First Casting in 30 Years....

[tray999]

My first casting in 30 plus years. I am able to shoot 22 in my garage, so I saved some of the lead from bullet trap and made some ingots.... How do they look?

[Froogal]

Look very good to me.

[John McCorkle]

Awesome!! That's alot of .22 rounds too!

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

[Winger Ed.]

That's great.

I guess it's like riding a bicycle--- you never forget how to do it.

[tray999]

Awesome!! That's alot of .22 rounds too!

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

I shoot Bullseye, so I need lots of practice......

[Conditor22]

Tray, welcome to CB. sound like you will fit right it.
here's a little info I put together that might be helpful

If you decided to start casting to save money, forget it. You won't, you'll just shoot more.
Casting boolits (lead bullets) properly is a science, once you know the basics, not a hard science.
There is a lot of good information on CB. The Google search (top right of every forum page) is a gateway to all the knowledge on this forum. IF you can’t find your answer there ask the question (Please be as detailed as possible, pictures help. I would be very surprised if there wasn’t someone on this forum that could answer ANY (firearm related) question you might have)
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
1. Boolits need to be cast .0005 to .003 (normally .002) over the slugged diameter of your barrel for accuracy and to avoid leading. If the fit is wrong nothing else will work right.
a. slugging a barrel (it is safer to use a brass rod or a steel rod with a couple of coats of tape to avoid damaging your barrel http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinSlug.htm
b. chamber casting https://www.brownells.com/guntech/ce....htm?lid=10614
or pound casting http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...rifle-chamber)
2. the right alloy needs to be used for the velocity and purpose of the boolit (don’t fall into the trap of going with too hard an alloy
Testing lead hardness with Graphite drawing/sketching pencils
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-testing-trick

To find the content/alloys in your lead you can contact BNE (a member on this site) type BNE in the search box at the top right of each forum page, go to his profile page, click on “Send Private Message” (PM) Usually You send him 1 pound of lead (he prefers pure) and a very small sample of what you want tested. He’ll test it and send you the list of the alloys and their percentages

Some alloys harden over time
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chap...Metallurgy.htm

Lead alloy calculator (this is helpful but has some problems )
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...4&d=1341560870
3. velocity the bullet needs to be pushed hard/fast enough to get the proper spin, have the proper velocity to accurately reach the target but not so hard as to be dangerous or strip the lead off in the grooves instead of spinning the boolit..
The boolit needs to be the right weight for the riffling/twist rate of your barrel
Powders range from fast to slow, you need to choose the right powder for your barrel length & application.
Loading manuals list the best powders for certain calibers and boolit weights.
NEVER use any posted noncommercial load data without first checking commercial load data to see if falls in the safe parameter for your firearm!! There are several firearms out there that can handle much higher pressures than others!!
Link to free online load data
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...online-sources

Optimum seating depth (still feeds and seats with the best accuracy) will vary with every gun
I read somewhere that you can hold the boolit in the chamber so it's touching the rifling. slide the biggest rod down the barrel and mark where the end of the barrel is. If there is a big gap between the barrel and the rod, you can use a washer the fits snug around the rod to help with marking.
remove the boolit then chamber an empty piece of brass, use the same rod and measure it again. Do the math, this is your max depth. Back it off a couple thou.
now you have to worry about feeding.

[gwpercle]

They look great !

Casting is just like riding a bicycle...you don't forget how.
Time to break out a 30 year old mould...nothings changed .
Gary

[tray999]

They look great !

Casting is just like riding a bicycle...you don't forget how.
Time to break out a 30 year old mould...nothings changed .
Gary

I unfortunately gave away most of my casting equipment..... But not all of it!

[RED BEAR]

Look pretty darn good to me.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Looks like the beginnings of some 38 wadcutters to me!

[Winger Ed.]

I unfortunately gave away most of my casting equipment..... But not all of it!

I did the same with my reloading gear.

But getting some new stuff and a fresh start is good too.

[pworley1]

Those are known to the state of California to cause cancer. You better send them to me, and I will see that they are properly disposed of.

Good job with your casting.

[tray999]

Looks like the beginnings of some 38 wadcutters to me!

Funny you should say that.... I use to cast 148 grain wadcutters when I use to shoot PPC. I must have casted 10000 bullets for myself and my teammates back in the 80's.

[WHITETAIL]

you are back in the swing of things!
Back down the rabbit whole again.

[lightman]

Those look fine. Welcome back! Probably the biggest change in 30 years is that lead has gotten harder to find. Its still out there but ya gotta look harder for it. Oh, there are lots of other changes. More companies making custom molds. More choices in bullet lube. Stuff like that. Lead still pours the same way though!

[dverna]

I shoot Bullseye, so I need lots of practice......

Sadly Bullseye has lost its appeal for many. I credit being a BE competitor for THE reason I became a decent pistol shot. I was poor and used a Colt revolver for centerfire and it was fun shooting rapid fire with it. Eventually bought a used M52 S&W from a man who shot on the Canadian Olympic team. Both guns gone now....regret that.

Start casting some wadcutters!!

[Land Owner]

Without reading all previous posts, that's a LONG TIME waiting for the lead and mould to get hot!

[tray999]

Without reading all previous posts, that's a LONG TIME waiting for the lead and mould to get hot!

Yes, yes it was.....

[Ozark mike]

Those are known to the state of California to cause cancer. You better send them to me, and I will see that they are properly disposed of.

Good job with your casting.

So is brass primers powder and recoil haha