Post by Fowler on Feb 22, 2021 1:43:52 GMT -5
So I have been casting for nearly 20 years now, Id like to think I cast a better than average bullets but as anyone who knows their stuff that is more about the molds and the alloy than the caster. I am a bit stubborn in that I ladle pour my bullets, I have nothing against the bottom pour pots except I have never been able to cast a consistent bullet with them.
I find LBT molds are far and away the easiest to cast with, light aluminum, they get hot and stay hot (I like my bullets right on the edge of frosty when I cast) and breath well so they fill out easy. Now all solid nosed bullets are easier to cast than any hollow point mold is, just less going on. Miha makes the best hollowpoint molds by far but they are simply not as easy to cast well as solid nosed molds are.
So after pre heating the mold, we start casting and the mold settles out a little, after 2 or 6 cycles of lead I find they start to turn out decent bullets. I notice that every mold likes to be poured a little different, some want a quick pour and go to the next cavity. Some need a long full pour for each cavity to push all of the air out of each cavity and to get the heals to fill. I generally set the end of the mold on the edge of the pot and start on the opposite end of the mold filling the first cavity, when full it will "push back" a bit as the lead stops flowing in as easily, then move to the next cavity without stopping the stream of lead and so on down the molds till the ladle is dry. If the ladle only has enough lead to fill 2 cavities then I start with the last two and fill those, redip and then fill the next two as needed. You get into a rhythm and a 20lb pot will disappear in no time.
Now the goal when you break the sprew off the mold should look like this, nice even heels that fill the mold to the edges.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Not like this, the first bullet hasn't filled the cavity out completely, the third isn't full either, the second is very marginal, but the far one looks decent.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
For me the most likely causes are the mold didn't get a long enough pour into each cavity, venting is an issue, or the lead and/or pot isn't hot enough. No matter what I do some pours just are not as clean as others. I will cull my bullets generally before I size or powder coat them.
So this bring me to my discussion here, what constitutes a good bullet from a culled bullet destined for remelt?
Here is my understanding but I would love to hear other caster opinions on the subject:
I generally feel the heel of the bullet is 95% of the battle, the if heel is even, fills the mold completely, and isn't warped then the forwards parts of the bullet probably wont matter on a target. Yes we would like to see all of the bands of the bullet perfectly filled out, no lines in the bullets, no warps in the noses but unless we are doing our absolute best target work it is doubtful you will see it on a target.
Here we see a clean bullet on the left, all of the bands are filled out and the nose is perfect, the second bullet will probably shoot just fine although I personally would cull it, its danged ugly but now the bullet on the right isn't perfect but would likely pass muster for me.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
So the questions I have is what constitutes a acceptable base for a quality bullet?
Here are 5 bullets that from left to right are getting progressively worse, bullet number 1 is fine and number 5 is a quick cull but in the middle lies the gray area, #2 has a slight "pull" on the right side, the 3 on the right are not filled out quite completely, not in the base nor the driving bands. Will they shoot? Sure, should they go back in the pot? What do you guys think?
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Another common problem is flashing along the base, simply the lead flows past the base and under the sprew plate leaving tiny slivers of lead. The bullet on the right has a proper base and the left two have flashing.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
When powder coating these generally get mashed down when the bullets are being shaken and even if they don't they don't seem to cause my a whole lot of noticeable issues. Now this bullet has a much larger flashing sliver, generally this means the sprew plate has gotten lose but not always. I often find these tear off the base of the bullet with my fingernail very easily and really don't cause a lot of grief but to create this the base has to be a bit "deeper" than a perfect bullet will have so the base then holds more lead, the bullet is heavier and less consistent right? Should these just be culled as well?
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
So of course this is a rabbit hole with no bottom, serious long range black powder shooters weigh and segregate their bullets after culling anything that doesn't appear absolutely perfect. But they are unlikely burn hundreds and hundreds or even thousands of rounds a year and a 5 1/2" handgun would be hard to prove it matters on anyway. I certainly am not as picky with 9mm ammo that is going to be shot for bulk plinking over say serious hunting bullets for my 475 Linebaugh for a upcoming elk hunt or if I was trying for something serious like silhouette shooting.
So what is everyone's thought on standards for acceptable handgun bullets? How picky does one get?
I find LBT molds are far and away the easiest to cast with, light aluminum, they get hot and stay hot (I like my bullets right on the edge of frosty when I cast) and breath well so they fill out easy. Now all solid nosed bullets are easier to cast than any hollow point mold is, just less going on. Miha makes the best hollowpoint molds by far but they are simply not as easy to cast well as solid nosed molds are.
So after pre heating the mold, we start casting and the mold settles out a little, after 2 or 6 cycles of lead I find they start to turn out decent bullets. I notice that every mold likes to be poured a little different, some want a quick pour and go to the next cavity. Some need a long full pour for each cavity to push all of the air out of each cavity and to get the heals to fill. I generally set the end of the mold on the edge of the pot and start on the opposite end of the mold filling the first cavity, when full it will "push back" a bit as the lead stops flowing in as easily, then move to the next cavity without stopping the stream of lead and so on down the molds till the ladle is dry. If the ladle only has enough lead to fill 2 cavities then I start with the last two and fill those, redip and then fill the next two as needed. You get into a rhythm and a 20lb pot will disappear in no time.
Now the goal when you break the sprew off the mold should look like this, nice even heels that fill the mold to the edges.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Not like this, the first bullet hasn't filled the cavity out completely, the third isn't full either, the second is very marginal, but the far one looks decent.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
For me the most likely causes are the mold didn't get a long enough pour into each cavity, venting is an issue, or the lead and/or pot isn't hot enough. No matter what I do some pours just are not as clean as others. I will cull my bullets generally before I size or powder coat them.
So this bring me to my discussion here, what constitutes a good bullet from a culled bullet destined for remelt?
Here is my understanding but I would love to hear other caster opinions on the subject:
I generally feel the heel of the bullet is 95% of the battle, the if heel is even, fills the mold completely, and isn't warped then the forwards parts of the bullet probably wont matter on a target. Yes we would like to see all of the bands of the bullet perfectly filled out, no lines in the bullets, no warps in the noses but unless we are doing our absolute best target work it is doubtful you will see it on a target.
Here we see a clean bullet on the left, all of the bands are filled out and the nose is perfect, the second bullet will probably shoot just fine although I personally would cull it, its danged ugly but now the bullet on the right isn't perfect but would likely pass muster for me.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
So the questions I have is what constitutes a acceptable base for a quality bullet?
Here are 5 bullets that from left to right are getting progressively worse, bullet number 1 is fine and number 5 is a quick cull but in the middle lies the gray area, #2 has a slight "pull" on the right side, the 3 on the right are not filled out quite completely, not in the base nor the driving bands. Will they shoot? Sure, should they go back in the pot? What do you guys think?
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
Another common problem is flashing along the base, simply the lead flows past the base and under the sprew plate leaving tiny slivers of lead. The bullet on the right has a proper base and the left two have flashing.
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
When powder coating these generally get mashed down when the bullets are being shaken and even if they don't they don't seem to cause my a whole lot of noticeable issues. Now this bullet has a much larger flashing sliver, generally this means the sprew plate has gotten lose but not always. I often find these tear off the base of the bullet with my fingernail very easily and really don't cause a lot of grief but to create this the base has to be a bit "deeper" than a perfect bullet will have so the base then holds more lead, the bullet is heavier and less consistent right? Should these just be culled as well?
Untitled by William Fowler, on Flickr
So of course this is a rabbit hole with no bottom, serious long range black powder shooters weigh and segregate their bullets after culling anything that doesn't appear absolutely perfect. But they are unlikely burn hundreds and hundreds or even thousands of rounds a year and a 5 1/2" handgun would be hard to prove it matters on anyway. I certainly am not as picky with 9mm ammo that is going to be shot for bulk plinking over say serious hunting bullets for my 475 Linebaugh for a upcoming elk hunt or if I was trying for something serious like silhouette shooting.
So what is everyone's thought on standards for acceptable handgun bullets? How picky does one get?