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Thread: Two or three things I know for sure

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Two or three things I know for sure

    I've been coming around long enough that I am starting to see some of the same issues repeat frequently. I belong to another forum where there's a section called, "they all do that, sir". No need to re-invent the wheel.

    –If you have a Lee 9mm TL mold that's key-holing, try another mold.

    -If your bullets are wrinkled, heat the mold up more.

    Others?
    Last edited by Boolseye; 04-15-2017 at 08:45 AM.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master




    TexasGrunt's Avatar
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    I have some molds that no matter how hot they are the bullets will be wrinkled. A light coating of smoke and the problem is solved. Also make sure there's no oil in the cavities as this will also cause wrinkles.
    Semper Fi!


    Currently casting for .223, .308, .30-06, .30-40 Krag, 9mm, .38/.357, 10mm, 44 Mag and 45 ACP.

    I like strange looking boolits!

    NRA Patriot Life Endowment member.

  3. #3
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    for a while my sig line was your mold is too cold.
    mold temperature is the key to all of this lead stuff.

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    one of them is covered in FAQ.
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/foru...sked-Questions
    maybe we gotta find a good thread about 9mm TL to add to FAQ
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  5. #5
    I'm A Honcho!
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    I keep a small bottle of dish soap with about a quarter simple green. An electric toothbrush and a few scrubbings before my molds hit the hotplate for the first two or three castings have cut down wrinkled bullets tremendously.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by bluejay75 View Post
    I keep a small bottle of dish soap with about a quarter simple green. An electric toothbrush and a few scrubbings before my molds hit the hotplate for the first two or three castings have cut down wrinkled bullets tremendously.
    I agree 100%! Scrub that sucker with a toothbrush, some Dawn and hot water BEFORE you ever pour lead into it!
    "We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"

    unknown

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Whitespider's Avatar
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    No matter how much you think you know... well.......
    *

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    The internet has caused many to become lazy. They don't want to do any thinking or testing. Just get on a shooting forum and ask questions.
    When I started one had to dig for themselves for information and do a lot of testing. No internet and not many one could ask for help.
    Log on and lay back and wait for the answers.

  9. #9
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    I read Dennis Marshal's article on antimonial dendrites forming on the surface of a cast object so many times one afternoon, trying to understand what he was saying, I gave myself a 3 day Migraine.

    even reference books on casting were few and far between and you had to make the most of the information in them.
    it was a godsend when I seen 2 little 3/4" by 1.5" advertisements in a reloading magazine and could make a [long distance] phone call and speak to someone [Art Green/Bill Ferguson] about casting alloys.

  10. #10
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    This internet thingy makes it so you can get lots and lots of opinions, and a few more opinions after that. More than one way to skin a cat or cast a certain bullet or solve a problem. I know you have to examine online information and opinions but then do some of your own work to figure out what applies best to your situation.

    I know for a fact that if I Google a reloading or casting question at least some of the first page of possible answers will lead here.

    Tinsel fairy is not a good fairy.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Too many casters are scrapping boolits due to things they think are a problem. Frosted, insignificant wrinkles, weight is not the same as it says on the box, weight varies by .1 gr, 1 gr, 2 gr, BHN is off, too big, .001 out of round. And they're shooting cans with a 9MM pistol at 10 yds. I always use the same answer, Shoot'em first.
    The only amendment the Democrats support is the 5th.

  12. #12
    Boolit Bub WickedColt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whitespider View Post
    No matter how much you think you know... well.......
    *
    Seriously!!
    Si vis pacem, para bellum

  13. #13
    Boolit Master

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    I'm one of the younger fellows here on this forum and I think what a lot of people forget is that most of us are in a place where we either A. don't have a range in close proximity or B. can't afford to go shoot every week because the range charges too much.

    so why not ask questions and make sure everything is as it should be before you drive 45 minutes to your local range and pay $25 to fine out that your 9mm is leading like crazy cuz someone said just out out and try it. Now you wasted a quarters of a hundred dollars to find out your lead is too soft and you still have to drive 45minutes home with your head down angry that you wasted all that time.

    i know most of my questions are derived from searching this forum and finding no real good answers to my question. Heck just yesterday I was toying around with the idea of using a soft 200 grain hollow point in my 45lc and using cream of wheat as a filler/ gas check hoping that this might be a good way to go about it. Well there are a ton of threads on using cream of wheat, heck there was a thread from 2012 asking how to use it as a filler. I read the whole thread and no one Once said this is how to use it in a bootle neck and this is how to do it in a straight walled cartridge, they told him their success with it but never addressed just how compressed it should be or how much case to fill for a straight walled casing. I finally after reading enough just assume you have to measure how far your boolit is going to seat and add enough to go slightly past that point so that the load is lightly compressed.

    It's hard to research something out there when no one gives a good answers. Look through the thread and tell me where it was well explained.
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...f-Wheat-Basics

    i think there are a lot of people who just miss the question all together but like to brag about how well it works for them. Remember though if someone post a "stupid question" like why are my boolits wrinkled, you don't have to post an answer. No one is paying anyone on here for answers so just ignor it and read the next thread or answer it.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    You know, you are exactly right. It costs money to do those things. But, and one not so young, when I was doing a lot of experimenting I was making a lot less money too. Had a small daughter, and had house payment, car payment etc..
    Sometimes one will have to bite the bullet at times. I have done it many times.
    While some will do some experimenting before asking some just want to be spoon fed. If you aren't a spoon-fed type more power to you.

  15. #15
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    What a lot of wisdom and practicality this OP has produced! Only thing I can add, is that no matter how much you learn by reading, you've STILL go to learn to put it all to use, and that means actual casting. As an old Judge I knew once was fond of quoting, "Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then if he just keeps rooting." And that's pretty much how I taught myself to cast, early on - by simply casting, and trying all sorts of variations to SEE what worked and what didn't with the lead I was using (WW's) and the molds I had (Lee). And nothing works like experience! I was dogged, and determined to cast better bullets so I could get better accuracy. I was learning to shoot fairly well, and knew I needed the best bullets I could produce to get better. So .... I just kept experimenting. It's amazing how quickly you can learn to cast good bullets if you just don't keep trying to make the same old way work when it doesn't want to.

    Read all the stuff I could find on casting, but sure wish I'd had the benefit of all the knowledge that we have here on this board! It would have shortened my learning time considerably. But .... lessons you learn yourself, and can SEE the results of, are always the best teachers. I still don't claim to be an "expert." After all, an "ex" is a "has-been" and a "spurt" is a "big drip," and I keep learning all the time. I suspect the wisest among us do the same?

    And like Run, I sometimes have trouble "getting" the more technical stuff, but ... I keep trying anyway. We have a LOT of folks here with specific technical knowledge, who can explain even more than we really WANT to know sometimes, but I for one am thankful for these sages! Even if I can't "get" all that they tell us, I still keep TRYING to learn. It's the only way, really, that we CAN progress and get better and better, and thus, produce better and better (and more and more effective) bullets and loads. And that matters, and it matters more than some of us really suspect.

    One can only shoot as well as our ammo will let us, and accuracy will always be the point of shooting any single-projectile firearm. BPCR was a real test for me, but I got pretty passable at that, once I learned a few critical things about casting those big, heavy bullets. The learning never ends in any endeavor. We just keep raising our standards so we keep striving to reach the new goals. That's how all progress works, I think.

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master Harter66's Avatar
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    I remember my first pass here the grief I caught , among other things there's no such thing as an 06' with an 8.5 twist .........Unless it was a special order or something ..... Read the stickies ....... Lordy how I wished for a read thread counter to go with the post counter .......... Turns out I had a swollen bbl where the powder curve hit over a long history of shooting heavies before I got it .

    Just for the record key holing TL bullets can be helped by harder alloy , it worked in an XD40 I had .

    Throw the new guy a bone , sometimes it takes the same answer 3 different ways for one to stick and make sense .

    Size bigger it'll stop the leading
    I'm 316 in a 312 throat and the lead starts 4" in front of the chamber
    It's your lube
    Full star at the muzzle and the last 3" are lead free also
    Your wrong read the stickies
    312 at the end of the case 300x 309 slug in from the breach end 6" , .299x306 at the muzzle why is the now knurled to hold more lube 316 bullet doing this ?

    Eventually someone read something that clicked and suggested lapping .
    Sure enough , 6 maybe 8 fire laps and the squish from the unswollen part at the chamber end was gone and .312 shot well until I got to the next bug .

    Was all of the berating​ necessary , no I think not . Did it frustrate me , hell yes it did . You read 200 threads about 30-06 leading and try 10 solutions 2 of which make it worse , describe every detail and get sent to the stickies.....
    In the time of darkest defeat,our victory may be nearest. Wm. McKinley.

    I was young and stupid then I'm older now. Me 1992 .

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    Without trial we cannot learn and grow . It is through our stuggles that we become stronger .
    Brother I'm going to be Pythagerus , DiVinci , and Atlas all rolled into one soon .

  17. #17
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    the sticky's IMO are great for building a good base knowledge of problems and possible cures.

    i'll tell a little story about how a couple of fairly experienced casters can be flummoxed by things until the micrometer comes out and things really get measured and weighed.

    Btroj and Myself bought a CZ-75 about a month apart.
    it was one of the 6 different pistols I measured when I designed the HM-2 9mm mold.
    Brad knew about it and snagged a mold too.
    we both go to casting with a fairly similar alloy, are using the same secret lube recipe, sizing to the same diameter, and using the same powder,primers, and cases.
    the only actual differences between the two loads is.
    1. 1 point in alloy bhn.
    2. he was using .3grs more powder than I was.
    he had continuous leading.
    he even matched my alloy exactly and dropped down to my exact load.
    he still had leading.
    hmm start measuring the brass throughout the load development.

    he is also using a Dillon 550, a LEE carbide die, the 38 smith powder funnel, Dillon seat and separate taper die.
    exact same die set-up I'm using also.
    still he has leading
    harder alloy.
    still leading.
    slug the barrel.
    same.

    finally he pulls the Barrel and takes a picture down the chamber end of the barrel into the throat after Gear mentions maybe it's his throat.
    possible... but why?
    anyway.
    as soon as he posted the pictures it was very simple to see what his problem was.
    one week later, his barrel is back, installed and the basic load is tried.
    nomo problem and his function and accuracy are now on par with my pistol.

  18. #18
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    Some people need to feel like they really understand something before proceeding. Some need some encouragement. Don't see any harm in providing it by answering a question if I can offer a potential answer or encouragement. I can after all ignore them if the question somehow offends my sensitivities.

    Lot of different levels of experience and knowledge. Lot of that is way over my level or ability to easily understand. Some with less whom Maybe I can support or encourage. For my part my hats off to the folks that make those YouTube videos that have helped me understand a tool or technique. Or those that have given an attaboy or link to a topic I didn't know I needed to understand. Or just a "looks like you need to...." that pointed me in the right direction. I figure at least some of my posts need to be a pay it forward of those.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    There is nothing wrong asking for help or giving help. It just seems to me that many, to me that is, may just want to know without doing any, or much, leg work themselves.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by 44MAG#1 View Post
    There is nothing wrong asking for help or giving help. It just seems to me that many, to me that is, may just want to know without doing any, or much, leg work themselves.
    Casting is for most of us a fairly isolated activity. Not a whole lot of us around. Locally outside of this forum I know of two. One casts and reloads a few 30-06 for hunting and I don't know him so much as see him a few times a year at dog agility events. A second one I never met but who has a long standing arrangement to collect wheel weights from a local shop.

    I think this forum for many takes the place of that experienced person who is there in person walking them through the process and teaching them enough to get started. The mentor that shows them how and explains why until they understand it.

    Some of us really like doing the research to know more about it but I also think a lot just want to know how to do it. Some want to be carpenters, others just want to learn enough to follow the directions and make a decent shed to meet a practical need.

    I think the forum is richer for having the people who want to master the subject as well as the people just getting started or who are more casual casters and reloaders. The range of knowledge and experience can at times be sort of difficult to work through.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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