How long can bullets sit?

[bobthewelder]

before lubing and sizing them? I have everything except the mould for .45 and the lube sizer dies. I have the Lyman master caster kit. Now that I got some Ingoits i think I should splurge for maybe a cheap Lee mould? I like 200g SWC from Lazercast so that is what I think I should start with. What is good for bowling pin shoots, 255gr? If I buy a mould it will be a week or two until I can afford the other other two items to finish them, is this OK? God I love molten metal!

[Patrick L]

How long? Forever.

I cast up quantities of the bullets I use YEARS in advance. They go into 3 lb coffee cans until needed. Then I might not use that mold for 5-6 years, maybe more.

I also sometimes size years worth of bullets. They don't go bad, and unless they're stored in too warm a place you won't lose any lube.

I remember lubsizing .45ACP SWCs in our first apartment on snow days when we were first married. My wife works nights, so she would be sleeping all day. I would carefully lubsize and pack bullets into boxes that held 600 bullets. I don't remember the year, but we moved into our house in 1994, so they were at least that old. I shot the last of those up about a year ago, and they were fine.

[pa_guns]

Hi

I suspect that after a few hundred years things might get a bit strange.

If you are only talking about a few weeks, it's completely a non-issue.

Bob

[bobthewelder]

Thanks for the response guys. Which mould of the cheap Lee's is reccomended? And your lucky that she slept while your "hobby" continued. My wife still brings up the fact that I was in the middle of a brewing session when she went into labor and as 'she' recalls making sure my 10 gallons of brew was more important than her being in labor. That isn't how I remember it, and I'm sticking to that!

I remember lubsizing .45ACP SWCs in our first apartment on snow days when we were first married. My wife works nights, so she would be sleeping all day. I would carefully lubsize and pack bullets into boxes that held 600 bullets. I don't remember the year, but we moved into our house in 1994, so they were at least that old. I shot the last of those up about a year ago, and they were fine.[/QUOTE]

[mtgrs737]

I still have bullets that I cast and sized and stored in flat metal film cans from 20 years ago and they are still fine. For pistol bullets try and find yourself some 16mm steel film cans that are around 7" in dia. (400 ft of film) as they are excellent to store bullets in. The cans that are not embossed on the bottom work best. I like the cans because they allow the soft lube to stay away from the noses of the other bullets in the can, unlike just tossing them in a box helter skelter. I will post a pic of them under a new thread later.

[bobthewelder]

Tanks, I was actually wanting to know how long they can sit after casting, without lubing/sizing.

[pa_guns]

Tanks, I was actually wanting to know how long they can sit after casting, without lubing/sizing.

Hi

After a couple of years they turn a nice dark black. That has no impact on sizing or lubricating them. Lead is inert enough that there are working examples of Roman era lead pipes. I guess that would indicate you may be able to wait a couple of thousand years to lube and size them ....

Bob

[bobthewelder]

Thanks Pa, that was what I was looking for. Now, tell me about tumble lube, I got the Lyman master caster Kit. Do I need tumble lube dies or not?

[Calamity Jake]

Tanks, I was actually wanting to know how long they can sit after casting, without lubing/sizing.


The same thing applies to as cast, FOREVER, unless you water drop or oven heat treat, then you may want to size and lube BDQ [smilie=s:

[pa_guns]

Hi

I'm not a big fan of tumble lube. That's not to say it does not work, I just don't like the stuff. Your exact bullet design will dictate weather you must use tumble lube.

So we don't go off in the wrong direction - exactly which Lee bullet mold do you have?

Bob

[bobthewelder]

I don't, yet. That is what I am trying to figure out. I want a 200gr. SWC that will work best and easiest with my LYman setup. I also want a good bowling pin round.

[pa_guns]

Hi

There are others here who know a lot more about what's currently available than I. My advice would be to get as close to an H&G 68 200 gr SWC as you can.

Bob

[NVcurmudgeon]

I like to keep my boolits unsized and unlubed until I am ready to load them. That way you don't find that all the lube has melted in summer heat and is now in one corner of the box. I just loaded 800 H&G 68s that are at least five years old. Only about 1500 left so I will have to use that mould again in 2010.

[bobthewelder]

where do I find This H&G 68 mould? Seems to get honerable mention here!

[Bret4207]

Ballisticast makes a copy I think. That or you can haunt the auction sites in hopes of finding one. You'll pay well over $100.00 for a 4 banger H+G, the new Ballisticast are up closer to $200.00+ IIRC.

For a Lee 200 gr, look at he designs and pick the 2 banger that you like. There's probably info on it here if you search a bit. If it doesn't work, sell the mould here and buy another. For less than $20.00 you'll have another mould to try.

Looking at the available moulds, I'd try the 200 gr round flat nose. Looks like it'll feed and that flat point should work on pins.

[pa_guns]

where do I find This H&G 68 mould? Seems to get honerable mention here!

Hi

H&G is out of business. All you can reasonably afford are copies. The simple thing to do is to get a mold that looks like a copy of the H&G 68. If it looks like a copy, it probably is a copy....

Bob

[WHITETAIL]

pa guns Glad to hear from you. I am near Scranton Pa.

[pa_guns]

pa guns Glad to hear from you. I am near Scranton Pa.

Hi

That's up in the part of the state where it gets cold and they have winter isn't it? :mrgreen:

Bob

[mtgrs737]

Bob, boolits from the civil war era are being dug up all the time. Even in the harsh earth they still don't look so bad. If you store them in a dry cool place they will most likely oulast your grandchildren.

I like the Lee 200 gr swc for my 45 acp reloads, I have two six cavity moulds. The same design is offered in a two cavity mould. I also have the 230 gr. Truncated cone style for 45 acp. Good luck!

[hammerhead357]

It is my understanding that Ballisti-cast is making the same bullet moulds as H & G did and from what I hear they are of the same quality, but I haven't purchased any of them.....Wes

[MtGun44]

If you heat treat boolits they will soften with age over a period of years.

Bill

[pa_guns]

If you heat treat boolits they will soften with age over a period of years.

Bill

Hi

More so if you store them in the garage in Kansas and they see a lot of temperature change each year :mrgreen:

Bob

[felix]

Heat makes the reaction faster. Cold makes the reaction slower. ... felix

[pa_guns]

Heat makes the reaction faster. Cold makes the reaction slower. ... felix

Hi

Interesting, I thought it was more like a residual stress thing, and cycling would take it out faster.

Bob

[wonderwolf]

I really like the film can idea..I remember reading a few years back that boolits soften up over time. So like those before have said water quenched bullets and such might get softer after some time. But would this cause a change in effectiveness on game or leading? eh you could read for days on the subject. WQ bullets that need to be sized should be heat treated then lubed if you are really requiring HARD boolits.

Otherwise, I've shoot bullets that my dad cast up years before I was even a thought

[hungryhuntergirl]

You may have to go through lee to get the mould, looks like everyone is backordered and they keep movin the backorder date through midway!!

[wheelgunner]

Lee makes a mold for a 255 grain rounded flat point that works great in .45 ACP for pins. The extra weight and flat point really helps drive the pins off the table. I've cast and shot 1000's of them and the function flawlessly in my Nat'l Match and comp guns.

Lee mould #"s are 90358 for the double and 90349 for the 6 cavity moulds.

Here's a link to Lee's catalog page

http://leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1201025855.4149=/html/catalog/bullmol2.html

[MtGun44]

I think most of the time for pistols we are shooting harder than is necessary
for accy or to prevent leading. So softening over time should not be an issue
in most (many?) cases. Elmer used 1:16 alloy (tin:lead) which isn't very
hard at all - 11 BHN according to Glen. I have shot lots of 8 BHN boolits at normal
velocities for .44 Spl and .38 spl with zero leading (say 1100 fps and down)
with proper fit to the throat and barrel.

Lead alloys anneal at room temperature, but different alloy compositions will
anneal faster or slower at ordinary temps. Like one poster pointed out, in
a hot garage (mine are all in a temp controlled basement) the annealing (softening)
will proceed faster than in cold temps.

Bill

[blysmelter]

Only about 1500 left so I will have to use that mould again in 2010.

1500 bullets?? Thats less than a months shooting:Fire: Did I ever mention that the local sporting goods store recives a large chunk of my paycheck:-)

[Dale53]

Bobthewelder;
If you have a Lyman lube sizer, get the Lee bullet mould with conventional lube grooves. I think that the 200RF would be suitable for your purposes. The recommended #68 H&G is an excellent bullet but the moulds are VERY pricey. I have used the Saeco mould version of #68 for many years with good results. My preference, however, would be the H&G but they were too expensive for my pocket book at the time. Since the Saeco's worked well, there was no incentive for me to change. I shot 75,000 rounds of them in five years when I was active in IPSC. I also shot some bowling pins and found them to work quite well in that endeavor.

Buy your Lee's mould from F&M Reloading, Midway or Natchez. They all discount the price a good bit and give good service.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for Lar45's LsStuff or The Bullshop for bullet lube.

Dale53

[Marshal Kane]

. . . I have used the Saeco mould version of #68 for many years with good results. . . Dale53
I use that mould too with good results. Might save a few cents if you can find a good one on eBay. That's what I did and in spite of it being a used mould, it was still very tight and casts good bullets.

[crabo]

The Saeco #69 is the #68 with a plain base instead of the bevel base. I think the bevel base was designed for the casting machines. I have never had a problem loading plain based boolits and the plain based boolit just seems to shoot more accurately for me than the bevel based ones.

I have shot a lot of the Saeco 69s through 5 different 45s, only one of them being ramped and polished. They work great and are very accurate. There was never a problem of them feeding in any of the guns. If you watch your overall length and make sure you have enough taper crimp, they will work well.

BTW, I have a nice 6 cavity H&G 185 grain #68 with plain base for sale for $200 with handles. That's not much more than a new Saeco with handles.

Crabo

[mtgrs737]

Commercial casters almost always go with the bevel base versions of pistol boolits I have noticed. I have also noticed that they also almost always use hard lube on their boolits. I have heard that the reason for the bevel base is that if they don't get a perfect fill out on the base of the boolit then it is hard for the customer to tell. I think that the sharp 90 degree base would be more prone to damage from shipping and handling which would not be pleasing to the customer. Same goes for the lube, soft lube tends to rub off on other boolits during shipping and handling and looks bad to the customer. :coffee: