Casting .243/6mm, Best molds? Best alloy? Advice? GC? PC? HT? AC? WQ?

[NyFirefighter357]

I haven't found too much info here for casting .243 win. or other 6mm for that matter. I'd like any info related to this.
Is the RCBS 2-Cavity Bullet Mold 243-095-SP 243 Caliber, 6mm (244 Diameter) 95 Grain Semi-Point Gas Check my best or only option? How fast can these be pushed? GC? What alloy mix is needed to get best speed/performance? Would PC these be an option? I would use for both target & varmint/predator hunting. This would be for Win. mod. 70 & BSA Monarch both in .243. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Jason

[runfiverun]

the rcbs mold is probably your best bet right now.
[there is some stuff in the works for some smaller caliber molds but it's a way's out yet]
I don't think your gonna get as much velocity as you'd like from it however.
PC would definitely be an option, you'd have to take into account your diameters for fitment and adjust accordingly.
the old 244 Remington round/rifles would perhaps be a better choice but you got what you got.
once you make the slight compromises and learn how to use cast it's a great thing.
ramping it up to shoot waay over there takes a lot of time, effort, and patience so you can get things just right.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

NyFirefighter357,
Welcome to the website, this is a great first post.
From your post, I'm gonna assume you are a beginner at loading cast for Rifle. If so, Goodsteel wrote a good sticky on the subject, it isn't too long.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?158805-Just-a-few-tips-for-new-rifle-casters

>Is the RCBS 2-Cavity Bullet Mold 243-095-SP 243 Caliber, 6mm (244 Diameter) 95 Grain Semi-Point Gas Check my best or only option?
It is not the only option, I use a 75gr boolit, the NOE 245-75-FN. It fits two of the three of the 243win rifles I've owned (a post-64 Win 70, and a 'plain' savage Axis)

>How fast can these be pushed? GC?
GC? definitely, I would stick with the speeds that the Lyman cast bullet handbook (4th Ed) lists in it's load data.

>What alloy mix is needed to get best speed/performance?
I use 94-3-3 for my rifle alloy. you are gonna want an alloy that will handle the pressures you load will generate. There is a great bit of reference material on this in the LASC link at the bottom of the page.
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm
Once you get accuracy with the Lyman loads, and you've read more on the subject, you could start working at faster speeds by hardening your alloy to handle higher pressures, at this point, all the little things in reloading come in to play to achieve adequate accuracy.

>Would PC these be an option?
Many people are using PC with success, I am not one of them. Maybe someone else will chime in and offer details of what they do and how fast they push it (with and without a GC).


>I would use for both target & varmint/predator hunting. This would be for Win. mod. 70 & BSA Monarch both in .243. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Jason
If you haven't got the Lyman cast bullet handbook 4th Ed, I recommend getting it, it's about as close as a bible for this hobby, as it gets. The data alone is invaluable.
Good luck.

[MT Gianni]

I owned the RCBS 95 and the Ly 85 gr molds. Either one liked a mid dose of 2400, starting around 11 and stopping before 13 grains. WW alloy held up well air cooled at those speeds. It was very accurate at 100 yards and I never felt the need to chronograph it. Our western ground squirrels are rather small and the few shot with it showed that the bullet pencilled through rather than expanding. Most showed a blood trail leading to the hole. If I were to plan on varmitting with the 6mm calibers I would experiment with a soft nose, hollow pointing and or extensive alloy experimentation, none of which are beginning courses in Cast Bullet College. The accuracy is there but even varmits deserve more respect in death than what I was dishing out. I no longer own the rifle or the molds.

[Hardcast416taylor]

NOE offers an #246-105 FN mold.Robert

[NyFirefighter357]

Yes, I am new to casting. I had already done my homework and read those links they are great references. I ordered the Lyman handbook you recommended. I know it's going to be hard to balance alloy vs speed vs expansion. I'm willing to forgo expansion and just use one rifle/bullet combo for target practice. I have plenty factory bullets for hunting & plan on casting 30cal., which might be a better option for expanding bullets. Most of the lead is very old and I believe it contains arsenic as well. Where I live we can't hunt deer with rifle anyway. I'm really looking at this as a long term investment on availability of ammo. If I have the components I never have to worry about ammo availability, besides as my kids get older this will be a good jump up from .22lr--->.223 Rem.--->.243 Win. Thanks for your help

[quilbilly]

Obviously a gas check mold is required to get the velocities required by most rifles for optimum accuracy. I have an old Lyman 87 gr semi point Loverin style mold that gets outstanding accuracy in my wife's newer 243 Mossberg rifle but doesn't shoot worth a darn in my very old 6mm which only seems to like jacketed projectiles. The load for my wife's rifle is 11 gr of Unique which gets her a velocity of about 1950 fps. Her rifle is very effective varmints under 50# out to 200 yards. I think you will be pleasantly surprised as you experiment with various loads to make your rifle "sing" with CB's. You are embarking on an adventure to be enjoyed.

[9.3X62AL]

I used both the Lyman Loverin and the RCBS 6mm/95/SP in my Rem 788 x 243, and both shot well for me. 12.0-13.0 grains of 2400 was the usual fuel, and 1650-1800 FPS resulted. I shot a lot of ground squirrels with my combination, and most were DRT hits. Not sure that I will get back into 243 shooting or not, but it is a GREAT varmint-to-deer caliber where its use is allowed for such pursuits with full-powered jacketed loadings. 75 grain Hornady varminters at 3475 FPS carry a long way and hit way out there very well.

[NyFirefighter357]

What alloy are using? Looks like a lot of guys are using coww.

[9.3X62AL]

What alloy are using? Looks like a lot og guys are using coww.

Most of my 22, 24, and 25 caliber bullet casting has involved 92/6/2 alloy. A small percentage of 22 caliber work has employed Linotype, but other than its fluidity via the 4% tin content I can't see that it offers significant advantages over 92/6/2. Lino DID fill out those tiny grooves in the Ideal Loverin design #225438, I must say--it would likely do well with #245496 also. If smaller Loverin designs are your quarry, Lyman #2 alloy (90/5/5) casts BEAUTIFULLY for its users. 5% tin content is a pricey prospect in this day and age, though.

[NyFirefighter357]

My alloy cost to make 50lbs of 90/5/5 is just about $55 & that is mostly the cost of super hard. That puts me at $.015ea for alloy. I'm O.K. with that.

[9.3X62AL]

Your post prompted me to do an inventory check on my #2 alloy. Looks like about 55# right now, so I should be good for quite a while. 92/6/2 (or the makings for same) is DEEPLY stocked, as having moved the stuff twice in 13 months has borne out.

[quilbilly]

What alloy are using? Looks like a lot of guys are using coww.
I have been casting lead things for 37 years (mostly fishing lures) and found WW to be of unreliable hardness a long time ago for use with bendable jigs. That is why I have never used WW for my boolits. Instead, I use mixes of relatively pure lead (i.e.. from roofing or better yet, isotope lead shielding) and hard, chilled birdshot to provide the antimony and arsenic for hardness. My current boolit alloy is 65% pure and 35% shot to which I add a little extra tin. I will admit that I do have the advantage of passing metal recyclers on a regular basis while on my sales route so finding lead is not my issue, finding the right size fishhooks is currently.

[9.3X62AL]

Finding the right size fishhooks is currently.

Bass Pro Shops/online (the stores are a clusterBLANK); Charkbait for big-fish/saltwater stuff/online. I let the BBT (Big Brown Truck) bring stuff to me, rather than try to deal with crowds at sports stores.

[RoyEllis]

..... finding the right size fishhooks is currently.

Give Captain Hooks Discount a try, if you have business sales tax permit you can use Shorty's hook sales for even less $$$

[quilbilly]

Over the last couple years I have noticed that certain types of specialty hooks are treated that same was as some "obsolete" caliber brass. The manufacturers only do one run per year. Luckily I think I just "snagged" a thousand of those hooks so its a good day an hour or two ago. Woo Hooo!

[9.3X62AL]

Billy--

Yes, sir--don't ya just love that "niche marketing" and "boutique retailing" nonsense? Ever since the Japanese hookmakers got traction in North America, hook prices and availability went in opposite directions--prices UP, and variety/availability WAY DOWN. If the fish gave a rip one way or the other, I could see the point of it all. Trout or yellowtail, they hit or ignore both Gamakatsu and Mustad with equal vigor.

[SSGOldfart]

Don't have a lot of time to type a reply tonight but NOE has a great little 43 gr. mold as well as a really good 105gr. Mold too.

[NyFirefighter357]

I just p/u about 800lb of unused lead waste pipe, lead claw foot tub traps, toilet lead bends(300lbs), factory ingot lead(400) & a mix of 50/50 bar/spool solder, unknown alloy telephone co. wiping solder, linotype & coww(100lbs). Plus I had a couple hundred lbs mixed lead scrounged already. I got it from the estate of an old plumber. I now need either super hard or magnum shot to harden my lead.

[quilbilly]

You lucky devil. You make me proud. Now you have to haunt the garage sales where chilled shot often goes very cheap. Just don't melt and pour ingots from you plumbing lead in the house.

[NyFirefighter357]

I'd like to thank you guys for your help.

[quilbilly]

I just p/u about 800lb of unused lead waste pipe, lead claw foot tub traps, toilet lead bends(300lbs), factory ingot lead(400) & a mix of 50/50 bar/spool solder, unknown alloy telephone co. wiping solder, linotype & coww(100lbs). Plus I had a couple hundred lbs mixed lead scrounged already. I got it from the estate of an old plumber. I now need either super hard or magnum shot to harden my lead. I was just given about 30# of that same type plumbing lead a couple days ago thinking it was near pure and soft. Having turned some into ingots yesterday, I noted that an ingot didn't go thud when dropped on concrete but gave a slight ring sound which means it is not quite pure lead. You might check yours.

[9.3X62AL]

Ah, metals acquisitions. Good old mystery metal. Time for a story.......

Marie's uncle has a passion for sailing, and has built a couple sailboats. The more recent craft was under construction during the early years of our marriage, inside a barn on the family's ranch/farm property outside Perris. Things went slowly but steadily until Uncle retired and could spend more time at the ranch sawing and hammering. It is a 12-meter hull, which doesn't mean that it is 12 meters long (necessarily), but conforms to some arcane dimensional formula that Uncle knows by heart but I cannot begin to fathom. We give each other quite a bit of "puff bucket" vs. "gas guzzler" guff, but it's all in fun.

The time came to form the ballast for the ship's keel, and Uncle being from San Diego and bilingual the natural discount location to buy lead for this purpose was Tijuana. Uncle located a foundry that would cast the metal to order, which meant 1" x 4" and 2" x 4" bars/ingots about 18" long. 2700# of same, IIRC. He got a great deal on this metal, and poured to order. I had to work/on call the weekend he and his sons went south to pick this stuff up, and the stories told of THAT adventure made me sad to have missed the fun. Whatta goat rope.

It took a while--and consumed several saws (both chop and circular) and numerous blades, but Uncle got the keel counterweight laid in. What was left were several 5-gallon buckets about 1/2 full of metal shavings and an assortment of end pieces and scrap. I offered to haul this off for bulletmaking, and Uncle was only too glad to oblige.

I set to work turning this feral metal into domesticated ingots. Both the sawdust and endpieces turned out to contain about 10% beach sand when melted and fluxed. That might help explain the short service intervals of the blades and motors, but I had the deep sagacity to not trouble Uncle with that information. Moral of the story--you can't even trust the casting metal in Mexico......drinking the water we already knew about. Total yield was about 65# of ingots that hardness-tested at about WW level. It made great 45/70 and revolver bullets, and lasted for about 18 months of Burrito Shoots--jackrabbit whacking--and pistol practice.