Is Dropping Just Cast Boolits In Water A Beneficial Thing?

[daddyseal]

I Mean Not Near Lead Pot~!!

But in a pan with towel on bottom and an inch of water.
Does that change the boolits any to cool them fast like that?

[ku4hx]

An oft-discussed topic. Here are just a few threads.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=157996&highlight=water+dropping
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=158749&highlight=water
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=157090&highlight=water+quenching

When I water quench, I use a five gallon bucket about 1/2 to 2/3 full with a slit towel over the open top to prevent splashing. Hold the towel in place with a large rubber band advertised to hold trash can bags in place.

[btroj]

Of you drop them hot from the mould into a basin of water, what we call water dropping, it can make a big difference in hardness.
The amount of increase in hardness depends upon the Sb content of the alloy and it is aided immensely by some metals like As. Aresenic can easily be added by adding some shot to your alloy.
The hardness also will take some time to fully develop. Figure that max hardness will be found in about 2 to 4 weeks.

These are all just general guidelines, each specific alloy has its own unique properties.

[Rocky Raab]

I've never water-quenched, but I'm also not a believer in "harder is better." In revolver loads, hardness is far less important than fit. Except for gas-checked .30-30, I shoot only revolvers.

If harder was truly better, we'd be casting bronze bullets, not lead ones.

[FergusonTO35]

I water quench all mine. The boolits just seem to come out better that way and I like the extra hardness.

[Danderdude]

I too am a member of the Water-Drop Everything club. It allows you to use a cheaper (lower antimony content) alloy and still achieve the hardness of the real deal by letting the natural crystallography work for you. For high pressure / high velocity, like full power .30 cal rifle loads, attaining a suitable hardness without quenching would require an alloy that would end up being too brittle, too expensive and too rare.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I Mean Not Near Lead Pot~!!

But in a pan with towel on bottom and an inch of water.
Does that change the boolits any to cool them fast like that?

Yes even an inch of water will change the boolit if it is an alloy. It will also cool them quite fast, but the water will heat up pretty fast also. If you are going to water drop just use a bucket. Fill it about 2/3 full, I personally don't worry about splashes. I have been water dropping for over 30 years and have never had a problem. When water has splashed onto the mold it is dry by the time I refill it. When the water hits that mold it will vaporize very fast, almost instantly. I don't water drop pistol boolits at all. I am sure there could be a use for hard pistol boolits, but none of my shooting requires it.

[Wayne Smith]

When you do this remember two things, the hardening does not all happen immediately, and sizing them wipes away the hardened surface. When you put these two facts together the moral is to size immediately (same day) after casting and then store them for a week or two before shooting them.

[Rocky Raab]

Well, the question was "Is it beneficial?" To that, the answer is probably "No."

If we ask "Do people do it anyway?" the answer is "Yes."

So you can pick either one and have the answer.

[btroj]

It CAN be beneficial, depends on what you are after.

I tend to water drop everything out of habit. I also tend to use alloys on the soft side for most of my shooting.

I find it fits my habits and needs so I do it. Everyone else needs to see what fits their needs and wants.

[runfiverun]

it's beneficial if you need to use an alloy for say nose fit in a rifle bbl.
but want to use a higher bhn.
or if you want an alloy thats soft enough to mush up for hunting but want to use a higher velocity.
an alloy of about 1.5% antimony,1% tin and .14% arsenic will be quite soft unless heat treated.
the difference between the two would be about 9 bhn for the former and @17 bhn for the latter.
so there are some benefits there.

also you can use a higher antimonial content to insure that it definatly has dendrites on the surface, if you don't size the casting, this can be used to polish a bbl.
or even fire lap over time.

[geargnasher]

I've never water-quenched, but I'm also not a believer in "harder is better." In revolver loads, hardness is far less important than fit. Except for gas-checked .30-30, I shoot only revolvers.

If harder was truly better, we'd be casting bronze bullets, not lead ones.

If you do it right, you can shoot very hard, soft, and in between in revolvers. It's the HOW that matters.

For those of us who shoot more than revolvers, believe me, if I could cast bronze boolits as easily and safely as I do lead-alloy ones, I certainly would for target shooting at least. Might work pretty dandy in a revolver, too.

Now, to Daddyseal: Is water dropping a beneficial thing? That's a good question. Unfortunately the answer is variable from "Not at all" to "It makes all the difference in the world". It depends on your alloy composition like Btroj said, what you're shooting it out of, and what you want the boolit to do when it gets to the target. Let me ask you this, how tough do you figure your boolits need to be for a certain application? Try actually testing it both ways and see what Mr. Gun and Professor Target tell you, because that's the only answer you'll get that really means much, and it's difficult to predict for you even if you refer to a very specific gun and load.

Gear

[williamwaco]

If you do it right, you can shoot very hard, soft, and in between in revolvers. It's the HOW that matters.

For those of us who shoot more than revolvers, believe me, if I could cast bronze boolits as easily and safely as I do lead-alloy ones, I certainly would for target shooting at least. Might work pretty dandy in a revolver, too.

Now, to Daddyseal: Is water dropping a beneficial thing? That's a good question. Unfortunately the answer is variable from "Not at all" to "It makes all the difference in the world". It depends on your alloy composition like Btroj said, what you're shooting it out of, and what you want the boolit to do when it gets to the target. Let me ask you this, how tough do you figure your boolits need to be for a certain application? Try actually testing it both ways and see what Mr. Gun and Professor Target tell you, because that's the only answer you'll get that really means much, and it's difficult to predict for you even if you refer to a very specific gun and load.

Gear

Is water dropping beneficial?

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Gear +1

[45-70 Chevroner]

The original question was concerning 1" of water and would it help cool the boolits faster. Yes it will until the water gets hot enough that they will not cool off as fast. Although I don't think the water will get hot enough that you can't pick the warm boolits up.

[Aunegl]

Is Dropping Just Cast Boolits In Water A Beneficial Thing? It is to me, when I've been shooting silhouettes. I've got a wall of trophies to remind me that my reloading and casting techniques work for me. During the early 80's, in a match at Black Canyon, I center-punched a 200 meter ram using an ACWW 240 grain, 44 mag. pill. I saw a lovely splash, a still standing ram I had to count as a miss and the ribbing from my fellow shooting buddies. I think it was something about adding more powder to a near maximum load. After that, I saw the light and started using the H2O.

[Char-Gar]

There are water droppers and non-water droppers. I am the latter. You will not get a clear consensus on this board. Try it both ways and then you won't have to ask the question.

[bobthenailer]

I water drop everything from the mould, I can see no downside to this methed and it really speeds up my production, the only downside is you will have to size within a few hours after casting . works for all calibers handguns & rifles that ive used them in, approx 60+ guns in all with excellent accuracy & no leading issues from 800 to 2500 fps

[Bret4207]

WQing is a tool, no more, no less. Sometimes it's needed, other times it's not, some folks do it out of habit and some do it out of the mistaken belief "harder is just better". I went through the "quench it all stage". For 90% of my stuff it's a waste of time. If your guns tell you you need it, then go for it.

[paul h]

If you drop bullets hot from a mold into water, and there is any antimony in the alloy, they will be harder than if you dropped them onto a dry towel and let them air cool.

Now, whether or not that is better or not depends. Most of us have found that there is no single alloy nor bullet lube that works for every application, and the same holds true for bullet hardness. If you have an application that requires a harder alloy, then water dropping is an efficient way to harden bullets, especially if you have a ready source of reasonably priced ww's.

You might have an application where water quenched bullets shoot just as well as air cooled, another where the air cooled bullets shoot better, and another where quenching seems to be a magic elixer. It's another arrow in the quiver, no more, no less.

[HangFireW8]

WQing is a tool, no more, no less. Sometimes it's needed, other times it's not, some folks do it out of habit and some do it out of the mistaken belief "harder is just better". I went through the "quench it all stage". For 90% of my stuff it's a waste of time. If your guns tell you you need it, then go for it.

+1

When I water drop, I don't use 1 inch of water, simply because I'm more likely to end up with bent boolits. I like 6 inches or more, with a small towel at the bottom to cushion the final impact, which I can pull up every once in a while to expose the towel top and keep the cooled boolits underneath.

HF

[1Shirt]

Been water dropping everything for well in excess of 30 years with no regrets. I find it convenient.
1Shirt!

[MtGun44]

Tried it, found no benefit so I don't do it any more.

I have to laugh when somebody tells me it is "easier"! :bigsmyl2:

AC wwts works in magnums without GCs at full power, in 9mm at full
power, etc. Just can't find a need for pistols. I don't load huge amounts
for rifles, so have not made up my mind for rifles.

There is still a substantial "harder is always better" group out there, so
they will find it "necessary".

I suggest you cast up 100 of your favorite design - half water quenched
and half air cooled. Load them up and see what you get. I found no
benefit, maybe you will find something you like.

Bill

[olafhardt]

My reason for water dropping is because it's cool and I enjoy the hiss.

[H.Callahan]

I usually water drop, not necessarily for the hardness, but that I like the fact that the bullets are cool virtually instantly. I can't count time times when I do air-cool that I have finished casting, taken off the gloves and then picked up a boolit that was probably in the last drop or two and it is still hotter than Hades and burned my fingers.

[Bob Krack]

Even when I cast pure lead I usually water drop. I find that I "ding" too many boolits by dropping them on a towel and the towel uses more "real estate" than a bucket of water on the floor next to the bench.

As for hardness, I have never had leading issues IF the fit was correct and I never saw a major problem with expansion with the boolit shape that I normally choose - a flat nosed round point.

Bob

[StratsMan]

Like some others here, I drop everything into a bucket just to cool them... I don't measure hardness, I just don't want a bunch of hot bullets rolling around... I have a couple of H&G 10-cavity molds, plus some 6 and 8 cav's... the hot boolits would stack up fast using those things, so I prefer to cool 'em fast....

[jameslovesjammie]

I water drop everything, but I don't care about hardness. When I get a chance to cast, I want to make the most of my time. I will cast a few different designs or calibers if I can. When I'm done casting, I dump them all on a towel and do a visual sort and culling, and put them in plastic boxes for storage.

With water quenching, I don't have to wait for them to cool before I touch them. I size them whenever I can. I don't worry about it wiping away the hardness with handgun bullets, because, frankly, I don't care. I have never had a problem with leading and WW material.

[captain-03]

My reason for water dropping is because it's cool and I enjoy the hiss.

Same here!!

[Any Cal.]

I am a newbie, but have been water dropping just because I don't have to worry about a bunch of bench space. Fill a 5 gallon bucket 2/3 full with water, and cast boolits 'til I'm done. None of them are dinged up or hot, and I always dump my mold in the same place. No biggie for several hundred bullets to get dropped in the exact same spot, and I don't have to touch them until it is all over. I don't get leading bad, so don't see much reason to do it different.

Oh, and I like to hear them hiss too! :-)

[acoop101]

I run my molds hot and like to pull my bullets as soon as they are solid enough to come out of the mold, I have found this gives me the best mold fill out and the bullets are not getting frosted. That said I have tried not water dropping but I lost a bunch of my bullets to dents and rips. Since I started water dropping the rate of damaged bullets is much lower which for me is reason enough to make me do it.