Casting your own bullets

[Bro KV]

What's a good starting point?  Do you use scrap lead?  Where can I buy 200gr molds?

[cwlongshot]

What's a good starting point?  Do you use scrap lead?  Where can I buy 200gr molds?

I would strongly recommend a good cast bullet Manuel. I like the one that LYMAN puts out.

Most if not all of your questions will be answered within.

CW

[sqlbullet]

Lyman manual is a great starting place.

Until it arrives, check out this online book.

Accurate lists three 200 gr molds in their catalog.  475/480 has the 40-200C mold from them.  The bullet it drops is almost identical to the custom Mountain Mold I have.  It is a great bullet.

I use isotope lead from generators used to make medical imaging isotopes.  I have a connection, and get more than I could cast in a lifetime each time I go.  And I go 4-6 times a year.  What I don't use I sell to a commercial caster with whom I have a relationship.

The most important thing when shooting cast bullets is to know the groove diameter of your gun(s).  Not the spec, you actually have to measure it.  Do this by driving a soft lead slug through the bore and measuring it's largest diameter.  Your sizing die must be .001-.002" larger than this measurement.  This is 90% of preventing leading

Good luck.

[Yondering]

What the other guys said. The Lyman manual is a good start, although most of the techniques described are rather "old school" and there are often better methods out there now. I highly recommend joining the castboolits forum (their spelling, not mine) and do a bunch of reading there; that is currently the premier knowledge base for bullet casting online.

For a beginner, I highly recommend a Lee bottom pour pot (the Pro 4-20 is a good one), a casting thermometer (check Surplus Center for one in the 200-1000*F range), and the Lee 6-cavity molds. You'll be casting good bullets for a very reasonable cost. It's not a cheap hobby to get into, but this is an economical way to start with equipment that will remain useful as you advance.

A 6-cavity Lee 401-175-TC mold is where I'd start; $40 vs $120-$150 for an Accurate mold. This is a pretty good 10mm bullet, although I recommend having the bevel base removed if you're using a lube-sizer. With a bottom pour pot, it's not hard to cast up several hundred bullets in an hour or less.

You'll also need a way to lube and size your bullets; some like the Lee tumble lube stuff but I'm not a fan for 10mm or other high-pressure loads. Pan lubing and sizing with a Lee push-through sizer is cost effective and pretty fast when you do large quantities, or you can buy an older lube-sizer like a Lyman 450, with sizing dies and top punches, pretty cheap on the castboolits forum.

[The_Shadow]

Here are a few things to think about...
Like Youndering mentioned the 6 cavity Lee mould will get you up and casting plenty in short order.  I have the LEE Pro 4 20 bottom pour pot, only complaint is the dripping spout.  I put a very small vice grip on the spout stem to add weight helps.  You can even use a cast iron pot on a hot plate and dip a laddle to pour bullets just like they did many years ago and some still do it this way today!

The metal the moulds are made of can determing longevity, The steel moulds are heavy and tough, hold heat better, Aluminum is lighter in weight and require care as not to beat them up, the cool quicker.  The Brass moulds kind of in the middle of the steel and aluminum.  Pre-heating the moulds helps get them up and producing good bullets faster.

There are many types of sizing units, the LEE unit works but you need to pan lube, kind of messy.  The RCBS or Lyman sizer lubricators do a very good job of sizing and lubing pretty fast, placing the bullet base in the sizer stroke the handle down, lube and push the bullet back up and out.  Then there are the STAR sizer, this one you feed the bullets nose first, stroke the handle down, as you reach the bottom of the stroke it pumps lube into the grove.  Repeating with the next bullet pushes the other bullet out the bottom into you catch bucket.

There are all kinds of lubes out there, do some reading about which to use and how best applied.  Be aware some lubes need heat to soften them to flow easier...

You can also get moulds that will produce hollow point bullets...


Ask plenty questions and Good luck! 

[sqlbullet]

Three in a row with a Lee Pro 4 20lb pot.  The dripping on mine is not bad at all.  When it does drip, I just give the stem a spin with a screwdriver and it usually stops.  Gets worse as the pot gets empty and I am sure Shadow's weights make a difference there.

Yondering is spot on about the cast boolits forum.  You might recognize a few usernames there as well

One comment for a beginner on their first cast.  More heat and faster tempo.  I have taught several how to cast.  They all make the same mistake on the first session. 

First, they don't pre-heat the mold enough.  Put the mold on top the furnace while the lead melts.  Then, once the lead is at temp (I like 700 degrees), dip the front edge of the mold in the lead about 1/4 inch for 45 seconds.  Then start casting.

Second, don't look at your bullets.  Especially when using aluminum molds, stopping to looks at your bullets will allow your mold to cool and give your wrinkles.  If you want to inspect, look at them while the next sprue is cooling, not with an empty mold.   Better yet, run 10 casts and then set you mold on top the pot and look over what is in your pile.