I just cast my first boolits

[TinCan Assassin]

I finally got my shipment from MidwayUSA, and I cast a little over 100 LEE TL358-158-SWC Boolits, using range scrap. Cast directly from scrap to mold. That doesn't count the ones I threw back in the pot for having bad bases and such. I also cast 5 lbs of ingots, to use later. It didn't take me long to cast good ones. Just followed the instructions, not to mention all the stuff I learned here and from watching YouTube. Special thanks to CowboyT for his visual tutorials on prepping a Lee mold. They've been tumble lubed (suprisingly liquid, given the descriptions of mule snot) and are drying now.

I put the lightest and heaviest ones (157 and 160 gr) to the side to re-melt and re-cast, and am planning on shooting the 158 and 159 grain boolits.

I started getting wrinkles in the boolits toward the end, so I think I may have to re-prep the mold. All in all, a positive experience.

Although I could have done without the fumes. The wind follwed me, no matter where I stood on my porch.

Thank you all, for your tutorials and for sharing your knowlege.

[Recluse]

I finally got my shipment from MidwayUSA, and I cast a little over 100 LEE TL358-158-SWC Boolits,

Congratulations on your first casting session. No feeling quite like it, is there?

For the record, that boolit you cast this evening is my number one favorite boolit out of my entire inventory of boolits. Hands down my favorite.

In fact, it is the boolit that helped me come up with the 45/45/10 blend I use for tumble-lubing, and even all this time later, the boolit has performed in every single handgun and in every single load and application I've put it through--and done so with unerring accuracy.

VERY solid, well-performing boolit.

I tumble-lube, size to .358, then tumble-lube once more, load, shoot, GRIN.

You came to the right place to learn about boolit casting.

:coffee:

[geargnasher]

Looks like we hooked another one, guys! It's downhill from here.....

A tip, if you got wrinkles near the end, probably due to mould cooling off (did you get tired and slow the pace or start checking every boolit?), or sometimes when the alloy level gets low in the pot the head pressure (and hence flow) decreases and the mould fills more slowly, so rounded bases and a few wrinkles can form. Adding a pinch of tin or high-tin solder might help, it doesn't take much to aid fillout, just don't overheat the alloy too much or you'll ruin the positive effects of adding it.

Gear

[TinCan Assassin]

Thank you for the advice. It was toward the end of the session, and I did have some "pause" between castings to add more scrap to the pot. The wrinkles were in the nose. BTW, finally got the pics downloaded,

[RobS]

Looking very good!!! As to your boolit difference in grains, if you are just plinking around then your heavy and light ones are not going to make a notable difference on target at 25 to 30 yards. Maybe see a difference at 50...................maybe. I only weigh within a grain for hand gunning if I am looking for 1 inch groups and even that typically isn't needed. My rifle though I'll weigh out to the nearest 2 tenths.

[geargnasher]

Those look pretty good for a first go. I wish the boolits from my first session had looked anywhere near that good. The part that really matters is the base, nice, sharp bases shoot best, you'd be amazed how little the nose and bands matter to pistol accuracy, as long as they're filled-out enough to seal in the bore, or you might experience some leading. You might try pouring a little bigger sprue puddle on top of the plate to get it hotter, and opening the valve adjustment to let lead in a bit faster might help too. If the sprue plate is too cool, the lead will "shy" away from the edges of the base, and that can affect accuracy and performance. You will develop a rhythm to your casting and pick up on all the little nuances of pour technique, timing, cadence etc. to figure out what works best for each mould you use. They all like different things, and different alloy compositions each require their own tweaks to technique, but it isn't difficult to figure out what to do after you've had some success, and you're sure off to a good start.

Gear

[badbob454]

Thank you for the advice. It was toward the end of the session, and I did have some "pause" between castings to add more scrap to the pot. The wrinkles were in the nose. BTW, finally got the pics downloaded,

Way to go tin can ... great looking boolits just my 2 c worth if the 160gr look good sort them and load them 50 at a time then all in the box will be the same better than re melting them the 157s may have air or some other prob and may be worth remelting , i go like this if it looks good ... blast it not very sientific but the accuracy is usually ok for me just as a blasting day... for accuracy ok weigh them .. best wishes badbob

[badbob454]

Looking very good!!! As to your boolit difference in grains, if you are just plinking around then your heavy and light ones are not going to make a notable difference on target at 25 to 30 yards. Maybe see a difference at 50...................maybe. I only weigh within a grain for hand gunning if I am looking for 1 inch groups and even that typically isn't needed. My rifle though I'll weigh out to the nearest 2 tenths.

i agree with this too ... well maybe to .5 gr or half a grain

[Cherokee]

Congratulation on your first effort !!

[slide]

I will be casting my first ones soon. Hope they turn out as good as yours did.