25 cal pellet question

Did anybody have luck with noe pellet molds

I have not had luck with mine, skirts come out uneven and/or with flashing causing bullets to spiral down range, possibly barrel twist is wrong as well with the pellets being too long. Depending on your airgun, I would consider casting slugs. It's very hard to beat the accuracy of some of the better factory pellets from JSB and H&N. What airgun do you have?

As much as I love NOE bullet moulds, a close friend purchased and tried his very best to make .25 cast pellets. His best results were, if I recall correctly, with as pure a lead as he could get, with just a smidgeon of (RotoMetal) tin added. (As he's now deceased, I cannot ring him and inquire.)
He pretty much gave up, reckoning at the (relatively) low cost of commercial .25 pellets, he'd just buy them. I probably could have had gotten the mould, but as I only have .177 and .22 airguns -- with his challenges to get more than a very small percentage of good pellets -- I passed. Plus, to be quite frank, as I could buy good pellets (albeit .22) at less than one and one-half cents each, my thinking suggested "buy" being better than making these.
From my (ALL great!) experiences with NOE bullet moulds -- you may wish to go to their web site where they do have a forum; sign on; and make an inquiry there? (FYI: https://noebulletmolds.com/site/ )
BEST wishes!
geo

You would almost certainly be better off getting dies to swage pellets rather than casting themm

I have a hatsun flashpup thanks folks

You need to keep a hot plate going and get your mould very hot and start casting. You will need to reheat the mould alternately on the hot plate and alternately casting.You will need less hot plate time as you gain experience casting and speed at keeping the mould filled.
It's a rhythm you have to teach yourself. It's the same with casting small 22 caliber slugs and other small bullets that don't take up much of the mass of the mould.
Then also if you are starting with a new mould, there is the break in period where you decide whether to smoke the mould or not and whether to smoke it heavily or lightly till good bullets or pellets start appearing.
This takes a little time and new casters are in too much of a hurry and give up when they are right on the edge of a breakthru.
Sometimes, but rarely, you start throwing perfect ones from the start, but then you should thank your lucky stars.
I have had that happen too.
I have a lot of moulds and have been casting for sixty years.
Breaking ins a new mould can be difficult for a bit for an experienced caster, but when you apply your tricks, it starts rewarding you.
Read all you can about bullet casting and try it and re read again and then the light bulb goes on upstairs.
Casting big bullets is easy.
The smaller they get requires more finesse and know how.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
If at first you don't succeed.
Try, try, again and again.
We teach ourselves and learn from seeing or reading the knowledge of others.
How good a pupil you are is just as important as how determined the teacher is to learn him how!
Good luck!
It's still there, but gold is where you find it, not always where you look. Keep on. Keeping on.

I have NOE .25 pellet mould.
I use it to cast pellets for primer powered loads in my .25 auto handgun.
Just for fun!
I can also add a half grain of Bullseye powder .

I ordered one but I didn't get it yet

You have to use a hot plate to bring your mould up to heat and then your pellet mould will fill out.And keep the pellet mould hot in between casts to maintain temperature.
In fact I use the hot plate to bring all hollow point molds and pins up to and to maintain temperature for proper fallout of casting.
You have to work with it and teach yourself how much is enough and how much is too much.
Too much is when you have the mold so hot the poured metal won't have the sprue solidify or the sprue falls right off as molten metal.You need the sprue as a tell.
When it changes to a dull metal, usually you can knock off the sprue and open the mold.
If the cast bullet or pellets aren't solidified you have to wait a little longer before opening.
After a bit you will learn to time yourself, or keep a couple more moulds going to keep production up.
Timing is everything.
I did my best work casting on gas stove in the kitchen.
I can park the moulds on another burner on low heat to keep them hot enough, but not too hot.
Not a good idea I know to cast hot lead in your cooking stove where you eat- lead poisoning,etc. But windows are open, I live alone, everyone grew up or passed on.
I use an adjustable hot plate in the garage along with a LEE bottom pour furnace. Wore out a Lyman bottom pour over the years.
Keep the melt temp high and the mold heat up to cast pellets or hollow points.
The regular 44s and 45s tend to keep the moulds hot enough without a hot plate. But the .22 calibers and the pellets need help, especially in winter time.
But it will pay off.
If it was easy, any poor soul could do it.
You have to stick with it and teach yourself.
Study the books on bullet casting and reread them.
It will payoff.
Above all, don't get discouraged.
If things aren't going well when you try, knock off for the evening and take another run at it again a day or two later or next night.
I can tell you I am an experienced caster, but sometimes your game is off even when you are doing everything right!.
Don't fight it,But then sometimes it all going gangbusters and you wind up casting piles and piles of bullets all thru the night till it's pretty late.
It happens more often than not and especially if you cast bullets more often.
Try casting a little bit all the time.
Turn on the pot and go eat a sandwich and coffee.
Also let your moulds heat up separately on low heat.
Don't leave them to burn up or warp.
I have over a hundred moulds accumulated over the years.
You really only need a couple for your favorite cast bullet shooter so you can alternate filling. Letting it set up while you grab the other and keep switching.
It can be restful. Soon as you get some good ones you will say, "this ain't so hard."
And you have success, then you buy a new mould and it works right from the start, OR it doesn't and you have to work with it to break it in, or let it teach you a trick or two.
That's it in a coconut shell.
Good luck!

Alfred has it nailed.
Keeping the temp of the mold up is the key.

Not so easy when you only pour a little dribble of lead in big blocks each cycle.

Avoid drafts. Apply heat with a hot plate or other means. I sometimes use a piece of steel pate on a burner to help spread the heat. I'm afraid of using any kind of flame on mold blocks. Some times a heat lamp will do.


I dip the corner of my aluminum blocks in the lead, (bad news with brass!) but this cools your melt a bit, so after dipping and keep the blocks in there long enough that the lead falls off. Then set the mold, sprue plate down on the edge of the hot pot. Gotta warm the sprue plate too.

I use an empty can to set the handles on so the mold sits level.

Then dip the pins in the melt, they need heated. When the pins are hot enough the lead does not stick, get going.

Work fast.

Fill the cavities first then let excess lead flow over the blocks to warm them up. Yep it's messy but works. Once things get working, I don't have to keep spilling a lot of lead.

Find what works for you.

I just got some pure lead again so I'll be trying this

Wally, seeing your are new to this forum,

Working fast will be difficult if your pellets will not drop out of the mold.
When cavities are cut the cutting tool leaves a tiny wire edge where the cavities meet. That little bit of metal makes the casting stick in the mold.

Some people use a magnifying glass and whatever tool is at had to clean these up.
I recommend a popsicle stick. (Love them creamsicles!) Take a clean popsicle stick and with the mold blocks off the handles for good access, rub the stick around the outline of of the cavities on the mold face, both blocks. I usually go ten laps each cavity, each block for good measure.

Then if fill out is still poor, try pressure casting.
Simply hold the mold against the lead spigot, and let the weight of the lead force the fill.
You should be able to find a video of good technique if you are using a lyman style dipper.
Does not work with lee dippers.
Can lead to mold half separation if using 20lb bottom pour pot.

Hope you can get it going.

Yea it works pretty good I had some rough edges on the on half side I lightly took a dremel stone n took it off the heads r a lot smoother now I had pretty good fill out it's not my first time casting I do it for a couple other guns thanks for the pointers

I have an Air Force Texan SS in .45. Your best bet is to swage your pellets. Cast a close core then swage them, or if your experience is anything like mine, you’ll always be chasing consistency in your shot groups. Just my $0.02.


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