Need Help

[Mojo^]

Okay, so nobody has written a Cast Bullets for Dummies book yet so I'm in need of a little mentoring. Once my Ranch Dog 460-350 mold arrives I intend to start trying my hand at casting for my beloved .45-70. What has got me so confused is the alloy ratio I keep seeing posted here and there. If I use wheel weights, do I need to add a certain amount of linotype or foundry type to get the right ratio for a hunting round? Should just use straight linotype or foundry type? I really don't have a clue. Could somebody please point me in the right direction. A couple of references to reading materials on the subject would also be greatly appreaciated. I need a short list of must read books on how to cast and reload, especially for the .45-70. I'd really like to try casting with wheel weights but am just not sure what to add to them and in what quantities to get a hard cast hunting boolit that will hold up on bucks and boars. I know this sounds like a barrage of stupid questions but I'm ready to get started and just need to know where to begin before I amass a bunch of stuff in the garage that I don't really need.

Thanks

[Slowpoke]

Okay, so nobody has written a Cast Bullets for Dummies book yet so I'm in need of a little mentoring.
Thanks

Actually they have. It's Called "Jacketed performance with cast" by Lead Bullet Technology or more common LBT

Good luck

[9.3X62AL]

Wheelweight metal will give very good hunting boolits for the 45-70, just like it is. Adding 2% tin might improve castability a little, but I wouldn't do that unless your mold is balky and needs the tin to help with fill-out. Getting boolits too hard could lead to shattering of the slug on bones.

Which 45-70(s) will you be using? As long as the boolits fit the rifle's barrel, the 45-70 is among the user-friendliest cast boolit rifle calibers available. Maybe THE most user-friendly. The only quirk the 45-70 is subject to has to do with many of the commercial molds for the caliber--they cast too small for a lot of the rifles out there. This quirk has been the only bugbear I've dealt with in the Ruger #1--its .459" throat and grooves are poorly served by some of the molds I've tried to date.

[Mojo^]

I'll be using Ranch Dog's design which calls for a .460 diameter bullet. These will be shot out of a Marlin 1895SS and GS so the .460 diameter should be about perfect. Yes, I've read about shattering cast bullets and this is something I want to avoid. I like one thumb sized hole going in one side and coming out the other. Will quenching 100% wheel weights in water give me the desired results or would it be better to just let them anneal on their own.

Slowpoke, thanks for the reference material. If it's written in Dick & Jane fashion I should be okay. I'll be looking it up tonight and ordering a copy.

Sorry for all the sophmoric questions but I really don't have anyone else to ask.

[Dale53]

I have a couple of 45/70's and WW+2% tin, air cooled makes a fine alloy for rifles. However, each rifle can be a law unto itself. Gas Checked bullets will shoot well in some rifles that have problems with plain base bullets. I have shot plain base bullets in MY rifles to 1700 fps. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).

Use a bullet with a large meplat and you don't have to worry so much about your alloy (terminal ballistics) if it shoots well. In my opinion, the 45/70 is pretty much a 150-200 yard rifle at best because of trajectory. However, with me that is not much of a problem as I like to get close.

A flat nosed 350-400 gr bullet will do fine for most of the smaller big game. Frankly, black powder ballistics do just fine with the 45/70. With a modern strong rifle, you have more options.

LBT's book is good as is Lyman's Cast Bullet handbook.

Dale53

[montana_charlie]

Will quenching 100% wheel weights in water give me the desired results or would it be better to just let them anneal on their own.
If it's your plan to shoot fairly high-speed ammunition, you may end up 'adjusting' bullet hardness to prevent leading or other problems.

Otherwise...just staying on the subject of what happens to the bullet when it hits meat...pure lead will do a fine job. Wheelweight alloy does not need any extra hardening steps, as it is plenty hard, already.
CM