Realistic Expectations for Cast Boolits

[JIMinPHX]

In the more mature cartridges, that operate at conservative pressures, like .38spl & .30-30, I often am able to equal or better the performance of j-word factory ammo with my cast handloads. The higher pressure cartridges seem to require me to accept a reduction in maximum performance if I switch them over to cast.

[JesterGrin_1]

Jim I thought about that very same problem before and came to a nutty conclusion. And that is yes we are restrained a bit by how fast we can push Cast VS Jacketed rounds. So lets say we go up in weight with the Cast round where its speed would equal that of the same weight of a jacketed round and be within the speed range of cast. Then I feel that cast is an advantage. But we still have to remember the drop at distance and the difference of BC between cast and Jacketed. I do not find this to be a big drawback as we only have to practice with the firearm being used and the ammo of which has been tested to verify its point of impact and drop at distance to ensure ourselves of its accuracy and ability to take game cleanly at the intended range that we set for ourselves and equipment used.

Oh my gosh did I say all that what was I thinking oh it is late lol.

[gandydancer]

Just because I enjoy the art form and the quite time with no sound around.

[Texantothecore]

I bought most of my casting equipment several years ago along with a lot of lead and powder. It has saved me a lot of money and keeps me shooting as the money spent is "yesterday's money".

Recently I bought a small amount of temperature measuring equipment in order cast more quickly and more certainly. It has been a very good investment.

Factory rounds are about 2.00 per piece for my gun, cast and reloaded, it varies from .04 to .14 per round.

I have also learned just how flexible my rifle is, 144 grns to 600 grns depending on what i wish to do with it. It has turned my shooting into a very different sport than I had imagined.

And it is lot of fun and I meet lot of people through this end of the sport.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

I started exploring reloading in an effort to get more (or less depending on how you look at it) out of my 30-06 that I have rarely shot over the past 10 years. Yet to seat my first boolit (still waiting on componets to come in), I have have already spent hours reading on the forum and getting questions answered. Unlike most that start with jacketed and move to cast, I am jumping straight to cast. What I didn't expect whas the sheer depth and complexity of the hobby. It is incredible, it will keep me busy for a LONG time.

[monge]

In a time of iphones ,gps and facebook I feel casting kind of turns back time for me . When I cast things slow down and feel relaxed and happy of all the 100s of boolits I am making ! When I hit that sweet spot of accuracy It all comes together!

[jed]

It's definently the do it your self aspect of shooting and accruacy is a great by product atainble by attention to detail and "much" experimenting.

[Wal']

I started reading the first few posts before checking the dates & then jumped up to today with a few of my expectations from boolit casting.

Have been shooting all my life with the usual graduations as a kid/teenager to my first airgun /.22 & then getting into the big stuff with my time in the Armed Services. big boy's toy's,

Now having just retired & having reloaded my ammo for the past 40yrs I guess casting my own projectiles has to be the natural progression for us new old fart's

With all this expected time on my hands, this hobby looks to take me into uncharted waters & with all the reading done so far, this casting boolits habit has acquired many addicted follower's

Have just ordered my casting gear & the waiting is killing me, but a site like this is both therapeutic & expensive with more items being continually added to my shopping list.

Expectations.........

Saving money............nope, don't think so........always something new or different to buy.

Learning..................there will be plenty of that.....reading the learned one's post's.

All in all I think this casting is going to be a hoot.

[walterm]

I don't have a lot of experience casting - while I've had casting equipment for about 15 years, I'm not that regular at using it. However - .32 full wadcutter, .45ACP and R.E.A.L. are what I cast.
Used to shoot 380 grn REAL boolits out of the .54, but sold that rig in NZ.
Now just ordered 320grn REAL for .50 in anticipation of Ontario hunting. I've hunted with centrefire and muzzles, and the 380 grn REALs have put more meat on my table than any other.
Cost? 20 shots for practice, 1 shot hunting. Irrelevant.
Accuracy? 4 inch steel plate at 75 yards seems accurate enough - the animals all fall down very close to where they're hit.
Fun? I like getting the metal to work.

Cheers,
W

[209jones]

I originally got into it to try to build some chicken and rabbit loads for my 7-08. Then I used the same bullets in my 7x57 in some military matches at the local range. Then I tried another mould in a 22-250 for gophers. Then I was gabbing with some guys at a gunshow, and one pulled out a .32-30 Rem Schuetzen rifle he had for sale. And then a fella showed me an H&H in .300Rook, and then I built a 044-1/2 in .218 bee. And then I built a 32-40. And then I bought a 450/400ne.
I just like building my own boolits and seeing what I can get them to do for me, be it accuracy, plinking, killin' sumthin'. It opened a few different doors for me, met a lot of good people because of it. And had a lot of fun shooting them. In some ways I prefer buying guns I need to or should cast boolits for.
Now when I go to a gun show or read a for sale column, I look at good guns for cast boolits first.
Kind of like tying a fly and going out and catching a fish with it.

[tmattox]

Hopefully this is the right forum foir this question. I cast 9mm (125 gr,40 180 gr and .45 ACP 230 gr.) On my pistol s I'm getting leading (noyt a lot) in the barrel. I'm using titegroup and WFS.What would be the best all around powder to use so I can eliminate leading. p.s. I'm lubing with blue angel.

[tmattox]

Hopefully this is the right forum for this question. I cast 9mm (125 gr,40 180 gr and .45 ACP 230 gr.) On my pistol s I'm getting leading (not a lot) in the barrel. I'm using titegroup and WFS.What would be the best all around powder to use so I can eliminate leading. p.s. I'm lubing with blue angel.

[Bulltipper]

Slug your barrel and check your boolit size. You want your boolit .002" to .003" bigger than your lands to get a good seal. I'm sure I'll be corrected if I am wrong...

[onehousecat]

What I find strange is that no one mentions any long range aspirations. Handgun or rifle. (yet)

Superb accuracy requirements.

Don't be afraid. Spill your guts. Tell us what you really think.

Too many folks belong to this board have never posted yet. What about yooze guys?

In my younger days when I could see well, I shot the long course IHMSA matches with a TC in 35 Remington. I used a 180 gr GC that actually weighed about 190 to 192 grs using my mostly WW alloy. While my skill level was not a 40X, I do believe a better shooter could have done so. I always shot the 1st, 2nd, and most of the time 4th banks very well. Watching me shoot the turkeys was like watching Wilt Chamberlin shoot free throws. It eventually became a mental hurdle I could not overcome.

If the guy beside me was shooting the highest quality, most expensive jackected bullets I was not intimidated. If he beat me, it was not because of the bullets, he was just a better shooter than me.

[DougGuy]

So far we have:

hunting
cost
excuse to reload
cheapness
handgun proficiency
economical
fun
cheapness
blammin

Seems like economics and fun are highly represented so far.

Where are all the new folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I understand why Felix and Sundog have so many issues. They work too hard at getting empty targets.

Old thread but still a good one. Add boolit performance to that list.

I wanted to learn about cast boolit performance, what would be a good hunting boolit and why, and find some experienced casters with whom I could chat with and then get some of the boolits and put them to work taking game. It's very difficult to find really good hunting ammo in .45 Colt and .44 mag using heavy cast boolits. And with ordering from an online vendor, you get what they cast and there is not usually any options on hardness or alloy.

Here, on this forum, I am learning how to match the boolits to my guns, AND to the game I will be taking with them. It's been interesting, it's been real, and sometimes it's even been real interesting! Keep on keepin' on, and contribute what I can.

[Plastics Savage]

Sorry

Jumped from the header to this point (I have no attention span).
My expectations where left far behind reality. I'd been thinking about casting for years. This last panic happened right as the wife bought her new snubby she went trough all available "j word" slugs in short time. That put me over the edge. I like to build stuff and am finally able afford a whim once ever couple years.
So I read a few thing here and bought a few books then a lee mold. Read the directions and hotted up a frying pan, shot the first boolit I cast. That is not to say I haven't gotten my come-pens since. The wheel guns love these things. Now my old ougt-six is a smart-*** put the lee 309-170-F / WW / lee sizer 309 / 26gr H4895 / Alox same old group at 100yd. Can't get 4 out of 5 on a paper plate at 200yd. New load lee 309-200-R / WW / lee sizer 309 / 26gr H4895 / Alox never had group that tight with "them" other slugs at 100yds and paper plates are toast at 200yds. I'm sorry but I will no apologize for not having problems with cast boolits. I will say that I am on the road to creating my own.

Please read this in good hummer as I am not out to offend any one.

[Plastics Savage]

Just a note.
From now on the wife will proof my ramblings (she can talk more better than me).

[Win94ae]

I expected cast boolits to be very difficult to make, and especially hard to load develop for. So far, I'm pleased to report it wasn't as hard as I had expected!

My handguns are almost as precise as when using jacketed bullets... I could have been more meticulous with my handgun marksmanship in the past.
It looks as if my 30-30 is going to shoot at about the same precision as jacketed bullets, albeit they are a bit slower. I have a load to test this morning.
I still need to develop loads for my 30-06s.

I didn't expect wind-drift to be as great at these speeds, I'll just have to get used to it.

[Plastics Savage]

see that's what I'm talking about!

[209jones]

I started it as a bit of an experiment, I am a tinkerer. I wanted to play with reduced, cheap loads. I built a chicken load for my 7-08, a plinking load for my 7x57, and a gopher load for my 22-250 for shorter ranges.
Then I went to a gun show. Some character pulled out a 32-30win in a Ruger #1 in a schuetzen style, some silly person bought it. Same silly person went and built a 32-40 on an 1885 the next year. And on it went.
After that, it was dangerous to go near a gun show or a store. Oh, look, what a cool gun!!! all I need is some brass, a set of dies, what mould should I get?
Now thinking about a mould for the 300H&H and the 30R Blaser. The 450/400NE is a sweetie to shoot with a 320gr cast at 2040fps.

Casting certainly creates possibilities, as to what a person can buy for a new toy, and what kind of things can be done with it.