lead chamber casts?

[Catch]

Is it possible and advisable to make chamber casts from lead? I am considering this as I want to keep the casts that I make of each rifle instead of melting them down each time. Though I better ask before I mess up. I have made some from industrial paraffin but I think they shrink more than I would like, and their accuracy is somewhat in question. Thanks for the help............Catch

[fecmech]

You can do impact chamber casts with lead and it works great. You can measure them immediately,in a month or when ever you want. Use a cartridge case, soft lead and a metal rod longer than the barrel. Tape the rod to protect the rifling and hit it till it bounces.

[paul h]

Possible, yes, adviseable, no. As you know from casting bullets, to get good fillout you need both the lead and the mold (in this case gun) hot enough to get good fillout. If you heat the barrel hot enough to get good fillout, you will aneal the steel.

The advantages to cerosafe is that it melts at a low enough temp that you don't have to worry about anealing the barrel or action, and it shrinks slightly when it cools, so is easy to remove. If you have trouble removing it, you can heat up the chamber enough to melt out the cerosafe without fear of over-heating the action.

[littlejack]

+1 on the "impact cast". It works, and works good. Been there and done it.
Jack

[Catch]

fecmec, could you be a little more detailed on the method of pouring these lead casts.
Thanks...........

[nanuk]

catch, they are not poured, they are pounded

take a cartridge and shorten it by about 0.100, then fill it with scrap lead (I heat them on the stove and melt the lead) to about 1/4" from the top, then insert a pure lead slug, the bigger the better. Drill a hole just under bore diameter about 1" deep into a 2x4 and pour a pure lead slug in that.
Seat that into your cartridge. Lightly oil the chamber/bore. insert and Pound Pound Pound as mentioned above. remove carefully and you have a very good reverse chamber inpression.

[geargnasher]

Cerrosafe sucks. Impact slug is the way to go. Nanuk describes the process well.

Case must be filled with hot lead, preferably boolit alloy. Case needs to be a fired on from the rifle you're making the slug for, and not decapped or resized. Fill about halfway up the neck. Cast a pure lead slug from a heavy-for-caliber mould, or make a slug mould. Oil the chamber and throat lightly, force the filled cartridge and slug to chamber, and pound the slug and case neck/shoulder to conform tightly using a taper-wrapped brass or steel rod inserted from the breech.

I've found that starting a gas check in the muzzle and pounding that down against the soft lead slug helps keep the rod you use to pound it from embedding too deeply into the lead, which can make the slug and rod difficult to separate without ruining the slug.

Here's a mock-up of and final result of one I did a few days ago, I have at least one for every rifle I own and have my boolit moulds designed around the shape of the chambers.



Gear

[Catch]

Thanks guys! What a great idea, and it does just the thing I want to do. I'll give it a try and let you know how I do.................Catch