Lyman 454190 two cavity 35 years ago. Bought it new, cast wheelweights and shot them out of a 3rd gen Colt's SAA which I had also bought new.
Lee molds, purchased.
Lee molds, given, borrowed.
Other brand mold, purchased.
Other brand mold, given, borrowed.
Lyman 454190 two cavity 35 years ago. Bought it new, cast wheelweights and shot them out of a 3rd gen Colt's SAA which I had also bought new.
Used NOE off of the forum.
..............My grandfather gave me great grandpa's NRA 30-06 sporter, and after doing some reading I bought a 2C Lyman 311284. ALL my bullet casting in those days was with pure linotype. My dad worked for ACME Colorprint. They printed most of the Sunday Funnies for newspapers in the 5 Western states. The company had 4 printing presses that were 2 stories tall. They all used engraved half cylinder lead plates that weighed about 15 lbs each. One plate would last a LOOOOOOOng time If I only knew then what I know now, eh!?
...............Buckshot
Father Grand Caster watches over you my brother. Go now and pour yourself a hot one. May the Sacred Silver Stream be with you always
Proud former Shooters.Com Cast Bullet alumnus and plank owner.
"The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
Shrink the State End the Fed Balance the budget Make a profit Leave an inheritance
I started reloading in 1970, just after getting married. This was to be my less expensive way to shoot more. By 1973 I was ready to start casting to save even more money. (Is it commercial time - the more you spend, the more you save???) I met an employee of a gun shop who was getting out of casting and into swaging. He offered to sell me his Lyman furnace, Lachmiller sizer, several sizing dies with top punches and 11 or 12 molds all for one money. The deal was made and I made my first "group buy" without ever having heard those words before. Now the furnace has died and been replaced, added on one additional sizer, more molds, sizing dies and top punches. I kept all of the group buy molds, some of those are now rather rare and pricey (35793-4X and a 358101-4X). This is how I got started in casting for a purchase price of $115. Then again, that price was in "1973" dollars, would be a bit different now.
Thin Man
To be totally honest, I have a Lyman .445 double round ball mold that predates all others by 30 years.
But if I could have found it in a Lee back then I would have chosen Lee.
I started out with Lee molds but it didn't take long to see the need to up grade to NEI in the 1980's.
Lee 00Buck mould, 1 at a time.
Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H.L. Mencken
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.― H.L. Mencken
Lyman 311410, 454424, and a Lee 358-148 WC molds. These were very generously given.
My first ones came from my Dad. I grew up learning to cast--we learned together
Lees are my main ones now due to volume production
NRA Life
USPSA L1314
SASS Life 48747
RVN/Cambodia War Games, 2nd Place
Ideal 454424
Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!
1st - a Lyman 45 cal Maxi Bullet mold. Then all hell broke loose - over 200 others now
Regards
John
As a kid the only casting I ever knew of or did were big saltwater fishing weights for surf fishing. My mold was two pieces of oak clamped together and drilled with 5/8" bit...held a swivel in the hole and poured her full of lead...whatta mess I would make but I got my free sinkers!
a m e r i c a n p r a v d a
Be a Patriot . . . expose their lies!
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” G. Orwell
I would have expected more hand me down or passed on to others molds for starters .
My first mold was a Lyman 575-213 hollow base .58 caliber Minie Ball mold - I purchased it new in 1963 at the whopping cost of around $30 with the handles included. At that time, it was expensive considering that I mowed yards at $2.00a yard to earn the money. I then added a 10# pot - I think that it was around $3.00 and a Lyman bottom pour ladle at around $2.50. I got it to cast minie balls for my first muzzleloader - a 1863 Remington "Zouave" that cost me $65.00 in those days - a bargain since it was used and a new one ran $125.00. I still have all of them and have cast thousands of minie balls ad put them through that rifle over the years. By the way, in those days a pound of 2F DuPont cost me 75 cents and a tin of Alcan musket caps around 75 cents a tine of 100.
Things kind of to out of hand somewhere along the line as I now have around 80 different molds and that doesn't count the ones I've had and sold along the way though the years.
I got my first moulds in 1958 or so. They weren't bullet moulds they cast little toy soldiers. How's that for a toy for an eight year old. Wouldn't folks have cow now days. lol My first bullet moulds were Saeco and I bought four and two sets of handles along with my first bottom pour pot in 1997. Gp
It's been over 35 years ago . It was a Lee 45 cal black powder mold. About 2 years later I put it down and did not cast again till about 4 years ago
[SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder
I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!
http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH
I am not crazy my mom had me tested
Theres a fine line between genius and crazy .. I'm that line
and depending on the day I might just step over that line !!!
Having joined a Bullseye league in the early '70s, I bought a 4-cavity Hensley/Gibbs 50bb mould. Still have it, too!
geo
Lyman 429421 4 cav .
My very first mold was a Lee 2 cavity TL 230 gr round nose. It was as least a year before I used it because it was the only piece of casting equipment I owned. I guess I bought it to force me into acquiring more equipment.
John
W.TN
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |