Almost ready to make lead bullets

[randyrat]

I've been smelting lead for a few years for others and trying to get some experience with hot molten lead and reading as much material as possible.Now i want to start soon to make my own bullets 40 cal. Yes i know the 40 is not the best to start with, but thats what i shoot the most(100 to 200 per week). My question is; Where do i start. I have most of the equipment i need except molds and a sizer/dies...So far I have most of the alloys i need to make good bullets, clean and plenty of them. I am leaning toward the Lee molds with the micro groves(i think thats what they are called) 165 to 180 gr TC That grain bullet is what my auto shoots the best. Do i need to slug the barrel then order dies or do most dies for 40 cal lead bullets come .401.. OR do you change your alloy/mix to comensate for shrinkage/ hardness to fit your barrel?

[cbrick]

Randy,

I would start with slugging the barrel before ordering dies. In a perfect world all barrels would be exactly proper groove diameter but I have found this to rarely be the case. As an example my 30-30 bore groove diameter is .3095", not .308".

Additionally, the alloy will affect the final sized diameter. Another example, WW alloy typically sizes .0005" smaller than the marked die diameter.

Should your bore slug .401" and you use a .401" die and your alloy sizes .0005" smaller your bullet would be under groove diameter.

You need to be .001" to .002" over groove diameter so slugging the bore is the logical place to start.

Rick

[stubert]

If you are going to do that much casting, You might be better served with a cast iron mould. They are more rugged than aluminum. I use a few Lee molds and found that they are hard to keep at a proper temp. when casting for longer peroids. They work fine, I am not knocking them at all, I have half a dozen. I use mine for minnies and roundballs.

[Buckshot]

............Randyrat "I am leaning toward the Lee molds with the micro groves(i think thats what they are called) 165 to 180 gr TC That grain bullet is what my auto shoots the best."

Doesn't mean your peestol is gonna like that weight in a cast lead design, but lacking other info that's a good way to begin :-). Lee moulds are a good inexpensive way to begin and to see what happens. Go for it, and from there you can look into other mould designs.

As was suggested, slug that barrel!

.............Buckshot

[randyrat]

After reading more on "matching bullet metal to chamber pressure" in Modern reloading 2and adition by Richard Lee I see the light..... Why the 40 cal is very difficult to cast for.... (The chamber pressure must be less than the ultimate compressive strength of the bullet) Pg 133.... The 40 is a very high pressure round therefore you gotta have a hard bullet or a low pressure load or both. The very next page 134 has Brinell hardness & max pressure chart. How do you read this? Is BHN the same as BHT or is BHN the english converted #...Either way i can measure the indent that a BHT makes and use this chart. Geeeeeezzz if you haven't read this book you GOTTA it's good.