I'm thinking, I'm Back!

[Mal Paso]

A wildfire got most of my casting stuff not 2 years ago. It did leave me with a 5 gal propane bottle that had no valve and nothing combustible inside. Paint is pretty charred but I was going to put it on a burner anyway. LOL Last month I got a burner and smelted all the lead recovered after the fire and cast ingots. I've had a Pro Melt 2 on order since February last year. I got tired of waiting and bought a nonworking classic Pro Melt from a forum member. It was one thing after another but today I stopped casting because I wanted to, not because lead was running down the outside of the spout. The new pot looks to be stainless steel and NO DRIPS! (had 2 Lee's). All this stuff is new but I think I was casting at 700F. The mold is an Arsenal H&G 503, which cast as advertised. They alloy depends on how much of the tin and superhard alloy got melted with the boolits I had stored. I don't have a hardness tester but it's only one 100 lb batch and will be gone in no time if I get back to shooting.
A sizer should be here before long but I have 100 lbs to cast while I wait. My favorite thing is being warm inside casting when it's cold and raining outside, like now.

[rancher1913]

you have had a tough run of luck but its nice to see you still have a good attitude. if you need stuff you can always hollar at george, i'm sure he would be more than willing make a drop.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Glad to see you back! I remember the photos of what was left of your house and possessions (nothing!) and can imagine all the hard work you've gone through to reestablish yourself and life. Did you rebuild in the same location? Always another fire season coming up.......the boolits look great!

[desiko]

A wildfire got most of my casting stuff not 2 years ago. It did leave me with a 5 gal propane bottle that had no valve and nothing combustible inside. Paint is pretty charred but I was going to put it on a burner anyway. LOL Last month I got a burner and smelted all the lead recovered after the fire and cast ingots. I've had a Pro Melt 2 on order since February last year. I got tired of waiting and bought a nonworking classic Pro Melt from a forum member. It was one thing after another but today I stopped casting because I wanted to, not because lead was running down the outside of the spout. The new pot looks to be stainless steel and NO DRIPS! (had 2 Lee's). All this stuff is new but I think I was casting at 700F. The mold is an Arsenal H&G 503, which cast as advertised. They alloy depends on how much of the tin and superhard alloy got melted with the boolits I had stored. I don't have a hardness tester but it's only one 100 lb batch and will be gone in no time if I get back to shooting.
A sizer should be here before long but I have 100 lbs to cast while I wait. My favorite thing is being warm inside casting when it's cold and raining outside, like now.

Awesome, glad to see you are back on the path!!!

[lightman]

Glad to see you getting back on your feet. I can only imagine. You will really enjoy using that ProMelt pot!

[Smoke4320]

Lightman .. welcome back .. I could not imagine trying to rebuild my collection at this point

[jmort]

Good to see the progress. From nothing to production after the disaster. That is a lot to endure. You seem to have a great attitude about your trials and tribulations.

[woodbutcher]

[smilie=s: Hi Mal Paso.Welcome back.Wishing you the best for a steady and complete recovery from the fire.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Taterhead]

Good looking bullets! Congrats on getting back this far.

[MDC]

I can't imagine going through that. Good for you getting back to it

[Mal Paso]

I finally got some of the boolits loaded. The cartridge on the left has an Arsenal H&G 503 clone and the one on the right has a BC 1103. Most of the lead from the fire has been fully recycled back into boolits now. I still have gaps in my memory of what I have and what I've replaced. I started loading cartridges and realized I had no boxes to put them in. LOL fixed that.

Yes I rebuilt in the same spot. I'm high on a coast ridge with the hawks and vultures. The house is smaller but the windows and doors are all dual glazed and the place is much tighter. The owners of the houses that survived the fire ignored the mandatory evacuation and fought the fire themselves. California firefighting is worse than the gun laws and managed by the same people. We will not evacuate next time.

A juvenile Redtail Hawk has been here most every day nailing gophers or putting on an air show. The California Condor showed up last December and hung out all afternoon. I wanted to post the pic for lightman. We had 2 eagles through here last week.

[jsizemore]

I hear the condors try to eat the boolits if you leave them setting out. Is that cuz they voted for Pelosi? Vultures around here won't touch them.

[copdills]

good looking boolits

[lightman]

Cool pictures, Thanks for posting. Nice looking rounds too!

[Walter Laich]

always great to hear a comeback story

bullets look great

condor . . . not so much


to be sure Cali. is an 'interesting' state

[Mal Paso]

I hear the condors try to eat the boolits if you leave them setting out. Is that cuz they voted for Pelosi? Vultures around here won't touch them.

http://www.huntfortruth.org/wildlife-and-species/california-condor/

12 paragraphs down is the real cause of the lead poisoning. Metallic lead is not dangerous. The oxides in old paint are the number one cause of lead poisoning.

I can't believe the hysteria I encountered when I stated there was no evidence Condors were poisoned by bullets. Is it because there is no proof, the reason they hold on to the idea so tightly?

Yea, I know, preaching to the choir.

[D Crockett]

Mal Paso if you need anything that I can give you it is yours I will be more than willing to help if I can D Crockett

[RichardF]

Glad to see it is all working out! Those bullets look mighty fine!!

[AndFereira]

Welcome back!

[desiko]

Cool Condor pic. Never seen one up close, must be amazing. Got any pics of the eagles? Bullets look fine too!!!

[Mal Paso]

Cool Condor pic. Never seen one up close, must be amazing. Got any pics of the eagles? Bullets look fine too!!!

The eagles were too high for any lens I have. There was one adult, one juvenile. There are good thermals in front of the house and they rode them up much higher than the vultures go and headed South last I saw.

The young Redtail Hawk hung out in the tree next to the house this morning 20 feet from me, for as long as a juvenile can sit still then took off screaming down the hill. Branches and a window screen made it a poor photo but he was there 4 or 5 minutes.

[NyFirefighter357]

Great to see you back.

[Wasalmonslayer]

Congratulations on the come back loosing everything is beyond rough.

I bet it feels nice to cast, size, and load again :)

Your location sounds like a very nice place to live with amazing scenery!

[jeepyj]

So glad to see your back and wish you the very best of luck!