inuhbad
06-12-2008, 03:14 PM
Hey Everyone,
I'm a newbie to this forum, but not to shooting & forums. I've been shooting since I was 6 years old, and got really into tactical / defensive training, a little competition shooting, and other forms of recreational shooting.
I'm a Landscape Architect in training until I pass all my professional Registration Exams. At work I design mostly Cemeteries, City Parks, Schools, Athletic Fields, College & Corporate Campuses, and Commercial Landscapes. I've had to do a fair bit of research into the Design & Construction methods of building Shooting Ranges as well, but have never been hired to design & build one yet. Some day I'd like that chance, but don't know if that'll ever come about.
Over the past years I've fired many tens of thousands of rounds, and have thus learned the value of cast lead bullets... I've been loading 230gn LRN into my 45 ACP for quite some time now. However, I've been thinking - to save on costs, perhaps I should look into making my own cast lead bullets...
Over all the past years of shooting, I've shot through my entire stockpile of ammunition, and I can't currently afford to replenish it with new factory ammunition - the costs of which have skyrocketed to obscene levels as I'm sure you've seen! As a direct result of these increased prices, and the upcoming election which may soon lead to a ban of my beloved 'assualt rifles', I've devoted most of my resources to buying/building as many of these 'Evil' guns as possible before they're outlawed altogether... But what good are these evil guns if I can't afford the ammunition to shoot them???
I've learned to love making and using my own things in shooting. I've been building & shooting firearms of my own for quite a while... Mostly building AR-15's, AK-47's, and other things from kits. More recently I've started working on Hybrid Kit designs, and my own personal, completely HOMEBUILT firearm designs that I intend to build from raw materials/metals.
My current two projects are a Semi-Automatic PPS-43 Kit gun, and a Hybrid gun known as an MG-47ES. The MG-47 is a hybrid between an RPK-47 (Long heavy barreled AK-47) and it is mated with the feed tray and top cover feed mechanism from a German MG-42 / MG-3 to make a Semi-Automatic Belt-Fed Rifle firing the 7.62x39mm Russian Rimless cartridge. At my current pace, it should be completed around August or September.
One of my next projects that I'm designing myself from the ground up are a 45 ACP pistol firing from 20 and 30 round stick mags that I will design & fabricate myself (using steel bending/forming jigs of my design) out of 4130 sheet steel, music wire (for spring making), tube steel, and hardened 4140 steel.
When I was 6, I was taught to shoot by my father with a 22 target rifle (funny, during Clinton's AWB it was considered an 'Assault Rifle'), and I later transitioned to larger guns...
...I always thought, since I'll be trying for my first child in the near future, I'll be even more strapped for ammo money, and will need to find a way to lower the costs! Then I thought, well, is it hard to cast my OWN loads?
I've always thought it would be fun to someday introduce my children to shooting with a 22 like my father did for me! However, when they want to progress to a larger caliber firearm, I was hoping to introduce them into shooting larger calibers by helping him build a blackpowder rifle of his/her own, and also helping them cast their own first bullets/balls as well! This way they'd be able to feel and experience the pride and exhileration (sp?) of having fired their OWN bullets from a firearm that they built themselves! THEN I'll transition them into other larger caliber centerfire firearms.
So, I'd like to learn to first cast my own ammunition for my 1911, and perhaps a couple other calibers/bullets (9mm/380 ACP 95 grain & 115 grain bullets), but primarily 45 ACP. Later I hope to pick up a 45-70 and make rounds for that as well, and as my children grow, perhaps some balls/bullets for their first blackpowder guns.
As such, I've got some questions...
My loading manual(s) don't have much information regarding the process of casting your own bullets. What are some good resources to read on the subject? What are some good places for me to get started?
I'd like to do all my casting outdoors - I have a 3' fire pit in my back yard, is it possible that I could hang a large cast iron pot to use for smelting/casting lead over this fire, or does it need to be done with some sort of Electrical / Propane heat source? Does ANYBODY do this over a fire, or is it simply not hot enough?
If I have to buy/build a propane heat source, could this serve as a secondary purpose of parkerizing my gun builds with long rectangular stainless steel pans (if I use different cast iron pots for the smelting/casting)?
How difficult is it to do a decent job of casting your own bullets?
Now, a more pertinent question - what are some GOOD SOURCES FOR LEAD??? I've heard of checking tire shops, but I only know of one, and I don't think they'd let me get their old wheel weights... I might be able to scavenge fired bullets from a couple gun ranges ~1 hour away though... Their backstops are older than heck, full of bullets, and the range is falling apart. Digging up bullets would only IMPROVE the range at this point by rebuilding the backstop...
Anybody know of any other decent sources for lead to cast my own bullets?
I've seen with a new method of shooting range design, it would be VERY EASY to reuse fired bullets. There's a method of backstop design which is basically an angled metal roof held on posts ~ 14 feet over a concrete slab. There's a dirt backstop in the far back, and in front of this there's a couple rows of strategically stacked hay bales... All underneath the metal roof. Targets are hung on the hay bales, and when shooting, ~90% of the bullets are stopped & contained within the hay bales! As the year progresses, the hay bales deteriorate, more bullets break through to the dirt backstop, and the bales are removed and can be set onto a concrete pad, and burned. The lead & bullets will fall to the concrete slab, where the lead can be salvaged. Also, when the hay bales start to deteriorate, many of the bullets 'trapped' in the bale will eventually just fall down to the concrete slab under the backstop roof, where they can be salvaged whole and melted down.
I wish I could find a range built like this, but unfortunately I don't know where any like that have been constructed...
Anybody have any good ideas/advice/recommendations for someone looking to do a little casting/loading (say ~5,000rds/year in 45 ACP to start)???
-inuhbad
I'm a newbie to this forum, but not to shooting & forums. I've been shooting since I was 6 years old, and got really into tactical / defensive training, a little competition shooting, and other forms of recreational shooting.
I'm a Landscape Architect in training until I pass all my professional Registration Exams. At work I design mostly Cemeteries, City Parks, Schools, Athletic Fields, College & Corporate Campuses, and Commercial Landscapes. I've had to do a fair bit of research into the Design & Construction methods of building Shooting Ranges as well, but have never been hired to design & build one yet. Some day I'd like that chance, but don't know if that'll ever come about.
Over the past years I've fired many tens of thousands of rounds, and have thus learned the value of cast lead bullets... I've been loading 230gn LRN into my 45 ACP for quite some time now. However, I've been thinking - to save on costs, perhaps I should look into making my own cast lead bullets...
Over all the past years of shooting, I've shot through my entire stockpile of ammunition, and I can't currently afford to replenish it with new factory ammunition - the costs of which have skyrocketed to obscene levels as I'm sure you've seen! As a direct result of these increased prices, and the upcoming election which may soon lead to a ban of my beloved 'assualt rifles', I've devoted most of my resources to buying/building as many of these 'Evil' guns as possible before they're outlawed altogether... But what good are these evil guns if I can't afford the ammunition to shoot them???
I've learned to love making and using my own things in shooting. I've been building & shooting firearms of my own for quite a while... Mostly building AR-15's, AK-47's, and other things from kits. More recently I've started working on Hybrid Kit designs, and my own personal, completely HOMEBUILT firearm designs that I intend to build from raw materials/metals.
My current two projects are a Semi-Automatic PPS-43 Kit gun, and a Hybrid gun known as an MG-47ES. The MG-47 is a hybrid between an RPK-47 (Long heavy barreled AK-47) and it is mated with the feed tray and top cover feed mechanism from a German MG-42 / MG-3 to make a Semi-Automatic Belt-Fed Rifle firing the 7.62x39mm Russian Rimless cartridge. At my current pace, it should be completed around August or September.
One of my next projects that I'm designing myself from the ground up are a 45 ACP pistol firing from 20 and 30 round stick mags that I will design & fabricate myself (using steel bending/forming jigs of my design) out of 4130 sheet steel, music wire (for spring making), tube steel, and hardened 4140 steel.
When I was 6, I was taught to shoot by my father with a 22 target rifle (funny, during Clinton's AWB it was considered an 'Assault Rifle'), and I later transitioned to larger guns...
...I always thought, since I'll be trying for my first child in the near future, I'll be even more strapped for ammo money, and will need to find a way to lower the costs! Then I thought, well, is it hard to cast my OWN loads?
I've always thought it would be fun to someday introduce my children to shooting with a 22 like my father did for me! However, when they want to progress to a larger caliber firearm, I was hoping to introduce them into shooting larger calibers by helping him build a blackpowder rifle of his/her own, and also helping them cast their own first bullets/balls as well! This way they'd be able to feel and experience the pride and exhileration (sp?) of having fired their OWN bullets from a firearm that they built themselves! THEN I'll transition them into other larger caliber centerfire firearms.
So, I'd like to learn to first cast my own ammunition for my 1911, and perhaps a couple other calibers/bullets (9mm/380 ACP 95 grain & 115 grain bullets), but primarily 45 ACP. Later I hope to pick up a 45-70 and make rounds for that as well, and as my children grow, perhaps some balls/bullets for their first blackpowder guns.
As such, I've got some questions...
My loading manual(s) don't have much information regarding the process of casting your own bullets. What are some good resources to read on the subject? What are some good places for me to get started?
I'd like to do all my casting outdoors - I have a 3' fire pit in my back yard, is it possible that I could hang a large cast iron pot to use for smelting/casting lead over this fire, or does it need to be done with some sort of Electrical / Propane heat source? Does ANYBODY do this over a fire, or is it simply not hot enough?
If I have to buy/build a propane heat source, could this serve as a secondary purpose of parkerizing my gun builds with long rectangular stainless steel pans (if I use different cast iron pots for the smelting/casting)?
How difficult is it to do a decent job of casting your own bullets?
Now, a more pertinent question - what are some GOOD SOURCES FOR LEAD??? I've heard of checking tire shops, but I only know of one, and I don't think they'd let me get their old wheel weights... I might be able to scavenge fired bullets from a couple gun ranges ~1 hour away though... Their backstops are older than heck, full of bullets, and the range is falling apart. Digging up bullets would only IMPROVE the range at this point by rebuilding the backstop...
Anybody know of any other decent sources for lead to cast my own bullets?
I've seen with a new method of shooting range design, it would be VERY EASY to reuse fired bullets. There's a method of backstop design which is basically an angled metal roof held on posts ~ 14 feet over a concrete slab. There's a dirt backstop in the far back, and in front of this there's a couple rows of strategically stacked hay bales... All underneath the metal roof. Targets are hung on the hay bales, and when shooting, ~90% of the bullets are stopped & contained within the hay bales! As the year progresses, the hay bales deteriorate, more bullets break through to the dirt backstop, and the bales are removed and can be set onto a concrete pad, and burned. The lead & bullets will fall to the concrete slab, where the lead can be salvaged. Also, when the hay bales start to deteriorate, many of the bullets 'trapped' in the bale will eventually just fall down to the concrete slab under the backstop roof, where they can be salvaged whole and melted down.
I wish I could find a range built like this, but unfortunately I don't know where any like that have been constructed...
Anybody have any good ideas/advice/recommendations for someone looking to do a little casting/loading (say ~5,000rds/year in 45 ACP to start)???
-inuhbad