Easiest

[shooter1059]

I would like to ask the veteran casters the following question. What caliber in your opinion is the easiest, least hassle, and accurate to cast for in general?
I know that this is a subjective question but I like to hear what you think.

[stubshaft]

Trick question! It is dependent on a persons experience and the molds that they use. I don't find any one caliber easier or harder to cast for than another. I have used most of my molds long enough to know what temps they operate best at and which alloys to use to get the best results with. There are some molds that have taken me a little while to learn to use (usually the .22's) but once I found the proper temp/cadence there were no longer any surprises. I think that the medium sizes 7mm through .35 were the easiest to get the best results from. The larger caliber molds are a breeze to use also but you have to watch your cadence or they will overheat.

It is a learning curve and keeping notes of how you use your molds and what they like is invaluable to get the most out of them.

[Bloodman14]

Depends on the gun. Seriously.

[Bret4207]

I would like to ask the veteran casters the following question. What caliber in your opinion is the easiest, least hassle, and accurate to cast for in general?
I know that this is a subjective question but I like to hear what you think.

Not sure exactly what you mean. I find 35 caliber boolits the easiest to cast, least hassle and easiest to get accurate shooting from. As far as "A" caliber the 38 Special is easy and so are the 32's. In rifles the 30WCF/303Savage seem pretty easy.

It the end you grow with each casting/reloading/shooting session and each gun is a law unto itself.

[MBTcustom]

I'm not an old timer, but I have been casting for 18 years. I think the easiest cartridge to cast and load for is the .45acp. It is very forgiving.
If you are talking rifle and pistol together, 35 caliber all the way. 38spc loaded hot with 200gr slugs is a winning combo. For rifle, 35remington or 358winchester with RCBS-35-200-GC boolits are hard to beat. I do say they are hard to beat.
Some might contend that 45/70 and 45 colt would be a good combo, but I have never owned either of them so I can't comment.

[Boolseye]

The most forgiving cartridge in my experience is the .38 special.

[captaint]

Commenting only on my own experience, I would have to say .45ACP. Very forgiving. Mike

[DLCTEX]

Handgun 45 ACP, rifle 30-30.

[scrapcan]

handgun is 32 S&W long, 38 spl and 45 acp.

32 S&W Long I use the rcbs 98 gr SWC group buy clone in a 6 cavity lee. The 2 cavity RCBS mould works well also. I also like the 3118 (311008) is also a good shooter and easy to cast.

38spl is a dream with many many moulds and 231, bullseye or unique for powder. and you don't have to chase brass.

In the 45 acp the easiest is to use the 225 to 230 round nose bullets in a military ball profile, I use others bu the 45374 or rcbs of similar dimensions both are easy to cast, load, and shoot.


Rifle is 30-30 or 38-55 and you can nearly duplicate factory jacketed performance with cast.

30-40 is right there also if you have good chamber/barrel dimensions.

[RevGeo]

Definitely depends on the gun, but I'd go along with .38 Spec for handguns and 30-30 for rifles. As has been already posted, the 30-30 can be loaded with cast bullets to the same power levels as a jacketed bullet load. There are lots of 30 cal molds around that throw a nice flat or round nose bullet.
All of the Win. Mod 94s I've owned have performed wonderfully with cast bullets. Can't say the same for Marlin 336s, but I only have experience with a couple of those nice rifles.
I've been casting and loading for over 40 years now (gasp..) and IMO the .38 Spec is just a great caliber for handloading and using cast bullets. It's not picky about bullet weights or powders.
I suppose any caliber is a good candidate for cast bullets, but those two have always given me good results with the least amount of problems.

[ShooterAZ]

The easiest for me so far have been .45 and .44 caliber. These have dropped the proper size right out of my molds so far. .38 and .30 calibers have not been that way...

[mdi]

My casting started with .44 caliber. My first mold was a used Ideal 429421, single cavity that dropped wheel weight bullets consistantly around .431". Like the .38 Special the .44 Special is really forgiving and I learned proper bullet-to-gun fit. I also cast for my .44 magnum (along with a couple more calibers) and with what I learned from casting for the Special, I can drive that old 429421 at near max., magnum velocities with no leading.

My vote is the .44 Special (followed closely by the .38 Special and then the .45 ACP)

[brotherdarrell]

I would break it down this way: Marlin lever w/ballard rifling, 45-70, Lee 405-hb mold, aa-5744. Keep velocities between 1100 - 1500 fps with 50-50 ww/pure. It is so easy even I can succeed

brotherdarrell

[Larry Gibson]

What caliber in your opinion is the easiest, least hassle, and accurate to cast for in general?

If you meant cartridge; .38 SPL for handguns. 30-06 for rifles.

If you meant caliber then it depends as there are way too many variables starting with alloy, bullet design, casting equipment, method of casting, etc. ad nauseum........

Larry Gibson

[geargnasher]

Easiest to cast and load? .45-caliber muzzle loader!

Cartridge guns would be .38 Special/30-30 Winchester.

.45 ACP is a peach too.

Gear

[375RUGER]

00Buck, 12ga. easy to cast.
no accuracy issues even if the powder charge is a little heavy or a little light

[Crash_Corrigan]

The easiest to cast and load for is the .45 ACP hands down over everything else.

The worst is either my 9 MM Browning Hi Power or a .40 S&W. They are both a PITA.
The small case and high pressure of the 9 is nasty. The really high pressure and very narrow parameters of a good .40 S&W cast boolit and loading procedures make the .40 not a gun I have in the safe.

Anything a .40 S&W can do my 357 Mag, .41 Mag or 45ACP can do better.

Today with the high tech HP ammo available in 9 MM I would not feel undergunned in carrying a quality weapon in that calibre for all my self defense needs.

However there is much to be said about the psychological effect of a small .44 Special sitting black and nasty in my hand pointed at a BG only a few feet away.

That little CA Bulldog Pug is so small, concealable and light that it goes everywhere I go.

I find myself going out on errands with the little revolver tucked into a IWB holster in a cross draw very comfortable and concealable. So much so that twice last week I walked out of the house with the .44 on the left front and a 9 MM Browning on the right hip. I was so used to carrying the .44 that I forgot I had it and I loaded for the trip by strapping on a 2nd concealed weapon.

I am excused from this mental misadventure due to my advanced age......

The most difficult loading I make is for my 50-90 Sharps BPCR. Those giant cases have very thin walls and are easily damaged and expensive to replace. The extra care and steps necessary to load the Holy Black after you cast a 695 Gr boolit are many and sometimes complicated.

The pan lubing thing is just nasty. The pouring the powder down a long tube I could do without. Then the placement of the wad on top of the powder. Then the correct depth of compression. ETc and ETC and ETC is chore....

[garym1a2]

Round balls for my Ruger Old army. Just cast them, inspect them and they are good to go. Not picky on alloy either, no cases to size, tumble load crimpe, etc. Only down side is cleaning the gun.

[Radkins]

The 45 acp is the easiest for me.

[StratsMan]

If your casting technique is... um... not refined, then any mold will be difficult to use and yield poor quality boolits... Keep 'em hot!!

IMHO, easy accuracy is found with .358 molds and common designs like the 358156... loaded in 38 Special or 357 Mag... great results from my Smiths.... But I love my 45 ACP's, too...

Personally, I seem to have the most trouble getting the 30's to be consistent... I think my technique needs some refinement there....

[SlippShodd]

The larger caliber, heavier bullets have always been easier for me to drop consistent bullets with fewer culls; .45 and .44 to be specific. The .38/.357 a bit more finicky, perhaps because of more metal mass remaining in the blocks to keep hot? I have a wadcutter mould that's just a wrinkle machine. And to be devil's advocate about it, my most often used mould, a 200 gr. RCBS for .45 ACP has been downright contemptable lately, though that's likely an alloy issue. I currently use all Lyman/Ideal or RCBS blocks, but I remember an old Lee mould for .44 that was a dog to get hot enough to drop good pills. I eventually relegated it to casting wax bullets, then traded it.
So, with that history of caliber and brand fussiness, why am I hankering to buy a 6-gang Lee for 9mm?
>shrug<

mike

[mpmarty]

45ACP is my "easiest, most forgiving, cartridge." Six banger LEE mold, 200gr swc boolits, five gr of Red Dot and a trip through the Dillon 550.

[BulletFactory]

pretty sure it aint the .40 :|

[white eagle]

I would like to ask the veteran casters the following question. What caliber in your opinion is the easiest, least hassle, and accurate to cast for in general?
I know that this is a subjective question but I like to hear what you think.
44
and preferably the 44 magnum:popcorn:

[whiteoak]

I have only been casting for about 5 years but find the .38special and .44special just seem to work no matter how bad I screw up.

[runfiverun]

the 358 is easy in both the revolver and the rifle.
easiest to get good shooting results fast also.
anything below the 7mm is extra work to cast and shoot for.
and about anything over 45 takes a bit extra to get just right in a handgun
and 375 up in a rifle takes that little bit more.
some are more problematic because of pressure issues,gun measurements, boolit size,or case size.

[geargnasher]

pretty sure it aint the .40 :|

:bigsmyl2:

Gear

[357maximum]

Of all the cals/cartridges I have cast/shot only one has been stubborn. I still won with the 9MM but it did put up a fight first.

I would say the best behaved easiest to shoot cast in has been the 35Remington in my pre-micro 336's. Simple as falling of a ladder in fact. It is hard to find a "BAD" load.

[LabGuy]

Any caliber\cartridge you don’t own a gun for. You were looking for an excuse to add to the collection, weren’t you?

[Nate1778]

.38 special for a .357 magnum.

Size, length, and powder charge are less sensitive that other rounds in my opinion. Don't have to worry about crimped primers and the cases seam to last forever, not to mention they are easy to collect as you shoot, and wadcutters cut perfect circles.