Now that I've discovered how much I like reloading, I'm considering trying my hand at bullet casting. I know many local places give reloading classes, but does anyone know where to go for a casting class?
I learned when i was about 14 making fishing sinkers.
45 now and all that has changed is the lead recipe.
I do not know of any classes .. but many here could teach you a lot about it.
Maybe even a hands on casting session ..I have been thinking of making a few hundred more 30 cal
pretty soon.. and some 357 mag stuff
You are welcome to join me.
45 now and all that has changed is the lead recipe.
I do not know of any classes .. but many here could teach you a lot about it.
Maybe even a hands on casting session ..I have been thinking of making a few hundred more 30 cal
pretty soon.. and some 357 mag stuff
You are welcome to join me.
I'd be interested in this also. I have a vague idea of how it's done but really want to learn how from someone actually doing it. I'd rather not make a mistake and burn the heck out of myself.
And where can you get some lead? The tire shops I've talked to just laughed when I asked them about used wheel weights.
And where can you get some lead? The tire shops I've talked to just laughed when I asked them about used wheel weights.
The cast bootlit and you tube.
Lyman 49th reloading manual has a section on lead casting.
I have that one and i recommend reading it.
Standard iron and metal has lead wheel weights most of the time and will sell to the public.
They also have soft lead like sewer pipe...
Makes a good mix when you do not need a hard bullet.
Do either of you guys have a casting pot or bullet molds yet?
Maybe sometime soon we can get a few guys together and melt down some dirty lead and make ingots ,
then turn those ingots into some good bullets.
It would need to be a non rainy day, as water and molten lead do not get along.
I have that one and i recommend reading it.
Standard iron and metal has lead wheel weights most of the time and will sell to the public.
They also have soft lead like sewer pipe...
Makes a good mix when you do not need a hard bullet.
Do either of you guys have a casting pot or bullet molds yet?
Maybe sometime soon we can get a few guys together and melt down some dirty lead and make ingots ,
then turn those ingots into some good bullets.
It would need to be a non rainy day, as water and molten lead do not get along.
Swampratt that's an awesome offer! Would a session with three or four in attendance be ok? I have a friend that would probably come as well.
I've watched the YouTube stuff but it lacks the "oh and I learned this the hard way" that you get from doing it hands on.
I guess I'm a little different than most. Once I decided to try bullet casting, I read a lot and paid particular attention to the safety factors involved. Then I bought some equipment and started melting lead and casting bullets. I'm hard headed and generally learn better from my own mistakes. From reading, especially "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners" by Glen Fryxell and the Lyman manual, I got an idea of what I could expect. After doing the actual casting, I better understood what I had read and saw how things turned out when I screwed up. I didn't start casting to save money, but more to make the shooting sport more fun (to me) by controlling every aspect that I can. By making your own mistakes, you learn how your own equipment operates best, what temperature your dies make the best castings, what happens when the dies get too hot, etc. If you take your time and pay attention, you learn what bullets your guns like and why (size, hardness, etc). Once you've cast some bullets of your own you find that you're looking for better ways of doing things and you understand most of what you're hearing or reading. The nice thing about casting is that if you screw up, you just throw the bad bullets back in the melting pot and try again. Safey first, always.
Yes many people in attendance is fine.
Fatcpa stated many good points.
If your buddies are not into listening they should not attend.
I can go over many many do's and don'ts some will stick with you some you will learn the hard way.
Really not hard as much as experimenting with all the aspects you ca to get where you want to go.
I just cast up 300 rounds of 300 black out bullets...the hardest mold i ever used ..
Hard as in that sucker casts a long skinny bullet and it was hard to get it to fill out..
There are a few things to do to get a mold to fill out well and i had to use all of them on that mold.
Read the reviews on that mold at midway and you will find some people cursed the mold and gave up.
After 50 bad boolits it started casting some filled out ones..
Round ball molds are a cinch.
That was my first bullet mold.
Then i made a bullet mold of my own from aluminum to duplicate the Power Belt 295gr .50cal bullet.
That thing is a hack but will make bullets that shoot stuff dead.
Fatcpa stated many good points.
If your buddies are not into listening they should not attend.
I can go over many many do's and don'ts some will stick with you some you will learn the hard way.
Really not hard as much as experimenting with all the aspects you ca to get where you want to go.
I just cast up 300 rounds of 300 black out bullets...the hardest mold i ever used ..
Hard as in that sucker casts a long skinny bullet and it was hard to get it to fill out..
There are a few things to do to get a mold to fill out well and i had to use all of them on that mold.
Read the reviews on that mold at midway and you will find some people cursed the mold and gave up.
After 50 bad boolits it started casting some filled out ones..
Round ball molds are a cinch.
That was my first bullet mold.
Then i made a bullet mold of my own from aluminum to duplicate the Power Belt 295gr .50cal bullet.
That thing is a hack but will make bullets that shoot stuff dead.
