Sorry to be the old fuddy duddy around here, but I wunder how they keep from leading up the barrel with all the cast lead they shoot? Personally, I prefer a jacketed bullet with a lead soft tip. Anything faster than an old 30-40 craig is bad about striopping the coating of and filling up the groovesd in the barrell. But then I am usually called alot of names and have pretty thick skin ( along with a few skind knuckles),
Bill, leading can be removed very easily. ....and the caliber you're referring to, I'm sure, is the 30-40 Krag
The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
John Taylor - "African Rifles and Cartridges"
Forget everything you know about loading jacketed bullets. This is a whole new ball game!
I couldnt find a .44 bullet I liked for the .444 Marlin. I bought a saeco mold and was hooked! I think I would still cast even if it were to cost more than condums. I just enjoy it , They work great, and I get to make em (lube too)!!...Buck
NRA LIFER .. "THE CAST BULLET HANDLOADER IS THE ONLY ONE THAT REALLY MAKES ANY OF HIS AMMUNITION. OTHERS MEARLY ASSEMBLE IT". -E.H. HARRISON
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"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson
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"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."
-- Ronald Reagan
Newbie here... (Well, to this board anyway...)
I take a lot of pride in knowing the firearm I'm using, whether it be a pistol or a rifle, has stocks made by me and has been tweaked, tuned and modified to the best of my ability by my own hands.
I take equal pride in knowing the ammo I shoot has been created from my choice of cases, primers, powder and boolits, then those components carefully assembled with great expectations for good results.
The projectiles I create are made from my own molds, with my own choice of boolit weight, shape, style and configuration using my own choice of alloy.
The success and function of my firearms is totally my responsibility. I can have no excuses and nothing to blame other than myself if my firearms don't perform to minimal expectation. The challenge is real, constant and the results often gratifying.
I've been playing with casting for 35 years and can say I know about 5% of all the info needed to make the "perfect boolit." That's why I'm here and that's why I like this website so much. There is constant curiosity and experimentation with an almost compulsive attempt to make the end cast boolit product better. There are so many bright and knowledgeable people contributing to this subject it draws people like me to this site like moths to a flame.
So keep up the good work all you long time members of this board. Your opinions and helpful suggestions are admired and followed much more than you may sometimes realize by those of us wanting to learn more. Your freely given knowledge and experiences will inspire boolit casting to continue for many more generations....
TC
"Hindsight is always so much more accurate than foresight, but well considered foresight so much more valuable." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
I started casting as a natural extension of reloading, as well. When .303 Brit. ammo began approaching a buck a round, I started reloading. One thing led to another...
My expectations for cast also match those for J's in my guns; two .303's and an SKS. I want to hit a man-sized target at the ranges normal for the rifle. Being ex-Army Infantry, that is how I think in terms of accurracy. Yes, having a tight group is a bonus, it also means I can hit at longer distances. Casting also satisfies the nerd-tinkerer-experimenter-"mad scientist" in me.
The advice I have received/given on this site has been the best. Thank You all for the encouragement and support. You are good people! I look forward to 'working' with you for a long time to come.
Lead Forever!
The 2nd amendment was never intended to allow private citizens to 'keep and bear arms.' If it had, there would have been wording such as 'the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. -Ken Konecki, July 27, 1992
John Galt was here.
"Politics is the art of postponing an answer until it is no longer relevant". (From the movie 'Red Tails')
My expectations are to be able to shoot all I want through my retirement yrs. Then I realized that any animal on earth can be taken with a cast boolit within 200 yrds. and even more with the right gun and circumstances. I now have over ton of lead alloys. I'm 62 and I think that'll do it. Ron.D
If your weapons will outlast you, make sure there is ample supply of lead for the next generation. They will not be able to find it the way we did.
See to it that the knowledge of casting and reloading is passed on with the tools and supplies.
Politicians will always try to see to it that we are a dieing bread.
Gee MoldMaker, just when I thought it was safe to stop slugging & smelting pails of WW's you have to go and remind me of my duties to the next generation. Of course you're right. Who knows where this is leading, actually I guess we do know. Without getting into worse case scenarios, I guess it would be prudent to stock up for more than one lifetime. As far as the guns wearing out, it's taken me a lifetime to shoot out the barrel of my first hunting rifle and that was with Jword bullets. These cast shooters should last almost forever with reasonable care. Thanks for the reminder, now where did I put those pails? Ron.D
In my best Yoda voice " A apprentice must you choose or lost the silver stream will be".
Now that's scary prophetic. I have an 8 yr. old grandson that's my best friend. Only thing is, is that he gets his ideas about hunters from cartoons. He can't abide my hunting and killing things. I'll have a job on my hands but with yoda's warning, err, guidance, I may be able to guide the poor misguided lad into the ways of the silver stream, if only in the interest of science. I've got him putting his own worm on his hook, so there is hope after all. Ron.D
got into reloading to save money and to chase the elusive better load,thus more shooting and better acuracy. Same with CB.
Found something better,stress relief and relaxation. What could be better than smelting a pot of ww,making ingots,droping boolitis ,loading them up, or killing some paper?
It is all good. Oh did I forget to mention how nice it is to get on the computer and check out all the cool stuff on the CB site. Them guys really great.
Thanks for all the knowledge. I do not post much but if I can help someone with something I know I will try.
My expectations are minimal, the gun needs to make a loud noise when I pull the trigger and the bollit needs to hit what I am aiming at.
Bingo aim high-hit the bullseye
Ok I will jump in with both feet lol. But then again I tend to do that lol.
I got started in casting when I purchased my first BPCR Sharps Quigley in 45-70 and the boolits that were available for purchase were not all that great and especially cost. And when you figure just one round in the shoot was 100 rounds it was expensive. So I started to cast for the 535Gr Postell. I sold the rifle due to the fact of the 300+ Mi round trip to go to the range to a lucky person here on the forum.
Then since I had the stuff lol. I purchased a Marlin 1894SS in .44 Mag and again jumped in with both feet and hope I could make the rifle shoot well with the bullets I would cast and then it all went down hill from there as now I cast for almost everything lol. Well .30Cal and up.
Now I am no big time caster or reloader as many on the forum but I do have a bunch of experience with the .44 Mag lol. But the norm for me in casting is the 311284,360180 Group buy,358655, 431244,Lee 310Gr,RD 432-265Gr and RD 460-350Gr RD 460-425Gr
If one sits in thundering quiet the soul dies slow instead of yell to the heavens for all to hear and behold the righteous and upstanding and ones of which should be held with tales of woe. By C.A.S. <--- Thats Me lol.
Chicks dig me because I cast my own.
Paul
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 |