Question: Loading My 33 Year Old Cast Bullets....

[UtopiaTexasG19]

As some of you have seen from my past posts I am just now starting to cast and re-load my own bullets after a 25 year break. Life sure does get in the way of having fun, doesn't it? Way back in a closet I found some .357 wadcutters from a single Lyman mold and best I can figure they were cast 33 years ago. The Lyman mold was to produce, I believe, a 158gr. cast bullet and back then all I had were wheel weights to melt but weighing 10 at random I have a spread from 149.4gr. -154.4gr. Maybe they lost weight after all those years! :) The average weight is 153gr. So the question is......do I still use the powder charts for the 158gr. lead cast bullets? Is it safe with them all being under weight? Thanks...

[357 Voodoo]

My thought is you used a 148 grn mould and they usually end up a little heavier then what lyman says. So judt use load data for a 148 wad cutter starting low and working your way up

[Shiloh]

load them and shoot them. My boolits run a bit heavy. Pistol boolits can be what ever I can scrounge. Rifle boolits are 50/50 WW/Range scrap

Shiloh

[Old Caster]

Lyman supposedly uses what they call #2 alloy to establish a bullet weight. It is a bit lighter than modern wheelweights by volume. 40 years ago, it was fairly close.

[mooman76]

You can use either data. 5 gr doesn't make that much differance and of coarse work up as always.

[MtGun44]

No problems. If lubed, the lube may have deteriorated, if not, the may have changed
hardness a bit, no issue.

Bill