Newb wheelgun owner- just ordered my press

[Bandit86]

Hi guys, I'm over at canadiangunnutz and about as new to casting as it gets, I have a 357 and a 44magnum wheelgun and mare's legs in both. I took the leap of faith and ordered a press, primers and powder and a couple cases of bullets to learn reloading before I cast my own boolits, and ordered a mold too to make sure i stick with the plan. I didn't realize what I was getting into, sounds addicting as if shooting itself wasn't addictive enough. At first I was happy buying whichever case of ammo was the cheapest now not so much. In a year and a half of shooting I went from cheap surplus in an sks that was good enough to small and eventually to larger calibers, and reloading a sw500 for my brother might be in be plans soon.

This casting bit really opened up the field, I have a hard time deciding on bullet profile and grains. I mostly shoot fmj158 and 125jhp grain 357, and 240 grain fmj44mags, there are so many choices I don't even know where to start, what mold to get

Is there a poll somewhere here on what is most preferred?

Ps. What's linoleum for?

[bobthenailer]

I think a good place to start are the standard bullet weight for each caliber , 357/158gr , 44/240gr bullet.
I personaly have several moulds for every caliber of handgun i load for , for the 357 mag i have 9, i usually use 158 or 180 gr bullets even though i have moulds from 125 gr to 200 gr that i can use. just depends on the application ,i shoot almost all of the handgun games and use the approate bullet
For the 44mag i usually use a 200gr TC even though i have 2, 240 gr moulds and a 200gr WC mould.and at one time had a 300gr mould.

[Wayne Smith]

Linoleum goes on your kitchen floor! Linotype contains antimony and tin in a very hard mix that is nice to add to pure lead or wws to get the alloy hardness you want.

[AricTheRed]

What do you plan to do? Punch paper, hunt, competitive target shooting, plinking, self-defense?

What bullet you choose and how you load it should be tailored to fit your firearms, and the type of shooting you enjoy.

Regarding the linoleum, it is likely a mis-spelling of Linotype which is a lead alloy some folks use for concocting their own secret lead rescipies for their preferred loads.

Also check out ...
http://www.lasc.us/

tons of great info on casting and reloading cb

You think it is bad now wait until you start casting your own hollowpoints, and lets not forget the chronograph, slugging the bore, to firelap or not to firelap. And don't forget the lube! so many choices. Oh and gas checks It has gotten so bad here that I'm thinking of making my own gas checks.

Maybe this is just the lead talking, it just tastes so sweet.

[Bandit86]

What do you plan to do? Punch paper, hunt, competitive target shooting, plinking, self-defense?

What bullet you choose and how you load it should be tailored to fit your firearms, and the type of shooting you enjoy.

Regarding the linoleum, it is likely a mis-spelling of Linotype which is a lead alloy some folks use for concocting their own secret lead rescipies for their preferred loads.

Also check out ...
http://www.lasc.us/

tons of great info on casting and reloading cb

You think it is bad now wait until you start casting your own hollowpoints, and lets not forget the chronograph, slugging the bore, to firelap or not to firelap. And don't forget the lube! so many choices. Oh and gas checks It has gotten so bad here that I'm thinking of making my own gas checks.

Maybe this is just the lead talking, it just tastes so sweet.

The more I read the more questions I have. I should ask my teenager he knows everything. I'm leaning for cup point 158gr/357 and240gr/44. Lots of (mostly) plinking and those calibers not allowed for hunting around here (thanks Canada) I like to shoot long range too, my marlin 357 does good at 200 yards with factory ammo. I do enjoy a spectacular dirt spray when I hit the backstop something my fmj rifle doesn't do

[AricTheRed]

If you are mostly target shooting and plinking I would go with a light bullet. Lee makes a 2 or 6 cavity 44cal 200gn FN. You will use less powder, less lead, and do more shooting. plus for $20 US you can get started with the Lee mold. Later on if you have figured out what you really want to invest in is something different you'll be able to get something else.

[Bandit86]

Does,anybody have a chart on how the different types of cast bullets expand? I found info on jacketed bullets but not cast ones

[BCRider]

Another CGN'er here that managed to find this quaint little corner of the 'net... :D

Bandit, if you're not hunting then just go with a basic Round Nose Flat Point (RNFP) that works with the Mare's Leg tube magazines. They shoot just fine, cycle in the lever action just fine and generally do anything you need to do at the range just fine.

If you're a hunter then other things will come into play. But since you're up here in Canuck land you can't use the handguns for hunting and the Mare's Leg rifles are a poor choice for aiming at much past 25 yards. So again I don't see you hunting with either of these calibers unless you buy some other gun such as a lever or single shot rifle. And at that point if it's a lever then again you're sort of stuck with a RNFP bullet or carefully loaded SWC shape since those are about the only design which feeds in a lever action decently. If you get something like a break action H&R then that could be another issue entirely. Then the idea of a soft cast wide meplate bullet shape becomes valid. "Wide meplate" being, if you don't know, a bullet with a big wide and flat nose. Sort of like a scale model of a trash can that fits in the casing.... :D

As for reloading you are 100% right that it's a whole new hobby of it's own. You'll start with one bottle of powder and one style of cast bullet. Next thing you know you're after another powder because folks say it shoots more accurately from the sort of guns you have. Then you're trying other weights of bullet. And on and on it goes.... :D

The one saving grace is that we Canucks can reload a .38Spl or .357Mag for about 15 cents a round and a .44Mag for about 22 to 25 cents. And that's a HUGE jump from what they charge us for Magnum or even regular ammo up this way.

And even then much of the cost is for the bullet. If you get into casting your own even if you can't scrounge the lead you're looking at cutting the price in half.

I've avoided the whole casting thing other than I want to begin making my own round ball for my black powder cap & ball revolvers. It's just stupidly priced to buy basic round ball up this way. But the need for lubrisizing and the equipment needed has kept me from venturing or even thinking about venturing into the whole home casting situation for regular bullets... At least so far... :D I'll probably stick with our local caster (Bullet Barn) or use those nasty "J" bullets for regular calibers and weights. But I won't say "NEVER" to casting when it comes to some oddball sizes or weights.

As for your own efforts all the best. Just go slow, triple check everything and if it's a progressive remember that every pull does three or more things at once so you can get into 3 or more times the trouble in one pull if you're not watching. And if you even suspect that something is wrong stop and quadruple check all over again.

But really when things are going well and you have a system and you're not being constantly distracted it's really not that bad or complicated.

[Bandit86]

I appreciate all the help so far thank you

[GLL]

Maybe this is just the lead talking, it just tastes so sweet.

That sweetness is just the arsenic in your alloy! ;) ;)

Jerry

[Tom Herman]

RNFP bullets make sense: I love SWC's, but unless I use .44 Specials in my .44Mag lever guns, the SWC's don't feed while the RNFP bullets work very well in both revolvers and long guns.
Down here in the States, I can cast and load my .38's, .44's, and .45's for between 8 and 10 cents a round, depending on if I get the lead for free or not.
I sure hope you saved all of your centerfire empties!
There's LOTS to learn about reloading and casting. Doing it all in one big step is a mighty steep learning curve.
Don't be afraid to go slow, peruse the boards here, and ask a lot of questions!
Also, when you work up loads for the first time, don't do more than 50 or so. Go ahead and fire them to make sure all is well, and if it is, then go into volume production. Consistency is important to get repeatable results.
Casting is an art form: Everything has to go just right. You'll learn about alloys (my favorite is 50/50 scrap lead to wheelweight material, water dropped bullets), getting the lead and moulds the right temperature, and cadence.
Yes, it's a lot, but when you get into the groove, it will be a real sense of satisfaction.
Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[BCRider]

Tom raises a great point about trying to jump into the deep end of the pool too soon. You'll have lots to ponder and learn simply by using commercially cast and lubed boolits as well as loading with those odd coppery looking things :D Save the casting and lubrisizing until you are comfortable with the loading operations.