Newbie to using lead. Point me in a direction

[ptf18]

Ive been reloading pistol and rifle cartridges over 30 years. Ive always used jacketed bullets.

With jacketed bullets for the calibers (6.5x55 and 7.62x54r) I shoot becoming very hard to find, if at all available, Im looking to try lead bullets.... with gas checks... I think.

I would like to get some direction in shooting lead and hope you all can point me to good BASIC information in how to reload cartridges with lead bullets.

I would rather purchase ready made bullets. My current handloads for the 2 mentioned calibers push jacketed bullets at velocities of around 2500 fps and I dont know if this velocity is possible with lead. Ive read on various "coatings" being applied to bare lead projectiles that have allowed treated lead bullets to velocities much faster than practical years ago.

Thanks for your help.

ptf18

[FredBuddy]

I read stickies here for several months, and started gathering stuff at thrift stores. Now I are a caster !!

[badbob454]

you should expect to shoot @ 2000-2200 fps with a good cast rifle you will have good accuracy , and go for heavier boolits than the 150 gr in the mosin nagant .. gas check anything @ 1600 fps and faster for best accuracy. medium to slow powders work best with the heavy boolits , also make sure to expand the tip of your neck this will help so you dont shave off any lead while seating your boolit , if it was me i would go for a boolit mold like the 311041 that casts a little large ... try noe molds.... or accurate molds ..on line , these both make exellent molds ... i would aim for .314-.316 diameter depending on how worn your rifle is . ... better a little tight , than too loose for accuracy .. if i have mistated anything , please jump in and help this feller . oh yes lead ,,,, clip on wheel weights good for hunting to target practice , plus 2% tin to fill out , and make pretty boolits ...

[petroid]

First and foremost, SLUG YOUR BORES! Don't mean to shout, but whether it's a brand-new rifle or a cosmoline coated WWII tent stake hammer bores can vary widely. My two Mosin Nagants are .312 and .315 so the standard .311 jacketed bullet is too small for either, and cast boolits need to be sized 1-2 thou over groove diameter. There are many stickies with instructions on how to slug your bore. Then and only then will you know what size boolits to get if you're purchasing them, or which mold to get if you plan to cast your own. You'll likely have good luck with boolits cast from a Lyman 314299 mold for your 7.62x54R needs. Just make sure they are sized appropriately for your rifle(s). I have had good luck with the Lee C312-185-1R though it drops boolits at .312 which is too small for either of my rifles. I powder coat them which adds 3-4 thousandths and then size to .314 if needed.

[Tatume]

PM sent.

[TXGunNut]

Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook lives on my coffee table with frequent trips to the loading room, great place to start your cast boolit adventure. I started out trying to buy lead boolits but after wasting a couple hundred on stuff that didn't work in my rifle I assembled what I felt was a comprehensive casting outfit. Life got in the way and it stayed in the shipping boxes for over a year but I used my spare time wisely lurking around here.

[MtGun44]

Read the stickies, get the Lyman Cast boolit book and read it. It is mostly
correct, although they lean towards too small and too hard, in my opinion.

Welcome, lots of info here.

Bill

[Cherokee]

Slug the bores of your rifles and measure with a micrometer to get accurate reading. You will want to use .001-.002 larger size bullets. If you don't want to get into casting, then you will have to check with the various cast bullet vendors to see what is available, especially if you want powder coated. Get the Lyman book as suggested, read it and the stickies here. Come back with any questions after that.

[TXGunNut]

If you can find a third edition Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook snatch it up, if you can find two I'll buy the other one! I have the fourth edition and enjoy it very much but I've heard the previous edition was better. Bill is right about some of Lyman's numbers, I also feel they are a bit conservative on some max loads but that probably comes from using hard, undersized boolits.

[ptf18]

Thanks Fellows. I dont want to cast my own but do need to learn about loading cast type bullets. As for my Swedish m96 6.5x55. Ive now learned that there are "issues" using lead only bullets due to the fast twist rate.

[Echo]

Thanks Fellows. I dont want to cast my own but do need to learn about loading cast type bullets. As for my Swedish m96 6.5x55. Ive now learned that there are "issues" using lead only bullets due to the fast twist rate.
While I don't have a 6.5, I suggest using a slower-than-normal powder with cast boolits so that the initial slam isn't too severe. Maybe 4831 or 3100...

[grouch]

Really sorry to hear you don't want to cast. Just have to say that I have a 6.5x55 and that the "issues" aren't all that difficult. That rifle does prefer a reasonably hard alloy(ww + 2%tin), air cooled or harder, but it does just over 1" for five shots at 100yds at +/- 2000fps.
GRouch