Just getting started.

[ScottJ]

Have read few articles here but most of my research has been Yahoo! based leading to individuals' pages.

Decided last month it was time to start casting on the cheap. I've had a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights I paid $25 for for sitting around since Sping.

Bought a Lee 200 grain .430 mold and the Lee ladle from Midway along with a .429 sizer.

Want to start with .44 Mag since that was the first caliber I ever reloaded for.

Used an old cast iron pot sitting over the burner for my turkey fryer as the furnace.

Dove right into things this afternoon after Church. Spent about two hours actually casting (not counting setup and teardown of my operation) and got 200 I'm willing to load.

Of those 150 look really good. The other 50 have some defect like a beveled base from not quite filling out or one of the driving bands is a bit rounded rather than sharp edged.

Hardest thing to learn was getting the pour rate right. For the first 30 or so casts I was too quick and the alloy just piled on the sprue plate and hardened rather than running down through the hole.

All the ones I measured came out right around .430 and I weighed 10 and they were about 203 grains on average.

I've already asked the wife for a Lee furnace for my birthday. I think I'm going to like this expansion of my gun hobby.

Here's some pics of the results: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018550&id=1159624218&l=565a79f238

[Goatlips]

Scottj, welcome -
With 150 shootable boolits in the first ever couple hours of casting it looks like you skipped the beginner and newbie classes. I coulda saved myself some time and frustration if I had known your secret - :Fire: :drinks:

Goatlips

[shotman]

Welcome. Do you have a second job yet? get the Lee mag 20 . and a piggy bank Good luck rick

[ScottJ]

Thanks for the welcomes and making me feel better about my efforts.

My perfectionist brother had me doubting. When he saw the pics he asked "are these supposed to be gas checked" making me think the bases looked wrong or something.

He also said I should weigh every one in case some had air pockets.

I said I'd just live with the occasional light one.

I already have a load for 200 grain lead. I bought a box of hard cast years ago at a gun show and loaded them up over 24.5 grains of 296.

Probably going to back off to 24 flat for these I have cast. No idea if I managed to keep the WW alloy hard enough or not.

Also plan to load all 200. Even the less than perfect seem OK. I just have to understand they're less than perfect and use them for random plinking.

As for selling some to make money I'm not sure. My wife suggested that too but I worry about liability. Someone buys some and sticks one over a double charge, sends the top half of their revolver into orbit and then thinks they can sue me. Trouble I don't need.

I have thought about making and selling alloy.

[ScottJ]

Oh and goatlips, no secret other than just plenty of research.

I probaby read this article about 10 times before I even ordered any equipment: http://www.zjstech.net/gunstuff/casting.html

[Bret4207]

I'm pretty sure Mr Stern is a member here, or was.

[qajaq59]

My perfectionist brother had me doubting. When he saw the pics he asked "are these supposed to be gas checked" making me think the bases looked wrong or something. I think everyone has one of those!!!!

Cast 'em, shoot 'em, be safe, and have fun. :Fire:

[TAWILDCATT]

dont sell. then your "in the business" and records and that brings in ATF and taxes. make sure your molds are up to heat.if it does not go thru sprue hole you are way to cool.if it is a lee mold it must be HOT.getting frost is alright,then you can turn heat down a little.at least you can with a electric pot.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[ScottJ]

make sure your molds are up to heat.if it does not go thru sprue hole you are way to cool.[smilie=1:

I think that was my problem to start out with.

I set the mold on the handle of the cast iron pot to heat up and probably wasn't patient enough.

[qajaq59]

The greatest way to ruin a fun hobby is to turn it into a business with taxes and book keeping and licenses, and insurance and on, and on, and on. Don't even think about it .:-D

[felix]

Yep! There goes the neighborhood! ... felix

[sqlbullet]

As has been pointed out, your issues with the poor were related to a cold mold/sprue plate. I put mine on top of the pot with the handles resting on a stack of lead so the front bottom edge of the mold just touches the lead. This ensure good heat transfer.

I let it sit like that for a minute of two before I cast. Sometimes I get distracted, leave it in a little longer, and my first few pours take a little long to set up, but that is better than too cold.

The bullets with incomplete base fill out should go back in the pot. Wrinkles and incomplete fill out on the body are ugly, but not a huge deal as far as shooting. Defects on the base will have a noticeable impact on accuracy.

If you are gonna sell something, I would suggest looking for a strong source of lead, and selling refined ingot's rather than cast bullets. I take scrap in from my source and refine (called smelting colloquially) into 1 lbs ingots. I use these to feed my lee pots, rather than get all the dirt and gunk in the lee pot. I also sell some of these locally in the paper. Not a bunch, but I sell for $1.00/lbs and sell enough to cover my shooting expenses.

I also have found guys that I trade with. Traded a bunch of my alloy for monotype a while back. Also, just traded some of my lead for pure tin bar stock.

[454PB]

Something to think about Scott.....

A 200 grain boolit in front of 24 grs. of 296 is going to be scootin' along around 1400 fps.

Sizing .429" is a bit on the small side in my experience. You won't really know until you measure your gun's throats and bore.

I'm not trying to discourage you, just a heads up that you may see some leading with a load that heavy.

[ScottJ]

Thanks, 454. I'm leaving them .430 (which is how they come out of the mold).

I was more concerned about alloy hardness but I dug up some of the commercial cast stuff I loaded years ago and I'm almost the same hardness (maybe a touch softer). Those commercial cast (also 200 grainers) are sitting atop 24.5 grains 296.

Loaded up 18 to try tomorrow evening provided it isn't raining (the joys of living out where I can shoot in the back yard).

If I get leading I'll back off to the next size down in the Lee Auto Disk. That's going to be a big jump. The chamber I'm using throws 24.3 so the next one down will probably throw 22.5 or thereabouts.

I worry about reducing a 296 load that far after reading all the admonishments not to over the years. The Speer #11 I have in my hands at the moment lists 26 grains as a start load with a 200 grain jacketed.

Hey at least I'm not going for the level of the brother of a former co-worker. I never witnessed but heard tales of him shooting .44 mags that required whacking the extractor with a hardwood dowel to get the cases out. That's nuts.

[Bret4207]

Scott, fit comes before hardness. Fit the boolit to the gun, the hardest alloy in the world won;t make up for an undersized boolit. Alloy hardness is mostly advertising hype. Fit is king. I would suggest starting nice and slow and working up.

If you don;t want to, 4/0 steel wool or Chore Boy scrubbing pads are a big help in removing lead.

[ScottJ]

Bret, been noodling this for awhile and you've convinced me to at least try six downloaded into the sub-23 grain range. If those don't lead then I can step it up.

Means I'll be delaying my testing until Thursday afternoon but that's no biggie. Plus that gives me time to fill some water jugs to trap one.

I only had a small window for test firing today since I don't get home from the office until after 6 and my wife has a meeting at 7. I have to go inside by then to keep the 2 and 4 year olds out of trouble.

[ScottJ]

OK, all the preaching about fit got to me. So I just finished driving 6 slugs through my 629's cylinder.

Have to own up to some inprecision in my first post. I said "around .430".

They're actually all more like .431 as they came out of the mold. At least 4 of the 6 I picked for slugging were. The other two we almost .432.

All 6 chambers measured .431 (the 4 .431 slugs went through with showing just slight polish where they touched on the way through).

I then took one of those I'd just pushed through and attempted to start it base first into the muzzle. Would be very tight.

I then put it nose first into the forcing cone and it went in to the driving band and would go no further under heavy finger pressure.

Don't have a hardwood dowel handy to drive one all the way through but I think if I shoot them as cast I'll have a good, tight fit.

Of course, it seems I've wasted money on that .429 sizer I'm likely to never use. Maybe I'll see if Midway will let me exchange it for a .430.

[runfiverun]

make it a 430 your self the info is here.
also wait a couple of weeks for those waterdropped oolits to fully harden or you will get different results each time out.

[lylejb]

I worry about reducing a 296 load that far after reading all the admonishments not to over the years.

Yeah, i'd worry too. Maybe I'm just chicken, but we KNOW multiple sources, incl. Winchester, said not to do so.

Don't get me wrong, i've used lots of w296 in 44mag, in J-word hot loads.

What other powder(s) do you have on hand? Lots of other powders are good for cast loads, without the dire warnings...

Better safe than sorry:-)

[1Shirt]

Only for what it is worth, but have found that most 44s shoot better with .431, and almost never any leading. I also use Lars Red lube for everything I shoot, and it sure works for me.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Bret4207]

OK, all the preaching about fit got to me. So I just finished driving 6 slugs through my 629's cylinder.

Have to own up to some inprecision in my first post. I said "around .430".

They're actually all more like .431 as they came out of the mold. At least 4 of the 6 I picked for slugging were. The other two we almost .432.

All 6 chambers measured .431 (the 4 .431 slugs went through with showing just slight polish where they touched on the way through).

I then took one of those I'd just pushed through and attempted to start it base first into the muzzle. Would be very tight.

I then put it nose first into the forcing cone and it went in to the driving band and would go no further under heavy finger pressure.

Don't have a hardwood dowel handy to drive one all the way through but I think if I shoot them as cast I'll have a good, tight fit.

Of course, it seems I've wasted money on that .429 sizer I'm likely to never use. Maybe I'll see if Midway will let me exchange it for a .430.

.430 won't do it Scott. I'd try the boolits as cast in a tumble lube type of lube or hand lube them. First make up a check round and see if it will chamber all right. If the as cast boolit in the loaded round fits then stick with that. You can get a sizer opened to .431 or .432 if you can't purchase or trade into one.

[Bret4207]

OK, all the preaching about fit got to me. So I just finished driving 6 slugs through my 629's cylinder.

Have to own up to some inprecision in my first post. I said "around .430".

They're actually all more like .431 as they came out of the mold. At least 4 of the 6 I picked for slugging were. The other two we almost .432.

All 6 chambers measured .431 (the 4 .431 slugs went through with showing just slight polish where they touched on the way through).

I then took one of those I'd just pushed through and attempted to start it base first into the muzzle. Would be very tight.

I then put it nose first into the forcing cone and it went in to the driving band and would go no further under heavy finger pressure.

Don't have a hardwood dowel handy to drive one all the way through but I think if I shoot them as cast I'll have a good, tight fit.

Of course, it seems I've wasted money on that .429 sizer I'm likely to never use. Maybe I'll see if Midway will let me exchange it for a .430.

.430 won't do it Scott. You're throats are going to want something closer to .431 or maybe a touch larger. Gas blow in the throat will give you problems. Fill the throat. I'd try the boolits as cast in a tumble lube type of lube or hand lube them. First make up a check round and see if it will chamber all right. If the as cast boolit in the loaded round fits then stick with that. You can get a sizer opened to .431 or .432 if you can't purchase or trade into one.

[ScottJ]

Yeah, i'd worry too. Maybe I'm just chicken, but we KNOW multiple sources, incl. Winchester, said not to do so.

Don't get me wrong, i've used lots of w296 in 44mag, in J-word hot loads.

What other powder(s) do you have on hand? Lots of other powders are good for cast loads, without the dire warnings...

Better safe than sorry:-)

I did some more research and think I'll be OK with the 22.3gr test loads. I found some manuals online with start load data down to 23gr for a 200gr pill.

The only other handgun powders I have handy are Bullseye and No. 5. I do have some Trail Boss but that's only good for around 900fps at most.

I might try some No. 9 since I have load books listed tested loads all the way down to 19grs of it. There's a store on the opposite end of town from me that carries Accurate.

[ScottJ]

.430 won't do it Scott. You're throats are going to want something closer to .431 or maybe a touch larger. Gas blow in the throat will give you problems. Fill the throat. I'd try the boolits as cast in a tumble lube type of lube or hand lube them. First make up a check round and see if it will chamber all right. If the as cast boolit in the loaded round fits then stick with that. You can get a sizer opened to .431 or .432 if you can't purchase or trade into one.

I've loaded about 4 cylinders full of test loads and all seem to chamber fine.

I've got them as cast and lubed with LLA.

Hope to test 'em tonight if I can get a break between thunderstorms.