HELP slugging a barrel

[astroskg]

new to casting did it years ago for muzzle loaders but have decided with the cost of bullets now a days i would start casting my own Boolits. have spent countless hours and days reading allot of the post here and had a few questions about sizing these little jems we call boolits. got my casting process down to where i am casting good clean crisp Boolits have yet to hit the range with any of my products yet because i keep seeing people mention size , leading, checking size of the barrel . was confused at first thinking boolit size should be smaller than barrel size but now after reading more and more i guess its the other way around. .001-.002 over size of barrel diameter? is there a thread out here on this site that talks about this? what size am i looking for smallest dia of bore or max bore measured inside the rifling. how do you slug a barrel? do i push one of my newly cast boolits thru the barrel with a wood dowel and measure the od of the slug? i shoot and am trying to cast for 32H&R, 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP

any help is greatly appreciated. i take reloading and casting seriously like everyone who dose it should. for 53 years i have learned most everything i know thru trial and error but when it comes to bullets and shooting/reloading i like to stick to the books and known facts i value my life and sight and fingers way to much for some trial and error tests.

would like to go to the range and have no surprises can work on powder charges if i get excess leading but i would like to start at a good start point.

Any one have any good pointers? suggestions for a book i might pick up ? might already have it but missed the chapter. i value your time as much as i do mine and appreciate any and all input weather it is detailed instructions of a link to where i might find some info

thanks i have to say this is the best blog i have ever had the pleasure of being apart of
wonderful people here....

[hiram]

This method works if you have a kinetic(hammer) bullet puller.

To make a slug easily, take a fired unsized case and flair the mouth.

Leave the case not cleaned.

Pour lead into the case.

When it hardens, use the puller to extract the slug.

This works only for straight cases.

Oil your barrel. Start the slug with a lead hammer or ingot.

For handguns, continue with a dowel or brass rod.

[Wayne S]

IMHO, I slug for a throat Dia.
with the 9,40 & 45, removing the barrels are part of a cleaning process therefore just take "as cast" and a soft alloy would ne nice as well, place the bbl. on a towel or leather wraped "2X4" and useing a dowl or a few boolits on top of one another tap the boolits about .25" [1/4], then use a dowl down the muzzle end and tap the boolits out.
The 32 H&R is a wheel gun, and again slug the cylinder throats, take 6 as cast boolits, drop them into the cylinders, with the edge of the cylinder supported on the cushioned 2x4, tap each boolit out, keeping track of what boolit came from which throat measure and mark the cylinger with the largest devation from the group, if you aren't shooting this in Comp. then it dosen't matter.
To make life simple size .001 to .002 over what J bullets Dia. are.

[astroskg]

thanks so much for the help
will do some work tonight and maybe the range will se some new lead this weekend

[ColColt]

This method works if you have a kinetic(hammer) bullet puller.

To make a slug easily, take a fired unsized case and flair the mouth.

Leave the case not cleaned.

Pour lead into the case.

When it hardens, use the puller to extract the slug.

This works only for straight cases.

Oil your barrel. Start the slug with a lead hammer or ingot.

For handguns, continue with a dowel or brass rod.

Ditto-This works good. I tried it myself about a month ago. Just be sure that case don't have a live primer in it! I know someone that happened to thinking they were reaching for some old cases, one still had a live primer. You should have seen the look on his face when the hot lead was poured in...priceless.

[stubert]

You can't use sinkers anymore, by me, most of them are zinc now. I'm sure alot of us also cast for muzzleloaders, round balls work great and come in a crapload of sizes.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

you ask about a book.
I recently got the Lyman cast bullet handbook.
If you have any head space at all, the chapter on metallurgy will dispel 90% of the myths involve with bullet casting, that we read about on the internet.

[prs]

Yep, I have always used Hornady pure lead balls. The .490 is good for 454 and 452 class barrels, the excess diameter easily deforms or shaves off. I use a birch dowel rod and tap in from chamber end just a bit and then back out into cahmber. Measure that and record. Then do the whole barrel chamber to muzzle to get that.

Since the OP may have loaded rounds alreasy, he may as well go shoot and have fun; teh time to slug is before reloading ammo.

prs

[williamwaco]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

for 53 years i have learned most everything i know thru trial and error but when it comes to bullets and shooting/reloading i like to stick to the books and known facts i value my life and sight and fingers way to much for some trial and error tests.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



Please refer to this site. This will save you LOTS of trial and error. The writer, I believe, knows more about casting bullets than anyone else on the planet.


http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm