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Post by bones507 on Sept 13, 2009 4:58:05 GMT -5
Hey guys
Well i have been messing with commercialy bought bullets for a little over a year now and finally got into casting my own. A friend of mine was doing it for a few weeks and knew i reloaded and invited me over and we did a bunch of 9mm,s at his house one day. I was surprised at how quickly it went as we went along, not as i had pictured it in my head at all. He was showing me what to do and not to do and where i could get in trouble and safety precautions etc.. So i will work with him for a while till i know enough and feel comfortable enought to go on my own. He uses commercial lead and doesnt bother with the wheel weights and other forms of scrap lead.
The one thing i didnt like at all was the pan lubing process, what a pain in the ass that was, lol. Stick em in, heat em up, freeze em, push em out, wipe the bottoms. The hell with that, when i get started i think i want one of those star lube sizers and be done with it. I do got to say though, i really enjoyed the process though, made me feel like i accomplished something to say nothing of the savings as opposed to buying them.
Anyway, we used a 6 cavity mold for 125 gr 9mm,s and i was wondering if anyone had any preffered choice for the 45 Colt in 200 gr or 250 gr that they could recommend. I should have listened to you guys a year ago, i really should have.
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Post by AxeHandle on Sept 13, 2009 8:04:31 GMT -5
I came to casting late in life myself.... Always justified it by thinking my time was worth to much to bother... Man, was I wrong!.... Best I can tell there is no one best mold for anything.... There are a few "must haves." If you load for a 45 colt the 250 Keith is one of them... Watch for those sizers on the used market.... While I use a Star there is a RCBS and a Lyman on the shelf.. They came with all knds of size dies... Enjoy the process...
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Post by jforwel on Sept 13, 2009 14:35:14 GMT -5
Welcome to the casting cult. I started last winter and have done several hundred in each of five different calibers. Needless to say my mold collection is increasing like my single actions did.  |
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Post by bones507 on Sept 14, 2009 3:17:04 GMT -5
Do you guys mainly buy lead commercially or use scrap lead from wherever you can find it ?
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COR
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,529
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Post by COR on Sept 14, 2009 8:35:31 GMT -5
Th RCBS 270SAA is a great performer in my Rugers. It is Dave Scovills design and is a "Keith style".
I have a friend whose dad runs a tire shop and he keeps me in wheel weights. They are your most economical bet. Check around at some local shops and throw the mechanic a 20dollar bill (on Fridays, beer works well too) for a bucket and most will take you up on it. It can be a bit of a hassle because many places have to turn them in now, but well worth it as WW's with a touch of tin make some really good hunting bullets.
The 45 Colt's reputation was made with a 250-260gr bullet at about 950fps and even the old round nose 454190 shoots great, I just believe there are better choices available for hunting (SWC or WFN/LFN). For a target or woods bum load I love the 250gr rounds nose in front of 9 or 10grs of Unique. You will be well armed for sure.
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Post by AxeHandle on Sept 14, 2009 8:58:04 GMT -5
Those store bought sqeaky clean alloys are nice and will do in a pinch but their price will quickly kill any savings you could be hoping for... Keep an eye out for lead scrap... The larger the quantity the cheaper the material... I found some linotype a few years back... Guy within driving distince had it listed on Ebay in 10 pound batches.... I called him to see what he had and ended up buying 2000 pounds... To top it off he quickly became a good friend... My latest find came from a hospital... Did you know that the sheetrock in x-ray rooms has a sheet of lead sandwiched in it? Do you have a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet handbook? You Need it!
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Post by Markbo on Sept 14, 2009 12:21:36 GMT -5
2000 pounds? Of linotype??... that would mean you would need something along the lines of 9 TONS of lead.
Seriously? At 250gr a shot? That's well over 1/2 MILLION bullets.
Seriously? Because that's a lot!
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Post by AxeHandle on Sept 14, 2009 12:44:36 GMT -5
I'd agree that 18,000 pounds is a lot of lead... Personally I think I need only 2000 pounds of lead for 2000 pounds of linotype. Looks like a few more than 63,000 440 grain bullets.... If I share a few with my buddies I may only have 50K or so for me... Trust me, 50K isn't many bullets for a lifetime of shooting....
Heck dude! I have three 500Ls and a pair of 50 Cal FAs to feed.... ;D
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Post by Markbo on Sept 14, 2009 13:17:08 GMT -5
My bad... I'm not a caster - yet.
I was thinking perhaps antimony as a 10% of the recipe. Linotype is already an alloy unto itself.
Sorry!
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Post by jforwel on Sept 14, 2009 14:50:47 GMT -5
I only wish I had started casting and collecting lead a few years sooner. It has taken me a year to collect a 1/2 ton of WW and scrap lead. I still get some but not easily. The good news is that a lot of lead stores in small spaces.  |
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Post by Markbo on Sept 14, 2009 17:28:38 GMT -5
I'm only up to about 100 lbs!  |
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Post by bones507 on Sept 16, 2009 5:09:34 GMT -5
Quick question while the thread is still fresh. I was loading my 9mm rounds tonight and i was wiping the lube off the bottom of the rounds before i set them in the seating die. They were all pan lubed and messy, is this a necessary step ? I had read that if you loaded them unwiped you risk causing the powder to be compromised and might get failures to ignite.
Did i do right ?
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Post by AxeHandle on Sept 16, 2009 8:44:20 GMT -5
Dude!  You are way beyond my experience base.... My very first sizing was with a Star... Simple logic tells me that lube in the powder is not good... |
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Post by jforwel on Sept 16, 2009 14:40:35 GMT -5
I wipe the bottom of my bullets after sizing if some lube squirts under them. There is more potential for powder contamination when shooting in warm months, and if your ammo is sitting in the sun at the range with lube on the base.
But like axe said, lube and powder not good.
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Post by Markbo on Sept 17, 2009 15:23:59 GMT -5
Hmmmmmm... what about Lee Liquid Alox? Since I do them in a baggie should I wipe the base off all of them as well?
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You are way beyond my experience base.... My very first sizing was with a Star... Simple logic tells me that lube in the powder is not good...