What mould to buy? What are all these rings?

[BJK]

I'm very new to casting, not to firearms, but I've always purchased my bullets. I've cast #4 buckshot and slugs and they turned out great but due to the political climate I think it would be a very good idea to start casting 9mm (125ish grains) and .30 bullets as well. I know very little about bullet casting so anything that you write is far more than I know; I will definitely absorb it. The .30 bullets will be both light (~110-130 grains) and >200grains for use in 300BLK. Velocity will be near 2000fps maximum with the light bullets and near subsonic with the heavies.

I was looking at bullet moulds online yesterday and I understand about grease grooves. I saw some moulds that produce bullets with much smaller rings and maybe 6-8 of them (LEE?). I don't think they're grease grooves, they sure don't look like any grease grooves I've ever seen before. What are they for? And do I want them?

Is 2000fps with wheelweights too high for cast with no gas check?

I intend to powder coat my bullets if that's required information. For sizing I have a single stage press and I'll get a push through die. I have maybe 1500# of wheel weights.

Thanks folks, I appreciate any help you can give.

[farmbif]

welcome your in the right place
clip on wheel weights with a little bit of tin added are pretty much all I use and been shooting 30-30, 30-06, 32 win spl, 35 rem, 35 whelen, and others at 2000-2100 fps, with no problems, lube sizing .002-.003 oversize and been using carnauba red lube for the past decade.
those lee bullets with all the grooves are good for pan lubing with lee alox. I've never shot a pan lubed bullet faster than about 1200 fps out of a pistol.
there has never been so many options in finely crafted bullet molds there are lots and lots to choose from and its never been easier to design your own bullet and have a custom mold made.

[farmbif]

I know, you asked what mold to buy.
I thought by now there would be a bunch of people chiming in and giving suggestions.
you can't really go wrong with the quality or cost of lee molds.
9mm and 38spl one of my favorites is the MP359-125, I size it down for use in 9mm. but ive shot lots of all the 9mm bullets that Lyman makes molds for 356242, 356637 and 356402
30-30 - can't go wrong with the lee 170 grain flat point and it will work in 308 and 30-06 too, favorite 30-06 bullet so far is lyman 311299
my favorite 35 cal rifle bullet is rcbs 35-200

[rockrat]

I believe 2000fps is too much for no gas check, but powder coated might work at that velocity. I would look at the Lee 38-125 rnfp mould for both your 9mm and 38's. I like the NOE 311041 copy for a lot of 30's. NOE makes a 137gr rn which is a shortened 311291 and a 30 cal 190 ish gr "Hunter" mould that might work well for you, plus, I believe, a 230gr mould for sub-sonic 300 BO

[Kylongrifle32]

Bjk
The molds that you are referring to with the multiple shallow grooves are a tumble lube design. I have moved away from pan lubing now that my volume of shooting has increased dramatically. Old school pan lubing is fine but messy. I even just tumble lube my grease groove style boolits.


I'm not as bad as most folks out there but my mold count is pushing 45 or so. I have some from ever manufacturer and like some more than others but all are good in thier own way. I can say I have at least 20 Lee molds and have been pleased with all of them. They are a great started mold and are easy on the wallet. As with any hobby its what you want to make of it and how far you want to go. I casted for 30 years with a pot on a coleman camp stove ladle pouring. I was gifted a lyman furnace about 5 years ago and love it but when the weather is nice I still sit out on the drive way and fire up the coleman stove.

Post an add in the Boolit exchange forum and try some some different style and weight boolits. Then if you find a good one you like buy a mold.

Good luck in your journey

[bluejay75]

I would get the following molds:

Subsonic:

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-300-blackout-311-235-grain-solid-mold-no-lube-groove-multichoice/

Supersonic:

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-308-hunting-solid-6-or-8-cavity-pb-or-gc-no-lube-groove/


I would consider either of these lifetime buys and you will save yourself some heartache in the process.

NOE has great molds but a search showed my pucks for 300 BO out of stock.

[Gamsek]

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-311-410-hollow-point-mold-multi-choice/

This is closer to your 110-130grs supersonic bullet.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201218/ca8d3cbce78b3eb1d4db9e45bf9b3383.jpg
I also have MP 312-159 HP hunting and MP 311-235 and they are both superb bullets made with superb brass moulds from MP.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201218/e4a10849baf842cd2ba0c5d13aef9499.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201218/99ec077da4c07e7e402ffd272d9439b3.jpg

[dimaprok]

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-311-410-hollow-point-mold-multi-choice/

This is closer to your 110-130grs supersonic bullet.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201218/ca8d3cbce78b3eb1d4db9e45bf9b3383.jpg


How difficult is it to cast 30 cal HP bullets? I have NOE hollow point mold and I found casting from it to be much more difficult than regular molds. I really like how these smaller hollow point bullets look like.

[Gamsek]

How difficult is it to cast 30 cal HP bullets? I have NOE hollow point mold and I found casting from it to be much more difficult than regular molds. I really like how these smaller hollow point bullets look like.

If you follow some basic tips how to use Cramer style brass moulds MP Molds (preheating on a hot plate, making sure the shafts with pins slide smoothly....) it’s very easy.

i would say just 10-15% slower than with regular solid mould, because when I cut the sprue I tap tap then turn around the mould tap tap and the bullets fall off.

[tankgunner59]

I can tell you 2000fps is well beyond the protection of powder coat. I had decided earlier this year to try it because I was low on 35 caliber gas checks. I loaded 50 rounds, can't recall the exact data now but I remember they were running just over 1300fps. I fired 14 rounds ( 2 cylinder loadings), let the gun cool, and checked the bore and I didn't see any leading. I was wrong, I fired the rest of the 50 in that range session. When I went to clean my guns I noticed a fair amount of leading in the bore of my 357 Magnum. I personally won't try it again. YMMV

[blikseme300]

I can tell you 2000fps is well beyond the protection of powder coat. I had decided earlier this year to try it because I was low on 35 caliber gas checks. I loaded 50 rounds, can't recall the exact data now but I remember they were running just over 1300fps. I fired 14 rounds ( 2 cylinder loadings), let the gun cool, and checked the bore and I didn't see any leading. I was wrong, I fired the rest of the 50 in that range session. When I went to clean my guns I noticed a fair amount of leading in the bore of my 357 Magnum. I personally won't try it again. YMMV

The PC is not what failed as it is no substitute for GC’s. I regularly shoot GC’d and PC’d rifle loads in that velocity range with 1moa or less from my rifles. PC is not a cure_all as many folks think it is. Proper alloy as well as good loading practices are still required to achieve high velocity accuracy. There are no short cuts.

[bangerjim]

PC is good. VERY good! But it DOES have it's limits. I never go beyond ~1,750FPS with PC only. Above that, I GC the slugs (after PC).

But remember: there are other factors involved here also:

1. fit
2. velocity
3. alloy
4. powder
5. gun barrel

Try what you feel will work. If not, move on to something else. It's called a HOBBY.

Works for me.

Good luck in all your shooting endevours.

banger :guntootsmiley:

[Castaway]

What mould? For your 9mm, I recommend a Lee 6 cavity. If you have another pistol caliber, get another 6 cavity for it. You can drain a pot of lead fairly quickly with two moulds working simultaneously. For your 30 cal, I also recommend a Lee mould (inexpensive) to see if you intend to cast your own. If you find it’s not too much trouble, then maybe a steel mould from Lyman, RCBS or other manufacturer.

[DHDeal]

If you follow some basic tips how to use Cramer style brass moulds MP Molds (preheating on a hot plate, making sure the shafts with pins slide smoothly....) it’s very easy.

i would say just 10-15% slower than with regular solid mould, because when I cut the sprue I tap tap then turn around the mould tap tap and the bullets fall off.

And this is almost how I use MP HP molds. When they get hot, I'll cut the sprue with my gloved hand, flip the mold and tap a couple of light taps to remove any loose lead, then start opening the mold, and finally tap again to have the pins release the bullets. I'd say your estimate of time is about the same as mine.

Bluejay75 makes a solid point that these can be considered lifetime molds. Take care of them and I don't know that you'd wear one out.

[AndyC]

I was looking at bullet moulds online yesterday and I understand about grease grooves. I saw some moulds that produce bullets with much smaller rings and maybe 6-8 of them (LEE?). I don't think they're grease grooves, they sure don't look like any grease grooves I've ever seen before. What are they for? And do I want them?
Lee "Tumble-Lube" bullets which are designed for their liquid, waxy-type lube called Alox:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpa3L13McS0

You said you intend to powder-coat, and that style of bullet will work just fine for PC'ing.


Is 2000fps with wheelweights too high for cast with no gas check?
Yes.

[P Flados]

I think it would be a very good idea to start casting 9mm (125ish grains)

The .30 bullets will be both light (~110-130 grains) and >200grains for use in 300BLK. Velocity will be near 2000fps maximum with the light bullets and near subsonic with the heavies.

Is 2000fps with wheelweights too high for cast with no gas check?

I intend to powder coat my bullets if that's required information.

With a 1500 lb stash of hard lead you are off to a great start in this game.

First off, a word of caution for the 9mm. It can be one of the more troublesome rounds to use with cast. Some guns are very picky and it can take a lot of time & effort to get leading free loads that will cycle the gun. It took me tons of effort (much more than any other gun) but eventually I got a load that works (with the Lee 120 TC). Now if you can get a load that does not lead, your have very good chances for great accuracy.

Second, the 300 BO can be a challenge also. I tried a bunch of different boolits and eventually gave up on getting cast to work in my son's 300 BO AR pistol. Leading was not a problem, but the loads all shot to minute of barn door. I blame the 1-7 twist on his gun and/or just something about the throat since it was easy to get good loads from jacket bullets.

These two plus the 233 probably make up the top three for guns for causing frustrations with cast [smilie=b:

If one of your guns was any "easy" cartridge (30-30, 30-06, any 32, 38 Sp, 357 Mag, 44 Sp, 44 Mag, 45 ACP, 45 Colt) investing in one of the "quality" (and more costly molds) at the start would be worth considering.

However, because both of the guns involved, I would strongly recommend starting off with the most cost effective "lets try this" molds available, the Lee 2 cavities.

Again for the 9mm, the Lee 356-120-TC is well regarded. The 358-125-RF is probably the next best choice (I have both) but the 120 was easier to work with (important to a newbie).

For a 300 BO super, the C309-120-R should feed and might work OK. Many will fuss about not using gas checks on boolits with gas check shanks. I argue to the contrary every chance I get. I never use checks and have shot a lot boolits from Lee molds made for checks. With powder coat, I can push these boolits to "full power" levels and still have them shoot just as good as plain base bullets. And some of my loads do go just over 2000 fps.

The Lee 220 was probably designed for 300 subs, but I do not recall anyone bragging about how good they work. The Lee 170, 180 and 200 are all more "typical" and probably have a better chance of working. As a warning, these are all "nose riders" and with powder coat that long nose can be too large to chamber properly. On the other hand for subs, a tumble lube (I recommend 45-45-10 for White Label lubes) would probably work and is easy to try if powder coat does not work.

Are you sure you don't want to find a nice revolver or lever gun to start casting for ;)