Learning the Hard way

[Bazoo]

I am wondering who else here has learned, or is learning without having the luxury of a tutor.

gwpercle said in the casters age thread, http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?339006-Casters-ages-with-a-more-uniform-scale/page2 Post #38

in part,

"In 1967 I was 17, a high school senior , bought Lyman #358156 1-cavity mould, small cast iron pot dipper, and their Cast Bullet Handbook . Then proceeded to teach myself the hard way.
Not one other person I knew reloaded ammo much less cast ."

That describes very close to the way I am learning. I dont have anyone to teach me, except I have the blessing of this forum, and of the internet to research problems and learn from others mistakes.

I do know a few folks that reload, and cast. However, they are folks I met on forums and live too far to help me, Or, are not close enough friends to be willing to give me any of their time.

Im still learning all the intricacies, still reading a lot about it, and still asking dumb questions. I do make some nice bullets though, and that wouldnt be possible without the help I've received from all the folks here on castboolits. Thanks to everyone here, past and present.

~Bazoo

[shoot-n-lead]

I learned everything the hard way...no mentor/tutor.

Just be proud that nowadays you have the INTERNET...probably better than a tutor.

[MyFlatline]

I learned from Books and the Internet, no one to tutor me either.

[square butte]

I learned on the kitchen stove casting round ball when I wasn't supposed to be learning - Then I learned over a wood fire in the back yard

[trapper9260]

I learn the hard way also. Still learning now.I learn from the books for reloading and also some of what my dad taught me of casting fishing weights.I took up doing boolits onmy own. Then I found this site and learning more now.Thanks to alot of you on here for your help.

[dverna]

I started casting over 40 years ago. No tutor but a mentor who told me what to buy. An H&G 10 cavity mold, Star lubrisizer, 50/50 lube, a Lyman pot and most importantly.....foundry lead.

He was not able to help me cast as he had physical issues but I read all I could and made good bullets from the start. There was no reason to have him show me anything.

I think most new casters have "issues" because they are too lazy to read and study....and try to skimp on equipment/alloy. Then there are those that start with something like trying to get a cast load that is accurate and will cycle an AR15. You do not start with a Phd in rocket science until you graduate the engineering program.

[Dusty Bannister]

I got into reloading in the early to mid 1970's. I was in Law Enforcement, and knew I needed to be proficient and that took practice and that takes ammunition. The practice ammo was OK for accuracy, but poorly fitted to the guns so it required a lot of cleaning after each session to remove the lead. I felt I could do better by making my own. No mentors, just books and magazines. As most did at the time, I started out with jacketed bullets, and with a family and children, soon found that I needed something less expensive. The cast bullet source at the time had about as much lube in the bag as it did on the bullets. Again I thought I could do better. And thus began a life long adventure. It has been a learning experience, not without minor consternation, and of course we do have the stories to tell since we followed the most basic of rules, "Start low and work up".
I learned that undersized bullets will gas cut and lead the barrel.
I found out how to make frangible bullets with monotype and that they are easy to identify because of the purple haze on the surface.
I found out that when shooting very light loads to polish the barrel, powder position is important. Pointing the muzzle toward the ground will move the powder to the front of the long rifle case and may not burn correctly.
This lead to learning that a heavy hammer bumping on a steel rod works better than many light blows with a hammer as the bullet will upset with the light hammer blows.
IMR 4350 is not a good powder for very light bullets in a 30-06, but the fireball is impressive at dusk. That is when I got the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 3rd edition.
Most reloaders and bullet casters want to see the new guy succeed and will encourage and do what they can to help. Many times the rookies can only shoot on weekends, while the more experienced try to get to the range during the week. You may feel alone, but you just have not been there at the right time.

When you look at the recent poll about casting and ages, there are few young people involved. That is not really a negative, it just means that casting takes time, and so do families.

Looking back, was learning by my self the "hard way"? Well, that can not really be answered, but at that time, it was the Only Way to get started. But it has been worth it, and it is good to see folks come to the forum, have their troubles in casting, and with encouragement and a little guidance get back on track and start having some fun with this hobby. And they know the importance of sharing the information. It is worthy of your time.
Dusty

[randyrat]

I learned by reading, reading and reading and taking the warnings seriously when reloading through mostly books. Then the casting of bullets came, reading, whatever I could get my powder/carbon stained fingers on and the interweb, helped me refine my casting of projectiles.
I know some of you fellows didn't have the access to books and reading material like me and I respect that learning experience you put yourself through.

I was forced to cast or cut back on shooting, I was not born with free bullets, jacketed bullets have always been too expensive.

Then it became pride, at first I was proud of making my own and making them work, now making them work and be accurate

[JBinMN]

The "hard way" I guess it is being called.... Reading, & doing. This forum is an asset. Lots of info & helpful folks for the most part. Would have been nice to have this resource in the mid-70's.

[Wayne Smith]

Casting was 'mentored' by the guys on Shooters.com when I started to cast. Was reloading from 16 and taught by Guns and Ammo and the Sierria manual. Everyone I know who casts other than you guys I taught.

[joatmon]

Learned by reading and jumped right in about 79, the farm house still has lead stuck to the kitchen ceiling.
Aaron

PS. has been painted!!

[frkelly74]

There is an easy way?????

[lightman]

I'm self taught. I started as a kid, in the late 60's. I read the Lyman Handbook, fired up the pot and started casting. I did start with decent equipment. A 10# Lyman pot and a few 4 cavity Lyman molds. I cast a lot of bad bullets while learning about alloy and mold temp, and of course cleaning a mold.
I agree with dverna, start with a conventional bullet, like a swc pistol bullet and learn the technique. Then go to hollow points, hollow bases, and things like loading for an AR.
When I started casting, I had access to type metal. Lino, Mono, Foundry, maybe some others. Not knowing any better I cast pistol bullets with this stuff. It made some beautiful bullets. It was too hard to shoot accurately and you would beat the mold handles really hard trying to dump the bullets. I sheared several linkage bolts in my 450 sizer.
This age of information is really nice.

[Kraschenbirn]

1973 - my Civil War Reenactor days: No mentor, no internet, just a 2nd Edition Cast Bullet Handbook, a Coleman stove, a small cast iron pot, a Lyman dipper, two Lee BP molds, and a pile of soft lead flashing. Still have the Handbook, stove, pot, and dipper...molds went down road with the M/Ls after our battery of the 1st Illinois Light Artillery disbanded. Also have (and occasionally cast!) my first CF mold...a Lyman DC 358156...that I acquired around that same time.

Bill

[pjames32]

Mostly self taught in the late 60's early 70's. I read everything I could find. Started casting in the 70's when shooting Bullseye pistol. I was able to get some critique of my bullets from another caster. I still think reading the manuals is the best to start. With forums like this, experts are easier to find. You just have to determine who the experts are :)

[bob208]

I learned to cast first. a friend had the reloading press. I cast the bullets he loaded. then I was at the gun shop. a guy comes in wanting to sell a pistol a ruger new model Blackhawk in .357. he wanted almost new price. but it came with extras. a liberty press two sets of dies powder and a powder scale some primers and powder. plus the big thing a copy of the lyman cast bullet manual. I read the book and have been loading ever since.

[MT Gianni]

I cast for 5 years before I met another caster. If you think friends eyes glaze over when you talk cast try asking them about lubes.

[Blackwater]

I'm not going through that stage right now, but I surely DID way back when I started. Got lots of advice, most of which didn't pan out that well, if at all. I finally just tried trial and error, and knew enough to watch the temp and learn to control it. I melted on the stove, with a good outside vent fan. Ah! Those wonderful days getting started! When this site and a few others showed up, my learning curve steepened greatly! Went back and read the archives when I found it, and gee golly wow did I get a real education in so doing! It sure makes it a lot easier to cast really good, accurate bullets that will do exactly what you want, when you understand the process, the variables, and how to control each of them to get a specific desired result. Places like this, where folks can share their knowledge and experiments, are a real boon to any caster, budding, mature, or otherwise!

[Bazoo]

What great replies, thank you everyone for sharing.

[rintinglen]

In 1966 my friend Jim's dad showed me how to cast 30-30 and 38 boolits using single cavity Lyman molds. Between then and 2007, i learned a lot. Then I joined this site and learned a lot more.

[JWT]

Learned to reload from my Dad. Learned to cast here.

[Bazoo]

Learning to reload without a mentor was cake, as im pretty mechanical. Casting is a whole other ball game. I am about 85% there I think. I can make good bullets.... but I still struggle sometimes. Shame that casting, apparently, is a dying art.

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

~Bazoo

[ole_270]

Started loading shotgun while still in high school in the 60s. No one in the family was a shooter so magazines and manuals were the teachers. Loaded my first rifle loads(270) with a Lee whack a mole not too long after. In the mid 70s I picked up a 357 Blackhawk and Skeeters articles on casting and young married lifes low budget got me started melting lead with a Lee 4lb dipper pot. Too bad that 3 screw Blackhawk went down the road in a few short years, but by that time I was casting for my favorite rifle, an original M94 Marlin 25-20. Still casting for it, along with it's stablemate, a rebored M336 in 38-55.

[woodbutcher]

:) My Grand Father started me down the cast boolit road when I was about 8 or so.He cast for his Springfield TD 45-70.That was sure some fun times.Then for myself,I started casting for .38 special with the Lyman 358156 gc boolit.Got that sorted out pretty quick with the fellow that got me reinterested in casting.Those were some fun times.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[bigcountry022885]

I'm lucky in this sense my dad and grandpa would cast together Sunday after church and before NASCAR came on so I've been around this world my hole life by the time I was 12 I had a mold for my 30-30 and my 6.5x55 I've been lucky when my grandpa past away dad and I stoped casting for a year or two and one Sunday just started casting again with my deployments and active duty I guess my dad didn't like casting alone it has became a family event that even my kids help with we get picked on for spending the afternoon that way but it's a good relaxing time to sit and talk


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[Rcmaveric]

I wouldn't call it the "Hard-Way" more like a fun/frustrating trial by fire that's kind of a lonely journey. I don't know anyone that reloads or casts. I am tight budget and took me a year to be able to buy first riffle (Savage Axis Gen II .270). Ammunition was expensive and got me reloading bringing my .270 Win ammo reasonably price. I have been reloading for 2 years and casting since January. One day a random you-tube movie showed a guy salvaging range scraps, and I had an epiphany because bullets are my major expenditure. So I google what to do and basic equipment. Googled a bunch of books and mad an Amazon shopping cart. I saved my money till the wife said I could order everything. Read all the books and google led me here eventually. Been lurking for over a while. I am savvy with the search function and have been able to solve my problems. Although I wish I would have had a mentor sometimes. Took me 5 months, 200 dollars in different kinds of powders and lots of trial and error to get my .270 up to 2000 fps and 1" group at 100yds. Still have Paper patching and 5 more guns to experiment with and work up loads for.

[Brad Cayton]

I started reloading 12 gauge shot shells on a Lee loadall I traded from an older friend when I was in high school in the mid 70s. My friend gave me a crash course on how it worked and what components to use so I was pretty well set. My dad was sure I would "blow my self up" and made me load outside in a tool shed.:mrgreen:

In the early 80s, now on my own, I loaded my first metallic cartridge for a S&W model 14, 38 special. I learned from reading and through trial and error as I didn't know anyone else who reloaded.

I was into muzzle loading now and started casting roundballs as per Sam Fadala's book. My serious casting started with the purchase of my first 44 mag, a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I subscribed to Shooting Times and Skeeter advised me to use the Lyman 429421 and 2400 powder.

What little I knew was learned from reading as there was no internet and I didn't know anyone who cast. A few people I worked with over the years reloaded but the only other caster I know is my brother, and I got him started. I've been casting going on 40 years and I'm still learning, thanks to the people on this site.

[Finster101]

The first boolits I saw cast were by me. The first ammo I saw reloaded was by me, thanks in large part to this forum.

[Randy C]

I collected reloading equipment for many years before I taught my to self reload, Bernie at Old West bullet moulds in Grand JCT. CO. showed me the basic's on how to cast bullets and reload them, I had all ready got the bug from reading and being a member here. This is a good place to hang out when you have time.

[farmerjim]

I started reloading 12 ga in the mid 60's. Then started shooting pistols. Thought it would save a lot of money to cast. I read the lyman manual, and started. I have learned a lot from this forum. I have met many reloaders, but still only one other caster, Goatwiskers, from this forum.

[Digital Dan]

By coincidence and nothing more, I began hand loading with a straight wall cartridge and cautiously branched out quite some time back in an era when you either read the book or hurt yourself. Finding a mentor for handloading was about as likely as finding flat land in Montana. No excitement resulted and years passed. Purchased a ML kit, built it and thus had my first experience with lead and it was quite satisfactory. A few years later the gun was stolen and lead took a back seat to other affairs.

Moving forward a few decades and a friend suggested I consider a flintlock and I took the bait....shooting commercial roundballs with far more accuracy than I had imagined possible with such things. The seed had sprouted so to speak.

My first excursion into casting was a bit different than most. I purchased a .50 caliber slug gun built back about 150 years ago and with it came the tools which included a set of hammer dies. Pure lead, cross strip patches and it worked. Cast the "slug", pound it into shape and shoot. Did well enough that a very brief time later I found myself out in Cody, WY for a match and due to prior arrangements took delivery of another slugger of .40 caliber. The match had two events, one at 200 yards and another at 100. First day was called due to winds that reached near 60 mph. Joking with the host I called them a bunch of wussies. Next day was sight in day and the wind had relaxed to a sedate 15-20 mph, full value L-R. I went to the line with an unfamiliar gun I'd never fired and the previous owner stated it was zeroed at 200 yards. He was conscripted to be my spotter and coach for a brief spell. First two shots were in the X-ring of a German ring target.

I placed 3d in that match the next day and second in the next one at 100 yards. The hook was set deep and I went all in. For the record, I do few things in conventional fashion and starting out casting with antique slug guns is a perfect illustration. However, I do my homework before jumping into the deep end most days. There are exceptions, but they are rare. As example, I am a pilot, but I started out flying helicopters. The first airplane that I took control of in flight was a DC-10 at 39,000' and Mach .86 over west Texas. I don't recommend such things for neophyte aviators, nor do I suggest starting the casting game with slug guns.

This is a good house for learning a thing or three. Keep an open mind, set reasonable objectives and start somewhere near the beginning.

[DerekP Houston]

I was a member of another forum when i first started reloading and lurked here for a bit until I started casting. So while I've done everything 'solo' at the house I wouldn't consider mine the hard way. I took advantage of all the wonderful resources here and it cut down on my frustration level.

[dogdoc]

My dad died when I was 10 years old so I had no one to mentor me but he did not reload anyway. My much older brother did not get into reloading until I got him interested much later in life. I always worked either on the farm or elsewhere so I had a little money. I read gun mags until the pages were worn out and shot mostly 22s as much I could usually after working on the farm. In about 1977 or 1978 when I was 13 I answered an ad in the paper for used reloading equipment and was soon the proud owner of a Lyman spar t turrent press and accessories . My first loads were for my brothers 30-06. My dad had left us an old smith model 10 and with money I made my mother purchased me a new ruger 6 inch security six. ( unheard of today as I think I was 13 or 14 but we were a old south family and guns were not evil and my mother was very understanding of a son without his dad). I was then loading 38 and 357 mag with the cheapest purchased bullets I could find all self taught with the aid of 60s vintage Speer and Lyman manuals that I had. I think I was a junior or senior in high school when I purchased a Lyman bullet casting kit with a mould master xx pot and a 38 wad cutter mold and an extra 358156 mold. I just refurbished that original pot and it works great. I used the manual that I think came with the kit to educate me. I can remember buying my first 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights for about 20 bucks at that time from the local Goodyear. Never had seen a cast bullet before much less had anybody teach me anything. All self taught the hard way but had one hell of a good time. Remember casting on breaks from college so I had ammo to shoot on a college students budget!

[Pine Baron]

Started casting "tin" soldiers at the age of 12, on the back porch over a charcoal fire. Learned hot lead/hot mold. Next up, fishing sinkers and jigs, actually made some money selling them at local flea market (it's a shore thing). Started reloading 12ga. early 70's on a Lee Loadall jr. (still have it, still use it). Sometime mid 70's I "won" a Lyman (Uberti) 1858 C&B revolver in a card game, got me a Lyman RB mold, some BP and caps and I was hooked hard. Took a little break (marriage and kids) and came back a few years ago. Casting and reloading for 9mm, .38/.357. Next up .45acp. Can't remember anybody "mentoring" or teaching me along the way. Trial and many errors. Lots of reading. Of course nowadays this forum and that newfangled internet thing.

[mdi]

Personally, I don't consider self teaching "The Hard Way". When I was about 12 I saw my dad make some sinkers with a home made mold on the kitchen stove. When I needed some sinkers, I just did the same, on the kitchen stove. When I started casting bullets I thought of my sinkers and bought a Lee mold. I had a Coleman stove, a stainless steel pot, a Lee ladle and mold, some wheel weights, and away I went. I made a bunch of shootable bullets and researched the ones that looked wrong. My Lyman 47th (?) had some info and several years later I found castboolits.com, but mostly I researched the "errors" singularly, and corrected them by practice, practice, practice.

I've heard many times since; "The only way to learn to cast bullets, is to cast bullets...".

[Bazoo]

Very interesting stories and opinions, thank you everyone for sharing.

[10x]

Learned from the instructions in the LeeLoader box. Then I got a Lyman 45 manual
30-30 was a great cartridge to reload.