First boolits... .357/.38 spl NOE 155gr. wadcutter mold

[fishboy]

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd share some photos of my night. First shot with the new mold. I'd say I'm happy with about 70-75% of what I poured. My mold is a 4 cavity aluminum mold.

I broke it in the way it was recommend in the paperwork that came with the mold. This mold really likes to be hot in order to fill the cavities and get good definition. I also had the molten lead slightly glowing red (not enough for it to smoke of course). I don't have a thermometer in my bottom feeder Lee pot. I weighed a few of the better boolits and with my lead they come out at 155.5gr. On average.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f121/gkiester/50E2A766-A634-4D16-A9DC-E897541ABFC0_zpshcqhbnwt.jpg (http://s46.photobucket.com/user/gkiester/media/50E2A766-A634-4D16-A9DC-E897541ABFC0_zpshcqhbnwt.jpg.html)

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f121/gkiester/5A1F448F-1BE4-4813-8FC1-4BCF4A20C1C6_zpsbvpide4x.jpg (http://s46.photobucket.com/user/gkiester/media/5A1F448F-1BE4-4813-8FC1-4BCF4A20C1C6_zpsbvpide4x.jpg.html)

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f121/gkiester/DCA16C3A-2A47-4C13-9192-3049A1C35E5B_zpsuzz5xcxb.jpg (http://s46.photobucket.com/user/gkiester/media/DCA16C3A-2A47-4C13-9192-3049A1C35E5B_zpsuzz5xcxb.jpg.html)

My boolits don't come out of the mold with hard corners as sharp as the mold is. I do water quench them right out of the mold.

Let me know what you think. I'll take any constructive critism you got.

Thanks,
Greg

[Cherokee]

Why water drop wadcutters that are for target level loads ? What alloy ? Alloy can make a big difference. If COWW's, then looks like you need a little tin to help with the fillout. However, I would not hesitate to use ones like in the pic's. Other than rounded edges, they look good, and based on my experience, should shoot fine. Keep at it, practice, try some tin, vary the metal temp downward and see how it does. You done good for first goround.

[fishboy]

This is lead that I got from a guy who says he scavenges lead from gun ranges. I have no way of testing this alloy at the moment, so I am trusting this guy with what he says. If in fact this is true, I was precipitation hardening them to achieve a little firmer boolit. When pouring this lead it was extremely clean. It required minimal flux and didn't have a lot of dross.

Greg

[gray wolf]

I also had the molten lead slightly glowing red
Glowing red ??? just saying but isn't that a tad warm ( polite for a little hot )

[fishboy]

Glowing red ??? just saying but isn't that a tad warm ( polite for a little hot )

Yes, it was a little red (you could see it only if I shaded the pot from the light). It wasn't glowing red. In the past I've only poured lead for fishing lures and I have never been concerned with having lure I make fill out the mold perfectly every time. When I was pouring these boolits on my normal setting that I use for fishing lures, I was not filling the mold very well.

Greg

[jonp]

Would the temp being too hot cause the less than ideal fill out? That is, pull the tin to the top so the bottom pore gets all lead?

[GP100man]

gray wolf , maybe DANG HOT would`ve been better ???

Anyways it looks as if it all was`nt too hot , looks as if maybe ya spent too much time inspecting boolits LOL ! we`all done it at first!

I`ve found NEW aluminum molds take a few cycles to purge all the machining lubes from the pores,but a slight smokin from a butane liter helps alot!

Preheat ya mold & pour at a steady pace, & get a thermometer, temp is so important especially on aluminum molds , rite on the verge of too hot is best , some like frosty boolits !

Also my NOE molds like the stream to hit ded center with a generous sprue !

Wish my first 1s looked that good !

Oh yeah , I cast the 358091 & found the bottom 2 grooves to be sufficent lube , 3 grooves lubed gives me a bigger group , too much lube can be a bad thing also !!

GP

[fishboy]

Would the temp being too hot cause the less than ideal fill out? That is, pull the tin to the top so the bottom pore gets all lead?

Not sure. Like I've mentioned, I was never overly concerned with how my fishing lures came out before. I did notice a golden layer on the top of the molten lead in my pot while pouring these boolits last night. It was almost like a skin of film.

Greg

[fishboy]

gray wolf , maybe DANG HOT would`ve been better ???

Anyways it looks as if it all was`nt too hot , looks as if maybe ya spent too much time inspecting boolits LOL ! we`all done it at first!

I`ve found NEW aluminum molds take a few cycles to purge all the machining lubes from the pores,but a slight smokin from a butane liter helps alot!

Preheat ya mold & pour at a steady pace, & get a thermometer, temp is so important especially on aluminum molds , rite on the verge of too hot is best , some like frosty boolits !GP

I didn't think it was too hot because I don't have frosty boolits. I also did the Bic lighter trick to had a little layer of carbon to the mold.

Greg

['74 sharps]

The wadcutter is usually cast out of soft alloy and not water dropped for accuracy and elimination of any leading issues. They should shoot fine, but next casting session might give the softer route a try and compare the results.

[RedHawk357Mag]

Nice! I have that same mold. Haven't cast anything yet as I am in Colorado and my casting equipment is in Oklahoma. I was surprised at not seeing more posts about this bullet. Sure interested in how they work out for you. I also got this mold in a two cavity 100gr variety. I have casted with that one and it makes a pretty nice bullet my point of impact is much different than my other 158 gr bullets. Really looking forward to using this new mold. Good luck and have a great time shooting those.