FIRST EVER revolver casted boolits by myself. Please tell me what you think

[Stopsign32v]

Never before casted my own revolver rounds. Very excited and I figured the first ever ones should be none other than the ones below since 357 Magnum is my absolute favorite chambering. Interesting thing is I loaded and crimped them to the groove in 357 Magnum brass and it loaded just fine in my GP100 (others have had issues with the rounds being too long). Do you guys see anything bad/wrong or anything that stands out? I was dumping them in water so I have no idea which ones were the first to last. The bottom two bands (is that where you measure them at?) is coming out to .362 dia. I sized it to .358 before loading in the brass. I will be recycling them all to start over. Just wanted to see what I could do.

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[Der Gebirgsjager]

Looks like you're off to a good start. Some of the bullets that have flaws were probably cast when the mold was still a little cold, but overall they look good with sharp edges. You'll be a pro in no time!

DG

[Three44s]

That looks like a fine first effort!

Three44s

[Thumbcocker]

Other than the lead being a bit cold on the ones in the first pic they look great. Waiting for a range report.

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[nvbirdman]

My first boolits looked a lot worse, but with time and experience they're getting better.

[Mk42gunner]

They all look shootable to me. I agree with a bit of a cold mold on some of them. And I also agree they look a lot better than my first efforts, but that is the beauty of casting lead; you get to redo your mistakes, not many times in life that happens.

I would change whatever top punch or seating stem you are using to a flat top punch or a SWC seating stem, the edges of the meplat are looking kind of rounded in the loaded cartridge.

I started with trying water dropping, didn't really like it, then found out it wasn't needed for my use. I have happily been dropping boolits on an old pair of jeans for years.

Robert

[jim147]

Looks good. Make sure you have a good crimp. They don't have much room to move before they lock that pistol up.

[tazman]

Looks like you are off to a good start. What are you going to lube them with?

[405grain]

The boolits look pretty good. I agree with others that your mold probably wasn't up to temperature on the ones that have wrinkles on the nose. It does look like you seated the bullets with a round nosed seating stem. A flat or semi-wadcutter seating stem won't deform the nose like that. What type of bullet lube did you use? Also, I've found that it's best if you lightly flare the case mouth so that the bullet will start easily, then seat the bullet with the die body backed off a little bit so it won't crimp. Then after the bullets are seated, screw the seating stem up out of the way and lower the die body to crimp the already seated bullet. If I try seating and crimping cast bullets as one operation it frequently shaves lead off the side of the bullet. Except for full magnum loads with gas checked bullets, pistol cartridges rarely need super hard alloys. Water quenching to harden is usually used for rifle bullets.

[45workhorse]

Nice looking first boolits. Pretty soon you'll be in the market for four or six cavity mold!

[Stopsign32v]

I would change whatever top punch or seating stem you are using to a flat top punch or a SWC seating stem, the edges of the meplat are looking kind of rounded in the loaded cartridge.


Robert

Robert,

Run that stuff by me again...You lost me in all of that. I've never used a top punch or seating stem...??????

[Stopsign32v]

Looks like you are off to a good start. What are you going to lube them with?

Clear Eastwood powder coating.

[Walks]

Great Start, a Single Cavity Lyman mold. It's the way I learned.
Better looking then My first, that's for sure.

[kevin c]

Great start! Have a care, though; this can get addicting!

Agree that wrinkles will go away if the mold is hotter. Maybe just a few more cycles to bring up mold temp, or a faster pace for the same and to slow mold cooling, and/or higher alloy temp. At least for me and my aluminum multi cavity molds, going for a light matte frosting gives very consistent boolits with few culls.

You asked, so I'll offer some info. Apologies if this basic stuff you know already. The reloading die sets for my press each come with two seating stems: one each for flat nose and round bullet profiles. The correct stem for the bullet improves concentricity, though this isn't critical in some applications, say, in plinking ammo in pistol chamberings. Lube sizers, have similar stems I think (I use push through sizers with a blunt stem pushing on the base of HiTek'd casts). A hard jacketed flat point slug probably won't deform if the edge of the meplat hits the interior of the round nose stem instead of the flat of the wad cutter stem, but a softer cast slug might, as suggested by Mk42 gunner and 405grain.

ETA: my eyes are getting old. I could swear there are two different calibers in your pics.

[sigep1764]

In your seating die, the stem is what comes into contact with the top of the boolit to push it down into the case. You can change them according to what type of boolit you are loading, either round nose or semi wadcutter like you are loading. The wrong seating stem can leave marks or seat the boolit crooked. Same with your sizing setup, how are you sizing these? In a Lyman, RCBS, Star, Lee sizing kit?

[Sasquatch-1]

357 Magnum brass and it loaded just fine in my GP100 (others have had issues with the rounds being too long).

Are you saying other people have told you the rounds are too long or that the rounds are too long for other guns? If it is other people telling you they are too long ignore them. As others have stated they look great.

[Stopsign32v]

In your seating die, the stem is what comes into contact with the top of the boolit to push it down into the case. You can change them according to what type of boolit you are loading, either round nose or semi wadcutter like you are loading. The wrong seating stem can leave marks or seat the boolit crooked. Same with your sizing setup, how are you sizing these? In a Lyman, RCBS, Star, Lee sizing kit?

In a Lee sizing kit.

So basically all of my molds are Lee molds. How do you change out the seating die? And where do you buy the correct ones? I was wondering why the nose of the bullet got all jacked up.

[Stopsign32v]

Are you saying other people have told you the rounds are too long or that the rounds are too long for other guns? If it is other people telling you they are too long ignore them. As others have stated they look great.

Here read this https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?156670-358429-and-the-GP100

[tazman]

Clear Eastwood powder coating.

That will work just fine.

[John Guedry]

Wish my early attemps looked that nice.

[Stopsign32v]

So I took apart the seating die and found out my issue of the rounded off edges. I want them babies SHARP! So I have an idea. I'm going to take the insert to Lowes and hopefully I can find a flat washer that I can glue over the concaved area where the bullet is pushed on. You can clearly see this is what is causing that.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51334193676_0c1bb72f2d_b.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/gp/113193676@N08/qV8d14)

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[358429]

Good start man, way way better than my ugly first bullets.

What direction will your load workup begin in?


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[mdi]

Shoot 'em! A couple wrinkles as explained above, but otherwise lookin' good. I started with a single cavity mold for my 44 Magnums and the old saw, practice, practice, practice is the key. It's often said the only way to learn to cast bullets is to cast bullets. I don't water drop and and just watch the finish on the bullets as they drop out of the mold to keep track of temperatures...

So, plug in the pot, gather a bunch of ingots and get busy...

[Stopsign32v]

Good start man, way way better than my ugly first bullets.

What direction will your load workup begin in?


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Not sure. I need to figure out how you load for something that isn't in the book. None of my reloading manuals have a 170gr lead loading.

[jim147]

Use hot glue on your seater and make it flat.

[imashooter2]

Use hot glue on your seater and make it flat.

This is the easiest way to go. Clean the punch, fill the cavity with hot glue, strike it off level with a straight edge and you are back to loading.

[405grain]

"How do you change out the seating die? And where do you buy the correct ones?"

What brand of reloading dies are you using? This is some basic stuff: The first reloading die resizes the fired brass back to factory spec. so that it can be reloaded. Either the first or the second die knocks out the spent primer. The second die generally expands the case neck to accept the new bullet, and gently bells the mouth of the case to make seating the bullet easier. The third die seats the bullet and crimps the mouth of the case. The thing inside that third die which pushes the bullet into the case is the seating stem (sometimes called a seating punch). Reloading dies for revolver cartridges usually come with two types of seating stems; one for round nosed bullets and one for semi-wadcutters.

To change the seating stem just screw it all the way into the die body until it falls out the bottom. To install a different seating stem just push it into the die body and hold it with a finger as you reach through the hole in the top of the die body with a small screwdriver and screw the stem into the die. You can get new seating stems (and most other die parts) from the company that made your reloading dies. I like RCBS reloading equipment because they're dies and molds are guaranteed for life. If your using RCBS dies and one of your seating stems is missing, just contact them and they will send you a new one.

Because your just starting out with this, ask any questions you want. There are so many knowledgeable people on this site that I learn new things here all the time.

[Hanzy4200]

Looks good! Very decent for a first go. Not to sound condescending, but you are lubing them right? I see a few have some deformation. Might want to warm the mold a bit more before you start casting. Just rest the mold on the top of the pot for a while.

[Stopsign32v]

Looks good! Very decent for a first go. Not to sound condescending, but you are lubing them right? I see a few have some deformation. Might want to warm the mold a bit more before you start casting. Just rest the mold on the top of the pot for a while.

This was done just as test fitting. Bullets have been removed from the brass now and will be remelted to try again. As far as lubing goes they will be powder coated

[405grain]

286682

This from the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 4th Edition. You should get a copy: it's worth it.

[Stopsign32v]

286682

This from the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, 4th Edition. You should get a copy: it's worth it.

Just ordered a copy!

[rustyshooter]

Great job. Something to look for in future castings. Compare each edge of the bands and boolit to the edges in the mould cavities. If it’s an extremely sharp edge in the mould cavity you want the finished boolit to mirror that. That’s how I got better. Most times when your edges are not filled out or sharp it’s one or two things. Either cold mould/mix or some tin/pewter is needed to help your mix. Those steel moulds love to be hot. But not too hot. haha! Myself I just ordered a Rossi 92 Lever in 45Colt. I’m going to master the RCBS 45 270 SAA mould. Keep casting. :Fire: “This is the way.”

[Stopsign32v]

Great job. Something to look for in future castings. Compare each edge of the bands and boolit to the edges in the mould cavities. If it’s an extremely sharp edge in the mould cavity you want the finished boolit to mirror that. That’s how I got better. Most times when your edges are not filled out or sharp it’s one or two things. Either cold mould/mix or some tin/pewter is needed to help your mix. Those steel moulds love to be hot. But not too hot. haha! Myself I just ordered a Rossi 92 Lever in 45Colt. I’m going to master the RCBS 45 270 SAA mould. Keep casting. :Fire: “This is the way.”

The only thing that I would say I noticed that I didn't like, was the end of the bullet where the sprue plate is the bullets did not fill completely there. Not sure why

[rustyshooter]

The only thing that I would say I noticed that I didn't like, was the end of the bullet where the sprue plate is the bullets did not fill completely there. Not sure why

Be sure and give a generous sprue on top. Also if you can let the pour cool just a little before cutting the sprue you’ll get a clean base when you cut it. Once you get temps right you can get a good groove going. I often cast 2 moulds alternating at the same time allowing the pour to cool just enough to get a clean cut.

[Stopsign32v]

Be sure and give a generous sprue on top. Also if you can let the pour cool just a little before cutting the sprue you’ll get a clean base when you cut it. Once you get temps right you can get a good groove going. I often cast 2 moulds alternating at the same time allowing the pour to cool just enough to get a clean cut.

What do you mean give a generous sprue?

[rustyshooter]

The “puddle” on top of the mould.
286687

[Stopsign32v]

Yea I did that.

[Mk42gunner]

I missed the part about you using Lee push through sizers, so disregard the bit about top punches. They are used in Lyman and RCBS sizers. You have found the culprit, glad others explained it.

It has been a long time since I had a set of Lee handgun dies apart and I couldn't describe it from memory.

As jim147 said, you can fill the round cavity with hotglue, or epoxy, then make it flat to help prevent the distortion.

In a perfect world, you could order another seating stem from Lee and grind it flat, maybe in a year or two things will be back to normal and parts and accessories will be readily available again.

I've never coated any boolits, one of these years I just may have to try it. Until then I will stick with lubing and sizing in the Lubamatic. I did recently start tumble lubing will BLL, so there is hope for me learning to do new tasks.

I had also heard about the 358429 being too long for GP-100's, but it fits in mine.

Keep up the good work,

Robert

[bruce381]

"I had also heard about the 358429 being too long for GP-100's, but it fits in mine."

Its too long as 357 mag crimped in the top crimp for my smith model 28 same as a 27, OK in my model 19 and 586.

Was originally made for the 38 special and in that brass if fits everything 357 is only problematic in few guns as above.

[Forrest r]

Nice!!!

These links are on this website click on them to download free manuals.

Lyman's 3rd edition cast handbook. It has reloading data for your bullet
http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Bullet%20Casting/Lyman%20Cast%20Bullet%20Handbook%20-%203rd%20Edition%20-%201980%20-%20Reduce.pdf

Early lyman 44th manual (1967), this has data for your bullet. Even though it's from the 60's it is still very useful.
http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading%20Manuals/Lyman%20Reloading%20Handbook%20---%2044th%20Edition%20---%201967.pdf

Lyman's 48th reloading handbook that had data for the bullet you cast along with other cast & jacketed bullets.
http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manuals/Reloading/Reloading%20Manuals/Lyman%20Reloading%20Handbook%20-%2048th%20Edition%20-%202002%20-%20ocr.pdf

[missionary5155]

Look like shootable slugs !!!
But yes some cylinders are not as long as others. Another reason I am very fond of Dan Wessons.
We use that same mold in numerous applications.

[Forrest r]

Lee dies a a good value for what they are and do a good job of producing generic reloads. The issue with them is that they are really designed for jacketed bullets.

You've already ran into the short comings of the seating stem. At the end of the day the expander button/expander stem is just as bad for cast bullets. Most other die mfg's use a "cowboy action" or "m-die" sets of reloading dies. These dies have long bodied bullets/lead bullets in mind. They can still load jacketed bullets but their main focus is cast/coated/lead bullets.

A m-die does 2 things. It has a small step (small large ring at the to of the expander button) that makes a shelf in the top of the case. The bullet being loaded sits on this shelf, it aids in keeping the bullet strait when seating. The end result is no bullet bulge to 1 side of the case and no swaging of the bullets base on 1 side from being seated crooked. The other thing the m-die does is expand the case deeper then the traditional lee expander. This aids in keeping the bullet strait when seats, causes less deformation of the bullet & protects the bullets base from beings swaged down.
https://i.imgur.com/vnmkz9e.jpg

A lee factory expander next to a lyman m-die. The m-die goes into the case to the step at the top of the expander button. You can clearly see a brass ring/high water mark left on the lee expander by the brass cases.
https://i.imgur.com/AtiYtlr.jpg

I do have some lee dies sets. I like their taper crimp dies and use the lee dies to reload the 9mm's and 45acp's. I do either use a factory m-die like the 1 pictured above for the 45acp. Or make my own like this 1 for the 9mm's.
https://i.imgur.com/aFsP8TI.jpg

If you really sit down and think about it. There was a lot of force put on your cast bullet to de-form the nose. What you're not seeing is the bullet's base being swaged down in size or out of round or both. This excessive force will also affect the bullets body, drive bands, lube grooves, etc.

This is another reason commercial caster typically sell +/- 16bhn bullets, they can take the punishment.

You're making custom ammo with your own cast bullets (I consider a cast bullet a custom bullet). To get the most out of them it's a good idea to get dies that are cast bullet friendly. NOE makes an expander ball that's excellent for little $$$$ that uses the lee universal expander die body as the parent die. You simply buy the expander button for the caliber your reloading cast bullets for. Very nice setup that you buy the expanders for every caibler you wish to reload cast bullets with and use the same lee universal die body.

If you get a chance to buy a used rcbs 38spl/357 seating die, do so. I see them every now and then at gunshows, single dies sell for +/- $5. They also come up from time to time on places like e-bay. I like rcbs simply because the have 3 different seating stems for their 38spl/357 seating dies. If you call them they will ship you a new 1 for free.

Anymore i make my own custom expander buttons and my own seating stems. I use 2 sets of rcbs dies, 1 for the 38spl & the other for the 357's. Rcbs fixed me up with the different seating stems & I use a m-die to expand the cases. I use a set of lyman dies for the 44spl and hornady for the 44mag. I make my own seating stems for them. I've also made my own seating stems for lee dies in the past.

It may seem a little odd or a lot of different things to do/change to reload cast bullets. Myself I've been casting my own bullets since 1985 using nothing more than 8/9bhn range scrap. I still use that same 8/9bhn alloy/range scrap to this day. I found early on that I had the ability to mangle and deform my cast bullets far worse then the poor quality wrinkled up under sized boolits I was casting when I 1st started casting.

There was no internet back then & I started out with a lee 10# pot and a h&g #50 6-cavity mold. Heck it only took 4 or 5 tries and a lot of cussing to figure out I might want to pre-heat the mold instead of setting it on top of the pot or dipping corners in the melt.

Anyway, sorry for being long winded, those are some good looking bullets you cast & they look pretty darn good sitting in that gp100.