Do you water quench your boolits?

[horsemen61]

Do yall water quench your boolits and if so why?

[Love Life]

For pistol: No
For rifle: Depends

Why: Different applications call for different hardness.

[justing]

it depends on if i am loading them then and there or just bulk casting. if i plan on loading soon i water if not no.

[Bullet Caster]

No. BC

[elginrunner]

yes - they fall into a big pail of water out of the mold. When I first started I used a wet towel, but I don't like the bullets falling on top one another, and getting ding, and dents in them (just OCD I guess). They seem to be less dinged when falling into water ( about 12" of water before resting on bottom).

[shredder]

Do you have atowel with a hole in it over the water pail or anything like that, or are you just going straight splashdown? I am thinking how to control water in the prescence of molten metal.

[runfiverun]

I let them splash down.
some get's on the mold ocasionaly .
a drop of water on top of the lead won't do anything but sizzle like in a fry pan.
it's when it get's submerged you have a problem.
other than that see lovelife's answer.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Do you have atowel with a hole in it over the water pail or anything like that, or are you just going straight splashdown? I am thinking how to control water in the prescence of molten metal.

I do water quench for most rifle boolits. As for how I drop them, I just drop them straight into the water. If you get a drop of water in the mold cavity I can assure you it will be gone before you can fill it again. I have never had water splash high enough to get in the pot. I don't set the bucket between my legs, being a right hander I set it about a foot to the right of my right leg. Not saying thats the way you should do it but it works for me.

[youngda9]

No for all pistol bullets. I shoot 44mag at 1630fps out of my levergun with a RD-266 ACWW bullet lubed with 45-45-10. The only bullet I water drop is for the 358 winchester because I'm pushing it at much higher velocities.

[44 mag nut]

I water drop all my boolits. I have a towel that covers part of the bucket and is at a angle. The towel is in the water so the boolits hit it 1st then roll off the towel and onto a sponge in the bottom of the.

[pmer]

Just this weekend with a USFA 45 Colt, 6.1 Tite Group and 452424s. Some were air cooled and water dropped. The water dropped shot to one hole and the air cooled didn't shoot as well. That's the first time I tried that type of comparison but thought it might be interesting to note.

[nagantguy]

I water drop everything, it seems to help with consistency and accuracy, at least in my mind. And when I was a boy I saw an old timer casting boolits and he dropped them in a bucket of water, they were for 30-30 if I remember right so when I started casting I just dropped them into water.

[historicfirearms]

yes - they fall into a big pail of water out of the mold. When I first started I used a wet towel, but I don't like the bullets falling on top one another, and getting ding, and dents in them (just OCD I guess). They seem to be less dinged when falling into water ( about 12" of water before resting on bottom).


This is the exact reason why I water quench most of my boolits. It's just easier.

[wvmanchu]

I Water quench all my boolits. I use a large tile grout sponge in about 8" of water in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket they hit the wet sponge and slide off into the water no dents no splash.

[Buck-N-Rut]

I Water quench all my boolits. I use a large tile grout sponge in about 8" of water in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket they hit the wet sponge and slide off into the water no dents no splash.
I like that.

[MtGun44]

Never for pistol. Maybe for rifles.

Bill

[1bluehorse]

Yes..

[H.Callahan]

Always water quench. Had a scare many years ago when I dumped about 300 freshly cast boolits into my lap. Fortunately, I had covered my lap with a heavy cloth (and blue jeans) and no damage was done. From that point on, I've always water quenched both for safety and convenience. The bullets are cold to the touch by the time they hit the bottom of the pail.

[Little Big Oz]

I water quench COWW and isotope lead for 44mag in my Super Blackhawk. Leading is non-existent and accuracy is better than air-cooled.

[elginrunner]

No towel, I don't worry about the splash, my melting pot is on top of my bench top, and the pail I drop in is setting on the floor. The splash rarely gets past my knees.

[Walter Laich]

pistol no

my cowboy rifles no

30-30 rifle that I cast for a fellow shooter--yes. Put a few ice cubes in the container figuring it can't hurt.

[Shiloh]

Yes.

If it is wet, it isn't hot.

Shiloh

[easymoney]

Yep. I only cast for pistols but they are all water quenched right out of the mold into a 5 gallon bucket of water. I started water quenching from the beginning and everything has always worked so why change now?

[supv26]

Yes for everything

[mrblue]

Yes, I let them just drop straight into a jar and will let them sit a while, a couple days before i do anything with them

[Kull]

I've just starting casting, pistol only so far, and no I don't water quench.

[burr7870]

I quench everything. I can use cheaper alloy and make it do what I need. I use less of my WW alloy this way and still get good bullets for both pistol & rifle. Plus its easier for me to just drop them in water.

[kartooo]

always
coffee can, shop rag with hole in center held on by rubber band

[ihmsakiwi]

Do yall water quench your boolits and if so why?


Yes for everything. Its less hassle just dropping them into a bucket at my feet. I have a old t-shirt that I float in the water and occasionally I need to push it under and / or roll it over to unload caught boolits.
I used to air-dry but lack of counter top means the water bucket is more practical.

[quack1]

No, if I need a harder bullet I use a toaster oven to heat then quench a whole tray at once. I figure there is more uniformity of hardness that way.

[winelover]

Never. I strive for the softest alloy with minimal or no leading. My boolets are cast for hunting.

Winelover

[BruceB]

No, if I need a harder bullet I use a toaster oven to heat then quench a whole tray at once.

Quack 1 raises a very important point, whether he intended to do so or not..

Whenever we have ALREADY_CAST a supply of bullets in a heat-treatable alloy, we have the makings for batches of different-hardness bullets as needed.

It's always possible to take, for instance, wheelweight bullets which are water-dropped, and SOFTEN them by re-heating and allowing them to aircool.

Conversely, air-cooled WW bullets can be hardened by re-heating and water-dropping them after the fact. The same applies to older WW bullets which may have softened over a period of time..... re-heat and re-harden.

As a result of the above facts, I do water-drop my mostly-WW bullets in the happy knowledge that as long as I have the bullets on hand, their hardness is variable as I choose. This is also a very good reason for NOT lubing and sizing them until they are actually needed.

[captaint]

So far, mostly pistol boolits, no. Not saying I won't try it. I will, one of these days, just to
see if it matters. Going to be casting some 30-30 boolits soon, they're gas checked, so I probably won't get them wet, either. Mike

[Char-Gar]

No, I do not water quench my bullets.

[Aunegl]

yes, 5 gallon homer bucket and 4 gallons of water.

[ku4hx]

Nope, not any more. Not since I "inherited" and old toaster oven and re-learned how to use it to harder what I want hardened.

[rintinglen]

Never. I either shoot my boolits air-cooled, or heat-treat them in the oven. Last thing I need is something else under foot while casting. I prefer to size my boolits, then heat-treat them, as per Dennis Marshall's suggestions, if I want them hard. For most pistol ammo, I cast, wait a day, size, and then tumble lube, load and shoot.

[BubbaJon]

I like that.
Me too! On my shopping list...

[gunoil]

ok, after a year of towel, i tried the water.. Think i like it.

[hickfu]

It depends on the fps they will be shot at and whether they are flat base or gas check.
A flat base boolit I shoot at 1400fps gets air cooled, any of my gas checked boolits get water quenched.
I did just buy a convection oven from a thrift store for $20.00 so I will try the heat treating route to see how that goes.


Doc

[eljefeoz]

Tried the water quenched last time. For Lee 230 TL.45; cast from pure lead and chilled shot 4:1 .
I have another batch of air quenched, which I plan to heat treat in the oven- I was told 40 min at 400*F and then into ice water...
Why? its more fun and easier than surfing ;)
Next up: some 145 RCBS .285 SIL

results hopefully by next weekend

Cheers

[Jim..47]

Do you have atowel with a hole in it over the water pail or anything like that, or are you just going straight splashdown? I am thinking how to control water in the prescence of molten metal.

I always water drop, its just simpler plus no dents. To avoid water from getting into the lead, either drop them behind you or into a bucket/pan that is several feet lower then your pot of lead. I use the later.

[Garyshome]

Only every Boolit! They cool real fast and I can get on with other stuff. I wait too long for stuff to get hot and cool as it is.

[shoot-n-lead]

I water quench most bullets, but I have a .45 colt New Vaquero that requires air cooled or it will lead.

[OnceFired]

I water drop everything because I can handle them faster that way. I use a thick towel folded up at the bottom of 3 gallons of icy water in a 5 gallon bucket.

[TMenezes]

I water drop everything because I can handle them faster that way. I use a thick towel folded up at the bottom of 3 gallons of icy water in a 5 gallon bucket.

Same here, I always seem to burn my fingers otherwise. I don't really know or care if it makes them harder. Either way they tear up the bowling pins or punch holes in paper. Never noticed a difference in accuracy, but then again I am no match shooter anyways. Minute of bowling pin at 50 yards in my handguns is fine by me.

[dudel]

Yes. Just seems easier and safer. Less dings.

[whelenshooter]

Yes to harden it, if it's for a rifle load. Straight out of the mold and into a 5 gallon bucket of water.

David

[capt.hollis]

No water clenching here no matter what the caliber is. Just pour, and go on. I haven't seen a harder bullet make things easier for me. A little tick on my bullets doesn't bother me either. Once you lube them ya can't see it, if I don't see it, it doesn't bother me. Proper size is key

[dragon813gt]

In the summer, yes. In the winter, no. Unless it's rifle or 9mm bullets. One of these days I will get around to heat treating.

[Garyshome]

You gotta cool em' off some how. I never get burned picking up a hot boolit!

[wistlepig1]

Yes. Just seems easier and safer. Less dings.
What he said!

[MT Gianni]

Old thread but the nomenclature used to be oven quench when dropping from a heated oven and water dropped from the mold. Quenching should be associated with an hour in the oven but it is not always done so.

[smoked turkey]

Hopefully this is not too far off subject. I have read someplace here that a water dropped boolit is only surface hardened and that the boolit core remains at its original hardness without quenching. This was deemed to be a positive thing because it still made a great hunting boolit because it wasn't brittle and wouldn't break up if it hit bone and it would hang together and expand due to the core's being softer. It would also allow it to be driven faster due to it's hardness. Am I remembering this right or not?

[MT Gianni]

You are remembering the statement right, The jury is still divided on whether the statement is correct. I think it is caliber specific with different results in a 45 than a 22.

[DanM]

The only boolits that I don't WD are from my new Mihec hollow point mold in 45ACP. Have been using a 50/50, WW/Pb alloy for those and dropping them on a towel. That is my only HP mold so far. They mushroom perfectly when fired into water jugs. Everything else drops into a 5gal bucket of water.

[Frozone]

Nope, air cool only.

If I need them hard, I'll Oven treat em.

[HiVelocity]

Depends on use. I have a .359 Hollow Point mold that drops 125gr bullets. Cast from ACWW, they expand some. When I cast these same bullets and water quench them, they fragment when driven ~ 1000-1200 feet per second (357 Magnum). Field tests showed that they broke into 5-6 pieces, a good defense load.

Just food for thought.

HV

[SODAPOPMG]

I water drop all smokeless bullets the black-powder bullets get dropped on a dry towel

[cheetah]

The Lee 309/230 shoots well for me but that and the 458/500 suffer from bent noses so a drop down a 4" drain pipe stops that.

[Stork]

Been out of circulation for a while, but thought I'd chime in on this one.

First, I only cast for 38, 41, and 45. So my experience is base on target velocities for pistol cartridges.

When I started casting I water dropped everything and had a leading issue. My mix was range scrap and they hardened to (IIRC) around 14. When I switched to air cooling the BN dropped to 8 1/2 which was a better hardness for my purposes.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned on this thread, by those preferring water dropping, was my method of a 5 gal pail with 3-4 gallons of water and about 2-4" of Styrofoam beads floating on top. The bullets drop right through the beads and there's no water splashing.

Just an FYI.

[Inkman]

Used to when i started out. Not anymore. Waste of time and i never saw any difference between quenching WW lead and not quenching it.

Al

[buletdoc]

Have water quenched since starting in '90. Have never had any complaints from customers.