New kid on the block

[Burnt Fingers]

I've been reading this site for a few years, off and on. We finally got something more than dial up where I live and I figured it was time to join. As long as the hamster keeps turning the wheel I have a connection!

I started bullet casting back in the mid '80's. Used a ladle and a Lyman mold. Then a couple of years later me and a buddy splurged and got a H&G 68 and a Saeco pot.

I ended up with a job that required me to move every 3-12 months and never to the same place twice. A couple of years ago I had a problem on the job and I'm no longer able to work.

I had always liked Texas so I settled here after I retired. Moved far enough out in the country to make me happy. I live a few minutes from a private gun club so I have a good place to shoot.

My buddy passed a decade or so back, man how time flies! I ended up with the Saeco and the H&G. I had to give up the casting due to the job. But I'm back!

I've been picking up some molds here and there and a new RCBS pot. I'm having the time of my life!

I discovered powder coat and Hi-Tek and I'm using both, mainly Hi-Tek. I was using the Lee sizing dies then discovered the NOE stuff. Like the NOE stuff so much that I bought a Star sizer.

That's about it.

[CastingFool]

Welcome to the forum, Burnt Fingers!

[country gent]

Welcome to the addiction. And a good set of leather gloves saves a lot of burnt fingers in this hobby. LOL

[Conditor22]

Welcome to CB Burnt Fingers

A few thoughts and links I threw together that should help you get into cast boolits

If you decided to start casting to save money, forget it. You won't, you'll just shoot more.
Casting boolits (lead bullets) properly is a science, once you know the basics, not a hard science.
There is a lot of good information on CB. The Google search (top right of every forum page) is a gateway to all the knowledge on this forum. IF you can’t find your answer there ask the question (Please be as detailed as possible, pictures help. I would be very surprised if there wasn’t someone on this forum that could answer ANY (firearm related) question you might have)
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
1. Boolits need to be cast .0005 to .003 (normally .002) over the slugged diameter of your barrel for accuracy and to avoid leading. If the fit is wrong nothing else will work right.
a. slugging a barrel (it is safer to use a brass rod or a steel rod with a couple of coats of tape to avoid damaging your barrel http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm
b. chamber casting https://www.brownells.com/guntech/cerrosafe/detail.htm?lid=10614
or pound casting http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?356251-Pound-Cast-instructions-(for-rifle-chamber)
2. the right alloy needs to be used for the velocity and purpose of the boolit (don’t fall into the trap of going with too hard an alloy

Some alloys harden over time
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_3_alloySelectionMetallurgy.ht m

Lead alloy calculator
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=45784&d=1341560870
3. velocity the bullet needs to be pushed hard/fast enough to get the proper spin, have the proper velocity to accurately reach the target but not so hard as to be dangerous or strip the lead off in the grooves instead of spinning the boolit..
The boolit needs to be the right weight for the riffling/twist rate of your barrel
Powders range from fast to slow, you need to choose the right powder for your barrel length & application.
Loading manuals list the best powders for certain calibers and boolit weights.
NEVER use any posted noncommercial load data without first checking commercial load data to see if falls in the safe parameter for your firearm!! There are several firearms out there that can handle much higher pressures than others!!
Link to free online load data
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?337910-CB-load-data-online-sources

Optimum seating depth (still feeds and seats with the best accuracy) will vary with every gun
I read somewhere that you can hold the boolit in the chamber so it's touching the rifling. slide the biggest rod down the barrel and mark where the end of the barrel is. If there is a big gap between the barrel and the rod, you can use a washer the fits snug around the rod to help with marking.
remove the boolit then chamber an empty piece of brass, use the same rod and measure it again. Do the math, this is your max depth. Back it off a couple thou.
now you have to worry about feeding.

[BigAlofPa.]

Welcome on board. This is a great forum.

[RobS]

Life full circle. Welcome aboard the silver stream!

[Markopolo]

Welcome sir... may you cast many boolits, and avoid the Tinsel Fairy!!

[KMac]

Welcome from North Texas. Always great to have more fellow Texans on board.

[Land Owner]

My buddy passed in 2017 and it sucked the air and my motivation with it right out the window. It has been difficult to get back into the swing of casting and all things hunting and shooting. I LIVED to take that man out into the woods for a day of hunting or food plotting. We knew, figuratively, where each other's "dead bodies" were buried. NRA Hunter Magazine did a story last September (circa) discussing the down turn in hunting and loss of a hunting partner was fairly high on that list. Ten years is a long stretch to wait. I hope I can find some motivation this year.

[Burnt Fingers]

Thanks everyone.

I do wear a glove on my right hand. Mainly because I like to run the sprue plate by hand.

I try and remember that hot boolits look just like cold boolits. But the more "experience" I get the more brain farts I get.