don't wear it on will get burned for some reason.

Take your time at first. Don't try to go too fast until you get the tempo down. Then you won't be able to stop.

[buck1]

Feel free to ask about something BEFORE YOU BUY IT. We lead shooters are some of the most opinionated folks you can find, But with good reason. We know what works for us because we tryed it 500 ways. Someone here has been there done that and may save you a bunch of headachs.
It can cost a fourtune or nothing much at all,its up to you.
WELCOME!!!
Buck

[David R]

Shooting cast boolits has done one huge thing for me. It has made me a better shot. I go to the range and shoot 50 rifle rounds or 50 peestol rounds maybe 2X a week. How many Factory ammo shooters do that? I have shot as many as 300 to 400 in one week. I have been casting since 1987. I learned a whole bunch more about it since I joined here a few months ago. I am sure the boolits we make are better than almost all lead boolits you can buy.

Read what you can, try it, read again ask away.

These guys helped me get my 22-250 shooitng lead into about an inch @ 100 yards. Nothing but fun.

David

[drinks]

Mike;
All good advice, one more thing, join the Cast Bullet Assn., they have a web site.
$17 will get you 6 magazines a year, written entirely by the members, and a 100 page book that is worth twice the $17.
Don

[LAH]

Howdy Mike.

[JohnH]

Shooting cast boolits has done one huge thing for me. It has made me a better shot. I go to the range and shoot 50 rifle rounds or 50 peestol rounds maybe 2X a week. How many Factory ammo shooters do that? David

If there is any reason to cast it is that. Shooting is an aquired skill, and no amount of firearm, scope, rangefinder, camo gear, guides, or even web based boolit casten forums can make up for the skill.

[buck1]

If there is any reason to cast it is that. Shooting is an aquired skill, and no amount of firearm, scope, rangefinder, camo gear, guides, or even web based boolit casten forums can make up for the skill.
I AGREE, YES SIR!!!!

[Buckshot]

.............Hi Mike. Easy does it at first. Ease into it at a comfortable pace and soon you'll be among the illuminati and cognosenti of the cast shoosting world. You'll be able to walk about the home range with a lip curled in a superior sneer for those not as enlightened.

Other cast boolit shooters will know. Everyone else will just think you have gas.

.............Buckshot

[trickyasafox]

lol! thanks for the help and the warm reception everyone! :)

[357tex]

You'll be able to walk about the home range with a lip curled in a superior sneer for those not as enlightened.
Buck shot
Do you mean I got to work on not only my trigger control my lead temp. my felix lube my lead hardness .but to be good at this I have to learn to curl my lip and pratice my sneer,oops my superior sneer.What if I can't sneer .What if my lip will not curl. Dang I will never be good at this. [smilie=b:

[9.3X62AL]

The superior sneer is sort of self-developing. No need to work on it--it'll take place all by itself. Not so much a "sneer", but more a pitying sense that the unenlightened are missing most of the fun.

Buckshot spoke of this some time ago.......he and I were zapping rats in Modoc in 2004, and a couple hunters stopped where we were hunting to pass the time of day. Rick brought up the subject of cast boolits in rifles, and I had the distinct impression that the recipients of his commentary were almost entirely unhit--as if introducing quantum physics to a classroom of 4th graders.

Fact is--it ain't rocket science, and positive results aren't that tough to accomplish. Cast boolits may not shoot into the high .1's or low .2's as readily as jacketed benchrest bullets--but to be honest the 1"-class groups I get from the Rem 788 x 243 with cast boolits are a LOT more satisfying than the high .2's and low .3's I got with a 40-XBBR in 222 some years back.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Mike, To effortlessly develop the superior sneer is only a simple three-step procedure: (1) go to any public range
(2) shoot an excellent group
(3) when the unwashed condom shooter at the next bench says,
"Wow, good group!" reply, "Yep, not bad for old
wheelweights." A superior sneer will appear as if by magic.
Welcome to the board.

[David R]

No sneers here, I just look at em and say Wannatryit? Most do. Some ask questions, some don't. I hand em a box of 50 rifle boolits, but I have never seen anyone shoot more than 10 and that was with a bunch of encoragment by me. I think that is what they are used to.


I have to go to the range so I can do some shooting, so I can empty out some brass so I can reload it so I can go to the range to so some shooting so I can........................

[PatMarlin]

Don't forget Richard Lee's Book- A great work, and now more on cast bulllets.. :wink:

[boogerred]

all the books are good. they all tend to repeat what the first guy said tho. i started trying to cast about 18 mos ago B.C.(before computer). since ive gotten this new typewriter/tv gizmo and found this site my casting has really improved and now i feel that i can contribute a splatter of knowledge sometimes. im still a beginner trying to make good bullets out of ww,s and these guys have helped me as im sure they,ll help you. theres nothing like having an old man looking over your shoulder to show you how and these guys are the old men i grew up with