going to start casting again

[johnson1942]

i havent cast for years and the man who cast for me closed shop. beside his proffesional casting equipment he had a rcbs pro melt pot and he sold it to me for 150 dollars. i saved a chunk of money over a new one and it is like new. i went through all my molds and i have moulds i dont even remember haveing them made. i keep the pot in my friends blacksmith shop on his place and to day we are going to fire up the wood stove and relearn to cast bullets. im going to cast some .492 paper patch for my .50 and some .448 for a cast bullet muzzle loader that starts with a starter. im trying to get him to sell one or two of his modern guns that just sits around and put the money into a longrange 45/70. i have 4 moulds for that gun and one mould is adjustable. any ways i wanted to share my excitement as now i can do alot more cost effective shooting and just plain more shooting when i cast for my self. ive also recently bought several bullet resizers as they come in real handy also. self reliance is a good feeling.

[Wayne Smith]

Welcome back to the madness. If you are shooting a rifle with a false muzzle I guess you really do know what you are doing! Did you get 'several' boolit sizers (Lyman/Lee slide through) or lube sizers (Lyman, RCBS, Saeco, etc) that lube and size? I find the latter more useful, but I really don't like Lee mule snot and pan lubing quickly became tiresome.

[johnson1942]

wayne:well just got back and cast about 120 ea. 686 grain paper patch .50 cal bullets. and about the same number 386 grain kieth nosed bullets .448 diam. that pot i bought cast like a dream. most of my resizers came from a machinest from montana. he has been ill lately and i dont know if he is still doing it. the .448 bullet i run through a preingraver which consists of about 4 inches cut off the originial barrel and machined to let the starter fit on it. i run the bullets through that and it preingraves the bullet. i then lube them. to shoot them powder down the barrel then a .60 thousands fiber wad the turn the bullet on the muzzle, it finds the lands and down it goes with ease. you have to put it down fairly slow so the air under it bleeds out the nipple other wise it will bounce back like a spring. extremely consistant accurate. have taken 6 deer with it from 30 yards to 150 yards. they all drop like a rock. the bullet flattens and passes clean thew them and plows dirt on the other side. about the same power as a .45/70 . first muzzle loader i ever built. have built about 12 of them since. the 686 grain paper patch i run through a .50 swageing die to true them up. i then reduce their diam. to .492 and patch with number nine paper. i have two guns for that bullet, they are 1/23 twist. ones a target gun and the other is for elk or bigger. tack drivers also. im so glad i got this rcbs propot, it was easy to use and cast fast and easy. now i can shoot a whole lot more and it wont cost a arm and a leg. i figured i cast 90 dollars worth of bullets to day so the pot is darn near paid for. a while back i posted the question on what type of pot to buy and the rcbs pro one was recommended. i dont remember who it was but thanks.

[dikman]

Good buy on the RCBS :drinks:. Now you just have to start collecting lead so that you can keep it fed ;-).

[Wayne Smith]

Wow! You MAKE muzzleloading slug guns. I've just read the book.