From a-z; I am a greenhorn and need some help

[Suo Gan]

This is my first post.

I am a fresh face here at cast bullets, and I could use your advice. I recently joined the Cast Bullet Association, and if I have the time...I would like to try a match down the road (Hunting Rifle). I inherited a Lyman 20 pound pot and the Lyman cast bullet handbook, and about 700 pounds of lead ingots, thats about all of the equipment I have right now. I need to buy some moulds for my guns;

257 Roberts Ruger M77 21"
30-30 Marlin 336 20"
30-30 T/C Contender 14"
358 winchester Savage 99 20"
44 Mag S&W 4"
357 Mag S&W 4"
38 Special Colt 4"
45 ACP 4.5"

I know each gun has its own set of rules, but do any of my guns have known character traits when shooting cast?
The Lyman handbook seems to be lacking some information for most of my calibers.
Any current moulds for these would be GREATLY appreciated. I also am considering buying a swaging press (what brand?), I am considering the Lyman 4500. Any other must have tools for casting? books? I have been searching the site and am amazed at the sheer volume of information and knowledge out there, what a neat site.

Thanks for helping!

[jack19512]

I am kinda new myself so can't really help you, just wanted to welcome you to the forum. :drinks:

[DLCTEX]

Calibers that I have experience with and molds used by me are;
30-30 Win. Lee 170 gr. I size these .311 and they work great.
38 Special 158 gr. SWC, my mold is an RCBS, sized to .359 With WDWW these would work in 357 Mag. I have other molds in this caliber, but this one is best IMHO.
45 ACP Lee 200 gr. SWC Or Lee 200 gr. RNFP. I cast these WW or 2/1 WW/pure lead.
As for a lubrasizer I prefer the RCBS as it is a stronger unit than the Lyman and has a lifetime warranty. Others will chime in with advice, but these will get you on the road to successful casting. I would also recommend you order some Bullplate lube from the Bullshop, find a link at the bottom of the page. It is the greatest mold lube I've found, and a little bit goes a looong way. DALE

[copdills]

Welcome to the forum , I have to go along with Dale about the RCBS as being a stronger unit and do get some bullplate lube from the bull shop great stuff and Dan is great to deal with by the way if you go with the lyman 4500 the sizer from both the rcbs and the lyman will interchange good luck

[missionary5155]

WELCOME SUO GAN
This is a GREAT place to hang around and learn some new tricks. I received my first hot lead burn about 52 years ago... I was 5 and messing with a hot pot while dad was away a moment.
Your calibers will give you alot to start out with and they all have some basics in common. You need to find what diameter the chamber area is and the bore. Lead boolits need to stop the gas behind the boolit base or problems erupt. So slug the chambers and bores. Your Lyman book says how. Hopefully your revolvers have a barrel diameter slighly less than the chambers. But there is a solution to all irregularities.
Read the WHOLE front section of the Lyman Cast Handbook and many basics will be discussed. Before you start buying molds ask questions.. list the chamber and barrel diameters. Include your desire / need ans someone here who KNOWS that caliber will help and no dought save you alot of time, trouble, and $$$$ .

[runfiverun]

i would start with the 38/357 first then either the 45 or 44.
pick a system either metal molds lke rcbs or lyman. and a sizer like the rcbs,lyman or star.
or go full out lee stuff learn it's limits and strengths and then sticck with it.
you will have less equipment and will be far more efficient with it.

welcome aboard.

[454PB]

First, welcome to the forum. The greatest minds in casting hang out here.

I think we scare new guys off by telling them too much technical stuff right off the bat.

My recommendation is to start cheap and easy, which to me means Lee moulds and sizers. For less than $100, you can get a couple of moulds and push through sizing dies (which include the Lee liquid Alox for boolit lubricant). A lyman 4500 is a boolit lubrisizer, not a swaging press. It's an excellent machine, but costs well over $100 new when set up for one caliber. You can look around here for Lee boolit moulds:

http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1136499863.3923=/html/catalog/bullmol2.html

I cast and load for every caliber/chambering you mentioned except .257 Roberts

Keep reading here and asking questions, if you then decide this is your "bag", go crazy and start buying custom moulds and a Star sizer or two.

[Tom Herman]

I only cast revolver bullets at this time, but I would highly recommend the Lyman 429421 for .44 Special/.44 Magnum. It's a four cavity mold, and once it gets up to temperature, it just spits out bullets. This is an "easy" mold to use, and my favorite.
For alloy, I use a 50/50 mixture of wheel weights to scrap lead plus 2% Tin for good mold fillout and flowability.
I make my own bullet lube (2 parts Paraffin wax, 2 parts sheep tallow, 1 part beeswax) that is practically identical to SPG.
Do yourself a favor and avoid the Lyman 4500 and get the RCBS Lubrisizer. I'm very happy with mine. The only change I will make is to build a heater for it.
For the .38's, I think a lot of guns like the S & W model 10 are regulated for 158 grain bullets. I'd suggest starting with a mold that drops a bullet close to this in weight.
I haven't bought a .45 ACP mold yet, but hard cast 200 grain SWC's have always worked well for me.
Good Luck!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom


This is my first post.

I am a fresh face here at cast bullets, and I could use your advice. I recently joined the Cast Bullet Association, and if I have the time...I would like to try a match down the road (Hunting Rifle). I inherited a Lyman 20 pound pot and the Lyman cast bullet handbook, and about 700 pounds of lead ingots, thats about all of the equipment I have right now. I need to buy some moulds for my guns;

257 Roberts Ruger M77 21"
30-30 Marlin 336 20"
30-30 T/C Contender 14"
358 winchester Savage 99 20"
44 Mag S&W 4"
357 Mag S&W 4"
38 Special Colt 4"
45 ACP 4.5"

I know each gun has its own set of rules, but do any of my guns have known character traits when shooting cast?
The Lyman handbook seems to be lacking some information for most of my calibers.
Any current moulds for these would be GREATLY appreciated. I also am considering buying a swaging press (what brand?), I am considering the Lyman 4500. Any other must have tools for casting? books? I have been searching the site and am amazed at the sheer volume of information and knowledge out there, what a neat site.

Thanks for helping!

[mooman76]

Big welcome to the board.
I agree with runfiverun. I'd start with the 38/357. Pistol is easier to get started in than rifle for cast and revolver is slightly easier than the autos. 38 is real basic and doesn't get much eaier than that. There are allot of good moulds out there so you are going to get allot of opinions here for what is the best mould. I am fond of the SWC bullets. They usually shoot well and make nice neat wholes in target. The 45acp can be a little picky at times depending on the gun. Sometimes they don't like the WC bullets. Most of the newer ones seem to work with them better now adays but if you've never shot them before out of your gun you might want to try some before getting a mould.

[sav300]

Suo Gan,welcome to the forum.
Lionel

[Bob Krack]

I need to buy some moulds for my guns;
30-30 Marlin 336 20"
30-30 T/C Contender 14"
44 Mag S&W 4"You'll get many many suggestions here but for the above, I strongly recommend visiting the "Ranch Dog Molds" @ http://www.ranchdogmolds.com/ (or just scroll down to the bottom of the page here)

Vic

[Bass Ackward]

SG,

Look at the top bar and slide across to the right. One of those says "Search". Information will flow at the rate that you can digest it. Cause your questions encompass just about every section on this site from one post.

My advice would be one gun at a time, walk before you run. Otherwise it is going to get overwhelming and expensive as you regret one move after another. Find your cost niche or brand tendencies first, learn one gun, and then branch out. It's all here, just go search for it.

That 99 in 358 is going to make this crowd envious which is probably why you don't have more responses to this point. That would be my choice to begin the journey. :grin:

Sorry someone had to pass to get you going, but the important fact is that you are here. Welcome to the board.

[1Shirt]

454PB gives good common sense advise. The 150 Lee shoots well in almost all 30-30's. Suggest that would be a good one to start with.
1Shirt!:coffee::coffee:

[Leadforbrains]

Another vote for the RCBS Lubrisizer. I am still new to this, and I followed the advice here and started out with the .45ACP. It is fairly easy to cast for, so it enables an inexperienced person much like my self to get their technique down. Now I have moved into casting for a rifle that I have and things are going great with that as well.
This is a great board with a wealth of Knowledgeable people. Welcome!:drinks::lovebooli

[HeavyMetal]

Suo Gan:
I will also welcome you aboard.

I think the suggestion to start with a lower budget is a good one.

Lee molds are the best place to start with the understanding that they can be a bit fragile particularly when compared to steel molds!

Where to start? I'd get a 45 mold, I think 45 acp is the simplist cartridge to reload for.

I'd get a 2 cavity 452-230-tc to start with. This mold will be easy to prep and should drop boolets like peas out of a pod, just the thing to finish "hooking" a new caster!

Your next issue will be sizing and lubing boolets. I will suggest you hang out on gunbroker or evil bay looking for a deal on a lube sizer. You might also post an ad in want to buy section of this site. I know we have rules about posting for sale but I don't think those apply to a buying post.

Bear in mind some are not as strong as others! The early Lyman 45's are not as good as the later 450's and RCBS units, Saeco's are better, the Star is top of the line. Get what you can afford! ( BIG HINT: buy the Star!)

You may see some mention of tumble lubing. This can be fast and easy and it allows you to use your boolets as cast ( if they fit the gun) the down side is it's messy, the lube will clog up your dies and the only thing that turns me off faster than tumble lubing is a woman that "chews"!

If you decide to tumble lube and find your boolets a bit on the large side Lee makes a set up that fits in a standard press and will size the tumble lubed boolets for you. This is a very inexpensive system but it does not do any lubing at all.

I figure $50.00 ought to get you rolling, if you tumble lube and already have a way to melt your alloy, I can't think of way to have more fun for less money!

Get casting and post when you have: success, problems, or questions!

Enjoy!

[montana_charlie]

I also am considering buying a swaging press (what brand?), I am considering the Lyman 4500.
Because you mentioned the Lyman 4500, you got a number of replies relating to 'lubrisizers'. You can research that type of tool to understand it's purpose, and research the models that were suggested to decide which you like best.

But the Lyman 4500 is not a swaging press...just so you know.

CM

[jhalcott]

welcome aboard! That 30-30 Contender will make a dandy deer gun once you've "cut your teeth" on the .38 special.

[Suo Gan]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I feel right at home here, and I think its what I need right now. It seems like the common thread among all those that responded is "start slow", or even "keep it simple stupid!" I think that would be the same advice Dad would have offered. I am navigating the site and am finding other useful information (as was recommended). I NEED to slug my barrels now...for the .25 caliber, I think that I will sqeeze a bullet in the vice till its just over diameter? I am taking notes, and really appreciate all those who responded.
Thanks again, your friend, SG..........PS getting some rain here (snow up high) in Calif finally...maybe I'll get a deer tomorrow?

[MtGun44]

Welcome. Bass's comments on the "SEARCH" feature are right on. A whole lot
of the new guy stuff is already out there. You can browse that at your own rate
and as the ideas strike you.

MUCH to be learned from the experts on this site. I never tire learning from
folks that have actually done it.

This is also a real nice bunch of people, eager to help and easy to get
along with.

Bill

[Kraschenbirn]

Welcome aboard!

I notice that several members have recommended starting out casting for your .45 ACP so I'm going to play "odd man out" and, for the sake of flexibility, recommend that you begin with a good .358 dia. SWC (Lyman 358156 or similar). This will give you a (relatively) easy-to-cast boolit that can be used in either your .38 or .357 Mag (with or w/o GC, depending upon how "hot" you load it) which also can be used (w/GC) to develop a decent reduced velocity load for your .358 Win.

I've cast thousands of these over the past 30-odd years (still have my first Lyman DC mould) and found they've worked well for everything I've tried them in: .38/.357 (various handguns), .357 Max (10" T/C), .35 Rem (Marlin 336), and .356 Win (a buddy's M94AE).

Good Shooting

Bill

[AZ-Stew]

Runfiverun, 454PB and Kraschenbirn have given good advice.

First, don't try to tackle all these guns at once with cast boolits. Start with something simple in an easy-to-load cartridge. When you've achieved the desired results (velocity, versatility, accuracy, no leading) then take on another caliber.

I go along with the suggestion to start with the .357 revolver, loading either .38 Spl or .357 Magnum cartridges for it. Start with mild loads and a plain-based SWC boolit.

Regards,

Stew

[Suo Gan]

Many thanks to those that have offered advice.

I just bought two RCBS moulds 1 180 grainer 38, and a 200 grain semi-wadcutter too.

I know the advice, start small, but it goes against the grain...bigger, better, faster, more...I really had to control myself from not ordering more moulds. Next up is going to be the Saeco 257 100 grain, Truncated cone I think. I am going to cast this weekend.

Cast you later, SG