Starting casting my own...advice needed

[ROCKET]

Want to get started to cast my own boolits. Can anyone recommend a 44 mag mold and a good staring furnace ?

[fryboy]

define good ?

for the mold it depends upon what you're gonna use it for ( target loads , medium loads hi-velocity loads etc ) for simplicity a plain based version is easiest , for the hi-vel stuff i'd recommend a gas check design , for a cheap get started and learn type affair try a lee double cavity in the profile of your choice , a lighter weight will offer less recoil than a heavy one , my first 44 mold ( and i've been using it for more years than i care to remember - and still use ) was a rcbs , the one in this link actually
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/582790/rcbs-2-cavity-bullet-mold-44-240-swc-44-caliber-430-diameter-240-grain-semi-wadcutter-gas-check

my last one was this one

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/126912/rcbs-2-cavity-bullet-mold-44-200-fn-44-caliber-428-diameter-200-grain-flat-nose

the first one covered mild to wild fairly decent , the last covers my easy wheelgun loadings , in the middle i've tried quite a few , the 310 grain from lee is a beauty ( erm i mean a thumper :P ) this one tho i really like
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/520228/lee-2-cavity-bullet-mold-429-200-rf-44-special-44-remington-magnum-44-40-wcf-429-diameter-200-grain-flat-nose

as for a lead pot ... the lee pro 4-20 gets the nod , fairly economical and works , of note however it's best to smelt in something else ( like a converted and cut off old propane tank or a cast iron dutch oven ) using only clean alloy helps the lee not be a notorious drip-o-matic

[canyon-ghost]

I ladle cast from a Lyman Mini-mag, little ten pound pot with no temp control. My 44 and 41 magnum don't know the difference. I think a 240 grain and heavier mold would be a good choice for the magnum.

My 44 Special is running a Lee 44-40 mold in 200 grain RF.

[ROCKET]

Thanks for the input. Target range mostly, will keep loads under 1400. i understand I don;t need gc for that. Are the Lee handles interchable with rcbs or lyman molds ?

[Shooter]

Are the Lee handles interchable with rcbs or lyman molds ?

No. They are not even removable.

[fryboy]

the six cavity lee handles fit the lyman/ideal double and single cavity molds just fine , they usually need thinned down just a bit for the rcbs molds and quite a bit to fit the lyman 4 cavity molds ( not that hard to do ), the single/double cavity lee molds come with handles permanently attached ( erm mostly .... they are attached with pins that are peened in place , i have had a couple of lee molds that i had to re-peen them on ) but they are also way thinner than either lyman or rcbs mold handles

if you even want to get close to 1300 FPS with a 240 grain boolit it's going to take a top load ( ie; hi pressure , which is a good time to use a gas checked design ) erm this isnt counting rifles and closed breech guns such as an encore or contender

[Cowboy T]

For .44 Magnum, I use two Lee 6-cavity moulds:

1.) 429-200-RF for the lighter load.
2.) TL40-240-SWC for the heavier load.

Both of them work great. The 6-banger mould makes turning out lots of quality boolits easy, and the mould is pretty easy on the wallet. Handles are sold separately, but aren't that much $$.

If you want to get the Rolls Royce of moulds, or would like to cast hollow-points, consider MiHec's brass models. He's a vendor on this site.

[KCcactus]

+1 on the Lee Pro 4-20. I started with the 10lb production pot IV and still use it. But, when you are pouring 6 200+ gr at a time, that 10 lb pot empties way too fast. I recently added a 4-20. If I could only have one pot, it would be the 4-20.

Another +1 on the Lee 6 cavity molds. The price is nice and they make piles of good boolits fast.

With a bottom pour pot, I would suggest you get something like the steel condiment cups Walmart carries. It was suggested on a thread here. They catch drips, reduce splatter and make casting a lot more pleasant.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Condiment-Cups/14964954

I cover my work table with aluminum foil before setting up my lead pots. That speeds clean-up and helps protect the table top.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

for just starting out
and for 44
I recommend the Lee 429-200-RF and Lee's 4-20 pot.

For which Lee mold to start with ? 2 cav. VS. 6 cav. ?
-the 2 cav. is much more forgiving for the beginer., so that's what I'd recommend to start with, But once you get into this and really like it, the 6 cav. is the way to go if you want to turn out the boolits by the coffee can full. If you choose to start with the 6 cav. mold, I would highly recommend a Hotplate to preheat the mold.
Jon

[ROCKET]

Great info. Thanks all for the great suggestions. Any suggestions on a reliable source to get about 60lb of some 12bhn lead? Do most of the ww have that bhn rating ?

[Boyscout]

I have been learning on the Lee molds and have been generally pretty happy. Instead of a six cavity, I purchase an additional mold of the same for my 200 gn .452 SWC bullets. The most number of two cavity molds I can handle at any time is 3. I couldn't afford to do that with RCBS or Lyman molds.

[Wayne Smith]

Go down to the shopping and selling section. Several members sell lead and will tell you how hard it is.

[Catshooter]

rocket,

Welcome to the forum and the madness, by the way.

If you post your location you might find someone who can help mentor you. It's by far the best way.


Cat

[45-70 Chevroner]

Great info. Thanks all for the great suggestions. Any suggestions on a reliable source to get about 60lb of some 12bhn lead? Do most of the ww have that bhn rating ?

I think you will find that most clip on "lead" wheel weights will be close to 12bhn but if not they are easy to make that hard or harder, just by water droping your hot boolits right from the mold. Set a 5 gallon bucket of water next to you, left or right side which ever you prefer Three gallons in the bucket is enough. If you are able to get wheel weights from a local sorce be sure to seperate the non "lead" weights. Lead WW's can be cut with a knife very easily. Non lead weights are quite hard and are hard to cut with a knife and they will be a real mess in your melting pot. Personally I only shoot air cooled boolits in my hand guns.
I have a lot of Lee equipment, molds, melting furnaces, dies, press, and I really like their stuff.

[EMC45]

I like the Lyman 429-421 bullet for my SBH and Marlin 44 Lever gun. I like the Lee 429-200 RFN for the .44 Special.

[David2011]

if you even want to get close to 1300 FPS with a 240 grain boolit it's going to take a top load ( ie; hi pressure , which is a good time to use a gas checked design ) erm this isnt counting rifles and closed breech guns such as an encore or contender

For sure! A load that's good for 1250 fps in a Super Blackhawk can reach 1600 fps in a 14" perfectly sealed tube of a Contender or Encore or in a 16" carbine. I've been shooting a 250 grain RCBS Keith Type boolit in my .44. The mold is more costly than a Lee -INITIALLY- but money well spent down the road IMO.

David

[canyon-ghost]

I think you will find that most clip on "lead" wheel weights will be close to 12bhn but if not they are easy to make that hard or harder, just by water droping your hot boolits right from the mold. Set a 5 gallon bucket of water next to you, left or right side which ever you prefer Three gallons in the bucket is enough.

I use a 5 gallon bucket and put it two steps away from that lead pot (extremely hot lead.... cold water... boom!). Do not drop water droplets into the lead (pops lead everywhere with steam). Just put an old towel where you can run the bottom of the mold across it. It's relatively safe, leave all the bullets in the bucket and just pour the water off. By the way, these are super hard bullets. I smacked one with a sledge to find out how much it deformed, not very much compared to air-cooled wheelweight. They'll be exponentially harder.
(30 bhn or so)

[mdi]

I've been casting for my .44s for several years and don't make anything smaller than 225 grains. I like my Lyman 2 cavity 429421 SWC and Ranch Dog's 240 and 265 grain RNFP tumble lube bullets. It took me a while to get 90%+ keepers (each casting session) with a single or 2 cavity molds, then I tried a 6-banger and it took a little bit of time to get 90%+ from all six holes. I'd recommend a 2 cavity to start. Watching/learning/balancing melt and mold temperatures is prolly the hardest part. If you can still find lead wheel weights in your area grab them now, they won't be around long, thanks to the tree huggers and greenies.

I started with a dipper/ladle, but now use a 20 lb. bottom pour electric pot by Lee. I wouldn't want to use anything less than 20 lbs. as you can run it dry when you are "in the zone" and making good bullets with each pour...

[canyon-ghost]

Good Point, there. The water quenching I did was for a 7mm TCU in a Contender, not for a 44 revolver. Forgot to mention that. I've fired air-cooled wheelweight from my 41 magnum Blackhawk, seems hard enough.

Ron