New guy

[SteelHorseCowboy]

Hi folks, new here, new to casting. Have lurked here a bit, looking around.
Have done some casting before but it's been 10+ years and there wasn't much to it, about 150 .36 caliber balls for a pair of blackpowder pistols, then the pistols and tools made their way into a yard sale for an undisclosed (to me) amount of pocket change
There's gotta be a list of all the reasons a wife becomes an ex-wife, right? That should be on there.

A bit over a year ago I came into possession of a Ruger SBH .44 mag. Decided immediately I'm gonna have to roll my own, and figured I may as well cast my own lead while I'm at it. I'm on a tight budget, but can see light at the end of the tunnel so I decided to go ahead and register here. I can see a lot of questions in the future.

[NyFirefighter357]

Welcome, SteelHorseCowboy, I'm fairly new myself but the people here are very friendly and very willing to help. The wealth of knowledge here is incredible. Take some time to read all the stickys and go through the old posts, use the search to find specific topics like 44mag. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of the Lyman cast bullet handbook the newest edition is 4 but an older one will do. Also get started hoarding lead! Jason

P.S. Come visit the chat room, you'll need to use internet explorer or safari.

[Walter Laich]

your budget may determine this but I've always liked the molds with more cavities. I get 3x the bullets for about the same effort as 2-gang molds.
Lees are good ones to start with. They may need a bit of TLC (or not, my last two were dropping them with only a light tap) but for the price they can't be beat.

Again the Lee pots are a good way to get in without spending a bunch of money. Some will leak a bit but when you consider the price difference between a Lee and RCBS Pro-Melt you can live with a few drips.

The casting book is a great idea; lot of necessary info in there.

lubing is another 'you pay what you get for.' Probably cheapest is pan lubing and a Lee push through sizer that fits on your press.

...and no I don't work for Lee or get kickbacks from them

Do a bit of reading and keep posting here when you have questions

Oh, and welcome aboard

[shoot-n-lead]

your budget may determine this but I've always liked the molds with more cavities. I get 3x the bullets for about the same effort as 2-gang molds.
Lees are good ones to start with. They may need a bit of TLC (or not, my last two were dropping them with only a light tap) but for the price they can't be beat.

Again the Lee pots are a good way to get in without spending a bunch of money. Some will leak a bit but when you consider the price difference between a Lee and RCBS Pro-Melt you can live with a few drips.

The casting book is a great idea; lot of necessary info in there.

lubing is another 'you pay what you get for.' Probably cheapest is pan lubing and a Lee push through sizer that fits on your press.

...and no I don't work for Lee or get kickbacks from them

Do a bit of reading and keep posting here when you have questions

Oh, and welcome aboard

Spot-on advice...listen to this man.

[mdi]

Bullet casting can be as complex or as simple as you make it. I started with a Coleman stove, a stainless steel pan (2 qt.) a slotted spoon (from Ma's kitchen) a Lee ladle, a Lee mold, and some candles for fluxing. I had access to a bunch of wheel weights so I made use of them. I cast for mu S&W 629 and my Ruger SBH in .44 Magnum for about a year. I found a Lee Lube and Size Kit on ebay (the old style with a 3" shallow pan a, "cookie cutter", a sizing "die" and a punch) and after about 10 months I got my first Lyman "Kieth style" 240 gr. bullet mold. You could start out big $$$, with premium multi cavity molds, high buck bottom pour pots, store bought lubes and a lubrisizer. Depends on you. I have been casting for mebbe 22 years and tumble lube, pan lube and PC, and haven't needed a lubrisizer, I have about 10 Lee push through sizers.

But first I'd suggest Lymans Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd Edition if you can find one, a 4th will do. Read "From Ingot to Target" by Fryxell and you'll have a good idea how to get started in prolly the most satisfying aspect of home ammo making... http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[Mk42gunner]

Welcome aboard.

I understand tight budgets, it just means you take a while longer than you want to get something.

There is nothing really wrong with Lee two cavity molds, especially considering they are under $20 at Midsouth right now. The handles come with them, with the six cavity Lee molds, you have to buy handles separately, but you are still only out about $50 all together.

I would save a bit longer and get the Lee 4-20 pot, you can ladle from it as well as bottom pour; something that is kind of hard to do with their ten pounder.

Robert

[bigolsmokebomb]

Welcome. Im new here myself and have been treated better here than just about any other forum ive been a part of. The people here will bend over backwards to help. I second saving a few extra bucks to get the lee 4-20 pot. Its the one i went with and ive had no trouble more than a few drips from it. Keep at it and have fun

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Welcome!

[runfiverun]

buy the best equipment you can.


and don't listen to me, I do it all wrong.

[stubert]

If your loading for a Ruger, you can seat the bullets out farther to 1.7" Also if you are hunting take a look at the Lee c-430-310. It is a thumper and extremely accurate.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SteelHorseCowboy,
welcome to the forum.
44 is a good one to start with...44 is why I started reloading...and is also 'part' of the reason I started casting. All it takes is buying some store bought projectiles for the Big Bore revolvers and Casting your own is an easy step.

As R5R said, buy the best equipment you can, I know you said you were on a tight budget, but you need to look at this type of equipment as an investment and/or a capital equipment expenditure. Generally, it doesn't lose value, it may lose some if you buy new and sell right away if you decide casting wasn't for you, but you won't lose much. Many times this type of equipment increases in value over time(years) and if you are good at looking for a deal, buying used equipment can be a wise choice.
Good Luck.

[Wayne Smith]

The cheapest way to do it is with a Coleman stove, a 2qt pot from the thrift store, and a place to use them. Get a Lyman or RCBS ladle and put your money into molds initially, it is worth investing in quality there. Lee has it's place and for starting and learning especially. I still use two one cavity Lee molds, a bunch of two cavity Lee's and six six cavity Lee molds, so I'm far from against Lee molds! They still have the best round ball molds, btw.

Being on a budget I understand, that's how I began. I bought a bunch of stuff off eBay before prices got high, too.

[.455 Webley]

Good quality used equipment is what makes this hobby affordable for new guys on tight budgets like you and me. Keep an eye out at local auction companies and estate sales. I have seen lubrisizers with dies and top punches go for less then ten bucks at a local auction house. Try to find some one local who does this kind of thing. Most people are happy to teach someone what they know.

[bullpen7979]

Welcome Steel. Read, read, read. And again, welcome. The collective wisdom here will get you answers to the questions that will inevitably come up.

[CASTER OF LEAD]

Welcome to the madness. As has been said, there is a wealth of knowledge to be had on this site. Glad to have you aboard. Enjoy the journey through your casting/ reloading world, and if ya ask the question someone (usually multitudes) will chime in,or point you in the direction of the answers you seek. Above all else Be Safe and have fun! - CASTER

[RedHawk357Mag]

Welcome to satisfying madness. Make a note of this link. It will help you find information here a little easier. https://cse.google.com/cse/home?cx=0...69:ggn3vg-bjum

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[TXGunNut]

Welcome, excellent advice above. Read all you can stand, then read some more. Buy the best equipment you can afford and it will be here when we're gone. Don't forget safety equipment: good gloves, eye protection, long sleeve shirts, long pants and leather shoes. Consider a good apron. A trip to the ER is more expensive than PPE and will often greatly postpone your next casting session.

[44man]

I love lee pots and would buy the 20# pot and a Lyman ladle. Lee push through size dies work great and can be lapped in minutes to any size needed.
For hunting the Lee 310 is super, just don't expect to shoot it slow.
Stay in the 240 neighborhood for light loads.
The SBH is a fine gun and you can get minute of thump tack at 50 yards if done right, instead of minute of paper plate.
Good to have you here and everyone will help with questions.
I predict soon you will want a SRH too!
Now there are a few thing I don't use from lee, I only use Hornady dies. I have BR collar dies for the .44 and Hornady equals the accuracy. Dies are one place I never go cheap, everything hinges on them.

[SteelHorseCowboy]

Y'all are quite the welcoming bunch!
I have a stove in a large well ventilated shop at work and a steady but slow supply of lead, yields about a pound a month pure lead scrap.

As of now I've melted down a collection of 15 pounds into ingots using an aluminum pot, steel soup ladle, and old cornbread stick mold. Couldn't bring myself to use grandma's old corn cob pan, so I found an old rusty one at a yard sale and cleaned it up.

Investment so far, $10 for the ingot mold. The pot and ladle were about to find their way into the trash as they've been replaced with much higher quality cookware.

I plan to get a cast iron pot and actual casting ladle for easier pouring. And a mold to actually cast into. Probably a 2 cavity.

I'll be looking around the forum for info on how to alloy the lead, where to find the materials and what not.

I will be casting for a Ruger Super Blackhawk. Not planning to load anything super hot, I mostly use it on the range but would like to hunt deer with it.

[SteelHorseCowboy]

So purdy. I average about a pound a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, and always have my eyes open for more. My old man has a 5 gallon bucket full to the brim of OLD wheel weights. Gonna talk him out of it next time I'm around Memphis.