Can you look over this setup and give a critique?

[2ridgebacks]

This is my first post here, and I hate to introduce myself to the board this way. However, after much browsing here and the web I am about to order my casting setup and I would appreciate some feedback from experienced casters.
My objective is to cast bullets for Bullseye competition at 50 ft. and 25 yds. 50 yd bullets will be purchased. I want accuracy and production as there will be two of us using this setup. Cost is a concern, but secondary to the other two, within reason of course. Upgrades over time are likely, but I am going to try to start with a mix of lifetime purchases and replaceables.

Pot: 20lb LEE bottom pour. 110volt. I can do the 220, but the 110 is more portable. As a supplement to the Lee pot, I can run a pan on Coleman stove to resupply molten lead and melt sprues. The other option would be to preheat the ingots in a toaster oven before going in the pot.

Mold: Lee 6 cavity, tumble lube, 200gr., swc. Not much to say here other than most of my shooting is indoors at 50 ft. I will invest in a different, higher quality(?)mold if necessary, but figured a 6 cavity or two would suffice.

Lube: If the bullets will shoot "as cast", great. I'll tumble lube I guess. If not, plan b.

Sizing: Also known as plan b. I think this will be my lifetime purchase in this setup. I am pretty much sold on the ballisticast. I saw the youtube video by a member here and could make the same mods to the bullet disk and bullet feed. That is the kind of production I am looking for. Ballisticast is by all accounts a quality product.


I am sure that I am missing things on this list. Any additions or changes are welcome. I am a member of other boards and know how it is when a new guy comes on and asks questions like this. Rest assured that I am here to stay and will one day be a contributor to discussions.

[docone31]

Good meeting you!
It looks like things get pretty complicated in Bullseye shooting.
I wouldn't tumble lube. I never liked it as much as pan lubing.
Most important, Slug the Bore! You need to know what you have to cast for.
Once you have that size, then you can figuire out how large to cast for.
I also use water quenched Wheel weight alloy. I cast, lube, size, and load. Takes a couple of weeks. I like them to swell up after sizeing before I load. I use the Lee Push Thru Sizeing dies.
With pan lubing, they are a real winner.
Lots of folks here will pipe in. You will get a wealth of good ideas to formulate your routine.
Definately size the bores. An under size casting can make it a long clean up afterwards.
Great luck, and welcome.

[2ridgebacks]

One other pertinent piece to add. I am using range recycled lead. We don't allow FMJ. The range is used exclusively for indoor bullseye and some, limited smallbore rifle. I am reclaiming around 450-500lb per year. I am starting w/around 1000 lbs of this with most already homogenized and cast into ingots. I am going to try to get a hardness reading on it this week.

[Bret4207]

Well, howdy and welcome first off. My suggestion would be to invest some time first off. What type of boolit shoots good in your BE gun to start with? If you've been using a satisfactory commercial cast boolit then I'd lean towards obtaining a similar boolit. There's no sense, IMO at least, in making all this $ investment in a mould that your gun may hate. Of course if you get a mould the gun doesn't like you can always sell it here, but if you have something that works now, try and copy it.

The H+G 68 is sort of the "go to" mould along with some similar moulds from other makers. I don't know what rep the TL Lee has for BE, but why not invest in something you can use for all courses of fire. The Lee pot will work and the Star sizers are fine, although it's more of a speed issue than a quality issue. A standard sizer can work just as well.

Do a bit more research before making any buys. The 6 cav Lee and the handles will cost about half or a third of a a used or new 68 H+G copy.

[Echo]

Welcome, 2RB, to the greatest forum on the net. No flames here, as opposed to some other boards. When you ask questions, you get answers, not sneers.

In general, +1 for Bret4207. I use a Lyman 452460 for my target loads, and the aforementioned H&G 68 is a proven winner. These molds are often available on eBay at a considerable saving over purchasing new, and either one would be my choice over the Lee TL design - but one never knows until one tries it out.

So. My suggestion (FWIW) is to go ahead with the Lee TL design, cast from range scrap (should be OK), TL, and adjust loads to achieve best accuracy and function. If the results are satisfactory, you're home free. If not satisfactory, change something, like using a different boolit, different lube/sizing system, whatever, and press on.

Re your furnace use. No need (IMHO) to use a second heat source for replenishing alloy. Place an ingot on the lip of the furnace to warm up. As you use alloy from the furnace, grab the ingot with pliers and put in, replacing with another ingot, and press on. As long as you keep the pot full, or nearly full, there won't be enough of a temperature drop to affect your casting. When you start to tire of the pleasure of casting, just stop replenishing.

Again, welcome.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Bulls eye comp is a tough game and matches are won and lost by one point sometimes. Since you mention that you have a good opinion of Balisticast consider that they took over the production of the H&G line of molds. A lot of people believe that those are the best or at least closer to it than anything else. Their #68 or #130 in particular were long time favorites of the champions. There is absolutely no question as to consistency, feeding, reliability & performance, but Ballisticast definitely wants to be paid. Yes, Other molds made by Lyman, RCBS, Lee and Saeco will work and the idea of something less expensive to start with is a god idea, but when you are shoooting for first place then you want the best going for you. Ballisticast if they are carying on the tradition of H& G will ask you what alloy you intend to use and what diameter you want the bullets to drop at from the mold. That would make the as-cast possibility a lot more obtainable. Pots, sizers and lubes are important too although many opinions abound as to what works better/best and to be fair, good successes have been realized as well with them. You'll need a good scale to weigh your bullets as when you go to the line to "play hardball" you want the best possible in terms of component consistency. The guys who have answered you thus far have all given you top shelf advice based on their own experience and savvy. Just remember that there are 3 rules for winning....practice, practice and practice. LLS

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hi, and welcome....I can't add much that the other fellows haven't covered....but I have never used any commercial boolits that are as accurate as my cast. If you pour your own , you can make them fit your blaster and you will get better accuracy. Just my Humble Opinion

[Willbird]

In general, +1 for Bret4207. I use a Lyman 452460 for my target loads, and the aforementioned H&G 68 is a proven winner. These molds are often available on eBay at a considerable saving over purchasing new, and either one would be my choice over the Lee TL design - but one never knows until one tries it out.

I did a LOT of work with my 1911 when I had it built, from a ransom rest. I was gung ho on the idea of tumble lube, I soon got completely disgusted with it for several reasons.

1. It will build up in your bullet seater die, and each round gets seated a little deeper, so you need to clean the die every 25 rounds, and the 25th is STILL seated deeper than the first one.

2. Lee bullets often run big, this can be great sometimes, but in a 1911 with a TIGHT chamber the loaded round is too big for smooth function. The mold I had cast something like .454 with most alloys.

3. From a ransom rest the best groups I could get from the TL bullet as dropped from the 6 cavity mold was 2" to 2.5". This from a gun that with the Lyman 452460 mentioned above very carefully cast of linotype from a single cavity mold will shoot 1.25" at FIFTY yards for 5 shots. The gunsmith who built my gun (Charlie Thompson in Toledo, OH) still has some of those groups....he thought I would never get into that accuracy level with a cast lead/tin/antimony bullet.

So for smooth function I think you want a bullet that is .451 or .452 if you have a tight chamber....if you have to size the bullet IMHO the benefit of the whole TL idea starts to slip away rapidly, you might just as well lube/size it......it only requires the same effort as a push through sizer.

If you have or can borrow a ransom rest I might give a lee 6 cavity grease groove mold a try, the bullets may be quite good, I did not test one..................I sent the TL mold back to Lee with a letter of complaint and they made excuses but replaced it with a grease groove mold.

[TAWILDCATT]

I have the lee 6 cav TL and works good in my gun unsized.I dont have a custom gun,but it shoots as well as most custom guns.but if he is goin for the ballit he might as well get their mold.I do have the lyman 4 cavity SWC 200 gr.

[STP22]

2ridgebacks,

Welcome aboard!

You came to the right place for sure...

What gun do you want to cast for?

I participated in our NYS Bullseye League for a bit more than 10 years. Tried the wheelgun at first, but had plenty of trouble mastering the Timed and Rapid Fire course of fire. Switched to the 45 Auto...but the recoil, and the ability to get back on the target was elusive to me...switched to the venerable S&W Model 52 and voila!! my scores instanly went up. The universal load of using 2.7gr of Bullseye worked OK but when I switched to 3.2gr of W231, the slide`s movement seemed a great deal "softer" and boosted my scores a bit too.

I used plain `ol WW alloy the whole time and the M52 didn`t seem to care if the bullets were perfect. At 50 ft., it was more about the basics...sight alignment, trigger squeeze, and good follow thru. If I had an alibi, it was ME, not the gun.

Good luck in your Bullseye pursuits.

Scott

[hoosierlogger]

Welcome from another Hoosier. Where are you from down there? I am in Brazil

[Gee_Wizz01]

Your setup looks good to me. I have very good luck with tumble lube bullets in my .38 Spcl and .357 mag. I would not hesitate to try the Lee 6 Cavity TL, if it doesn't meet your requirements you are only out about $40. If you dont like the mold you can always put it on Ebay and get your money back. I have a number of Lee 6 cavity molds, and you can crank out some boolits with them. Mihec I believe also makes a copy of the H&G 68, and his molds are top notch. My bulls eye mold is an old Lyman 452389 button nose wadcutter in 2 cavity, I sure wish it was at least a 4 cavity. I also like the Lee 20lb it works well for me and it can also be used easily with a ladle if you like. I have good luck with the Lee liquid alox, and I haven't experienced the seating die problems since I started cutting the liquid alox with mineral spirits 60:40. Just experiment a little and you will find what works for you.

G