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Thread: who taught you to cast boolits?

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    who taught you to cast boolits?

    I learned to reload using an old Lee Loader( the type with a hammer loader). My first job in LE saw me with a .45 1911 Commander. I found an old .38 S&W revolver to play with... I went to my second job with LE and found a gentleman by the name of Malcolm Reimers ( may he rest in peace) who taught me the basics of reloading cast boolits. He was a perfectionist of sorts who would re-melt slightly imperfect boolits. He used old( ancient) Lyman reloading equipment ,and still used his Belding and Hull powder measure" because it works, 100% of the time"!! He took me under his wing and confided how Unique powder was Gods gift to reloaders. . , how things were wild and western back in the old days. He was adamant that a revolver would serve me well and to stay away from self shuckers.....I learned a lot from old Malcolm, I learned how he kept his word so much so that all he had to do was call someones family and if that person had a warrant, they went straight to "Mr. Malcolm". He was a master Mason, a well respected community member, and full of information you could find anywhere.... I ended up with Mr Malcolms registered Magnum and other things. I was casting some 158 SWC the other day when I spied my can of Unique.... Ran off about 50 rounds of Mr. Malcolms loads and went and had fun......... Wish he was still around, they world will never see the likes of them again....I dont really have anyone I can teach right now , but I hope I will run across a young shooter someday....

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Elmer Kieth I learned from books i new no one that cast so from manuals and magazines no internet in the 70s and I new no one that cast . Now I learn from the folks here

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    In showing how times have changed I learned to cast bullets for an original 1863 Springfield rifle-musket in high school shop class. We made our own black powder in chemistry class, the girls cooked Minie Ball lube and baked biscuits for us to carry in our possibles bags in home economics, and we built a ballistic pendulum, measured velocity and calculated the trajectory in math class. All as a senior project for the Musket Team, which competed in the N-SSA Nationals in 1964.

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    The ENEMY is listening.
    HE wants to know what YOU know.
    Keep it to yourself.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outpost75 View Post
    In showing how times have changed I learned to cast bullets for an original 1863 Springfield rifle-musket in high school shop class. We made our own black powder in chemistry class, the girls cooked Minie Ball lube and baked biscuits for us to carry in our possibles bags in home economics, and we built a ballistic pendulum, measured velocity and calculated the trajectory in math class. All as a senior project for the Musket Team, which competed in the N-SSA Nationals in 1964.

    Attachment 276385
    That is great ! I love it.
    I would have gone to class at that school

  5. #5
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    Lyman.

    DG

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
    Scrounge's Avatar
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    My dad, starting at about age 10. I'm sure I was "helping" him before then, but not sure I was actually any real help before then.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy wyofool's Avatar
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    Self taught, well that and this web site. Thanks to everyone here who helped.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

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    A very dear friend who has since passed. He taught me to cast for his Springfield Trap Door in the early to mid 90's. He then set me up with my first moulds, an RCBS Pro Melt from the mid 80's, a Star lubrisizer and a stash of alloy. I still have the Pro Melt and the Star! I went on to work weekends with his commercial casting and reloading business for another 15 or so years until he passed at an early age of around 66 of cancer and strange heavy metal poisonings from his previous day job, diagnosis to death in 3 weeks. Main casting done with the big Magma 8 mould units, I did all the low volume special request casting and loading by hand for the operation, loaded more 25acp and 32 acp than you could shake a stick at. Most of the stuff was to odd or to small a run to set up one of the 1050's for. On weekends we would often setup at a gun show from Indy to St. Louis, north to Kankakee and south to Louisville.

    Those were really good days and I really miss them.

  9. #9
    Banned

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    My dad.......started casting bullets at 10 and handloading at 12.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    I got started casting right here at cast boolits .

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Lyman manual back in the 60's
    There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide. Ayn Rand

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy

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    Self taught, stated casing round balls for a cap and ball revolver at about 16.

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy
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    When I started a few years ago, I knew no one that cast. My internet research took me here. You guys taught me.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    Trial, error, and a Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook...long before there was an internet. I was a member of Battery A, 124th Illinois Light Artillery (reenactors) and wanted to cast my own Minie balls. A Lee mold, a Lyman ladle, an old cast-iron saucepan, a Coleman stove, and I was in business. Once I got the hang of it, it didn't take long before I was casting for everyone in A Battery who had a .58 rifled musket or a .44 six-gun. One of the gun captains (with only one restored 6-pounder and three gun captains, they had to take turns) was a plumber in the real world and had what seemed to be an inexhaustible source for salvaged lead pipe.

    Bill
    "I'm not often right but I've never been wrong."

    Jimmy Buffett
    "Scarlet Begonias"

  15. #15
    Boolit Master reloader28's Avatar
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    An old man I knew had a mold, a lead pot and knew how to melt lead. That was pretty much all he knew about it. Cast bullets were good for nothing more than shooting cans he said.
    I started playing with it and figuring stuff out and taught him how wrong he was.
    I found this site and picked up some very good tips, but most of mine is self taught

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy ak_milsurp's Avatar
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    I found a box of casting equipment T. Garage sale 25 years ago. It had a. Lyman 4500 lube sizer, molds, ladles, sizing dies, lube sticks, and a Lee 10lb bottom pour pot..... The first I cast were .452, 200 gr8 swc for my 1911 combat commander. It all began from there!

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    "Remember the Range Day and keep it Holy. May the light of the Holy Tracer guide thy aim!"

    NRA Benefactor Member

    Anchorage, Alaska

  17. #17
    Boolit Master pjames32's Avatar
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    Self taught with a lot of reading. No internet then (1970). I finally found an LGS owner who cast and he gave me a lot of tips.
    Yes, my first reloads were from a hammer loader from Lee in 38spec.
    NRA Benefactor Member

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
    marlin39a's Avatar
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    Learned from reading Lyman cast bullet manual back in 1977. I knew nothing, nobody, and there was no internet.

  19. #19
    Boolit Buddy
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    Self taught early 70s, bought a promelt + 3 RCBS moulds and went for it.My son and I mostly shoot cast Ranging from 40/65 308 303 6.5x55 218 Bee 30/222 + 222.I shot pistol for 20 yrs and Cast thousands of 45acp 32sw long + 38/357. As they say all time not shooting wasted!! Has been a most rewarding hobby.Still at it,spent yesterday helping train new R/Os at our new 200yd rifle range @ Adelaide Pistol and shooting Club her in Aus.

    Cheers Mal.

  20. #20
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    Me, myself and I. With the help of the good members here and a good friend giving me his dads casting pot and moulds when dad passed.
    Steve,

    Life Member NRA
    Colorado Rifle Club member
    Rocky Mtn Gun Owners member
    NAGR member

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check