New to Forum...Where to Begin

[Brentona]

I am sure this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I will hazard the question any how. Can someone point me in the direction of a thread here to outline some basics or better yet a book to buy?
I am coming into 40lbs of lead from a friend and I have decided to start rolling my own.
A little back ground about myself. I am 24 and a first generation gun nut in my family. I am into all things shooting and shooting sports related. I am very interested in the NOE Elco bullet and mould to begin with and was reading the thread associated with it.
So yes, perhaps a thread to begin with and hopefully a book I can buy that can teach me what I need to know about beginning my casting life. Thank you so much.

-Brent

[Sensai]

First off - WELCOME !!!

To answer your question, it would be hard to beat Lyman's "Cast Bullet Handbook" for an introduction and reference for beginning casters. You will quickly find that the information can be overwhelming, but you need to concentrate on the basics first. As with most things, without a firm foundation you can become lost in the minutia. The wonderful thing about casting boolits is that your failures can become masterpieces with a little application of heat. I've only been doing this since the early '60s, so I'm still learning. THINK SAFETY !! This site is slam full of very knowledgeable people who, for the most part, are more than willing to help you out. Don't be afraid to ask if you're not able to find something through the search engine, but do try first. Most anything that you have a question about has been asked before. Again, welcome !!

[MrWolf]

Aye welcome to the madness! Your best bet is to read the stickies and keep reading. As Sensai stated, get a copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (off the top of my head it is the 4th edition) and even the 3rd if you can find one. Take your time and learn to slug a barrel, to smelt your lead in a seperate pot from your casting pot, etc.. Great info here. Good luck.

[GhostHawk]

Welcome and I suggest you pace yourself. Easy enough here to sprain your brain reading stickies.

There is a wealth of information here, settle in, plan on a couple years to hit the high points.

[Wayne Smith]

Welcome. You did not say if you are already reloading. If you are good. If not that needs to come first. I do not recommend climbing two learning curves at the same time, at best it can be confusing.

If you are not already reloading you need to be in order to use the boolits you cast. Shoot, save your brass, invest in reloading equipment and supplies, get a couple of reloading manuals (Lyman 49 as a start) and learn the process and safety of reloading first.

Post your location. There may be one of us within reach who can mentor you and get you started. That is better than learning it all remotely, but most of us did that and before the internet, too.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Besides the Lyman cast bullet handbook 4th ed
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/867...h-edition-book
it's pretty much "thee" book ...and has exhaustive castboolit loading data

Do not overlook this link, also found at the bottom of castboolits page.
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

regarding the Elco boolit, search using the full description, I'm sure there'll be plenty to read, I'm short on time this morning, otherwise I would have given that a go for you.

Good luck and welcome to the site
Jon

[StuBach]

As a fellow new member (year into the insanity that is casting) I wanted to welcome you also.

Lots of info to be found across this site. Starting with a good casting manual is key as mentioned above. When I started last year I had done some casting with family in the past but didn't do my homework before starting on my own and the tinsel fairy (I believe that's what they call it here) almost created a hospital trip. Luckily only a few small spots of lead in my beard and ruined my fairly new fleece I was wearing which is now worn every time I cast as a reminder of safety.



After the the casting manual I would also recommend an interesting read in "From Ingot to Target" by Glen Fryxell and Robert ApplegateGlen which I found to be a good read but I'm sure the more experienced guys have a better idea on how valuable the info contained is. Nice thing about that book is there are PDF versions for download and can be read on a phone or tablet as time allows and at no charge.

[Hickok]

Hello and welcome. And yes, when you have a question, don't be shy in asking. Let us know what caliber, brand of gun, alloy your using etc. It all matters when finding a good load.

Above all, Safety First! Paramount and MOST important, EYE PROTECTION, EYE PROTECTION, EYE PROTECTION! Safety glasses at all times when casting.

Then comes gloves, and proper clothing. Molten alloy can give you a permanent tattoo you will never forget, or want!

Just saw Stu's post, good advice!

[rush1886]

Welcome brent.fox! Between the Lyman Handbook, and all of the "stickies" here, you'll have plenty to digest. Brain sprain is real.

First and foremost---think of all the $$$ you'll be saving! Yuk,yuk,yuk,yuk.............!

[C. Latch]

Get that Lyman manual and read it completely.

[Thumbcocker]

Also you might find someone close to you that would let you watch and maybe cast a few. A little mentoring with some hands on experience would be very helpful.

[dverna]

Good advice above. One more thing.....start "easy". Something like a .38 Spl or .45 ACP Is easier than 9mm or .40 S&W. If you must start with a rifle, keep velocities low.

Do do not load 100's of rounds when starting out. If the load leads or shoots poorly it is a pain to pull them apart.

I started over 40 years ago and still know nothing compared to some of the people on this forum.

Don

[bangerjim]

Welcome.

Always...........ALWAYS be on the look-out for more lead and alloys. 40# is one good casting session for me! You will go thru that with just a few range trips. So always be on the lookout.

Post you location, calibers, etc so we can help you.

Read the www.lasc.us stuff. Very educational. I refer to it all the time.

Get the books mentioned and read....read....read on here. This is the best site to learn about casting and loading. You came to the right place.

Nice thing about lead boolit mistakes............they re-melt!!!!

bangerjim

[osteodoc08]

Welcome.

In addition to the above, may I suggest you post up the general area where you live (or plan on doing the casting) as we have many members here willing to offer a helping hand and sometimes real world experience is the most valuable tool when starting off.

As always, safety first.

And again, welcome to the madness.

[44man]

The madness has started!
One fellow here has cast 200# at one sitting and my mental picture is of him on his back, kicking his legs in the air. Some white stuff foaming!
I start to count at about 50 boolits.
But welcome to it. Lot of stuff to study of course and more experience here then anywhere.
You need to spend some but who can beat a dime a shot that works? The best thing is things pay for themselves with time.
All you need do is ask anything.

[Brentona]

Thank you everyone for the kind words of welcome and terrific suggestions. I will update my on screen info but in the mean time I am located in Harford County, Maryland. I would like To begin with 9mm for the fact that I just bought my first modern pistol. My others are in 9x18. Rifle will come later and that will be 45/70. I purchased a glock 19 and am looking into KKM barrels as recommended in numerous threads.
I will pick those books up in the next week or so for sure. And begin reading. What I want to do first is just learn to smelt and flux properly to take that 40# and put it into ingots. Later make the bullets, and beyond that maybe this summer or mid spring load them and test. Time is a valuable thing as I am in my last year of my electrical apprenticeship and work full time and manage home life as well.
It would be terrific to learn hands on and I pick things up pretty quickly.
Again Thank you so much

-Brent

[Kraschenbirn]

Welcome aboard...drag up a rock and make yourself at home. I can't really add much to what's already been posted; Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (IMO) is MUST HAVE for anyone beginning to cast and shoot his/her own. Other volumes that come immediately to mind are Col. E.H. Harris' "Cast Bullets" from NRA Press - a lot of good technical information - and Ken Waters' "Pet Handloads" which includes his cast-boolit loads for almost all pre-2000 commercial cartridges. As for actual casting techniques; SAFETY trumps everything else. If you're unsure about something in your technique or equipment, don't hesitate to ASK...you've (literally!) got several thousand years of accumulated casting/reloading experience to draw from and if, collectively, we haven't committed all the possible errors, we've certainly covered 99%+.

Bill

[Taylor]

Yep,pull up a stump and have seat by the fire. Without this forum I would be lost as last years Easter egg. Good people here,lots of info for you too.

[StuBach]

Not sure if this has been done before but something I wish I had done had I known about this resource a year ago.

Use this forum to chronicle your fall into this insanity. As new posts pop up each day members will undoubtedly offer advice on corrections and next steps. If it goes how I imagine it could it would make for one hell of a beginners guide for those coming after you. Pictures also say 1M words. Just a thought though.

Also, another note I didn't see above. After you read, when you start looking for equipment watch the buying/selling/trading threads and if you are interested in a bullet/mold design ask those who already have it. I for one am more than happy to send along a small sample of any of my mold drops so someone else can evaluate if it's right for them. Helps you avoid buyers regret until you are in the enviable position some of our members are in where they have 50+ molds.

[fredj338]

Another welcome to a great hobby. I enjoy casting more than reloading & cast for all my handgun rounds & a couple rifles. As note, Lyman Cast Bullet is the read to get started. Then sights like this as LASC are where you can fine tune. Start hunting alloy now. It is getting harder to find cheap, much less free. As banger notes, 40# is a medium casting session, about 1400 45/200gr. Ingots are the easy part so I wouldn't get all worked up just yet.