Reminiscing

[versa-06]

--Started casting about 10 years ago with 30 cal Lee 309-170 RF, 311041, RCBS 30-180, & LEE soup can. That soup can has killed many trapped animals & varmits trying to get my chickens. moved to 357 rifles, to 44 rifles, to 358 rifles, to 38-55 rifles to 375 win. rifles, to 38-55's to 454 casull rifles. This forum has been the greatest help trying to get up & rolling. Never seem to have enough time to try everything I want to. Killed many a kritter & some really nice deer using cast boolits. Good Lord Willing I might get my first bear this year, & will be chasing him with cast. I've got many many memories of getting an idea, putting the load together, putting it to work, & getting results greater than expected. I appreciate all of the knowledge that all of you have put on this forum to help me & many others understand how all of this works. I didn't post for probably 3 years. So I say a Great Big Thanks to all of you. -06

[versa-06]

What did you start with?

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I started casting when Sierra 52gn Jacketted was $4.85/100 and an RCBS boolit mould was $11.00. Folks said I was mad.

[georgerkahn]

--Started casting about 10 years ago with 30 cal Lee 309-170 RF, 311041, RCBS 30-180, & LEE soup can. That soup can has killed many trapped animals & varmits trying to get my chickens. moved to 357 rifles, to 44 rifles, to 358 rifles, to 38-55 rifles to 375 win. rifles, to 38-55's to 454 casull rifles. This forum has been the greatest help trying to get up & rolling. Never seem to have enough time to try everything I want to. Killed many a kritter & some really nice deer using cast boolits. Good Lord Willing I might get my first bear this year, & will be chasing him with cast. I've got many many memories of getting an idea, putting the load together, putting it to work, & getting results greater than expected. I appreciate all of the knowledge that all of you have put on this forum to help me & many others understand how all of this works. I didn't post for probably 3 years. So I say a Great Big Thanks to all of you. -06

Your post put a smile on my mug! My casting start was due to "college-student-poverty" when a friend's uncle got caught (insurance fraud) and wished to turn his firearms into cash in a hurry before government got them -- and I scraped all my pennies for a S&W model 52 .38 mid-range semi-auto. The irony was I had the pistol, but could no way afford (my diet then was often tomato soup and rice) ammo to shoot. With a mould -- bion the petrol stations GAVE AWAY FREE wheel weights back then -- I was able to shoot (and eat). After several years, firearms, wives, jobs, etc. I thought I knew all I needed re making bullets. Then came the Internet, followed by this site. I do recall reading that Richard Nixon was a first cousin of Fidel Castro, so I did acknowledge everything one reads on the Internet is NOT true. I also recall reading at least a couple of "most accurate loads" which definitely would have exploded perhaps any commercial firearm on this planet!
BUT, along came this site which clearly made me realize the info here is allllmost 100% right-on; and, how little I really knew.
I share and add your "Great Big Thanks to all."
geo

[marshall623]

My first mold was a T/C 50 cal Maxi Ball mold , got that when I was 14 . That was around 40 years ago , didn't cast any centerfire boolits till about 13 years ago when I decided to plunge into the sillywet game . That first mold was Lee 7mm -130 RN for a 7 TCU and then a Lyman 160 Silhouette mold . I shoot almost all cast in everything , I had that was my Dad's Redhawk and Big Bore 94 at the range this morning to make sure they are ready for gun season . The Big Bore has the 250Lee and the Rehawk has the Accurate 43-250H over H110 and we are ready .

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[atr]

Veras-06, I enjoyed your post and I certainly agree that this site is very helpful and informative! The guys on this site are great.

I started casting when in high school in the 60's. My first mold was a Lyman 125 gr/single cavity for 35 caliber (38 special). I still use that mold! I used wheel weights and some scrap sheet lead that Dad brought home from work. Over the years of moving about I have carted that sheet lead and buckets of wheel weight around with me. And I still have the old Lyman loading catalogues from way back then; they are probably collectors items by now.
best
atr

[Winger Ed.]

I started off in the 80s with a 158 SWC GC for a new .357Mag S&W 586 that I couldn't afford to feed.
The a couple years later, I traded it off for a Gold Cup in .45ACP I couldn't afford to feed.
That got me casting a 190SWC for it.

When I got married the 2nd time in 2002, for our first anniversary in 2003, the new wife gave me a Marlin CB in .45-70.
The price of factory ammo for it made my knees get weak. That got me into casting a 405 gr. for it.

Then I got into casting a .30 cal. 170 & 190 to keep the mileage down on a O3A3, 1894, and M1A.

[30calflash]

I got a Lyman package with the sizer, melter and a 429421 mold to start shooting handgun silhouettes with my SBH in the early 80's. Then 45 acp for bullseye, 30 cal for rifle silhouette and now for most of the firearms I've got.

[35 Rem]

I was like so many and came here now and then for years before creating a name and posting. Became aware of the site probably 10 years ago or maybe more. Although I had cast since the late 1970's I had never experimented with anything other than clip on wheel weights so reading all the experiences with other alloys was very valuable to me. Especially when I wanted to try hunting with cast in rifles. My 1st mold was a discontinued Lee 255 grain 44 caliber semi-wadcutter. Very soon after that I got the Lee 30-150-FN. I sold more bullets from those molds than I shot to be honest. Myself and my college roommate found a shooting range/gunshop near our school that would buy our bullets for resale so we sold them as many as we could cast to pay for all our shooting supplies. I started pan lubing with the Lee kits that had the sizer die that you hammered the bullet through with a mallet. Obviously that wasn't up to producing 1,000 bullets at a time so my friend bought a Lyman lubrisizer. I bought sizer dies for my bullets and he bought a die for the Lee 140 grain 357diameter bullet that he was making to sell. Spent a lot of time in the dorm room inspecting those bullets and standing them up in 10 rows of 10 to make 100, then dump those in a box and do it 9 more times to get 1,000 then head to the range to sell. Great times for sure.

[Rapier]

In 62 I ran across a guy that bought old guns with little to no bass available, formed cases and cast bullets for them. So I bought an old 99 barreled action that had been sort of re-chambered to the 30-06 cartridge, a common conversion in the 50-60s time fame. Used a Lyman 180 mold in an old cast iron frying pan on the gas stove with a Lyman pour/dipper and an old cake pan, for hot poured cake lube, with a cut off and speed tape wrapped cartridge. I was right in pace with the locals at the time as the NH woods were full of guys carrying mil surplus rifles. Loaded for the 38 Spl using a tong tool, hammer and a dipper.
Kind of goes along with Vetrans Day.

[Blkpwdrbuff]

I started casting in 1981.I had bought a Ruger Blackhawk .41 mag the end of1980.
With a new wife and baby I couldn't afford factory ammo.
I started out with the Lyman 410610 borrowed from a co-worker then bought a Lee 410-195-SWC. From my alloy it weighs 200 gr.
I too used the old Lee pan and hammer sizing kit.
They were good enough for jackrabbit accuracy.
Since the I cast for .380, 9mm, 40 S&W, .250 Humdinger, .30/30, .300 Sav, '06, .400 Whelen, .416 Taylor, .45/70, .36 Colt Navy, .50 T/C Hawken, .41 Long Colt, 6.5X257, just to name a few.
Thank goodness for lubrisizers. I would hate to think of lubing and sizing with the Lee pan and hammer kits.
Blkpwdrbuff

[versa-06]

Seems like most are starting out with pistol loads. I started with rifle loads because I live in the sticks & carry one most of the time when out walking or on the 4-wheeler. Never know when that wiley coyote might pop out & need a good dose of lead poisoning. I always feel so much better after I trash one of those fawn killers. -06

[405grain]

I started casting over 40 years ago for a 1874 Sharps replica. My first bullet mold was (big supprize) a 405 grain.

[versa-06]

We should have known. Ha Ha

[Bad Ass Wallace]

My great rememberances are of taking game near 50years ago with my first cast boolits! I still have all my moulds after all that time.

[hawkeye1]

Another thanks to -06. I started casting back in mid 80’s for a Norinco 1911. Brand new still in plastic for around $250. I bought a two hole Lee mold from EBay and never looked back. I poured a lot of bullets through that mold, and many others through the years, mostly straight wheel weights. This site has truly been a God-send. I read this and Gunbroker almost every day. Thanks to all of you who share your knowledge and experience with the rest of us.

[nagantguy]

Fresh out of the Marines - fresh into first house and a baby girl . Got bit by the idpa bug and stated casting with Lee 452 tumble lube two cavity . Then 44 mag also with Lee mold then 38/357 then .50 cal and then discovered this place and went all in - 7.62x39, 30/30 308/30-06 7.62x54r 8mm , . 357 max 7-30 waters . Been a hell of a journey!