Softnose Casters

[Ballard]

Does anyone here use either the LBT softnose caster, or the Trammco metering ladle to make softnose cast bullets?

[runfiverun]

look up the Bruce B method for casting soft nose boolits.
it's the best option I and others have found.

[DanWalker]

Nope. I just float a ladle on my melt and put a pure lead roundball in it. When roundball is melted, I pour ladle into mold, and immediately fill mold the rest of the way up with alloy from the pot. No mess, no fuss. EASY softpoints.

[shoot-n-lead]

Does anyone here use either the LBT softnose caster, or the Trammco metering ladle to make softnose cast bullets?

Just get some split-shot sinkers, check to make sure they are, indeed, lead and measure out the appropriate amount for what you want in the nose...it sure makes casting these softnose bullets a lot easier, for me. You can just drop them in the mold, set down in the alloy in the pot to melt...or set it on a hotplate.

[Lloyd Smale]

I have number of empty shell casings of different calibers that I put wire handles on. I use the case that gives me the amount of soft point I need for that particular mold. Get your mold REAL hot and dipper in the pure then count to 5 and use your bottom pour to fill the rest of the mold. Done right the only way you can tell is the pure nose is a bit shinier.

[Mk42gunner]

look up the Bruce B method for casting soft nose boolits.
it's the best option I and others have found.
I'll second this advice.

It does take a little time to do it right, but boy does it work.

Robert

[longbow]

I'll add that I used the two ladle method many years ago to make soft point 500 gr. boolits for my .45-70 and it worked great but not long ago I decided to try with my Lyman 314299 and had no success at all even when heating the mould up. I gave up at the time though I am sure it can be done. just pointing out that with large diameter heavyweight boolits it seemed pretty easy but with small diameter long skinny boolits maybe not so easy.

Having said that I did not add tin which may have helped.

Also, if you are running a hot mould to do this and the mould is brass you may want to make sure it has a good patina or you may get tinning on the mould. I have had no problems but several here have had tinning or tin oxide build up on brass moulds. There are at least a couple of threads on creating a patina on brass moulds. Won't be a problem with aluminum and shouldn't be with blue iron.

Longbow