first usable boolits

[bigolsmokebomb]

178320


178321

well ive finally got some boolits i can actually use. after finally figuring out that the lead i was using was around half tin and giving me a boolit 20gr underweight i got some new pb and got some good casts from it. first pic is fresh from the ice water quench and second is after drying them off. will be pc them this weekend and loading them up when my sizer gets in. they are from a 6 cavity .356 124gr tc lee mold using ww pb

[Landy]

Well done, and kudos on the perseverance.

[bigolsmokebomb]

Well done, and kudos on the perseverance.

its actually all thanks to this forum. if it wasnt for the guys that recognized that my original boolits were too shiney and the bars i had had a gold tint to them noting the high tin i would have spent a lot of time and money trying to figure it out. i am completely new to casting so i had no idea what to look for in the lead itself to note the actual issue i was having and now thanks to the guys here i now have a greater understanding of what to look for.

[35 shooter]

They look really good from here. Congrats on a good batch of boolits. I take it there will be many more to come after you shoot those up lol.

[bigolsmokebomb]

They look really good from here. Congrats on a good batch of boolits. I take it there will be many more to come after you shoot those up lol.

should be quite a few. im hoping that I wont be buying anymore jword bullets and just be running cast from now on. I still have about 300 or so jword bullets left and ill still shoot those for the time being until I get my process down and a good load worked up for competition.

[rancher1913]

that is the same style I started with, but a little bigger for the 357 mag. the micro grove powder coats well but sometimes the brass will cut some off during loading unless you use a fairly large bell. If you have some extra funds look into the 9mm group buy from MiHec that we just had, the no lube grove boolit powder coats and loads really well, just cast several thousand last night and that mold is a dream. if you want to try some pm me your info and I will get georgeonedollar to drop some off at your house.

[runfiverun]

that's the galvanized grey color I strive to get from my molds too.
looking good now you just need to repeat the process each time.

[OnHoPr]

Hey, check those boolits out, blast them. I am not sure, but I would like to point out a couple of more things and ask a question. If these are your first cast and you have competition in mind, great your on your way. I thought you really didn't need to size tumble lube boolits or is that necessary for certain measurements and possible PCing applications? To point out a couple of things look at your sprues. One is that you need to let your sprues cool a bit more to prevent that hollow ripping effect. Also, notice how they are off center. Is the sprue plate in line properly when the mold is closed? Is the sprue plate closing all the way? May you have to grind a little more groove in it to let it align better? Is it over closing? It might not mean much shooting a man size target at 15 yds, but if you are going to have to hit a 1" bull at 25 yds it could throw or spread your groups a little wider. It would throw off the concentricity of the boolit especially when you don't know the actual point of alignment in the case and being loaded in the bore.

[OS OK]

If you PC those your going to learn how slick those little buggers can get...if you have large paws it's even harder to hang onto them when your poking them in the brass! I have a round front on one of my 9 molds, those little buggers will jump out of my fingers like Mexican Jumping Beans.

Great job!

[bigolsmokebomb]

Thanks for all the great words of encouragement and advice. To answer a few questions these have actually been PC'd and they definately are some slick little buggers. On the sprew plate for the mold i do make sure to close it all the way after every drop. It may be a little off center and ill make sure to check and correct that. Since they are PC'd i will be sizing them because of the added thickness of the pc. Thanks for the tip on the sprew tearing, i was wondering what was causing it. The majority of what i shoot is IDPA so the farthest man size target will be at 35yds and thats only during standards but i still want to have them be at least as accurate as my jword loads so every bit of advice helps and is appreciated.

[Shiloh]

Looks good.
My last mold took a long time with many duds. Then as if by magic they got better. I bumped the heat and have perfect fill every time.

Shiloh