New to the forum

[johnd5412]

Hey folks,

I just wanted to say hi....

I've been reloading for about 2 years and finally decided to get into casting...should've started both at the same time but the wallet wouldn't allow it.

Just got all my gear and I'm gonna roll out a few bullets this weekend. Real excited to learn this trade....lots of great info here from what I can tell already.

Cheers

John

[USAFrox]

Welcome! Hope you enjoy your new hobby!

[Hawkeye45]

Welcome aboard John, there is more information, not to mention opinions, here than any one person can absorb. Welcome to my OCD ...obsessive casting disorder.

Mr. Ed

[brstevns]

Nice to have you aboard, Tons of nice people here willing to help.

[PS Paul]

Welcome aboard, Jon. You might post your whereabouts in yer profile? A lot of us have made good contacts locally by doing so, when we might not otherwise have done so......

Casting is the thing that pushes us from "assemblers of components" to those who can make ammo exactly the way we want in OUR guns. Congrats on makin' the jump and please contribute, no matter how timid you might feel about doing so. It makes a difference, I promise.

Paul

[bangerjim]

The only dumb question is the one that is not asked!

Glad to have you logged in. Checkout all the lube data and alternatives (tumble, piglet, electrostatic gun PC, HiTec, etc) And have a try at some of them. You will find one that fits your style. Mine is gun PC'd slugs.

Cast away! And do not be shy to comment. We (well...... most of us!) do not bite. [smilie=l:

bangerjim

[Hogdaddy]

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your fist cast ; )
H/D

[303Guy]

Welcome aboard, johnd5412.:drinks:

[runfiverun]

don't be discouraged if things don't go perfectly right off the bat.
remember the two things that generally make the first time rough.
a dirty mold and mold temperature.
the alloy temp dictates casting pace more than anything else and it can actually be too hot.
but the first two will make you want to quit after a few hours frustration.

[41 mag fan]

don't be discouraged if things don't go perfectly right off the bat.
remember the two things that generally make the first time rough.
a dirty mold and mold temperature.
the alloy temp dictates casting pace more than anything else and it can actually be too hot.
but the first two will make you want to quit after a few hours frustration.

That goes for even the experienced also....we all have our bad days.

One thing nice about casting...you make a bad cast...you can remelt and try again till it comes out to satisfaction!

[prs]

Welcome to the fire!

We will be happy to help you by making mistakes. lol Actually, you will screw-up on occasion and this forum is a great resource for understanding and then avoiding those learning events.

Be safe and learn as much as you can from others.

prs

[johnd5412]

Thanks for the warm welcome, I look forward to learning more!

[mroliver77]

runfiveruns advice is about the best thing a new caster could learn!

I have been casting for around 20 years and occasionally have "magic" days where everything I touch turns to ****! I walk away and come back another day.

Also if you have Lee molds do a search for "leementing". Ah heck, every caster should read about it!

[Cherokee]

Welcome...

[blikseme300]

Welcome to our little corner of madness. The satisfaction of good groupings or meat taking using own boolits is just awesome.

[jeepyj]

Welcome to the casting madness. Maybe you could post some details of your first casting session sometimes others can see things will help you from reinventing the wheel. I started casting 30+ years ago but really started casting after I started hanging around this site. Now I get the accuracy I longed for so many years ago. Best of luck!
Jeepyj

[jimb16]

There is one undenieable truth about casting....The more you learn about it, the more you feel you need to learn! I've been casting for 45 years and I realize that I'm only a beginner!

[gray wolf]

Welcome friend, Glad to have you here.
Your now part of the best bunch of people on the net.
Take it slow and enjoy every bit of what you do.

Sam in Maine

[johnd5412]

Alright first session complete and it was quite interesting. Definitely a learning curve to overcome, i.e. how hot to keep the mold (750-800 was perfect), flow from the pot to the mold (I definitely spilled quite a bit of lead until I dialed it in just right, harmless but a little scary at first), I always new I was a sweater but damn I was sweating like in a sauna from the Alabama heat. I totaled 800 .40 S&W and 600 .45 acp. I used lee 6 cavity molds and these things are the business. Efficient and effective even for a beginner like myself...I prepped both molds in accordance with an article I read from this website and it worked great. Since I don't have any friends I showed my wife with pride and she wasn't too impressed. Oh well I don't much care about knitting.

[johnd5412]

I mean how hot to keep the melt, lol :)

[mroliver77]

Ya, women are never impressed. 1200 boolits on first go? Wow, you are the man! I think you might have a problem already. ;) You will be setting your alarm to allow some casting before work. Carrying boolits in your pocket to show people that will look. Be careful when you jam on your brakes and jump out of the car to grab a feral wheel weight!
J

[johnd5412]

Ha you may be right, I produced aprox an additional 900 .40 s&w today. I think I'm getting the hang of it. Thanks for all you supt!

[johnc486]

Congrats, that's a lot of boolits in 2 days of casting as a newbie, now lube, load, shoot and repeat.

[capt.hollis]

You'll love it here man! Welcome to your 2nd life ! Lol

[TXGunNut]

Welcome to the affliction, John! If you've come here to learn you'll be busy for quite some time. Several days spent reading stickies and posts will give you more knowledge than years spent casting and shooting but there's no substitute for casting and shooting!

[MrWolf]

Welcome to the site. Lot of excellent information along with plenty of experience - just for the asking 8-)

[jlchucker]

This is a good place to learn something new every day. None of us ever will reach the point where we know it all. Every day someone here encounters some sort of situation that's new--but once they post, it often turns out that someone else has had the same problem, and somebody else has discovered the solution. I've found that this website is comprised mostly of guys willing to learn, and willing to help. Welcome.