Still learning

[chuck40219]

One question at a time, well maybe two.

Cast my first bullets today that I am happy with.

Understand they shrink for a few days.

So should I wait 3 or 4 days before I lube them? And this is the second question, what time shall I wait before loading and shooting?

These are for a 45-70

Chuck40219

[Rcmaveric]

Bullets shrink a touch once they freeze in the mold. Thats why most molds are designed around specific alloy to compensate. Readjusting your alloy can affect finnal diameter a little bit. Antimonial lead may slightly grow over time.

I normally wait about 48 hours for hardness stabilize before using the bullets.


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[Winger Ed.]

Never thought about that.

Historically, after do casting for a couple hours for a day or two-
it takes me about another week or so before I come back around and do the sizing.

If there was ever a problem, I ain't smart enough to know it.

[44Blam]

I cast and then try to PC / Size as soon as I can. Then I wait for a couple weeks. But generally, it is no problem to wait because I cast when I start running low and I'll cast a BUNCH of them.
I did have a batch of boolits I cast / PC'd and then loaded a few just a couple days after casting and I had some bad accuracy - but they were pistol boolits. I shot some of the same batch a couple weeks later and had good accuracy. BUT it very well have been me having a bad shooting day - it does happen...

[tazman]

I try not to load anything I cast for at least a week. I normally use range scrap and water quench from the mold. It takes a few days for it to get as hard as it will get.
I will size as soon as I can. Hopefully within 24 hours. The stuff gets harder to size the longer you wait.
There have been times I was forced to use a Lee push trough sizing die with my heavy press in order to get them close enough to size that i could run them through my lubesizer.

I tried loading and shooting some the same day I cast them. I got poor accuracy. Boolits from the same casting batch that I loaded a week later performed fine. All were shot in 38 special through a K-38 Target Masterpiece, which is superbly accurate. All were full power loads and were cast into RNFP 158 grain boolits.
I was able to recover a few of the boolits I shot right away. The rifling had sheared nearly all the way around the boolit in every case. The ones a week later showed no such shear effect.
I don't think they get so hard as they get tough and grip the rifling better.

A different alloy would probably give differing results depending on that alloy's properties.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

you can size and lube right away.
While different alloys act differently, it is likely that nothing is going to effect your 45/70 boolits in the short term.
Tell us what your alloy is & your casting technique, and someone will likely chime in with it's aging characteristics after it has been cast.

[44Blam]

Oh - I also got a REALLY cool mold for my 45-70 (and if I sneak it into the budget 458 socom):
It is a NOE SC460-350-RF-AE1 RG4 cavity GC Brass mold...
248516

These are the cup points. I find the cup points easy to cast, the HP points hard to cast and have never cast a NOE mold with points as a flat nose...

[David2011]

Some alloys can get much harder as they age after casting. Sizing as soon as you can after casting makes it easier.

[Wayne Smith]

And when I water drop I lubesize immediately because they get hard to size a day later.

[chuck40219]

I am not sizing. Lead is Rotometals 30 to 1. Ladle pour. Lube by setting bullets in to home made beeswax, olive oil + lanuan. (the sheep stuff)

So what I hear, don`t need to worry about shrinkage, just lube and shoot the next day?


Chuck40219

[mdi]

Got mikes? Try this; cast some bullets. Measure them after one day. Then 5 days later measure. Then 5 days after that, measure. then wait two weeks and measure again. Any shrinkage?

I don't know about, or can't remember ever worrying about "post casting curing time" and I normally cast a few hundred and store them (I have some 429421 cast mebbe a year ago, waiting for lube and sizing). I don't remember any reports on how much a particular caliber cast bullet, from a particular alloy will shrink over a specific time...

K.I.S.S.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

As I understand it, the only measurable shrinkage of 30/1 (as well as other Pb/Sn alloys) occurs during Freeze or moments/seconds afterward. Once it's cooled to room temp, you have no worries about applying lube...and loading/shooting.

[fredj338]

I actually find most bullets will actually get a tiny bit larger months after they are cast. It is a phenom I have witnessed with cases splitting over long term storage with lead bullets. I can only think the bullets do not shrink long term.

[Nodakjohns]

Oh - I also got a REALLY cool mold for my 45-70 (and if I sneak it into the budget 458 socom):
It is a NOE SC460-350-RF-AE1 RG4 cavity GC Brass mold...
248516

These are the cup points. I find the cup points easy to cast, the HP points hard to cast and have never cast a NOE mold with points as a flat nose...
44Blam it seems we have a couple of the same molds ! I am seasoning that one for this weekends casting session. I have the rg2 brass gc. I am looking forward to trying hollow points.

[Victor N TN]

I remember back in the 1970s and 80s casting bullets and then taking a break for a bologna sandwich and then sizing and lubing them and load them after that. But things have changed a lot since then.

[Green Frog]

How long to wait after casting to lube and size? One time I waited a whole 12 hours! ;)

Seriously, if they’re cool enough to handle and the lube won’t run off, they’re cool enough for me for most purposes. As with all things, YMMV!

Froggie

[Boolseye]

My experience has been that boolits GROW for awhile after casting. I've never seen appreciable shrinkage.
I have definitely seem them gain up to .003" over a period of weeks or months. I generally wait a day or two after casting to size them, but usually that's just my pace.