Is WW advisable for a NB casting 45-70?

[Treegunner]

Hello Everyone, This is my first post after much lurking to find info on this new journey of casting my own boolits.

I have a 45-70 High Wall which I plan on shooting midrange paper and silhouette (200-600 yds). I want to start casting but the more I read the more questions I have. It seems like it can be pretty frustrating without a mentor.

I guess I am going to start by purchasing a Lee Pro 4 20# bottom pour and Lyman postell mould.

Buying lead (25-1) at $1.26 a pound to yeild a dozen or so bullets isn't that appealing so I was considering using wheel weights to save money.

Would using wheel weights just add to the possible aggrivation for a Newbie caster or should I stick with a known alloy at first?

What would I have to mix with the WW to make it right to shoot out of my high wall for midrange targets?

I appreciate any and all suggestions/info I can get, I want to make this as enjoyable as possible.

Thanks in advance,
Treegunner

[MacGregor]

i've used nothing but straight wheel weights since day 1... no worries... i do use high-temp lube tho...

[Dale53]

It is quite helpful to add 2% tin to your mix. It lowers the surface tension of the WW and helps the mould to fill out perfectly.

When I was shooting black powder sil I used 25/1 lead/tin exclusively, However, others reported good results with WW with a bit of tin.

Dale53

[RayinNH]

Treegunner, straight WW is all I use. Use plain WW and see how they cast. Only add the tin if you have to,to get proper mold fillout. I'll assume that if you're just punching paper that your not after barnburner loads. If that is the case then just let them air cool. Your sizer will thank you for not water cooling that big boolit...Ray

[Finn45]

Treegunner,
Welcome. My suggestion along with Lee BPF, WW and big Lyman mold is to get a dipper. RCBS, Lyman, or perhaps Rowell ladle... Lyman will fit in your Lee BPF without valve system disassembly, Rowell might be a bit too big for convenient use. All three will do, get the one you'll get cheapest, but get at least one.

[Treegunner]

Thanks for the great replies, I guess wheel weights are good to go and I will go for 2% tin if they dont start casting well.

I am glad because right now I am broke but I start my new career as an RN next week... Ya Hooo...

Thanks for the help
Treegunner

[Buckshot]

..............Treegunner, If you don't get perfect boolits rigth away with WW alloy, don't immediately give up. Check back. Also if you're going for BP equivilent loads all you need for lube is the NRA 50/50 formula. I also see you don't mention anything about a lube-sizer. If you are going to pan lube it is the best of the low tech methods, IMO. Also low tech and cheap is to try some beeswax-Vaseline as a lube when pan lubing.

When pan lubing, the boolits should be hot, or very warm or the lube will setup too fast around them and may not fill the lube grooves. I set the pan of lube on the burner and turn on very low heat. As the lube begins to melt I start placing the slugs in the pan. After turning off the heat, when the lube is just a bit soft, flip the pan over to get the lubecake and boolits out. Then use your thumb to push each boolit straight out.

Or you can make a cookie cutter from a 45-70 case. Solder on some handles and then just press it down over each slug in turn. Again best done when the lube cake is still a bit soft.

You may not have to size the slugs at all. Loading one in a case and trying to chamber it will tell you right away what needs to be done.

................Buckshot

[Wayne Smith]

If you give us some idea of where you are there might just be one of us within an hour or two who might just be that mentor you mentioned.

[Treegunner]

Buckshot- I would like to get a lube/sizer so I am going to start saving now for all the gear but thanks for the tip on the pan lube process. I may have to resort to that method in the beginning. What do you guys think about buying used? I been burned going that route before.

Wayne- Last night one of my friends I have known for about 5 months (and shoots his Shiloh very rarely) blew of the dust on this covered cart in his shop -- LO and BEHOLD--it was his reloading "cart". He tought me the basics of casting with 20/1 and he let me roll up about 200 rounds. We inspected them and put them thru his lubri-sizer and I am going to shoot them tomorrow, well 50 of them anyway.

It was a much better experience than I could ever have imagined. From all I have read here and what he tought me yesterday, I feel I will actually enjoy casting but I haven't tried tackling the wheel weights yet. I think between my friend and you guys I will be fine.

Oh and my friend, I showed him the pics and video of the Ackley Buffalo Shoot and he replied "we are going". I think I may have re-motivated him on his single shot shooting.

Thanks again all,
Treegunner.

[JohnH]

Back in the late '80's I had a 45-70 Hiwall (Browning 1885) and it shot WW just fine, but you say that you are going to shoot midrange paper and sillywets. Sounds like blackpowder sport to me. Everything I read (I ain't been there and done that) says that WW isn't up to snuff somehow for making truely competitive BP boolits. I've suspected for a long time that antimonial alloys are not as weight consistant as are simple lead/tin alloys. I also believe that Holy Black don't bump it up the same way that smokeless does. For the shooting most of us do, WW does just fine, but where ranges get long and velocities are low, it takes less variation to make a difference. Theres a reason that the people who are consistantly in the top 5 at a shoot are there, and all those people shoot alloy between 20-1 and 30-1 and devoutly avoid WW and will tell you to do the same. I imagine that WW is fine for practice work, but were I looking at being competitive, I'd leave the WW at home come shoot day.

[Bucks Owin]

Thanks for the great replies, I guess wheel weights are good to go and I will go for 2% tin if they dont start casting well.

I am glad because right now I am broke but I start my new career as an RN next week... Ya Hooo...

Thanks for the help
Treegunner

RN huh? Apparently hospitals use lead for some purpose, (probably X-ray shielding?). I'd get friendly with a couple of X-ray techs iff'n it wuz me!
For this great tip, I'll take my 50% comission in lead please....[smilie=1:

Dennis

[Wayne Smith]

If you are shooting the Holy Black you've got a lot of load development to do to find the right bullet, lube, powder, compression, wad material or none, and primer. Wheelweights are essentially free and perfectly adequate for these uses. When you can shoot them as accurately as you think you can, then invest in pure metals and see how much difference they make you. You may find that with you and your rifle they make all the diffeence or that they make none. Each rifle and individual skills are different.

Practical financial issues say make the bullet material the last variable to alter.

[Treegunner]

RN huh? Apparently hospitals use lead for some purpose, (probably X-ray shielding?). I'd get friendly with a couple of X-ray techs iff'n it wuz me!
For this great tip, I'll take my 50% comission in lead please....[smilie=1:

Dennis
Yeah RN, That's a great tip and there are quite a few cuties working there too, maybe I can get a little more than I bargained for, Lead, I mean... We will negotiate your commission.

Wayne- thats another good tip, load development requires the patients of a saint and about a ga-zillion bullets (for me anyway). I will used the WW lead for that.

Thanks
Treegunner.

[Treegunner]

RN huh? Apparently hospitals use lead for some purpose, (probably X-ray shielding?). I'd get friendly with a couple of X-ray techs iff'n it wuz me!
For this great tip, I'll take my 50% comission in lead please....[smilie=1:

Dennis
Yeah RN, That's a great tip and there are quite a few cuties working there too, maybe I can get a little more than I bargained for, Lead, I mean... We will negotiate your commission.

Wayne- thats another good tip, load development requires the patients of a saint and about a ga-zillion bullets (for me anyway). I will used the WW lead for that.

Thanks
Treegunner.

[Edward429451]

(If you hook up with a cutie, does Wayne's commision go up?:>))

Watch out for Lyman Postell moulds. Mine only drops em at .457 undersized.

When I pan lube I let them cool completely and they tipped right out using a 45/70 case and were perfectly filled.

[SharpsShooter]

Treegunner,

I use WW and the Holy Black with no problems and get very good accuracy. It does take an additional step. Air cooled WW are a bit too hard to bump up at BP pressures, and need to be annealed. Place your cast boolits in an aluminum cake pan that you do not ever intend to use for food. Pre heat the oven to 450* and place the pan of boolits on the middle rack. Close the door and let em cook for an hour, then turn off the oven and allow them to cool slowly.

I use this method with the Lyman 457125, and it does the trick when lubed with Bulshop #2 lube and shoved out the bore with 70gr of Goex Cartridge. Your mileage may vary.

:coffee:

[SharpsShooter]

Watch out for Lyman Postell moulds. Mine only drops em at .457 undersized.



You could Beagle that Mould and get it to drop .459-.460 with not too much problem.

:coffee:

[John Boy]

Place your cast boolits in an aluminum cake pan that you do not ever intend to use for food.
... and if the pan is teflon coated - your going to be real sorry. The bullets will stick to the pan and the teflon creates a 'white frost' on the base of the bullets.

[Edward429451]

<You could Beagle that Mould and get it to drop .459-.460 with not too much problem.>

That's right! I'm still lacking a rifle to shoot em in though. Just have the Marlin right now.