would like to try my hand at casting

hey fellas , new here so go easy on me , I been loading for quite some time and have been getting the urge to try my hand at casting , I think I would like to cast for my .40 cal and or my .45 acp . I have poured thousands of walleye jigs but never a boolit - I have the pot , lead , and basic essentials but I need a little direction on say an easy to start out mould for the .40 to begin with . I am thinking a 165 gr. flat point if available . if you fellas could send me in the right direction I would appreciate any and all help . thanks ahead of time.

Semi auto will need an Round nose type profile for feeding. Revolvers can shoot about anything. In anything also match your nose profile to intended purpse. Other that that make a chamber cast or throat slug or barrel slug to see what to size your bullets to. Chanber cast is prefered for the wealth it tells you of your gun, throat slug is second best and barrel slug is good enough to get you started. You can do that with a pure lead egg sinker. You can even drill a hole in a board to make cylinder of lead to slug with. A good starting point is .001 to .002 over groove or the largest bullet you can get to chanber. Revolvers are bit different. Buy cheap lee mold and push through sizer and your ready to go. You can powder coat them, tumble lube them, pan lube, or hand lube then push through the sizer. If you catch the bug then you can by a lubrisizer. Read through the sticky here as and get lost in the catacombs of http://www.lasc.us/castbulletnotes.htm, it also an articles section that is good to parruze. Nothing beets paper back and Lee modern reloader is my favorite general purpose book. For cast boolit load recipes the newish Lyman castbullet handbook and the one a few issues older is a welth. In the new issues it omits a lot of faster powders. Welcome to cast boolits.

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I would suggest the 45acp , than just cast and shoot light loads to get started . This keeps it simple / you can tinker around with / tumble lube / pan lube / powder coating , until you run across a cheap lubesizer , get a lee sizing die just so you can get started . Definitely preheat your mold before casting . By the way you can do the same thing with the .40 .

Start with the .45 - it's a low pressure round and much more forgiving. .40 is a high pressure round and less forgiving. Easier to survive mistakes with the .45. If you do a search here for .45 ACP you will find more information than you can absorb.

The Lee tc style molds work well in most anything and pack quite a punch on target. Get the standard lube groove version and plan on sizing. These can be tumble lubed or traditional or pc'd, giving More options starting out than the micro-groove tl version.

Welcome to the world of casting and to the site! Lots of good info posted above. I would suggest starting with the 45 also. I also suggest starting with something like a RCBS 2 cavity mold. The 45-201 is a favorite. A steel mold is sometimes considered easier to cast with and you should not have to tinker with it to get it to work. The RCBS is easy to use. Just clean it, warm it up and start casting. The Lyman cast bullet handbook is worth buying and read through some of the threads here. The cast bullets, casting equipment, lead and lead alloys and mold maintainance threads contain lots of good info.

Another vote for starting with the .45.

Start with a 4 cavity mold. No more difficult and at least you make more per hour. If I was starting I would look at BLL. Cheap, quick, and effective.

This Elvis Ammo video.

Truncated cone (TC) boolits work very well in semiauto also. If you want to cast for 40 and 45 Lee has both. I pour both and get good results. The tumble lube (TL) style work well for BLL. Powder coating works even better. The 6-cav molds pour a pile in a hurry when you get in the swing of it. And pay particular attention to loobing the mold in the video.

sundog , I have already watched this video as I am interested in powder coating also and elvisammo seems to have this gig down

I started casting last year in .45ACP with a Lee TL452-230. Used harbor freight powder coating with a lee push through sizer based on what my barrel slugged at.

The ammo made for pretty decent range ammo that grouped as well as factory ammo at 50ft

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I’ve since switched to Smokes powder for better coating.

Get some lead, COWW works well, you can cut it 50/50 for 45acp. 401-165 by Accurate - TC nose works fine in both my 40s and a 4x mould is all my shoulder will take - but it will last years. I wore out the Lee 180.. PB is fine but I should have done the BB. 40SW is NOT a hard round to work with. BLL or PC or HiTek ( longer learning curve). Get the NOE 401 expander rig with the Lee flare die.

go 45, it will be the easiest start. if your gun will feed a swc, all the better.

hooterville

Casting bullets is not rocket science but there are some things to learn about it. I suggest checking out some used book stores and see if you can find Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook #3. It really has the best "how to" information in the front half of the book. If you can't find CBH #3 then CBH #4 is available at LGCs and on line. It also has "how to" in the front half but not quite as good as in CBH #3. CBH #4 will also have a lot of load data for your cartridges.

I would also recommend starting with the 45 acp first. What actual handguns are you loading for? Some due to barrels rifling form require slightly different techniques. Lee moulds are inexpensive and work but may need some tuning to get really good bullets. Accurate and Noe makes very good moulds in a lot of styles. RCBS, Saeco, Lyman, H&G and some others also have good moulds. DO some research and decide what your goals are for this. Plinking, target, defense or hunting. This has a direct impact on bullets style needed. Also decide how you want to cast, bottom pour pot and several moulds, ladle pour, or a automatic machine.

In 45 acp the old standard 200 grn SWC is hard to beat. A truncuated cone with a large metplat may be better for hunting, and a 225 grn round nose will duplicat ball ammo. Cast from wheel weights cut with a little pure lead and some tin added you should have a very good bullet that casts easily and performs well. If harder is desired this alloy can be water quenched to harden. A good lube in the grooves ( depending on bullet mould pan lube and as cast works good) and if needed a lee push thru sizer in the appropriate dia and you should be on your way. Starting out cast small batches to test and prove your work. Cast 100 or so and lube load and shoot if they perform great if not you aren't remelting a whole days production.

A pot, mould, ladle ( even with a bottom pour a ladle is nice to empty it if needed ) a stirring stick, safety glasses, Gloves, Hat, and apron for basic safety gear. Wear heay shoes boots and heavy pants. A long sleeved shirt is also recommended here. Have a secure area where there will be few interuptions ,distractions, or other traffic thru. While not as dangerous as other things, working with molten metal requires your full attention.

40 as a high pressure round is a harder learning curve than the 45. I currently cast for 2 9mm's, 2, 40's and a 45. I might have a rn bullet mold for them but would not know where to find it. I have excellent success in 45 with 452460 Lyman, in 40 with the Lee 145 & 175, 9mm with 356402, 358242 [rn I no longer own], and NOE 135 fn.

Another vote for the 45 ACP. I started casting for 44 revolvers and then went to 45 ACP, and chose the Lee TL452-230-2R. I dip lubed them with alox and loaded them for my Ruger P90. I now have 4 molds for my 45 ACPs and the easiest to use for a beginner was the Lee mold. My 1911 and P90 feed the LRN 100% and loads with Bullseye work quite well. Temperature control is important and you'll have to learn that by experience (mold temp., melt temp, pouring method and speed), checking bullet finish, roundness ans weight...

FWIW, I have been casting for over 20 years and don't have a lubersizer. I dip lube and pan lube and size with Lee's bullet sizing system. Works for me (and I've got
150, 200 gr. LSWC in my shop waiting to be sized, and it will take me mebbe 10 minutes)...

I really thank all you fellas for the input and this gives me direction and a shopping list , shopping list and gun shops - jeesh , what man doesn't like that !!!!