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Indiana shooter
02-04-2015, 11:12 AM
Hi there, I'm new to the forum and realitivly new to casting. I hope to learn alot here about my new hobby and look forward to drawing from the great knowledge of those that have been doing this much longer than myself.

The other day I received my new lee two cavity 310-430 mold. I have given it to a good friend of mine (who is a machinist) so that he could remove the gas check (I think he said he was going to remove .120). I'm planning to use this to take white tail deer with my sbh 44mag.

I have taken several deer using different bullets but I look forward to being able to take one with a boolit that I make myself.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Anything from lead alloy to advice about the mold modification is fair game.

Thanks in advance.

Oh yea and the only lead i have right now is soft roofing lead so that's my base to work with.

Echo
02-04-2015, 11:23 AM
Well, you better find something to alloy that blue lead with. Elmer used just tin for his work, usually about 15-1 Pb-Sn, but if you can find some type metal, that would provide some antimony for hardness. For a non-gc 44Mag, my un-informed suggestion would be 5-1 (Pb-Lino) using linotype, or 12-1 using monotype, and adding an additional 1-2% Sn. You want 2-3% Sn to reduce the surface tension of the melt, allowing the melted alloy to fully fill the mold rather than leaving round corners everywhere. For lube, I suggest tumble loobing, using either Lee Alox or Recluse loob (my choice). Read the stickies on tumble loobing. Others will have additional suggestions...

dolang1
02-04-2015, 11:25 AM
Go to the stickys. That's what I do. There is someone out there that has already figured it out. You can also use the search if you a specific problem. Good luck and welcome.

runfiverun
02-04-2015, 11:44 AM
3 parts of your lead to 1 part linotype will give you an alloy of 1% tin and 3% antimony.
that's enough tin, it's also enough antimony.

your first mistake will be using a mold that's not hot enough, your target mold temp will be about 400-f.
you'll need to clean all the oil from the mold too or you'll have wrinkles.
let the boolits you make sit for a week or two.

when starting out with a new [aluminum and brass especially] mold I like to make a few short runs letting the mold heat up and cool off. then I make a run of boolits that's long enough [200 boolits or so] to let me get accustomed to the molds casting pace and how it likes to be poured into to get the best results.
these are the ones I use for load testing, and it allows me time to assess my alloy choice, try a different alloy and a couple of different loads, etc. before going crazy on making 5-k boolits.
once I have a handle on what I need the boolits to be like, and how they behave on target I will make up a batch of the alloy I need, then i'll put the mold into a big run or two or three and build up a supply.

coffeeguy
02-04-2015, 06:49 PM
Plus one to everything written here so far...You can easily get performance equal to or better than factory ammunition by casting/loading your own.

One thing...Slug your bore and your cylinder throats... cast to match your throat diameter, it's often different between throats/bores of the 'same' caliber, different manufacturers, etc...take your time, learn the art/science and have fun doing it. Oh, and have fun filling up the freezer too!

Oh, and just curious, any reason you're removing the gas check groove? True, with proper sizing, lube/powdercoat and velocity you can get by without gas checks...that said, is it just for convenience and cost of not having to use them? Keep us posted as to how you make out!

theperfessor
02-04-2015, 07:14 PM
If it has moving parts it needs lubrication. A mold's life is inversely proportional to how hard and how many times you beat on it.

Indiana shooter
02-04-2015, 11:50 PM
Oh, and just curious, any reason you're removing the gas check groove? True, with proper sizing, lube/powdercoat and velocity you can get by without gas checks...that said, is it just for convenience and cost of not having to use them? Keep us posted as to how you make out![/QUOTE]

1) I had a lee 240-tl mold for my .44mag and was able to work with my load and lead hardness to make it not lead at all. Unfortunately I didn't read the directions and warped it, bad. So I'm thinking I can do without it.

2) If the same holds true with jacketed bullets and buffalo bore 300 gr bullets, I won't be able to adjust my sights high enough to match poa to poi. Close but not quite. So I'll need a lighter bullet

3) I like to cut cost as much as possible, plus less hassle.

I know that I'll need to harden dead soft lead to shoot at mag pressures. I did forget to mention that I do have quite a bit of lyno. When I make my ingots I add 2 bars to what comes out as about 10 1/2 lbs of lead.

Doggonekid
02-05-2015, 01:04 AM
Each time I broke in a new mold I didn't take the time to clean it. I just started casting and it took me about 70 to 90 bullets before they started coming out not wrinkled. After 20 to 30 bullets I knew my molds were up to temp but they still kept coming out wrinkled. I would of thought any oils would have been burned out by 50 or so bullets. I started to think it was my alloy. It took almost 100 bullets the first casting session to get sweet bullets. Now all 6 of my RCBS molds cast really nice bullets within 4 to 6 bullets. My advice is don't give up, keep trying. The more experience you get will always pay off. Everyone here is good about sharing what works for them so you can avoid some of mistakes we all have made.

Old Scribe
02-05-2015, 03:55 AM
Plus to the above advise. Take your time ask questions and welcome aboard.

Blammer
02-05-2015, 08:52 AM
yea, get more lead. :)

William Yanda
02-05-2015, 10:02 AM
No one has mentioned "Leementing" yet. I used that process on brand new Lee molds my first time out and had excellent results.

MtGun44
02-05-2015, 07:31 PM
Scrub cavities with Comet and a toothbrush. This will clean well and give a very mild
deburring. Not recommended to do this every time, eventually there would be damage,
but not for one time and it gets them nicely clean and removes tiny burrs from the
manufacturing process.

The answer to the first caster's problems (as hinted at by runfive, above) is : "Because your mold
is dirty and too cold."

Bill