I just can't stop...

[358429]

...casting these MP 359-125 HP .... even the virginia heat and cicadas invasion will not slow me down, when I have developed a cadence. The brass mold is strengthening my hands and forearms. The more I cast the more I can cast. For such a simple thing it sure ain't easy, until it is.

Next step is going to be eastwood ultra gloss clear, then pass through the inverted hand press with 358 sizer. They will get loaded over 5 grains of power pistol.

In a week or two I am going to shoot them offhand, bang bang bang, probably into a 3 -4 inch group at 20-30 yards after six cups of coffee. Ain't life just grand!! And the CZ just wants to eat em like candy!

I think it's about time to wash up, drink a cold beer and barbeque a steak with the savings versus buying xtp bullets.
Time for me to go chop some wood and get the fire started. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/c9e95ac432d66b01de333165c918a0b2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/72c910045a8ee63a2fe4bc7cd558da29.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/0200beb3c0b16b3da10faaeef2a3b3f2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/f6741ba93ea710d082c6ae2071fbe9b0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/430e591c604c95f2dd6e04c757d8af70.jpg

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[Thumbcocker]

I want a mold like that.

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[StuBach]

Great, and here I thought I’d bought my last MP mold for a while...might have to keep an eye out for one of those. His molds are works of art and rain once you get them prepped and the temp dialed in.

[vagrantviking]

Not usually one for casting hollow points but those are beautiful.
Nice work.

[358429]

Sizing with lee breach lock hand press and 358 size die.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/970e81e87ed3a678d56a589223158fa6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210605/023ca981772a3a83c9f55ca7badf10ac.jpg

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[Wild Bill 7]

Is that one of your casting buddies? LOL

[Joe504]

Can you flux with cicadas?

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[jim147]

Or make lube?

[358429]

Tomorrow, I may decide which will be more fun to load. I'm on an even split. They are sized 358. Which is more fun for you to load?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/de73c5ec3fe7be84fe58ee439791dbe6.jpg

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[kevin c]

Can you flux with cicadas?

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I've done it inadvertently with moths. Roasting moth doesn't smell like pine sawdust, but it's actually not bad. Makes me wonder what roasted cicada tastes like.

[GregLaROCHE]

I've done it inadvertently with moths. Roasting moth doesn't smell like pine sawdust, but it's actually not bad. Makes me wonder what roasted cicada tastes like.

I saw something in the news the other day saying that people are starting to eat them. It went on to say that people with shellfish allergies should not eat them.

I wouldn’t flux them, fearing the moisture in them may invite the tinsel fairy!

[Wayne Smith]

I've had a yellowjacket sizzling in my pot with no untoward events occurring.

[Burnt Fingers]

Some of those sprue cuts look pretty rough. You might want to slow down your casting speed.

Personally if my sprue cuts looked like that they would go back in the pot.

[358429]

This is something that I have been trying to do better, you and the other gentleman who mentioned this to me are exactly right.

If I wait too long the sprue becomes extremely hard to open. Or the bullets stick to the pins. I'm using a front of my gloved thumb to slap the plate open, and the back of my gloved thumb to tap tap tap tap the pins and drop the bullets. Sometimes I chase my tail when the mold is not hot enough and yesterday my propane torch ran out. (Boolit hollow noses shattered when bumped out). Should I be using less tin to make the metal soft, easy cut sprues, wait longer, get better results?

I am open to suggestion.

I think a better heat source would help too, coleman stove has the stupidest regulator it is weak and frustrating. Cabelas had a small sturdy steel turkey fryer on clearance last year and I missed my chance.
In 357 mag (semi wadcutters hollow points) I have been loading these up with h110 and imr4227. In 9mm (round nose hollow points) midrange with power pistol. With the keith bullets I have to check for cracks along the nose and crimp groove (the hollow point is super deep and goes all the way to the crimp groove! ) and the 9mm bullets if the fill out is poor around the base when I open the plate, those I cannot tolerate and gets remelted.
Im getting 80-90 % that are suitable for shooting, three to four casts a minute. I think I am rushing it, somewhat depending on heat from the pours to maintain mold and pin temperature.
I think I am using too much tin, it makes me happy, the bullets seat without deformation, and make a high pitched *tink* noise if you bump them together in your hand. Even with the defects I am happy how they turn out. It sure beats not making bullets! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/272fe5ceaff65dafcf681db04b317046.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/499edc5e9a4cea5344577ccd3819bbac.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/458767fc1904344b4afc661a7bdf8031.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/1b99e67ef7b2da411253d64bf257b771.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210606/66ee09ed91cc5efaa2d3119f2cf9fd36.jpg

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[Conditor22]

Dipper casting over a gas stove and getting those results is really good.

I started dipper casting out of a Lee electric dipper pot. Electric makes it much easier to maintain even heat at a set temperature.

I quickly progressed to a Lee 4-20 electric bottom pour and not log after made a PID to control the temperature.

IF your dipper is too small to fill all the cavities at one pour I would recommend getting a bigger dipper, only casting the number of cavities the dipper will fill or getting a bottom pour pot.

What white PC did you use and how did you apply it? it is really hard to get good coverage with a light-colored PC when you shake-and-bake.

Divots in the base aren't as critical for close distance handgun shooting, IF I did that well with your setup on my first casting sessions I would be really happy with myself.

You can coat the pins with a carpenter pencil (graphite) and if your bases aren't filling out warming the sprue plate with a propane torch helps.

I think A turkey fryer is a little big for casting with.

Make sure you keep the sprue plate pivot, top of mold, and bottom of sprue plate lubed with synthetic 2-cycle oil fuel additive. --- first pour all the cavities in your mold and cut the sprues (don't dump the boolits yet)
apply synthetic 2-cycle oil fuel additive to a q-tip, get a little around the sprue plate screw, and lightly coat the top of the mold and bottom of the sprue plate.
work the sprue plate back and forth for 30 seconds to get the oil through the pivot point and the excess onto the top of the mold. I use a paper towel and wipe off ALL the visible oil especially near the pivot point (enough will be left behind to do the job)
open the mold and, with the same q-tip lightly coat the alignment pins making sure you don't get any oil in the cavities. Do this once an hour.
[to make it easier to oil the pivot screw I use a needle-tipped bottle, 1 tiny drop is all you need.
Don't tighten the sprue plate screw too much, the sprue plate should move freely (holding the mold up to a light, no light should show between the sprue plate and top of the mold)
When opening the mold by hand, put a little downward pressure on the end of the sprue plate to help get smoother cuts.

[Phlier]

Even with the defects I am happy how they turn out.
IMO, that's all that matters.

I think you are getting amazing results with the gear you're working with. I'd be darn proud to produce good lookin' boolits like that off of a coleman stove and a dipper.

[Phlier]

Oh, btw... There's a guy here on the forums that goes by "Smoke4320." He sells the very finest powder coating powders around.

And his clear powder coat is in a league of its own. It goes on extremely well with the shake-n-bake method, and is the toughest, most durable PC powder I've ever used. I hate to gush too much about a product, 'cause it's easy to come off as a shill, but I can assure you that I am only a very pleased customer.

If you like clear powder coat, you really should give his a try.

[Budzilla 19]

Plus one for Smoke’s powders! That clear is the best.just my opinion. It goes on easy. And you can get a thick enough coat in one pass with shake and bake.

[358429]

Has any body used the small rowell bottom pour ladle, the smallest one they make?

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[Wayne Smith]

The one. pound Rowell ladle is really too big unless you are casting cannon balls. The Lyman and/or the RCBS are ideally sized for most casting. I have to dip twice for my Lee six cavity 420gr .45 mold but that's the only one that requires two dips for six cavities. The Rowell ladle is also very long handled, you would have to cut that significantly to be comfortable using it to pour into a mold. I cast everything from a pot over a Coleman stove and have always cast that way.

[358429]

What kind of pot do you use?
I really want a small dutch oven with lid, and to pair it with more consistent heat source, I think the gas regulation on my coleman is faulty. I am unable to find a 1-2 quart cast iron dutch oven that is not made of gold. I alternate between the small lyman cast iron for hollow points and a bigger one quart stainless sauce pan for the plain keith bullets. I want a bigger ladle for casting the plain semiwadcutters, the mold is eight cavity and the rcbs ladle barely has capacity. Plus the bottom pour ladle idea intrigues me.

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[Polymath]

I saw something in the news the other day saying that people are starting to eat them. It went on to say that people with shellfish allergies should not eat them.

I wouldn’t flux them, fearing the moisture in them may invite the tinsel fairy!

Read something this morning about the high mercury content in Cicadas. Unverified but I'll used that as the big reason to not eat bugs, beside the thought of it grosses me out and I have eaten from food venders on the streets of Manila.
Mind you I did have a smoked octopus as a topping on a pizza in Ecuador that was remarkably good.

[358429]

Some of the cicadas are infected with a fungus called massaspora. I think it's gross and don't want to touch the sick ones. It consumes their organs and turns the abdomen into a chalky off white or yellow color crumbly sickness, eventually killing them. Produces chemicals similar to amphetamine and psycybin to painkill and increase movement ability and sex drive, they get fungus mind controlled (similar to cordyceps) and for example males will flick the wings identical as receptive females to lure uninfected males to mate and spread the spores. I cannot make this stuff up. I wonder, if they are trying to eat the bugs , with the intent being intoxication?
P.s. I am so glad they don't jump into the lead pot, flap their wings like dummies, scattering melt everywhere before they die an awful death, I hate getting lead burns, plus would probably smell like burning hair, hopefully not mine. I'll just try to tolerate the casting buddies until they are finished. I prefer beeswax and parrafin for flux.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210607/30f46c22c28e5672907700af02680140.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210607/e09d6597e6c7ba44d97ee6cf607deb19.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210607/dc28c3981a93fd03632291330afd6cf3.jpg

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[Burnt Fingers]

For four cavity molds I use a rawhide hammer to open the sprue plate.

If you're trying to open it by hand then you are going to have problems if you wait for it to properly cool.

Where are ya located??? If you're close by to me I might have a spare bottom pour pot for ya.

Two cavity molds I open by hand. But there's no way these 60 year old hands can open a properly cooled four cavity mold.

[Bigbore5]

To cost everyone more money, I have to add that in addition to the two molds you show, everyone should try the 360-180fp and his 360-640 in both light and heavy versions. I love Miha's molds.

[bluebird66]

As long as you like the way they look and shoot well is all that matters. I'm from Va also.

[Land Owner]

Which would I prefer to load and shoot? Definitively, the Keith HP SWC boolits. Nothing against the rounded ogive, I use similar profiles for 45 ACP (Devastator) and Colt (RN). I just viscerally like SWC Keith-style boolits in my 357 Ruger SP101. Keith's are so much like full WC's, which are ALWAYS a hoot to shoot. There is something about launching a "flying ash can" down range.

[358429]

I want to test these through the 77/357. Already tested the 172 grain keith bullets with 14 grains 4227 and they shot great.

I have a bunch of the hollow pointed keiths made up, some with 296, some with Red Dot, some with 4227. Most are clear coated, some are Eastwood ford light blue.

The magnums loaded with 296 shot to the sights at 20 yards in the Smith and Wesson model 60 snub. The red dot and 4227 special loaded shot to the sights in the Taurus 82. Both revolvers have fixed sights.

Has any of y'all tried putting aperature sights on the ruger 77/357? I really like how light and handy the rifle is. I don't like the sights as they come from the factory.

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