Beginner List?

[DeadWood]

O.K. very interested in at least learning more about casting. I've been looking through and reading some of the stickies trying to pick up info. Right now my focus is to be able to hand load for my Win..30-.30 rifle and .40 S&Wpistol safely using purchased boolits (sorry one learning curve at a time). Long term goals is to be able to make my own boolits as i have many other weapons i believe would bennifit from this hobby. I have a Hornady press and dies i've been loading with for jacketed bullets in both calibers.

so far on my list for the learning part i have
1)"Cast Bullets for Beginner & Expert" CD from Joe Brennan
2) Lyman reloading manual

List for equipment
1) Lee case mouth expanding die for .30-.30

What else would/does everyone recomend to get started handloading for CB?
Wouldn't mind starting a list of equipment i will be needing to cast my own also!! Seems like i will be needing lead and i hope to be able to find wheel weights for free to keep costs down so i can spend more.

From what I've read so far i know i will have to measure Throat Diameter. Still have to read on how this is done.

[iron mule]

hello deadwood and welcome to the best bunch of people i have found involved in casting they will help yu in any way they can
now to your questions
first off i would get the lymans cast bullet hand book instead of the reloadind version and read it twice it has all the info you need to begin casting and a lot that you will work up to later
second the lee expander die works on just about all cases it is not case specific i use it on 22 hornet and 308 and some 45s also
as to getting the equip to cast with read lymans cast bullet manuel keep lurking around here and feel free to ask questions and buy it a little at a time for a melting pot i would go with lee thier bottom pour 20lb pot is a good one to start with and the cost is not bad
if you are going to melt wheel weights you need to have a separate pot to do this in after you have them melted cleaned and in ingot form then use them in the pot you use to cast them nice pertty boolets with
last and the most important is feel free to ask questions if a problem pops up or you need help anytime
good luck and welcome
mule
you have started on something that will give you many fustrations but also many hours of satisfaction and enjoyment

[Echo]

My suggestion for all newby reloaders is to buy a Lee Anniversary setup. Comes complete with everything necessary for the beginner, except for reloading dies. True, some Lee stuff is not the best you can buy, but it is serviceable, and if you decide reloading isn't for you, then you aren't out much money, and can recover some of it on eBay. I have a Lee challenger press that I use to carry to the range for load workup. Light, serviceable, and inexpensive. When someone buys the Anniversary set, they get a press they can use forever. The scale and powder measure are rather flimsy, but, as I said, serviceable. The addition of a Lyman 'M' die for neck expanding is a plus. They are the bees knees.

If you decide that this reloading thing is for you, then I believe that you will want to upgrade your equipment. Don't under any circumstance, go directly to a progressive setup! Get to understand the individual steps needed for the efficient and quality reloading of ammunition. I have witnessed situations of folks with more money than experience jumping directly into a fully-dressed Dillon with embarrasing results. Progressive use amounts to simple production of ammo, rather than the construction of ammo.

Others will have other recommendations, but those are mine.

And Welcome to the forum. READ ALL THE STICKIES! There is more knowledge here than ANYWHERE ELSE!

[DeadWood]

My suggestion for all newby reloaders is to buy a Lee Anniversary setup. Comes complete with everything necessary for the beginner, except for reloading dies. True, some Lee stuff is not the best you can buy, but it is serviceable, and if you decide reloading isn't for you, then you aren't out much money, and can recover some of it on eBay. I have a Lee challenger press that I use to carry to the range for load workup. Light, serviceable, and inexpensive. When someone buys the Anniversary set, they get a press they can use forever. The scale and powder measure are rather flimsy, but, as I said, serviceable. The addition of a Lyman 'M' die for neck expanding is a plus. They are the bees knees.

If you decide that this reloading thing is for you, then I believe that you will want to upgrade your equipment. Don't under any circumstance, go directly to a progressive setup! Get to understand the individual steps needed for the efficient and quality reloading of ammunition. I have witnessed situations of folks with more money than experience jumping directly into a fully-dressed Dillon with embarrasing results. Progressive use amounts to simple production of ammo, rather than the construction of ammo.

Others will have other recommendations, but those are mine.

And Welcome to the forum. READ ALL THE STICKIES! There is more knowledge here than ANYWHERE ELSE!

Thanks Echo. already have a press. Have been handloading for a couple yrs (.223REM and .40S&W), Still learning though. Love reloading and not wanting to jump right in on casting yet, but can see it in my future. Came to this forum b.c. i purchased some OregonTrail CB's and was looking for info. on working up a load never handloading CB's before.

thanks

[Wayne Smith]

You are right, you need something to expand the mouth of the cases to seat cast. You can use a punch, a screwdriver, the Lee, or, at the most expensive and best option, the Lyman M die. The latter will size enough to allow the boolit to actually start in the neck. You also need some data or an idea of data for the cast, but remember that the cast boolit has less resistance than a condom bullet so creates less pressure in the process of being shot. It is usually safe to use condom bullet data, start low. For both of them you want to think of using ww or Lyman #2 if you use this data.

As for casting, you need a heat source, something to melt lead in, something to flux with, hopefully a thermometer, and a ladle. You don't need a bottom pour pot unless you want to start that way. I've been using an old Coleman double burner stove and a Lyman cast pot and ladle for the last ten or so years on the back porch. Works better for some of the big boolits I cast. Minimal investment cause I had the stove anyway.

I use an old one qt. stainless steel kitchen pot for one of my melting pots, it has the pure lead in it for roundballs. I melt my ww's in the Lyman pot, not a problem as long as you are pouring into ingot molds and emptying the pot before using it to cast boolits, nothing on it to clog unlike a bottom pour.

Oh, slugging your barrels means using soft lead, a brass rod, and a hammer to drive the soft lead into or through your barrel. I belive that there is a sticky on it around here somewhere. If you don't have or know how to use a micrometer, start studying and buy one. Some of the most convenient soft lead for this purpose are oval fishing sinkers with the hole down the middle.



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