Here is how I cast bullets.
Cast bullets not only enable a shooter to shoot more cheaply but enable a shooter to shoot way more rounds out of his pistol or rifle before barrel burn out and action wear out (in auto pistols).
Well made cast bullets are every bit as accurate as the much more expensive jacketed bullets.
In rifles your barrel in most cases will last 3 times as long as compared to shooting full power factory ammo or bore damaging outdated and often unsafe blaster corrosive ammo. You will also get half the recoil and muzzle blast with lower velocity lead bullet reloads.
One of the secrets of shooting cast bullets is never to shoot undersize bullets down the barrel. I usually go at least 1 thousandths oversize and going as much as 3 thousands will in most cases cut leading down to a minimum, if not altogether. Accuracy is not hurt either. Most of the leading takes place from the melting of a bullets sides by gas escaping from around the undersize bullet, not from the base melting, so shooting the proper size bullet is must.
Gas checks do not stop leading but do enhance accuracy in cast rifle bullets as they keep the base of the lead bullet from being distorted and melted. I do not find gas checks necessary in pistol loads unless the velocity goes over 1,000 fps.
When using a bullet mold the first thing you must do is get out all the oil from the mold. This is best done by boiling the mold for at least 30 minutes in hot water over a slow fire with some dish water detergent added. Do not use too much or you will get a film of soap over the mold. Some people simply spray the mold with a degreaser which is faster than boiling it but if the mold has a lot of trapped oil inside it this often does not work. Remember though., that when you store the mold if it is not oiled I can almost guarantee you that it will rust. Just use WD 40 on the mold AFTER IT IS DEAD COLD and then seal it in a plastic bag and put it in an army ammo can that has a sealing gasket in good condition and the mold will never rust. Failure to protect your mold in humid climates will result in immediate rusting.
The next problem you will experience is rounded bullets. This comes from too cold a mold. Its best to put the mold on top of the pot while the metal is melting so that the mold will heat up to operating temperature and be ready to cast good bullets immediately.
For making really good bullets follow the Lyman No. 2 formula as I have found that trying to go cheapie and use straight wheel weights often results in rounded bullets, especially in smaller calibers with multiple grease grooves. Larger bullets with one large grease groove are more forgiving but many times its just harder to see the irregularities with such bullets, but if you look close they are often still there. In the old days wheel weights had some tin in them but like everything else these days everything they make is cheap and most of today’s wheel weights have not a trace of tin in them. Tin is necessary to insure the complete fill out of the bullet when cast.
When casting the first problem you will face is an overheated mold. To continue casting means that the lead will soon start to run out under the spruce plate causing the plate to cock and it will in turn damaged the top of the mold. The vent holes will also begin to plug up which will result in bullets that will not fill out. I generally put a wet shop rag down and simply turn over the mold and press the sprue plate to it to cool it down. When the mold really gets hot you have two choices, you can take break and quit casting (not practical when you are pressed for time or casting quickly) result to drastic measures. So what do you do? Hold on to your hat you are going to suffer a massive coronary when you read this. I take a plastic 1 gallon milk jug and cut off the top and fill it full of very, very hot tap water. I then take the mold with the hot bullet still in it and dip the mold quickly in and out of the water. Not done quickly the mold will cool down too much resulting in you having to cast a lot of bullets to get it back up to operating temperature. I have never warped a mold as long as the water was hot in the plastic jug and it will get hotter the more you dip the mold in it.
A WORD OF WARNING, DANGER, DANGER, DANGER, NEVER GET EVEN A DROP OF WATER IN THE MOLTED MELTAL OF THE CASTING POT OR YOU WILL SEE AN EXPLOSION BIGGER THAN THE BOMB THAT WENT OFF AT HIROSHIMA. ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES AND FULL LENGTH TO THE ELBOW WELDING GLOVES WHEN CASTING BULLETS AS ANY MOISTURE, EVEN NATURAL MOISTURE FORMING ON THE LEAD DIPPER USED FOR MIXING WILL CAUSE A MINI EXPLOSION.
Always cast with adequate ventilation, which usually means outside as it takes a powerful vent fan to get rid of lead fumes inside say a basement. I do my casting out in the garage with two doors open or cracked and I wear a painters rubber mask with filters that are made to protect one against lead fumes. MSA is a good company to get this equipment from.
Always make sure your sprue plate is smooth as a babies butt on the top or you will get sprue sticking to the plate. Many newer Lyman molds need the machine marks polished out of the plate and the sprue holes. Like everything else these days there is no such thing anymore as quality workmanship.
For rifle bullets I generally use straight Linotype metal unless the velocity is under 1,000 fps. You can push rifle bullets easily up to 1,900 fps with a gas check and with straight Linotype metal or the equivalent mix. For this velocity use a medium burning powder. IMR 4895 and IMR 4198 which are very good powders for cast bullet rifle loads in the 1,500 to 1,900 fps. Range.
I have found that pillow stuffing (usually about 1 grain) used as a filler, will eliminate hang fires and reduce the variation in shot to shot velocity by as much as 100 fps. I have had some loads vary only 5 fps when using the pillow stuffing which is outstanding.
Cast bullets not only enable you to shoot cheaply but are way more accurate than store bought cast bullets and enable you to make ammo for some of the obsolete calibers that finding ammo for is often very difficult and expensive. Example making 8x57 “J bore” bullets that are smaller in diameter than the standard 8x57 “JS” bore (standard German military caliber). You gun will last longer with cast bullets and your recoil will be much less which makes lots of shooting way more enjoyable and much cheaper too.
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I would never store a mold with WD-40 on it. The stuff will dry and can be the devil to remove. It also is one of the poorest rust preventatives ever made. I used it on my machinery in the garage long ago, bandsaw base, welder cover metal and radial saw base. These were painted parts. I would clean the dust off with a rag sprayed with WD-40. Every single item rusted very badly. I started to spray the stuff on the parts and the rust just kept getting worse. 
Originally Posted by bhp9
