Most Boolits Cast in One Session

[10mmShooter]

3 hrs prior to lunch then another 3 hrs after...that's my max, 800-1000 max production.

[JBinMN]

Y'know... I am now wondering, "How often" do some folks cast?".

The Fall casting session I posted about earlier is to cover for not casting til after the cold of Winter, means I cast those boolits in Mid-late October, and do a lot at one time, since I do not cast again until around March when the temps get back up to about the same as in October. So, it is not an "average" day of casting.

Like I mentioned earlier, 40-50 lbs is pretty close to a normal session of a few mixed calibers & not the wide range I make for Winter work loading up rounds..

Since I cast outside, I try to pick days that are not too hot or cold, little to slight winds, low to mid humidity, and NO rain forecast. That limits me to pick days that I have the time, that meet those criteria for "weather" ( & my health issues/ I have trouble breathing in certain conditions. COPD.) & when I do cast, I want to cast as many as I can be comfortable with doing, before I get tired & possibly start making mistakes.

I cast alone 99.9 % of the time & I have a certain rhythm I follow. I will not carry on conversations when casting or reloading, at minimum for safety sake, and I do not want ANY distractions when handling hot things, or things that can go BANG real hard if I mess up.

I use mostly 6 cavity molds with some 2 bangers. {My only molds for 230 are a SWC(1) & 230 RN(2) 2 cav.. I use (1)- 2 cav. for the 102-RN, (1) - 2 cav. for 240gr SWC, and (1) 30 cal 150 RF. The 6 cavs are the (2) 356- 120 TC (1)356-124 TC, (1)356-124 RN , (1) 358-158 SWC & (1) 358-148 WC} }
With those 6 banger molds I can rock & roll some boolits once the rhythm gets going. The molds stay the right temp using them one after the other, while the next lineup of molds is sitting on a hotplate for their turn, & when it comes time to add ingots I have stacked & sitting within reach, it is not much time to let molds cool so things run pretty smooth.
Adding back in in sprues & any bad culls I catch as I cast takes little time either.
Adding flux of wax/beeswax is as simple as sticking the little ball, or the end of the long candle in the melt & doing some stirring til it "flashes".
I have "stations" set up for a Left to right movement to try to keep things efficient.

If you look at those pics I posted earlier you are seeing what is on the most far right of the stations.

Out of pics to the left is the sprue & cull can that is the same size ( #10 can) as the dross can in the pic, there is also an empty space on the endgate for the molds to sit as I set them in order as I pour. ( I usually run 2-3 molds back to back, then repeat.) just off towards the left side of the endgate is the hotplate for the other molds to pre heat while I am casting whatever the caliber is that I am running at the time. Ingots are between the hotplate & the furnace table in front of me, sitting on the endgate, the table is just off & next to the endgate of the P/U truck.

The furnace table that is about the size of a TV tray & about the same height. Also just about the same height as the endgate.

On it sets the 10lb Lee pot ( bought years ago for when I poured sinkers & jigs for fishing), a wooden paint paddle or wood shim for stirring, a tablespoon with holes drilled in it for scooping out dross & a long candle & some beeswax ready for fluxing.
If I am using water drop, the 5 gal. pail with the wet towel & screen( like a paint roller screen to keep the boolits from hitting the water directly & also from hitting one another as I drop them) is just off the edge of the endgate to my right & would be about where the most right hand pile of boolits in the pic sets.

So, I have a "system" of "stations" that allows me to just keep starting from the Left & moving to the right as I run the caliber I am using & keep going until I want a break , change an alloy or caliber, or whatever.

I mostly do pistol all at one time, do rifle all at one time & do shotgun slug all at one time, since there is alloy differences in what I wan to do & it keeps the pot full of one alloy at a time.

I use 50/50 + a little tin for most of my pistol boolits, unless I do a bit of adjustment in ratio for one reason or another, harder alloy for rifle & and soft pure lead for slugs. so it is easier on me to just do one alloy type at a time, run the pistol calibers & then do any rifle or harder runs another day & do shotgun by themselves.
( sometimes I just use the 2 little electric pots for them & not even use the lee 10 pounder. keeping the alloys separate & not getting a mix between types.)

Well... I know that was a long post & if ya read this far ya learned a bit on how "I" do my own way of casting.

I am sure others have their own ways as well, but this style has been working for me since my days of casting fishing jigs & sinkers & it was not hard to adapt to casting boolits.

Hopefully this will help explain my process for casting boolits & also help folks understand how I did the output I have posted above, since so far, other than the fella from Down Under(Oz/Aus., who uses Magna Cast, only one feller here has posted up a similar amount of casting, even though I did say it was a type of "marathon" due to my not casting from Oct to March because of the weather..

Short version... I was not BS-ing anyone in the amounts I listed. Other than the 9mm ones I cast that day & have been getting ready to load up, ( <150 sitting ready to load on the bench as I type) since I have been shooting more 9mm than anything else but .22 lately, I think I still have most of the other boolits from that run sitting on the bottom shelf of one of my shelf setups & could go down & take pics of them to show here... Heck, I might even do that if I get the itch.


Anyway, I am enjoying seeing what folks post up here. I was just feeling odd since not many were seeming to post as much in a session/run, but they may be casting "more often" than I have to make the difference...

[P Flados]

I really have not kept track and am pretty sure the most has been around 40#.

Now, this little batch was probably closer to one 20# pot, but at 55 gr there be a lot of little 32s in the pile:



A more typical big batch would be something like these 35 cal 160's from a Lee 6 cav:



My most recent decent batch was a mix of 35 cal 180s and 200s from my home crafted custom 2 cav mold:

[Stephen Cohen]

When much younger and casting for myself and two mates, I cast over 4000 230gr .45s and it took a long day. I still cast between 500 to 2000 in one hit, but I enjoy casting and take pride and pleasure in it. Regards Stephen

[Oily]

Lyman 452488 4 cavity with modified Lee handles. 512 boolits before culling. Tried to cast too long and I am sure the last 40 or 50 would cull out. Bulging discs in shoulders and neck cause my arms and hands to go numb. But when I get on a roll I want to cast as many as possible. I am stubborn and pay for it the next day. This boolit and 5 gr bullseye is my go to mild load in my 1911s, even my culls when powder coated are accurate.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

One productive Saturday afternoon/evening, I piled up about 2000 from a NOE 5 cavity mold (358-128-SWC). I did take a break for dinner...so I guess it was more like two sessions back-to-back...but all in one day.

BTW, the week following that casting session, I split a couple cords of firewood (hydraulic woodsplitter), I remember it well, as that was the beginning of the tendinitis in my left wrist...still have that today...I now cast holding the mold with my right hand because of it.

[Boomsticks Firearms]

If I remember correctly the most I have cast was something over 60 pounds but I don’t turn on the pot unless I am going to cast at least 20 pounds

[ghh3rd]

I'm up to about 10 bullets now.

We’ve all been at 10 boolits... keep on truckin...

[GregLaROCHE]

JBinMn. That’s a good idea drilling holes in the spoon to remove dross. First time I’ve heard of it. How big are the holes ?

[Wheelguns 1961]

JB in min, I usually cast about 500-600 at a time with one mold. When I get low on one particular bullet, I plan a casting session. I am lucky that I have a garage to do it in. I have been shooting alot, and acquiring new molds, so I am getting a little behind in my casting. So normally once or twice a month. If it is too cold, I will fire up the kerosene heater. If it is too hot, I will sweat, but I enjoy it. I like the idea of doing it all in the spring and fall, but I am just not that organized.

[BNE]

I typically do 500 to 1000 at a time.

I think it’s funny that so many have posted pictures of their “pile of bullets” after a casting session. I have a bunch of those pictures as well. A lot of work and love go into those piles.

[hermans]

When using a 6 cavity brass mold I normally get about 800 good boolits in a 2 hour session, then the wrist really hurts. I also use a 8 cavity aluminum mold, also from MP Molds, with that one I get about 1200 boolits, but then my back normally gives notice.

[lightman]

Y'know... I am now wondering, "How often" do some folks cast?".

I do most of my casting in the Spring. I'll start pretty soon since we have been having a mild winter and I'll go up to early Summer or until it get too hot for comfort. I cast in my shop. Its not air conditioned but I do have a gas stove that I hardly ever use. I'll cast once a week during that time.

I have a steel work bench in my shop. I'll have a buddy or two over and we talk and visit while casting. Sometimes in the afternoon we'll even have a beer! We're careful not to get distracted and we have a good time. They end up leaving their pots, tools and lead here for most of that time, only taking their bullets and molds home. The electrical system is strong enough to run 3 pots and a hot plate or two.

I built a shallow wooden box with a divider in it. The pot sits in one side and the other side catches my cast bullets. I put a folded towel in that side. I have a few tools close by, an iron pot for dross, an old candle for fluxing and a Bic lighter. A can of brake cleaner and an old tooth brush.

It makes for a comfortable set up.

[JBinMN]

JBinMn. That’s a good idea drilling holes in the spoon to remove dross. First time I’ve heard of it. How big are the holes ?

I do not know for sure the size of the holes as I drilled the spoon a long time ago, but I want to say 3/16" or so. I will go out & take a pic later of my "furnace table", and maybe even set up as if I was going to cast, just to show the setup I use. When I do that I will look at the spoon & see what size they are.


Not gonna cast though, I am limping from lower back & knee pain I got from doing the jig on some ice a few days ago & it is uncomfortable to do a lot of standing or walking.

[JBinMN]

JB in min, I usually cast about 500-600 at a time with one mold. When I get low on one particular bullet, I plan a casting session. I am lucky that I have a garage to do it in. I have been shooting alot, and acquiring new molds, so I am getting a little behind in my casting. So normally once or twice a month. If it is too cold, I will fire up the kerosene heater. If it is too hot, I will sweat, but I enjoy it. I like the idea of doing it all in the spring and fall, but I am just not that organized.

I have a garage, but it is not set up for good enough ventilation, IMO, to cast in there. I have the things I need to set it up, but have not yet installed the stuff. So, I have been casting outside. Even for jigs & sinkers. Which reminds me, I need to make more of them too, this Spring.

Like I said, I cast when I feel the need for some boolits & it is usually about once a month until Fall, then the big one like I mentioned. I have not yet loaded up much of the Fall marathon, so they are sitting on a shelf waiting. I may take some pics of them as well, just cause.


I would not mind the heat so much when casting, but the combined heat & the humidity that comes with it makes it hard for me to breathe. The Cold gets me too as I get arthritis in my joints and a casting session would likely put my down for a few days to a week if I did it then, besides the cold doesn't help the heating process & even a small breeze makes it feel colder yet. No, I can wait until it gets more reasonable to cast out there. LOL

[JBinMN]

I typically do 500 to 1000 at a time.

I think it’s funny that so many have posted pictures of their “pile of bullets” after a casting session. I have a bunch of those pictures as well. A lot of work and love go into those piles.

LOL I am guilty of that, on occasion. I just did it mostly because some folks, when they ask about me doing it, can't grasp it well. So pics help fill in the blanks.

[John McCorkle]

I typically do 500 to 1000 at a time.

I think it’s funny that so many have posted pictures of their “pile of bullets” after a casting session. I have a bunch of those pictures as well. A lot of work and love go into those piles.

Ain't it the truth though...my wife wonders why I run my fingers though a pile of cast bullets and smile...I tell her it's the same reason I put my hands on my hips and smile after mowing the lawn!

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

[JBinMN]

When using a 6 cavity brass mold I normally get about 800 good boolits in a 2 hour session, then the wrist really hurts. I also use a 8 cavity aluminum mold, also from MP Molds, with that one I get about 1200 boolits, but then my back normally gives notice.

I understand about the getting sore myself. Even on short runs I "pay" later physically now...

I do most of my casting in the Spring. I'll start pretty soon since we have been having a mild winter and I'll go up to early Summer or until it get too hot for comfort. I cast in my shop. Its not air conditioned but I do have a gas stove that I hardly ever use. I'll cast once a week during that time.

I have a steel work bench in my shop. I'll have a buddy or two over and we talk and visit while casting. Sometimes in the afternoon we'll even have a beer! We're careful not to get distracted and we have a good time. They end up leaving their pots, tools and lead here for most of that time, only taking their bullets and molds home. The electrical system is strong enough to run 3 pots and a hot plate or two.

I built a shallow wooden box with a divider in it. The pot sits in one side and the other side catches my cast bullets. I put a folded towel in that side. I have a few tools close by, an iron pot for dross, an old candle for fluxing and a Bic lighter. A can of brake cleaner and an old tooth brush.

It makes for a comfortable set up.

Our Winter has been mild off & on as well, but the winds that bring the mild have been along with gusts sometimes up to 30-40 mph and not good for much else either, let alone casting. Flying kites & wrecking them maybe..LOL

I can't chat with others when casting or loading, myself. I just stop if someone comes over until they leave, or I shut it down. I don't want any accidents & with my luck, something will & I don't need the hassle.

Sounds like your setup is just right for you. I just set mine up like a mini assembly line & then when I am done I let things cool & then put the stuff back away til next time. I guess that is another topic... "What is your casting setup?", but it is likely here in the Archives somewhere, I just don't think I have run across it yet.

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I better stop here now, been on a little posting marathon in this topic. Better let others post a bit & get back to what is the "Most boolits cast in one session" subject, eh?

[RED BEAR]

Don't count them usually not more than two 4x4x4 inch boxes when doing smaller bullets 25acp or 32acp more like one box all but two (25 acp ) molds are single or double cavity. This morning did a box of 41mag bullets and melted 30 pounds of wheel weights.

[Sig556r]

2 batches of Lee 20lb pot is the most I do in one sitting. Yields depend on mold.
I also water-quench/towel-dry/air-dry/PC/bake/water-quench in between.
Sizing is for another time.