To cast, or not to cast

[Gibson]

I have Lee Classic Cast Turret Press with accesories.
Lee Load All II with primer feed
Ballistic Industries Roll Crimper
The accesories I need to load .223/5.56 rounds

Now I have this stuff or should have by the end of the day:

317493 Lee Factory Crimp Die 7.62x54mm ... 1 $11.99

459745 Lee Pacesetter 3-Die Set 7.62x54.. 1 $28.99

706882 Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 45 ... 1 $38.49

242098 Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set 45 ... 1 $38.49

625657 Lee Pacesetter 2-Die Set 7.5mm S... 1 $28.99

533256 Lee Factory Crimp Die 7.5mm Schm... 1 $11.99

494227 Lee Factory Crimp Die 303 Britis... 1 $11.99

764178 Lee Pacesetter 3-Die Set 303 Bri... 1 $28.99

418312 Lee Carbide 3-Die Set 38 Special... 1 $29.99

143214 Lee Factory Crimp Die 30-06 Spri... 1 $11.99

520790 Lee Pacesetter 3-Die Set 30-06 S... 1 $28.99

Question:

I have the following:
Cast Iron pot (procured from our pantry) Free
Walmart propane heat source (trying to find cheapest workable)
Wheel Weights (local tire shop) 0.25/lb
Ladles (snitched from wife :) ) Free

Last order for a while:

Lee Bullet Lube and Size Kit 309 Diameter Product #: 501819

Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold C312-185-1R 303 British (312 Diameter) 185 Grain 1 Ogive Radius Gas Check Product #: 562844

Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold C452-300-RF 45 Colt (Long Colt), 454 Casull (452 Diameter) 300 Grain Flat Nose Gas Check Product #: 658577

Lee Universal Shellholder #11 (444 Marlin, 44 Special, 44 Remington Magnum) Product #: 781305

Lee Universal Shellholder #2 (308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 45 ACP) Product #: 616684

Lee Universal Shellholder #3 (219 Zipper, 30-30 Winchester, 32 Winchester Special) Product #: 604214

Lee Universal Shellholder #16 (7.62x54mm Rimmed Russian (7.62x53mm Rimmed), 500 S&W Magnum) Product #: 127777

Lee Universal Shellholder #1 (38 S&W, 38 Special, 357 Magnum) Product #: 346472

Lee Universal Shellholder #5 (7mm Remington Magnum, 300 Winchester Magnum, 338 Winchester Magnum) Product #: 293674

Lee Pro 4 20 Lb Furnace 110 Volt Product #: 645810

So I think I can CAST and RELOAD for .30 cal. rifles and .45 Colt. The reloading dies and such are superfluous. However any tips toward any of this would be appreciated. Can I get started casting with the above? Anything not needed? I know you guys get sick of these beginner posts but I have read and asked questions and think I am in the ball park.

Obliged for any tips.

[Bullet Caster]

Will definitely pray for your son.

Looks like you're good to go. Might need some boolit loob. BC

[MBTcustom]

Sounds like you got a darn good start! I would recommend getting a thermometer, and some sawdust. You may need bigger boolits than what you have sizers for but there are several of us that can open them up if required.
The only thing I dont see in your list is a couple hundred pounds of lead. Get it while the getting's good.
Remember to follow the proceedure layed out on these forums:
1. slug your barrel
2. size your boolits at least .001 oversize
If you dont have calipers and a 0-1 micrometer, you need those things as well.
Glad you're getting a good start!

[MBTcustom]

Oh and by the way, beginner posters are the the best! Welcome to the best forum on the web!

[Char-Gar]

With as much Lee stuff as you have, you should also buy some shares in the corporation. If you are going to go Lee..the GO LEE!

[Gibson]

Thanks so much! What was the end of that line from Josey Wales ". . . endeavor to persevere" Guess, I'll do so.

Fluxing, I was going to just go with candle wax but Sawdust is free too. :)

[Gibson]

With as much Lee stuff as you have, you should also buy some shares in the corporation. If you are going to go Lee..the GO LEE!

To quote my daughter, "WE POH". :) I do have a Frankford Arsenal Caliper. More evidence of my poverty. . . Even got the cheap Lee scales but I also have an antique photography grain scale and a cheap digital for backup.

I know it's cheap and nowhere near the quality of Dillon reloading stuff or LBT molds and such, but I am just a big ole country boy that likes guns. Even my guns are low rent:

S&W K38 Target Masterpeice
S&W 686+
Enfield No. 4 MK 1
Rem 700 '-06
M/N 91/30
Colt LE6920
Ruger 10/22
Ruger (old) Vaquero .45 Colt
Ruger SBH .44 magnum (paid for, awaiting arrival)
Mossberg 590 SP
Yugo SKS
Colt Walker Heritage Commemorative
CZ-83 .380
K-31 Swiss
Beretta 92FS Centurion with rail
Colt 70 Series MKIV Government .45
Somewhere there is a box with a Romy AK-47 that just needs put together (bought receiver and compliant parts already)

That's it, like I said, we poh. . no Freedom Arms or Wilson Combat or Weatherby or any highfalutin stuff. But it fits me, okay. Gonna get a Ruger single shot in .458 Lott, a Marlin Lever in 45-70, and a Ruger alaskan in .480. Then I'll be done ;) Taking Andy back and forth to St. Jude's every week is 'spensive! But worth everything. . .

[Bob Krack]

At first, at the thread title I was all prepared to ask "why ask a Ford (or Chevy) forum if buying a Ford was the best thing to do".

Boy was I wrong! I'm a thinkin you will not get complete 100% approval but you durned sure starting out on the right foot.

I recommend you concentrate on just one or two of the caliber/guns you list above and believe me, you are absolutely in the right place to be asking those questions.

Welcome to the "funny farm"!

Bob

[jlm223]

You my friend are all ready committed, it will turn into an addiction, you will learn as you go, read everything you can, this is a good place to learn, by the way welcome to Cast Boolits.

[HighHook]

We are all poo folk around here... If we were rich like Arnold we would be on the TANK forum shooting 20mm to 80mm..... lol

Like goodsteel said: Welcome to the best forum on the web!

[runfiverun]

most of those guns listed far outclass most of mine.
you could just get the lee all in one box of shell holders and save some cash.
a lot of thier die sets come with shell holders also.
there are places to spend money on reloading gear and places where it is what it is.
i got lot's of blue ,red, orange, and green in my reloading room.
and in my casting area too.
i bought what i needed to get going, and replaced what wasn't gonna work as soon as i seen that i needed better.
and could afford it.

[tuckerdog]

Looks like you have a heck of a start. I cast for everything I have but shotguns but in highpowered rifles i still have my j word loads i use. Haven't found a good load in 243 for long range groundhogs that don't drop too much after 300 yds using cast but the search is on going.

[gbrown]

Welcome to the site. You will love the people here. Great bunch. Get started small and learn. The old adage about crawling before you walk, etc. Everything you got now will work. Read and talk to the people here. Knowledge base is beyond belief. As you go on, accumulate "stuff". The more you got, the better it is. But, if you don't have the knowledge, it's worthless. That's why I value this site, so much. I may not know much, but someone around here does.

[MT Chambers]

I'd skip the Lee factory crimp dies, your dies already have crimpers.

[Gibson]

Well, I'll be dipped in sheep's dip :)

Why did I wait so long to start posting here?

Good folk all around. So, you guys will accept an ole Kentucky boy whose idea of entertainment nowadays is watching Matt Dillon and Paladin?

You know you think you are smart because you graduate college with honors, etc. then you look into a new hobby and realize you don't know squat. My whole life has a series of stark revelations that I don't know squat.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Here's a couple of tips, I soon learned after I started casting.

Loading your own boolits is a little different than loading J-words or commercial "hard cast" bullets.

You probably shouldn't be using the Lee Factory crimp die for cast boolit pistol ammo. WHY ? the pistol style can swage down the boolit, especially if the case wall is on the thick side of Spec. AND an undersized boolit is a typical cause of Lead fouling the barrel. Now with that said, Lee's Rifle style Factory crimp dies are different and are an excellent choice for loading rifle ammo with home cast boolits. Another thing, Ranch Dog offers "rifle style" Lee factory crimp dies for some revolver calibers.

Also ...before seating softer cast boolits,
its best to expand the case mouth, not just flare it.
Now I like Lee dies, but their die sets don't include
such dies to expand the case mouth correctly for softer cast boolits, IMHO.
high case tension can swage down the boolits.
Jon

[MBTcustom]

John B is right, but I still like the LeeFCD. I was having a lot of trouble with it swaging down the boolit in the case, but then I took diamond lapping compound and honed out the carbide ring to the correct size for my pistol, so now I get perfect ammo every time, and if one of the unsized boolits pushes the case out, the FCD will fix it like it was supposed to but will stop short of under-sizing the boolit.
If you need special expanders or M dies etc. there are several of us here that can help you out (myself being one of them).

[MBTcustom]

The main thing that you must do is educate yourself on what happens step by step in that millisecond that it takes for the boolit to make it out of the barrel.
For instance:
1. The primer is detonated. (did it push the boolit? did it properly ignite the powder? was the flash hole clean and deburred? Was it struck hard enough by the firing pin? etc.)
2. The powder ignites. (did the powder burn right? did it need filler to keep it against the primer? was the load density correct? did it obturate the boolit to the bore? was it too fast? too slow? etc.
3. The boolit (is the boolit actually bigger than the groove diameter? does it seal (obturate) the bore? Does the lube work as advertised? does it need a gas check? is it hard enough to keep from stripping the rifling? is it soft enough to perform on intended target? etc.etc.etc.etc.etc..............................

[Gibson]

My order never arrived yesterday or today, odd, it shipped on the 1st. . . guess it'll be Monday. Anyway, if all "approve" I will place the last order, listed above, this afternoon.

Much gratitude for the helpful nature of your posts.

goodsteel: I may have to take you up on the expanders. You are a good man.

Thanks for the prayers for Andy, as well. Can you believe those guys at M4carbine bought him a brand new Colt .45? Sure helped brighten him up at the time. He was kind of depressed back then but is doing well now. (Leukemia. . . ALL) Still a helluva lot of good folk in world, I'll tell ya, and strangely a whole lot of 'em are so-called "gun nuts". We need more of 'em.

[Gibson]

Hey! Package showed at neighbors. So, I did it get today.

EDIT: Just completed the final order that I had asked about, so I guess as the old poker player would say, "I'm pot committed". With shipping and the NRA round-up, it was 155.00.