Lee PrecisionPBcastcoRotoMetals2MidSouth Shooters Supply
Inline FabricationReloading EverythingTitan ReloadingRepackbox
Wideners Load Data
Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 41 to 57 of 57

Thread: Casting Softnose Bullets From ANY Conventional Moulds

  1. #41
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Saskatchewan
    Posts
    154
    Quote Originally Posted by Naphtali View Post
    Will this technique work for nose-pour molds -- that is, pouring the hard base first?
    It might work better. Maybe you can drill a hole down the center of the base and when you use the soft lead you will get a mechanical connection as well.

  2. #42
    On Heaven's Range

    BruceB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    nevada
    Posts
    3,537
    Naphtali, sir;

    I haven't tried it with a nose-pour mould as yet. There is a Hoch 430-grain .459" nose-pour mould here, so it'll get done at some point.

    The only difference, as far as I can see, is that instead of a dipper to measure pure lead for a nose, you'd need a dipper to measure the harder alloy for the shanko f the bullet. Then the mould gets topped-up with the softer material. Should work out just fine.

    Please let us know how it works out for you, if you try it.
    Regards from BruceB in Nevada

    "The .30'06 is never a mistake." - Colonel Townsend Whelen

  3. #43
    Boolit Grand Master
    Mk42gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Butler, MO
    Posts
    9,013
    I cast twenty softnose 452424's yesterday, you are right about it taking time. I used a .375 swaged round ball for the nose portion. With a weight of approximately 81 grains, the soft nose comes to just above the SWC shoulder.

    One word of advice, when using a precast bullet or ball for the nose make sure they are clean; you can't flux in the mold. The first 14 that I cast I used speer balls from a plastic box, the nose come out mostly dark, with a few shiny streaks.

    Then I cast four Hornady's from an open box, not good, the nose looked tan almost like sand in color, and there were visible flaws in the joint. As I was waiting for the last two noses to melt I popped the nose off of all four with hand pressure.

    None of the balls I utilized looked dirty or corroded, just a very dark gray color. As close as I can remember the Hornady's are probably 7 years old and the Speers six or so.

    The next time I cast softnoses I will use two pots so I can flux both types of metal.

    All in all, I am impressed by how easy it is to make these softnoses. Thanks Bruce.

    Robert
    Last edited by Mk42gunner; 11-26-2007 at 08:34 PM. Reason: to correct non-operational keys.

  4. #44
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    10
    Hi, I'm a new guy here but you folks have really got my interest here...... Has anyone killed game with this type of bullet... If so what was the wound like and did you find the bullet? I use a Siamese mauser in a 45-70 to hunt with at times but when I took a white tail with it the cast bullet left an exit hole just about the same size of the bullet... I was still a large hole but not what I expected.... I'm going to have to try this soft nose style... MM

  5. #45
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    314
    Mauserman,
    I have taken deer with softpointed boolits out of a .348 winchester and they work extremely well, almost too well as the amount of tissue damage is impressive. I have gone back to using plain air cooled wheel weight for hunting boolits. Both deer I shot with soft pointed bullets were shot facing me, impact at the base of the neck, left a fist sized hole where the soft point blew up and then the bases continued on and were found in the back of the hindquarters. Pictures of the recovered boolits are posted in the cast boolit hunting page, under ".348 get another one"
    Jerry

  6. #46
    Boolit Master freedom475's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Rocky Mountains of Montana
    Posts
    604
    Quote Originally Posted by Mauserman View Post
    Hi, I'm a new guy here but you folks have really got my interest here...... Has anyone killed game with this type of bullet... If so what was the wound like and did you find the bullet? I use a Siamese mauser in a 45-70 to hunt with at times but when I took a white tail with it the cast bullet left an exit hole just about the same size of the bullet... I was still a large hole but not what I expected.... I'm going to have to try this soft nose style... MM
    I got lucky and took a real nice buck this year with a cast soft point and was able to recover the boolit. The pics are posted in the "hunting with CB's" forum under Feedom475's buck and boolit.

  7. #47
    Boolit Buddy TexRebel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts
    156
    This may be a dumb question, but how well would it work to drop a .32 call ball into a round nose 45 cal mould and casting the harder shank over it ?
    TexRebel

    "A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one."
    Alexander Hamilton

  8. #48
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Eastern South Dakota
    Posts
    3,662
    Bruceb,

    Yer a genius. Thanks.


    Cat
    Cogito, ergo armatum sum.

    (I think, therefore I'm armed.)

  9. #49
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Castlegar, B.C., Canada
    Posts
    7,928
    I'm a little late getting in here with these comments but I am with robertbank.

    Many years ago I cast 500 gr. Lyman round nose for .45-70 in my Siamese Mauser with the Ross Seyfried method of 2 dippers - soft lead for the nose in one pot and wheelweights for the body in the other pot. I found it worked very well and if there was any mixing it was minimal - and the joints were good. I haven't used any for hunting but did shoot some into end grain fir and sand. They mushroomed impressively and didn't come apart. These were loaded to Hornady 500 gr. "J" bullet loads for the Siamese Mauser.

    Having said that the .45 cal 500 gr. boolit is substantial and may be easier to cast like this than say a .30 cal.

  10. #50
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    South Central NC
    Posts
    185
    Have been reading with great interest. I use an '06 almost exclusively for whitetails and have been asking questions about this very subject. Thanks for all the info, wc

  11. #51
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    1
    I’m not sure about how possible some of the things you mention would be, but there is one setting that may interest you, if you haven’t seen it already

  12. #52
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Castlegar, B.C., Canada
    Posts
    7,928
    Well, this popped up again and I thought I had reposted.

    As previously mentioned, I had good success with the two dipper method for large boolits but decided to try it this time with .30 cal. ~ not so good! The joints were very obvious and fusion was poor no matter how hot I cast.

    I have to assume that the larger boolits just have enough more lead mass and heat that the two parts fuse together but it wasn't going to happen for me with the .30 cal. mould.

    So, the BruceB method is the way to go to be sure of what you get.

    Longbow

  13. #53
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Soda Springs, Idaho
    Posts
    1,093
    Lloyd hit it dead center, just like the Nosler Partition, the work is done once that nose shears off. I've used them on many game animals & they flat work (sixguns)

    Dick

  14. #54
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    What the world calls "Global Warming", we in Arizona call "Summer Time."
    Posts
    2,123
    A while back I undertook a project where I designed a "Special Soft-Pointing Tool."

    For a while I was using the method's described on this thread and I was really pleased with the results.

    The only down side for me was that It took me such a long time to make up a batch of soft-points. What made it worth while to do was the fact that they really work very well for their intended use and when I did take the time to make up a batch of soft-points I made it a point to make alot of them.

    This way it only had to be done once in a while.

    Anyway, I piddled around with my "Soft-Point-Tool" idea until I came up with a working model and I haven't looked back. I can now make Soft-Points at about the same rate as I do when I cast plain lead bullets.

    I'm presently waiting for my new CAD software to arrive but, when it does I'll try to post some images.

    In the mean time, here's the link to this entire process I posted in the Special Projects section.

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=65379

    HollowPoint

  15. #55
    Boolit Buddy wtfooptimax200's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    271
    Bruce,

    I am very interested in trying your technique for softpoints, but I have a possible adaptation to your technique that I was wondering if you've ever tried:

    Instead of placing the mold in the melt to remelt the lead, have you ever tried setting it on a hotplate or gas burner until it melts? It would seems that this would allow the boolit to stay upright while cooling ensuring that all of the soft material stays level and on the bottom of the cavity (correct me if I'm wrong, but to dip the mold in the melt, it must be tipped into the pot)?

    Are there any potential issues that you could anticipate with this method?
    Last edited by wtfooptimax200; 01-07-2012 at 10:30 PM.

  16. #56
    Boolit Bub qkdraw44's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    N.Y.
    Posts
    50

    soft core boolit

    what about casting a hard boolit then drilling it strait through then put it back in the mold and fill with pure lead add a gas check and shoot

    I make 12 ga lyman slugs then drill strait through and fill with hot glue. expansion is awesome

    drilling strait is no problem. a jig of angle iron locked down to a small drill press works great. the only problems I encountered was it takes many slugs to find the center. and if drilling too fast the bit will become clogged.

    the good part is that the slug being lighter flies faster and flatter recoil is much less punishing

  17. #57
    Boolit Master 44magLeo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Lebanon, NY
    Posts
    1,019
    I've read about this type of thing before. I thought I would try it but instead of trying to pour two alloys at a time I would pour a bunch of boolits of pure lead. Then cut the noses off. place the noses back in the molds, then pour the harder alloy on top. trying to keep a good puddle on the sprue plate.
    Then set the mold on a hot plate to remelt the boolit, watching the puddle to see it melt, then let it cool.
    Leo

Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check