Hey everyone, I have never casted before but have reloaded for many years. I just bought a Handi rifle if 45-70 and a Lee 500 gr mold. I have never used or even handled a bullet mold before, but I must say that I am not too impressed with the Lee mold. There is a good sized burr around the edge of the bullet and I can see daylight when looking through the mold. The burr I can remove, but will the gap be a problem? Is this common?
I would like to load some reduced loads. Say 1000 fps at the most, maybe 700fps or so? Any recomendations on a good powder for this? I was looking at the Hodgdon site and they list Trail Boss at 8.0 gr starting load for a 485 gr boolit for 700fps. Would this be a good powder and charge to start with?
Also, I scrounged for lead at the range for about 30 minutes the other day and picked up 11 pounds of mostly jacketed bullets. I figure I might get 10 pounds of lead. I hear this type of lead might be "soft" lead. Do you think it will work fine for my purpose? I rinsed them off pretty good, but will the dirt that is left float to the top when the lead is melted?
I plan on trying to find an old cast iron pot or something and just using a propane stove to do the melting. If I can't find something cast iron to use, will a stainless steel pot work?
Thanks in advance for all the replies!