Lee REAL Bullets Question

[forrest-hunter]

I weighed some of the bullets I cast 50, 54 and 58 cal. Some of my bullets showed difference of -8 to 8+ grains. What could be cause in bullet wht - suggestions? Plan on shooting up to 100 yds. - I would not think this would be a problem for hunting.

[Edward]

Well you made me look ,checked some 50 REALS and they are close except 2 light ones (defective) 320.8/318.8/319.0/318.9/319.9/*317.6/*316.4/319.1 close enough for government work ,BHN is 8 (supposed to be 320)

[idahoron]

Your mould is not filling out, or you might be changing the amount you squeeze the handles. I shoot for +- 1 grain. You are looking at a swing of 16 grains. I could not handle that knowing my bullets were that far off. I think if you work on Quality control you should be able to get that closer.

[koger]

Make sure molds are hot, same handle pressure, using only pure lead! And what Ron said, on deviation in weight.

[triggerhappy243]

forrest-hunter...were you using wheel weight lead?

[forrest-hunter]

these are my first cast - lead bought from rotometals - will re-melt those more then +-1 gr off -whick is majority of 50, 54 and 58 bullets I cast - only about 5% came out OK - cast last year - have not cast anything since but plan on casting again this week

[Squeeze]

Dont do short bursts of small amounts and expect them all to be the same. Once you get rolling cast a large batch at a time.

[mooman76]

What squeeze said. In fact I wouldn't even keep the first maybe ten. Once you get the mould up to temp and get going doing things consistant, you should start getting real(no pun intended) close.

[Hellgate]

If the mold is not filled out well you will get rounding of the drive bands. Not only will they be light bullets, there will be variable contact with the riflings and lousy accuracy. As has been said before: get your mold hot, keep your lead hot, and dump the first bunch you cast. Once you get better fill out, cast up a ton of them so you have a consistent pour.

[nagantguy]

If your casting a relatively soft lead add a touch of tin for better fill out. Also as mentioned watch your squeeze, and get your mold hot and cast a bunch, little batches can show a wide variable margin. Those big holes want hot galena poured into them and they want a hot mold, also pay attention to where and how you are dumping them....soft damp folded towel is good. Also if your not using a softer lead good luck shoving them down the bore.

[docone31]

I cast a lot of R.E.A.L.s.
Preheat the mold in the melt pot. Just let it sit in the lead, then start casting. You will not need any tin to get the mold to fill out with sharp corners. Just keep the mold below melting temp for the lead.
My trick in casting is the six second trick. Pour the casting, then count to six. If it freezes prior to six, too cold. If it is still liquid at six, too hot. when it freezes at six, you get perfect castings. Make sure there are no contaminants in the cavity. I like to coat a few castings with lapping compound, and turn them in the cavity.
To do this, I move the sprue plate aside and put a galvanized nut over the opening. I cast through this. When it is cool, I coat, and replace the casting and turn it a couple of times. I LIGHTLY squeeze the handles untill shut. I LIGHTLY apply lapping compound.
I have done this for years, and my castings are sharp. Cleans up oxidized old molds also.
Don't squeeze hard on the handles, keep the mold hot, and turn gently.

[OverMax]

No matter if your molds are roaring hot or not. If they have the slightest bit of lube/ oil or either residue in its bores your mold will not preform as expected. (fill out properly) Typically before a molds use a caster washes or scrubs with a toothbrush the entire mold clean before its use with a hot water and detergent dish soap then allowing enough time for the mold to air dry. Especially so it the mold was stored for a time. All casters have their special way of cleaning their mold prior to its use. Some use detergent. I prefer Lacquer Thinner. Some allow the mold to air dry. Others use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process. One old timer I knew after the molds cleaning held his mold over a gas range burner for its drying. Hope you have better luck next time.

And too: How you apply plate lube is very important to a molds performance.

[forrest-hunter]

Cast some last night - getting better at it - did figure out some of the things I was doing wrong - inconsistent pressure holding mold - not mixing lead before fluxing - not pouring at consistent high rate (am using bottom pour Lee pot) - got about 35% bullets within 1gr +-

[dondiego]

Mix your allow well after fluxing too.

[idahoron]

If I were you I would use a ladle. That will also help fill out. Sometimes the hole plugs and slow s down. This will cause the mould to not fill well too.

[LAGS]

I would second Idahoron's analogy.
I have always used a Ladle, and if I had a problem with fill out, I resorted to the Tipping the mold and ladle together.
That can overheat one side of the mold if you cast too fast, but it seems to give a better fill out if the mold temperature is correct.

[Mike0904]

All good advice here. If its hot and still no fillout I usually clean degrease the mold and coat
it again be it BW candle or match. Sometimes smoking it when its hot works better.
Can someone tell me what diameter the .50cal 320grn REAL is ?


Top band should be like .517. The first band should be like .500 or .501 and the other bands taper equally so it goes in straight and not too difficult.

Thanks mooman, :| man they just don't make a mold for my front stuffer

[mooman76]

Top band should be like .517. The first band should be like .500 or .501 and the other bands taper equally so it goes in straight and not too difficult.

[rfd]

while i was looking up info on the lee r.e.a.l. bullet i came across this somewhat old thread.

not to hijack it, but to add to the casting part of this thread ...

the trick with moulds that works very effectively for me is to twice wrap a common #64 rubber band around the mould handles. this keeps uniform pressure on the mould halves and drops .45-70 525 grain bullets using 1:25 alloy at +/- 1/2 grain at the worst. easy to pull open, too. also a heckuva lot cheaper than paying for locking mould handles.