My first ever casting session .309 175gry

[Rufus28]

Hi all, here is some pics of my first ever bullet casting session.

I am using a Lee 20 lbs bottom pour and 180gn .309 bullet mold

First batch came out wrinkled, but after 10 to 15 bullets some nice looking bullets.

After casting and letting everything cool. i started weighing each bullet to see if they weigh up to the 180gn as the box description. It turns out that all the bullets weighed between 170gn an 174.8 gn.

The most consistent weights were 172.6, 173.3 and 174.6

I expect the weight of the bullets to be closer to 180 grains.

I am using WW lead and a single cavity mold.

Any advice?

Frosting means that the lead or the mold is to hot, correct?http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/14/u9u3u8ub.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/14/azu3aquq.jpg

[YunGun]

Wrinkled bullets typically indicate the mould was still too cool for best results. Frosted bullets aren't really a problem; I treat that as a sign that your mould is at peak operating temp, verging on almost too hot but many (including myself) prefer them a little frosted, particularly if tumble lubing. I tend to get the best fill-out & most consistent weights right around that temp, then vary the casting tempo to let the mold cool a bit more between pours or cool the mold on a damp rag, etc. to keep it at that temp.

As-cast weights will vary from the advertized mould weight due to differences in the alloy used; a higher percentage of pure lead will result in a heavier bullet while other alloys like Lyman #2 will be lighter, with straight Linotype being even lighter/harder, etc. (This will also affect your final as-cast diameter to some degree, with higher percentages of pure lead resulting in [slightly] smaller diameters)

The lasc.us (http://www.lasc.us/) site is another great resource, & hosts several pages dedicated to this very topic. Here are links to a few of them in particular....

"Cast Bullet Notes (http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm)"

"A Few Comments on Cast Bullet Alloys (http://www.lasc.us/FryxellCommentsCBAlloys.htm)" By: Glen E. Fryxell

"Cast Bullet Alloys & Alloy Maintenance (http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm)" By: Rick Kelter

"Blending Cast Bullet Antimony Alloys Alloying with Roto Metals Super Hard (http://www.lasc.us/SuperHard.htm)" By: Rick Kelter