358 Winchester

[35Whelen]

Well finally got my molds warmed and a did my first ever bullet casting. Bit of a challenge finding the balance between alloy temp and mold temp. Great thing about it, is that if you don't like what you cast...remelt and start over. Think I need a more accurate thermometer. I was getting frosty bullets at what was apparently 625 degrees in the melt. Had to wait a good 30 sec between pours to get close to shiny boolits.

However, having said all that here is one I can hardly wait to slip behind the shoulder of a fat deer or moose. Accurate's 360-240A, with it's .265 meplat, it should make quite a smack.

[starmac]

Deer don't complain about frosty boolits.

[Bzcraig]

I have one NOE mold that casts best when it's dropping frosty ones.

[35 shooter]

My NOE'S seem to want to run a bit hot too. That's a good looking boolit you have there. I've been on the accurate site several times and he sure has some good looking 35 cal. boolits to choose from. Good luck with your .358 and let us know how that boolit shoots for you!

[skeettx]

Are you using the two mould system?

I cast best using two moulds.

Fill the first and set it on an ingot to the left of the pot
Fill the second and set it on another ingot to the left of the pot
Take the first and remove sprue and bullet and fill the first and set it on an ingot to the left of the pot
Take the second and remove sprue and bullet and fill the second and set it on an ingot to the left of the pot
Continue until tired
Mike

[35Whelen]

Hi Skeet.....no, single mould with two cavities. I do have other moulds...maybe I will try that to see if it helps slow things a bit. But wont leaving the mould with the hot alloy in it sit only make the mould even hotter, or will the contact with the ingot it is sitting on act as a heat sink?

I did exam the bullets later last night, they had good fill out. I had an old bag of #4 magnum shot laying around which had 5% antimony, I added about 2-3% tin for good fill out. I had only 5 rejects for 100 boolits. I could see the mould lines and tooling marks on the rounds, so I think I got pretty good fill out. Sized , lubed and gas checked them, and stayed up way to late, but I couldn't stop..its a good feeling casting your own. They were air cooled.

Now how long should they sit before I shoot them, I understand that they will harden a bit more with time.

[MBTcustom]

Congratulations on your fist cast boolits, and may I say that as castboolit cartridges go, you picked the absolute Cadillac. 358WCF is my favorite caliber.

Now, shiny is not always a good thing. Shiny is as shiny does, and it doesn't do jack. What you want is consistency.
What you should do is warm your mold on a hotplate while the lead is melting. God made it so that about the time your lead is melted, your mold is hot enough too. LOL!

You have three things that you are trying to control the heat of: The mold blocks, the sprue plate, and the alloy in the pot.
A thermometer would certainly help you, but if you are using an electric pot, please consider the $50 cost of a thermometer against the $75 cost of building a PID controller.

Now, what I do, is take the mold off the hot plate, and start casting, and I drop all of the boolits on the bench in the sprue pile till the boolits are coming out frosty, and the sprue puddle is taking about 3-4 seconds to freeze. You also want to be able to cut the sprue when it freezes with just a nudge from a gloved thumb.
Once that point is reached, I continue to drop the boolits on the bench waiting 20 seconds (depending on the mold) after the drop and before filling, till my puddle is freezing in 3 seconds, the sprue cuts cleanly, and the boolits are dropping only semi frosted (unless you add tin to the mix, shiny boolits mean too cool and maybe undersized).
Once this happens, I start shortening my wait times and usually end up waiting about 5-10 seconds between dropping and pouring new.
When I'm comfortable with the heat of the mold, the rhythm of my cadence, and the look of the boolits, I start dropping them in the plastic coffee can full of water on the bench.
I keep this up till the pot is empty, or my arms feel like they're going to fall off.
That constitutes a "lot" of boolits.
That lot will be labeled as to the alloy I used, and the date they were cast.
The boolits will sit for 2 weeks before I will even consider doing anything to them. (If you are not water quenching, I have seen no change in boolit hardness over 2 years of watching. The standard 2 week wait applies only to boolits that were quenched in water as the fell from the mold. If you use a little oven to heat treat them, the boolits may reach full and final hardness in as little as 6 hours.)
Usually, I only lube and check the boolits as I need them.

Here is a thread I wrote to help a guy like yourself, and for the record, I was thinking about 358 when I wrote it so you might find it helpful.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-rifle-casters
Also, check the link in my signiture line. It also applies to the 358 Winchseter.

[35Whelen]

Excellent Tim....thank you very much. I ended up staying up til 01:00 sizing and lubing LOL. My wrists hurt today. I also shoot a 35 Whelen and a 45-70. From what I have been reading on this great site, I don't think I will likely ever buy a jacketed bullet again. I have managed to stockpile about 1800 lbs of wheel weights from a local tire shop and a buddy with a roofing company gave me half a truck box full of pure lead vents and pipe. I love everything about casting your own boolits and can hardly wait til I bag something with a hand made round.

Thank you all very much for the words of wisdom, willingness to share and such an incredible site

[TXGunNut]

Good job! There are few things more satisfying than a job well done, especially if it's a well-made boolit or a game animal taken with one. Congrats on a nice boolit in an awesome cartridge.

[35Whelen]

Well...the frosting didn't seem to affect things too badly. And you guys were right, a rag and this frost wipes away. Mic'd the driving bands and I am happy, getting good fill out on the mould. I mic'd them them at .361, nice sharp edges on the lube grooves and tool marks. Sized to .359 , GC'd them and placed them all in a nice pistol ammo box, waiting to be loaded up. Made up a dummy round and they seem to feed quite well and the rifling engraving on the driving band ahead of the crimp groove. Very pleased.....why I haven't tried casting before is beyond me, I love things from the past and this is such a natural fit with how I like to do things. Looking forward to many years of shooting these fine rounds and this forum. Great site and you guys make it a lot of fun to spend a night reading the posts and sharing your vast knowledge.
Thank you
Best regards
Paul
Nelson, BC
Canada

[44 flattop]

From what I have been reading on this great site, I don't think I will likely ever buy a jacketed bullet again.

Heh, you know, I continue to shoot cast bullets for everything, including all my hunting, since the early '70's. But at the same time, I continue to buy jacketed bullets when they are a good deal and put them away for someday that I might 'need' them.

Now I have one heckuva a stockpile of jacketed and just keep shooting cast!