Have always enjoyed casting bullets accept in really hot weather. Am I the only one?
Printable View
Have always enjoyed casting bullets accept in really hot weather. Am I the only one?
I’m right there with you. I cast whenever time allows just cause it’s a great way to clear my head and enjoy some “me” time. I agree though, if it’s over 65 degrees or below 30 in my garage it loses some of the appeal.
When I get the casting mindset it is almost a Zen experience. Very mellow when you get into the rhythm with a couple of well behaved molds dropping good boolits every cycle.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
I'm pretty sure you're on a forum full of people who really like casting. I suppose there may be some who do it out of necessity, but for the most part, if we're here, we're probably pretty into it.
Ryan
Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
I would do more casting, if I could. I'm with Ryan & Thumbcocker. Here lately, I've been spending all my productive time working on my workshop, which is at least nominally separate from reloading area. There is stuff in the reloading area that needs to move into the shop, and vise versa, and once the shop is done, I'll be moving into the reloading area. That's also my office, library, and electronics area. The office is marginally useful, the rest not so much. I got the new cabinet for my Atlas lathe more or less done yesterday. I'm on the honey-do list right now, and tomorrow is my 39th Anniversary, so I may not get to move the lathe until Sunday, or later. Still a lot of organizing to do in the shop, too. And in the house.
Bill
I must still be a 10 year old at heart. Something about casting molten lead that appeals to me. Temperature range where I cast, of from 55 degrees up to 75 is ok with me. It is kind of a mental reset; especially when the mold begins to drop perfect boolits. I don't know much about Zen but may be that.
I prefer casting to loading.
I am there with you. Find casting helps me to calm my nerves and settle the brain. I enjoy reloading but like casting better. I do really enjoy shooting the bullets cast to see how they preform. Cast a 100 6mm today but it was 92 degrees and I quit in less then a hour.
I like casting with my 4 and 6 cavity molds. The 2 cav gets a bit tedious. This time of year I shoot mostly.
I was casting a little before lunch with a new mold from Accurate molds. It was about 85 outside and humid. I'll probably cast some more tonight as I only got a few pounds of good bullets before I had to leave for work. That's about as hot as I can stand. I was dripping sweat by the time I finished up. I'll cast down to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit in my detached garage. With the right apparel the cold doesn't phase me.
Greetings,
Most of my casting is slugs for swaging.
Two hours of casting with a 6-cavity mould gives me enough slugs to last a couple of months.
Cheers,
Dave
I like doing it.
Not only do I save a buck or two, but it keeps me out of those crooked BINGO parlors.
I cast and reload to save $$$.
If 9mm/.38 bullets were $40/1000, and .40's were $50/1000, I would never cast another pistol bullet unless the government made it necessary to cast to get bullets.
Rifle bullets make even less sense for me. I do not own any "weird" calibers that benefit from cast or some voodoo profile. LOL
I must have $2000 in stuff to cast bullets not including about 2 tons of alloy. I would love to find someone who would have fun converting that alloy to bullets.
I enjoy it, and loading as well.
Almost as much as shooting.
I enjoy casting better than reloading. I own a commercial casting business but I really enjoy breaking out my 5 hole molds and making my own bullets.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Attachment 287439 . I like recycling lead from the range and saving money in the process. Here's a chess set my daughter and I cast together. I keep busy playing with the scrap alloyed lead I pickup at the range. Yesterday I tested lead ingots I made and left in my garage for a few months. The hardness changed but I was able to test the bhn with pencils and separate the ingots by hardness. The softest ingots are for my .38wc and .45s. Today I mixed and matched the hardest and second hardest ingots for various pistol calibers, taking a piece of each ingot of a group and mixing together so I can get a better mix of the same alloy, then I swirl cast the bullets. I'm going pc and let the bullets sit awhile, then temper one batch to compare loads with a tempered to a seasoned bullet. Experimenting is fun to me. I wish I could use them for hunting but CA banned lead bullets. Maybe I can talk a Texan into taking some from me and shooting a dead pig carcass so I can see how well my creations expand.
I only cast for my Muzzle loader, .490rb (Pure lead, and .50 conicals. I have well over 1,000 of each. (I cast now because I enjoy it), Same reason I reload. I don't NEED more. I reload for 30-06,30-30, .38 s&w, .45acp, . I have at least 1,000 rounds loaded for each. I have 2 1,000 round bricks of CCI .22lr. I reload now because it relaxes me, and I just want more.
I set up my garage so I can cast year-round.
With 2 vent fans over my pot and another that vents the whole garage if needed.
I have a small heater for the winter (doesn't take much with the big door closed)
I also have a big 2-speed squirrel-cage fan out of a furnace mounted on an end wall that blows down the front of you casting bench that keeps me cool on hot days.
{**** IF you use a squirrel-cage fan out of a furnace, you need to block 2/3 of the air inlet to simulate the backpressure of the fan being in the furnace so it will run faster and not burn itself out}
Well......YES. If I didn't like it then why would I do it? :)
At one time I thought about buying an automated unit. Then figured I would be missing out on all the fun. Kinda same with reloading.
I do enjoy casting rifle bullets a lot more than pistol bullets. Taking the extra time to get as close to perfect as I can so the groups will be smaller at longer ranges.
Not at all! When I jut want to go relax, I fire up the casting pot. I tolerate reloading, well over 350K rds in the last 45y, but I do enjoy casting. Hand casting or the Magma Caster, its all just good relaxing & turning scrap into something useful.
If it's a new mold it doesn't matter what temperature, think it was 95F when the last 2 arrived. I like casting and shooting a little better than reloading but I like all of it.
I like being self-sufficient there for I cast. I get a lot of pride in getting my own cast projectiles to perform well.
I do not fight high heat or excessive cold, however!
Three44s
I really hate humidity, but, the worst time I had casting was a summer afternoon in Phoenix. Garage had a door that faced west so it was cooler to open the door. Only 112F. Never did that again :)
You guys and your 75 degrees. It's 85 at midnight around here and up over 100 during the day, and this summer the humidity's been 80%-90% all summer long. If I didn't cast when it was hot, I'd only have a month or two all year to cast. And in those months it would be too cold.
Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
My favorite days to cast are midnight January and February. I finally have all the time I could want to cast, and nobody bothers you at night. It can be a little cold sometimes, but that's why they make jackets. There's no bugs at all. About the only problem is if you have a strong breeze, the cold air can mess with a bottom pour pot.
Really appeals to my OCD … filling the coffers is always rewarding.
I love casting. I prefer it to be cold outside, but if I am offered the choice - Shoot or Cast? I will often choose to cast.
BNE
I started at about 9 or 10 casting toy lead soldiers using mostly old solder a neighbor gave me box was to heavy for me to carry so my best friend helped me push it down the sidewalk to his house. Is still remember the finger burns and learning it looked cold but was NOT
I started out melting lead around a camp fire (.45 and .50 RB) and casting in two old iron ball molds. Something nostalgic about that. Now I cast in my shop. I have central heat and window air....unfortunately it gets a little tough to breathe and I have to open the overheads. I love the time I spend out there....kinda calming. I only have two custom molds and the rest are lee's(not bad for what they cost).
I'm with you brothers. I love to work with my casting, loading and shooting. I even enjoy cleaning my guns after the range. It is all a lot of enjoyment to me. I too would rather cast in cooler weather.
If ya asked that question cuz you think someone here is going to talk you out of it
[emoji848]
[emoji3]
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Love casting. Once the boolits start falling, it is just cathartic.
I am slow, I make sure that I'm getting good boolits while casting so I check them as they drop. For this reason, I like brass/iron molds. With those molds you have to slow down a little and I use that time to look at my boolits...
I started reloading and later casting to save money. Now I enjoy both activities apart from the shooting.
I go out in the shop and cast when I want some me time . winter or summer does not matter, have an air conditioner for the summer and heater for the winter. made a bad mistake though taught my wife to cast and handload .
If I didn’t enjoy it I would just buy my bullets from Rocky Mountain, Missouri or Montana Bullet works. For me it would be much more practical and economical but I enjoy making my own.
Moderator!
What happened to my post? It is in my profile but gone from here. Thank you.
Sorry about that, I didn't realize I had started it as a new thread.