My wife thinks I am crazy to stand over a lead pot in this weather. So I had to ask if I was the only one that really enjoys casting or was it something you do because you have too.
My wife thinks I am crazy to stand over a lead pot in this weather. So I had to ask if I was the only one that really enjoys casting or was it something you do because you have too.
I enjoy casting but I do most of mine after Deer season in late Winter and early Spring. I cast enough then to carry me through the year. I have enough electrical circuits behind my work bench that I often cast with a couple of friends. We usually make a day of it.
A buddy and I also save our aculimanted lead all year and have a smelting day during the cooler weather. We have a friendly competition to see who scrounges the most lead during the year. We tease each other with pictures of our better scores.
I enjoy casting and always cast way more than I shoot. I probably give 80% of my boolits away to friends and family.
KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.
I'd have to say I enjoy it. I started casting out of necessity and lay the blame at the feet of Charles 'Skeeter' Skelton. I soaked up any and everything Skeeter wrote. His writings about the Thompson design bullet #358156, and the Keith design #429421 led up to my start. Living in a rural area of Oklahoma, there wasn't many gun shops, and I didn't know a soul who cast their own. Nor could I find a way (or place) to purchase either of those bullets. I scoured the gun magazines and the grand old Shotgun News with no luck looking to order either of the bullets. I decided it was time to learn to cast my own. Strange, it doesn't seem that 40 years have passed since it all began.
It was years in the making, but now I have a great little shop out back dedicated to my shooting needs. It was once a very small day care center many years ago. The walls and ceiling are bead board and it's climate controlled. Once the mold and alloy are up to temp, I typically try to fill no less than a 3 pound coffee can of whatever bullet it is I'm casting. Being a music lover, I have a nice sound system (200 watts) and it gets fired up too. I get lost in the music, the rhythm of my casting speed and I'm at peace with the world. So yes, I do enjoy casting.
Murphy
If I should depart this life while defending those who cannot defend themselves, then I have died the most honorable of deaths. Marc R. Murphy '2006'.
I am in the group where casting is relaxing for me.Seems to keep my attention and I just get in a happy zone.I have bullets eveywhere.I cast way more than i shoot.I have been trading for brass and other things for a long time.I have not cast as much in the last year but i expect to be at it again this fall when the weather cools down a bit.38 and 45 are my favorite cals.
She is a good one. Knows my Love of shooting, reloading and casting. When we had a place to shoot she could go though a carton of 22's in the time it took me to shoot a 100 rd though my Single Action Ruger.
Understands my love of casting, but might complain of a few smells will blending. LOL
Last edited by brstevns; 08-15-2021 at 01:00 PM.
Relaxing is my main reason as well, cast more bullets for a few cousins to keep me going. Should have never given them a few to try! L.O.L.
I enjoy casting particularly when good bullets fall on every cast
It depends.
When I’m casting for experimental loadings with a new-found mould (and said mould isn’t being cranky), I really enjoy it.
If I suddenly find that I’m out of a design I need for an impending match, it’s more “work,” but still OK.
I once cast 500 small hollow-base boolits for a friend of a friend in exchange for a Mannlicher action, out of a single-cavity mould. That was drudgery; put me off casting for six months.
Guess I’m just not a pro. Otherwise, the fact that bad ones can always be remelted for another try removes any stress, and I, too, get that Zen thing when I’m rushin’ on my run.
So I could cast when I wanted, the last three casting rooms have been air conditioned and heated; just a window unit and oil filled space heater until the last one so the cost was minimal. I was in East Texas for the first one, SE New Mexico desert for the next and now on the Tx Gulf Coast where it’s hot 8 months of the year. The A/C also keeps everything from rusting.
Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris
Waiting for a NOE mold to arrive, Had to save for awhile to order it. When it arrives I will just have to give it a tried.
Which of the following is true:
I am a progressive and think guns should be confiscated.
I have a ton of work to do and I can hardly wait till I get to the office.
I have a ton of lead.
I believe I have a ton of lead , is that already cast or waiting to be cast or in the process of casting , this is so confusing .
I enjoy casting , I enjoy taking range scrap and salvaging it and melting it into ingots , yes its work , its dirty and its sweaty with some physical discomfort while doing all those processes , but when those shiny bullets are finally done and ready to load , there is satisfaction .
Each and every step of the process and the brass reloading takes time and effort , but is somewhat enjoyable , part of the hobby of shooting which leads to more reloading and to casting , yes I like to make my own .
I enjoy casting, but try not to do it in the hot summer and not in the winter when my feet end up getting cold. Once I get in the groove and boolits are dropping just right, I hate to stop.
I have enjoyed casting since I was a kid. Something about self reliance and all that I guess. I like casting pretty much any bullets but my preference is casting large round balls! I have no idea why but it is what it is. I like symmetry and it just don't get any more symmetrical than a round ball! That and they cast and drop out of the moulds beautifully. I have round ball moulds:
- 00 buckshot (okay those are small)
- 0.375" double cavity (smallish)
- 0.440" double cavity (now we're getting there!)
- 0.490" double cavity
- 0.662" single cavity
- 0.678" single cavity
- 0.690" single cavity
- 0.715" single cavity
- 0.735" single cavity
I love them all! I love all my bullet, ball and slug moulds and casting with them except one... the infamous Lyman Foster slug mould. That mould I hate!
I cast any time of year when I need balls or bullets. I've cast in the heat of summer at around 100°F and in the cold of winter at about 5°F. It gets colder here but I have my limits!
Casting just makes me feel good... all those shiny balls and bullets, what's not to like?
Longbow
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 |