difficulty of casting lil boolits?

[troy_mclure]

i just picked up a new pistol in .32 auto.

how hard is it to cast small (75+gr) boolits?

if heavy jacketed bullets are 75gr, how much heavier do you think an all lead boolit would be?

[oldhickory]

The smallest thing I currently cast is a 100gr .30 boolit out of a LEE mold and I don't have a lick of trouble with them.

[sundog]

The smallest I cast is 22 boolits with several RCBS and Lyman 2-cavity moulds. Warm up can be a little slow and frustrating, but once there, they cast real nice boolits if a steady rhythm is maintained. Heat is your friend.

I have a 257420 (69 gr) that once warmed up casts PERFECT boolits. Just happens to be an exception mould that you cannot even see the part line. Again, heat is friendly.

I see no reason why a 75 grain boolit in a quality block should not produce good results.

[Calamity Jake]

[QUOTE=sundog;561413]Heat is your friend.

What sundog says----- HEAT------------- run the pot @ 750-800, cast at a fast pace, pre heat your mold if you can, savea a lot of warm up time.

I cast the same mold plus the RCBS 22-055, a Lyman and Saeco 6MM and a couple of 25's
When I cast these iddybiddy boolits I use one mold at a time.

[scrapcan]

I agree run the pot hot. I cast the lyman 311252 and 313249. Once warmed up it is a dream to cast with them.

I can tell you that sizing and loading are as difficult as casting the little ones.

Your casts for the 32 acp will be far better to deal with than the little 22s.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Like the man says, heat is key, your .32 should not be a problem, the small bore .22's are a lot more problematic, your .32 is like a lite .30 cal, cast em up

[DLCTEX]

Casting 22's fast and hot is no problem, but gaschecking them will test your patience and make your fingers sore.

[monadnock#5]

Hot plate. The frustration saved will easily pay back the investment the first time out of the box.

[trevj]

I ran a bit over a thousand 225107's (supposed weight, 37 grains) of WW +2% tin, over a couple days.

That was in an old, Lyman Ideal Single cavity mold.

To keep the mold hot, I used a large amount of a pour onto the sprue plate, typically 3 or 4 times the weight of the bullet, or so. The heat from that bled into the mold and kept it warm, and restarting after the mold cooled when I took a break worked well doing the same thing for a couple bullets in a row that went straight back into the pot.

I had more grief with getting another 22 mold to drop, than I had with getting good fill out or keeping the mold warm enough.

I am using an old SAECO bottom pour pot. Using a dipper? Dunno.

Cheers
Trev

[runfiverun]

heat is your friend.
i use a 75 gr aluminum mold i start it at the hot side and keep it there.
i also have a steel mold for 98 gr boolits same thing i start at waaay frosted and work from there.

[warf73]

HEAT and if you get a Lee 6 cavity mold better add HEAT, I run my light 357 mold at around 850~900 and get great boolits in that heat range.
The main issue is getting the mold up to temp, my normal way (put mold on top of the pot while the alloy comes up to temp) didn't work like normal. Had to run 10 pouring with lots of alloy on the spur then finaly got good fill out.
Once you find the right temp for the alloy and get the mold up to temp, it's no different dropping small boolits over big ones.

[EDK]

Casting high quality BIG BOOLITS can be a hassle also. Casting grease groove or smooth paper patch boolits for my 50 caliber SHILOH SHARPS is a whole different game also. Casting 30 caliber after years of 357/44/45 required some adjustments, but I had a tough time with my first sessions for the BIG 50s.

:Fire::cbpour::redneck:

[NuJudge]

I have fill out problems with little .32's if I don't add Tin.

CDD

[Bret4207]

I am using an old SAECO bottom pour pot. Using a dipper? Dunno.

Cheers
Trev

A ladle just makes it easier. No big gobs of alloy all over the place. You hold the mould over the pot and the excess runs back in.

Signed- Tpr. Bret, still working on his hatred of all things bottom pour....

[Tom4570]

:castmine:I've cast thousands of 22 and 32 cal boolits. Heat is your best friend, cast pretty much with pot maxed out and leave a big spure on the plate to help keep hot. Gas checking 22's can be trying on the nerves. Have some fun!