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View Full Version : Shot some of my cast boolits today.



supv26
03-21-2009, 09:10 PM
I was able to shoot some of my own cast boolits again today. I have the water cooled separated from the air cooled and have them loaded with the same charge. The air cooled boolits leaded the barrel a bit and the water cooled boolits did not.

I did shoot quite a few of the air cooled boolits and was able to keep the barrel clean by putting a jacketed bullet in each mag. When I was finished shooting I loaded one mag with cast boolits and shot them. Cleaning was easy as the jacketed bullets cleaned all the lead out.

Timberland
03-21-2009, 10:25 PM
A jacket to clean out the leadding? Cool idea, what alloy were you using?

WHITETAIL
03-22-2009, 08:36 AM
supv26, What cal were you shooting?

supv26
03-22-2009, 09:40 AM
I am using the LEE TL 452-230-2R mold. I am not sizing my boolits and loading with 3.8 grain of CLAYS. My alloy is range scrap.

lunicy
03-22-2009, 09:59 AM
Waterquenching makes the boolits a little harder. However, If you are using range scrap, remember one batch will be different from the rest.

Shiloh
03-22-2009, 10:30 AM
Waterquenching makes the boolits a little harder. However, If you are using range scrap, remember one batch will be different from the rest.

It is different.

At the velocities that I shoot pistol boolits, it makes little difference. I do however, keep the various lots seperate in there own containers, load and shoot until they're gone.

There seems to be enough better lead in the range scrap to allow some hardening. But that also varies from batch to batch also.
Shiloh

supv26
03-22-2009, 01:49 PM
Yea, I am sure the hardness will be different from batch to batch. I am statisfied with either one but I know I will do all of my casting now with water cooling the boolits. I have cases of 45acp ammo stacked so I will never run out of "cleaning" ammo.

Several years ago I was able to pick up a lot of this bulk 45 ammo at a bargain price. Most of it was WIN in plain white boxes, no writing or print at all on the boxes, just the cases were marked. It was manufactured for police ranges and I was able to get some for myself mainly for the brass for reloading.

imashooter2
03-22-2009, 02:55 PM
I've cast quite a bit of indoor range scrap. Of course every bucket is a bit different, but I estimate the stuff I have at 25% jacketed, 25% commercial cast and 50% .22s over time. I try and even things out by smelting several buckets at a time and jumbling the ingots before storage. Anyway, this scrap air cools pretty soft and water quenches about the same as ACWW. One of those 2 configurations has worked for every handgun application I have from target .38s to full snort .44 mag.