New caster

[fritoguy]

I have am fairly new to reloading ( 2 years) and am interested in getting into casting. I would like to start with 762x 25 tok. I have been collecting lead from the cowboy section of my range. Just picking up lead left at the steel targets from cowboy events. Currently I reload 9 , 40 and 223. Ammo for my tok is scarce and it is a blast to shot. I really don't know which is more fun shooting or reloading. I guess it's a toss up. Any advice would be a big help

[hot diggity]

Cowboy action lead is going to be pure soft lead and will likely be too soft to run at 7.62x25 velocities. You could alloy it with linotype, and I'm sure the alloy experts will be along shortly, or you could just use wheel weight lead. The Lee 311-93 1-R should get you going.

HD

[62chevy]

Cowboy action lead is going to be pure soft lead and will likely be too soft to run at 7.62x25 velocities. You could alloy it with linotype, and I'm sure the alloy experts will be along shortly, or you could just use wheel weight lead. The Lee 311-93 1-R should get you going.

HD

It might be soft if they cast their own but if store bought it is most likely hard as a rock, sort of.

[MT Chambers]

For a while just collect lead, any lead, you can alloy it later to match your gun/velocity. Decide how much you can spend, read, read, read, esp. Lyman's cast bullet handbook, in some cases you can get used equip. from RCBS or Lyman at gun shows, that will be better then some cheapo new stuff, good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions on here!

[GhostHawk]

I have a CZ-52 and it is touchy to load.

Choose your mold carefully!

I have the Lee .311 93 grain and it works, sorta. The bullet is too short and stubby really for this cartridge.

I like better the Lee .314 100 grain tumble lube design. It has a truncated cone and so doesn't hang up on the rifling like the short chubby .311 93 does. It does have to be sized down to .309-.310 area.

Cases can be made from .223 brass but where you cut it to make the brass, what ends up being the neck area tends to be too thick. So your left trying to shove a too chubby bullet into a too small neck and you get rounds that don't like to go all the way into battery. Even after a trip through the FCD.

I'm using a bag of Military .223 blanks which are thinner brass, and I have found that my Lee trim die does help to remove some material from the inside of the neck.

I pull the barrel from my pistol and each round as completed gets the plunk test. If it doesn't fully pass it, it gets a trip upside down into the crimp die from my 7.62x39 or .300 blackout. That lets me position first the nose of the bullet and give it a squeeze, then insert it a little more and give the neck a touch. Then recheck plunk.

It is fussy work but I can shoot the fun little girl for pretty reasonable compared to factory ammo. And that CZ-52 LOVES to fling the brass as far as the bullet.

[GoodOlBoy]

I agree about hardness with 62 chevy. Cowboy shooters who cast their own tend to be from pure to 16-1 or 20-1 (at least those I have met) Those who buy their ammo it's a tossup what the ammo manufacturer is using. And then there's those that buy tons upon TONS of laser-cast Oregon trail bullets (24+- BHN). Don't get me wrong, I have shot many many laser-cast bullets. But the reason they can guarantee they don't lead is BECAUSE they are hard as a rock.

GoodOlBoy

[Ohio3Wheels]

I have a CZ-52 and it is touchy to load.

Choose your mold carefully!

I have the Lee .311 93 grain and it works, sorta. The bullet is too short and stubby really for this cartridge.

I like better the Lee .314 100 grain tumble lube design. It has a truncated cone and so doesn't hang up on the rifling like the short chubby .311 93 does. It does have to be sized down to .309-.310 area.

Cases can be made from .223 brass but where you cut it to make the brass, what ends up being the neck area tends to be too thick. So your left trying to shove a too chubby bullet into a too small neck and you get rounds that don't like to go all the way into battery. Even after a trip through the FCD.

I'm using a bag of Military .223 blanks which are thinner brass, and I have found that my Lee trim die does help to remove some material from the inside of the neck.

I pull the barrel from my pistol and each round as completed gets the plunk test. If it doesn't fully pass it, it gets a trip upside down into the crimp die from my 7.62x39 or .300 blackout. That lets me position first the nose of the bullet and give it a squeeze, then insert it a little more and give the neck a touch. Then recheck plunk.

It is fussy work but I can shoot the fun little girl for pretty reasonable compared to factory ammo. And that CZ-52 LOVES to fling the brass as far as the bullet.

An inside neck reamer would help and likely be less work.

Curt

[country gent]

Read all you can here in the stickies and manuals. Scavange all the lead you can wheel wieghts, lino type ( print shops old newspapper printers), babbit also is usefull, Plumbing lead, lead sheeting. Put together a rendering set up with a larger solid pot to clean all this up and alloy into clean ingots. Starting out a medium sized ladle pour pot can do double duty as smelting/rendering pot wioth a bigger ladle and casting pot with a smaller ladle. A fish frier stand and burner with a cast iron dutch oven or steel pot works very good. Better is a propane tanke cut and a ring welded around out side for staility. Render all your lead into ingots as what it is pure, range lead, wheel wieghts, lino, or babbit. Label everything then mix small batches to test. When you find what works you can then blend a large batch and cast into ingots for future use.

[fritoguy]

Thanks for the help. My range ( for Cowboy section) requires pure lead, no GC, no plated. I also have picked up lead from the dirt from the back of pistol ranges areas. Some look untouched ( still enclosed in the jackets) I assume they are harder cast ( store bought). Some even need to be cut to let the lead flow out. Is mixing this an option?