Thanks for a successful first casting session!

[Astocks2622]

Thanks to the stickies here, my first casting session was a complete success yesterday! From learning about lead alloy metallurgy and matching alloys to intended uses, to learning how to judge when your mold has reached optimal temperature, to fluxing methodology, and much more, the hours of reading and researching, primarily here, paid off in spades.
More specifically, it paid off in successfully casting several hundred hard-cast bullets for use in my 10mm woods gun. I've been using a 200gr WFNGC from Beartooth Bullets for 10 years. I placed an order last June, and have been not-so-patiently waiting for them. Come to find out they just went out of business.
That was the catalyst for jumping into casting my own. And now I have 4 molds, and intend to get several more to eliminate one more dependency on the supply chain. Not much I can do about powder, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
Thanks for everyone who has put in the time and effort to get this knowledge out there! It helped me diagnose and correct several minor issues on the fly.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220214/7d0330780267f1b732de9a65071f204e.jpg

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[megasupermagnum]

Nice, that must be the NOE 200gr WFN. That should leave a mark. They look great.

[Astocks2622]

Close, it's actually an Accurate Molds 40-200A. Cast with 2:1 pb:lino and quenched.

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[ryanmattes]

The only nitpick would be to give the sprue a little more time to cool so you get flatter bases. Otherwise they look great. Good shooting!

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[Astocks2622]

The only nitpick would be to give the sprue a little more time to cool so you get flatter bases. Otherwise they look great. Good shooting!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using TapatalkThanks! I was having trouble if I let it cool much more, then the sprue plate had to be gently hammered open with a rubber mallet instead of just pressing it open with a gloved hand. Am I missing something else?

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[ryanmattes]

Use a hardwood stick, one or two sharp hits should cut the sprue and leave cleaner bases. The base is the part that has to interact with the hot gases, so cleaner/smoother is better.

That said, at pistol velocities and ranges, as long as they don't lead it's really not a big deal. I cast plenty with torn bases. But I strive to clean that up, just for uniformity. You'll get more consistent weight if your bases are clean.

In rifles it starts to matter more. Higher pressure/velocity and longer ranges make every little bit count.

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[glockshooter]

Those boolits look good, should hit like a hammer.

[megasupermagnum]

Thanks! I was having trouble if I let it cool much more, then the sprue plate had to be gently hammered open with a rubber mallet instead of just pressing it open with a gloved hand. Am I missing something else?

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No, those bases are just fine. You won't get them much better than that with that alloy. You can walk a fine line to get a little better, but it isn't as simple as waiting longer to cut sprue's. Getting bands fully filled out, getting sharp base edges, and getting consistent bullet weights are what matter.

[Thumbcocker]

Excellent results. Your research paid off.

[John Guedry]

I'd have given anything to have had those come out on my first try.

[popper]

They are fine. When the sprue is really hard, banging will tear the cut and the plate rises a little giving a slanted base. If the mold is just a little larger than the sizer, sizing will kinda flatten a soft alloy base. When culling, toss the ones with a divit greater than 1/2 dia of the base - it will have voids underneath. Well they could be used for plinking. I cut the sprue with gloved thumb and don't get many with pimples, I toss any that would be GCd - GC wont sit straight. I posted here someplace a recent target 145gr PB(30/30 PB @ 50 and similar GC in AR BO) with bases like yours. Mostly a ragged big hole.

[AndyC]

Very nicely done - congrats!

[Hanzy4200]

Welcome to the addiction brother. You'll have a shelf full of molds before you know it.

[RogerDat]

Pretty bullets making a pretty good start.

[murf205]

Good job brother, your hooked now and the best part is you will never be dependent on supply and demand fluctuations. Welcome.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Those look a hundred times better than my first casting session.

[William Yanda]

Thanks to the stickies here, my first casting session was a complete success yesterday! From learning about lead alloy metallurgy and matching alloys to intended uses, to learning how to judge when your mold has reached optimal temperature, to fluxing methodology, and much more, the hours of reading and researching, primarily here, paid off in spades.
More specifically, it paid off in successfully casting several hundred hard-cast bullets for use in my 10mm woods gun. I've been using a 200gr WFNGC from Beartooth Bullets for 10 years. I placed an order last June, and have been not-so-patiently waiting for them. Come to find out they just went out of business.
That was the catalyst for jumping into casting my own. And now I have 4 molds, and intend to get several more to eliminate one more dependency on the supply chain. Not much I can do about powder, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
Thanks for everyone who has put in the time and effort to get this knowledge out there! It helped me diagnose and correct several minor issues on the fly.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220214/7d0330780267f1b732de9a65071f204e.jpg

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Way to go. Read, then practice. Welcome to the forum

[LenH]

Welcome aboard and to the addiction, and down that rabbit hole you go with the rest of us. Those are a whole lot better than the first ones I cast nearly 45 years ago.

Look around the stickes and find the thread about making a lead hammer. A good tap on the sprue plate ant it will open easy peasy. When the hammer gets beat up
put it in the melt and cast a new one.

[murf205]

Astocks2622, what lube are you going to use? Traditional or PC? As hard as those probably are, they should feed pretty well what size are you going to size them to? We love range reports. You have done well so far.

[agcannon]

Good job. I learned everything I needed to know to cast boolits just by searching this forum

[Astocks2622]

Astocks2622, what lube are you going to use? Traditional or PC? As hard as those probably are, they should feed pretty well what size are you going to size them to? We love range reports. You have done well so far.I have White Label Lubes BAC and Carranuba Red. I used the BAC this time. My goal was 20-21 bhn with quenching, and I landed right about there. Sized .4015. Only fired a dozen through a chronograph into a snow berm to verify function and that my load from the Beartooth bullet is still viable. No keyholing at 15 yards, and velocities were spot on. I did have to shorten my oal from 1.255 to 1.227 to get the driving band inside the case.
12.5gr of AA#9 got me 1150fps, and nice straight line variation up to my original load of 13.5gr and 1250fps, matching the performance of several commercial hot loads. Again, this load is safe in my gun, not necessarily yours!
Minimal leading, slightly more than the gas checked Beartooth version, but certainly acceptable.

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[murf205]

200 grs at 1150-1250fps is a very potent load. In my 10mm the 170gr Lee truncated cone was a very accurate load with Accurate #7. Good little mold for not a lot of $ if you feel the need to try it.

[jmcghee]

Good job. I learned everything I needed to know to cast boolits just by searching this forum I have belonged for years. Collecting info, and molds. Hope to cast my first soon, now that I am "retired".

[murf205]

Congtats on retirement. You will soon realize that you never had time to work!
Astocks, I like Carnauba Red when I squeeze and grease for the hot weather especially. I used to use beeswax and alox but in the hot summers we have it was pretty sticky. Not so with Carnauba Red but it will probably take a heater under your luber. Easy to build btw.

[Astocks2622]

a normal high for us is about 70 in the summer. once in a blue moon it will hit 85. i'm more concerned with low-temp performance, when it's 10 below here. I am using an old lyman 45 lube-sizer, and I drilled a small hole in the base and stuck a temp-regulated soldering iron in it that I had laying around. keeps the base around 100-120, and the lube right around 90. easy flow, nice & stable temps.

[ryanmattes]

a normal high for us is about 70 in the summer. once in a blue moon it will hit 85. i'm more concerned with low-temp performance, when it's 10 below here. I am using an old lyman 45 lube-sizer, and I drilled a small hole in the base and stuck a temp-regulated soldering iron in it that I had laying around. keeps the base around 100-120, and the lube right around 90. easy flow, nice & stable temps.Wherever you are, that sounds like hell to me. Here it drops below 70 in the winter, and summers are over 100. Once in a blue moon it will hit 110. When it's 10 below, my only concern is the fastest road south.

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[Astocks2622]

The feeling is mutual, though opposite. 100 sounds like hell to me. There's only so much clothing one can appropriately remove. I can always add a layer. We're in Alaska, and winter is gorgeous here.

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[ryanmattes]

The feeling is mutual, though opposite. 100 sounds like hell to me. There's only so much clothing one can appropriately remove. I can always add a layer. We're in Alaska, and winter is gorgeous here.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using TapatalkAlaska is beautiful. But I prefer to visit snow.

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[murf205]

a normal high for us is about 70 in the summer. once in a blue moon it will hit 85. i'm more concerned with low-temp performance, when it's 10 below here. I am using an old lyman 45 lube-sizer, and I drilled a small hole in the base and stuck a temp-regulated soldering iron in it that I had laying around. keeps the base around 100-120, and the lube right around 90. easy flow, nice & stable temps.

BAC sounds about right as long as it does the trick in your 10mm. I have had good success with Carnauba Blue in revolvers but it gets a little warmer where I am than in AK. BTW you are right about Alaska in the winter, it is spectacular to say the least. I saw it 88 degrees in Fairbanks one time and it was miserable. The 'skeeters darn near sucked me dry! Those things even live on the North Slope next to the Artic Ocean. Must be the toughest insect ever created. Thanks goodness for 100% DEET.
In semi auto pistols, I have started PC'ing those because the slickness of the pc has made the difference between feeding and not feeding in some of my guns. It's not a cure all but it made a difference for me. Please keep us posted on how those boolits work for you.