Big bullets or little bullets. With which to start?

[duckear]

Being slowly getting all the 'stuff' to begin casting.



Are bigger bullets or small bullets more forgiving for noobs?

Ive read here in my searches that smaller bullets and the mold cools faster, larger bullets keep mold hotter and casts better/easier.

My main motivation to begin casting is for my 470NE.

Last year, I picked up some super cheap molds off Amazon clearance in addition to my 470 mold.

Which of these should I play with first?
Or are they so close, it doesn't matter?

Lyman mold for round balls for Ruger Old Army
Lyman 7mm rifle bullet
Lyman 44 mag bullet
RCBS mold for 470NE bullet

[475AR]

Being slowly getting all the 'stuff' to begin casting.



Are bigger bullets or small bullets more forgiving for noobs?

Ive read here in my searches that smaller bullets and the mold cools faster, larger bullets keep mold hotter and casts better/easier.

My main motivation to begin casting is for my 470NE.

Last year, I picked up some super cheap molds off Amazon clearance in addition to my 470 mold.

Which of these should I play with first?
Or are they so close, it doesn't matter?

Lyman mold for round balls for Ruger Old Army
Lyman 7mm rifle bullet
Lyman 44 mag bullet
RCBS mold for 470NE bullet

I think it depends on the molds, are they aluminum, brass or steel? How many cavities?
I think the easiest to get started with is a 2 cavity aluminum mold, set your pot temp based on what alloy you are casting with like 700-750 degrees for wheel weights, pre heat your mold by dipping the corner in your melt or using a hot plate. Then start casting, if you get wrinkles more than likely the mold is cold and needs to heat more, if bullets come out frosty your melt may be too hot. Granted there are alot of variables with casting and taking notes of each session will help you learn. Once you get everything correct you will love casting and be amazed at how many you can crank out even with a 2 cavity mold. Also note that each mold is different and what you do for one may have to change for another even if the mold is from the same maker and design. Best thing to do is jump in and start casting and any issues you run into look here on the forum because if it is happening to you I bet 100 others have had the same issue, if all else fails open a thread and ask questions there are alot of great helpful people here that are willing to help you. One of the good things with casting is if you have any bad ones just throw them back in the mix and keep going.

[wmitty]

Round balls for the Ruger are gonna be easy; if they are wrinkled, mould or alloy is too cold. Cast about ten and if they are still coming out wrinkled, raise the temp of your alloy a bit. Turn the sprue up in the chambers. The .44 boolit should be easy also. Heating the mould has a whole lot to do with your chances of success when you don't have a mentor to guide you.

[Bookworm]

I started with a 44 Mag mold - the 44-250-K.

In my opinion, it was easier then the .38 cal boolits that I cast after that.

[NoZombies]

My advice:

Start with the medium to larger stuff, I would really only see the 7mm giving you trouble, the rest should all cast fairly easy as long as the alloy is decent and up to temp and the mold is pre-heated properly.

Get a cheap hot plate. Put a piece of copper or aluminum on the burner and set the mold on that to pre-heat. Let the mold pre-heat for as long as it takes to get the pot up to temperature. Cut the sprue after a 3 count once it's hardened. When you take a break, set the mold back on the hot plate.

It's not rocket surgery, you're going to learn a lot by the doing.

[gwpercle]

The round ball and 44 magnum are good to start with.
The only way to learn is to do it....there is a learning curve , but if you have problems post photos and several answers will be thrown at you .
Flux your metal , get it hot and cast like you got good sense.
Don't worry about water dropping and such right now, concentrate on casting good boolits.
Air cooling works just fine. Fit of boolit is much more important than hardness .
Gary

[RogerDat]

Some hotplates come with a solid top rather than the coil. I got one at a local big box store new for $20. Good for mold heating.
I would start with the round ball using plain lead. Temp will be hot but round balls cast the easiest of what I have tried. Followed by the 44 mag with a WW alloy and a touch of tin/solder.

If you use the same set up as you did for round ball, the same melter temp to melt your WW & tin alloy and same hot plate setting to heat you mold the temp will be a little high which to my way of thinking is more forgiving. If the puddle on your sprue starts taking too long to cool and become dull, or the bullets are sharp edged but frosty you can then start bring the temperature down a bit at a time on your melt (or change the speed you cast, cut, and dump mold at)

Round ball settings will be a little hot for the 44 but that should make it easier to cast some good bullets and allow you to tweak from those settings and casting pace that work to refine and improve your 44 casting process. I would guess the 470 NE or 7mm might be getting into more care in your alloy selection, and lube may be more critical. Might even want to water quench to harden lead or powder coat to lube for higher velocity.

For me 45 round ball is easiest, 45 colt 255 grain is next, followed by 38 158 gr. SWC then the 8mm or heavy 30 caliber are harder still. But hey do-overs rule! Just toss the obvious bad ones back on the pot, and re-melt the ones that fail inspection when you are done. Trying to inspect while casting was my biggest mistake that I had a hard time avoiding. Wrecks the rhythm and timing if I stop to look at the results too closely. But I would think I see something and STOP, for me that was a hard habit to break.

[country gent]

Keep in mind a 22 cal 55 grn bullet with a .5 grn variation is 1% a 45 cal 550 with 5 grns variation is 1 %. I believe the bigger ( heavier) bullets are easier to start out casting. I also would recommend a note book to keep notes on what worked what didn't, what you tried and why. Also mould temps, lead temps, alloies. This helps you repeat success and not repeat what didn't work. It also helps track temps and techniques for different moulds and alloies. Keep it simple to start with. Pick up a copy of the lyman cast bullet handbook, This is very good on the how to what to do and loads.

[dbosman]

If you don't already have it, grab a FREE copy of "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners ©" A joint effort by Glen E. Fryxell and Robert L. Applegate from http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[dragon813gt]

Bigger is a lot easier for a lot of reasons. You will find your weight variations from cast to cast can be quite high when you first start out. Not a big deal w/ larger bullets. Quite a big deal w/ 55 grain 22cal bullets. You could also throw hand guns versus rifle bullets into the mix. Casting for hand guns is a lot easier.

[duckear]

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement!

[runfiverun]

that 44 mold would be about the easiest to gain a handle on things. [swirl the allow into the hole]
the 7mm mold will need a slightly different pouring technique to give it's best results.
[line the hole up with the spout and shoot the alloy straight in]

I generally pressure pour round ball molds with the soft lead in the 10 lb pot and just keep dumping and filling non stop.

once the rcbs mold is up to temp you can loaf along pouring and counting and cutting at a leisurely pace.

think of the alloy as heat.
try to maintain the mold at a consistent temperature.

[Jack Stanley]

I started with the mid bores , 35 to 44 and the transition to the others was pretty easy .

Jack