Time to cast bullets

[ditchtiger]

New handgun coming and I'm low(for me) on ammo. Maybe 400 rounds 9mm. Been putting it off, even bought some slugs, gasp! It's time. 9mm tumble lube, truncated cone. Work well, 4-5 hours and I can fill a 5 quart ice cream bucket.

Read More

 

[BWH]

I need to cast a bunch more as well. I throw the 125gr RN TL. Was doing the lee alox, and after leading my glock (hot barrel causes it!) I went to powder coating in a toaster oven.
If I cant reload it and cast for it, I dont really want to have it!

 

[Tilos]

I bought out a club member's loading/casting stuff a while back but have never tried casting.
There was 10 five pound coffee cans full of 38/148gr wad cutters in that stuff, I have since lubed/shot 5 cans of it up, and gave away the rest when I moved across country.

I think the proximity of me to molten metal has a high probability of leading to an emergency room visit.
So I buy/load coated bullets from several sources to feed my shooting habit, rather than casting my own, but admire those who do

 

[Certaindeaf]

.
I think the proximity of me to molten metal has a high probability of leading to an emergency room visit..

Yea it don't work like that.. even if it's "smoking" ie fluxed or whatever, no probs.
You have to actually vaporize it with heat for it to pose any inhalation danger to a human, which is almost impossible if you have half a brain cell.

 

[Alexx1401]

I bought out a club member's loading/casting stuff a while back but have never tried casting.
There was 10 five pound coffee cans full of 38/148gr wad cutters in that stuff, I have since lubed/shot 5 cans of it up, and gave away the rest when I moved across country.

I think the proximity of me to molten metal has a high probability of leading to an emergency room visit.
So I buy/load coated bullets from several sources to feed my shooting habit, rather than casting my own, but admire those who do

Casting is no more dangerous than reloading assuming it's done well. I did it for a LONG time. Only stopped due to not wanting to spend the time compared to just buying slugs. Main thing with casting is the air. Especially when fluxing the mix. Don't want to breath that or have it all over in the home. I just had a good exhaust fan when I did it indoors, and when I could did it outdoors in the shop.

 

[Alexx1401]

Yea it don't work like that.. even if it's "smoking" ie fluxed or whatever, no probs.
You have to actually vaporize it with heat for it to pose any inhalation danger to a human, which is almost impossible if you have half a brain cell.

I am guessing he meant burns. Lead melts at such a low temp it's pretty hard to really hurt yourself with it. It did seem a little spooky the first time I tried. Like any new thing. First tried doing it on the stove in one of those lee pots you put on a burner. Wanted to try it for my Black Powder. Worked so well I went ahead and bought a Lee electric pot. This was before the ease of ordering stuff we have now.

 

[Certaindeaf]

But the bottom line it isn't "that" or any other sort of smoke.. it's the impossible one thousand degree F "smoke".
inbreds

 

[Crohnos01]

Many many years ago, I used a lead furnace as part of my job, pouring lead joints on waste pipe as a plumber. It only got really spooky if it was raining and you couldn't find a completely dry spot for the furnace.... getting water drops into a cast iron kettle of molten lead is excitement no one needs. On a construction site we always had plenty of open air ventilation for getting rid of fumes, so that wasn't a concern... or so I thought. They say lead can mess with your cognitive capacity with too much exposure and later in life I became a licensed engineer, so maybe I had more lead exposure than I thought

I haven't tried casting my own bullets mostly because I worry about leading the barrel. I've been tempted to try a few times, but never quite made it. Now that lead is a hazmat Second only to asbestos and nuclear waste according to the guberment, I am guessing it may be hard to come by the lead ingots as well, but I don't know that for sure.

 

[Certaindeaf]

And especially here in the wet of Oregon, don't ever trust lead to be dry. Assume it will tinsel fairy yo arse right in the eyeball. Preheat that stuff up big time to dry it out.. even if it's a "dry" block.

 

[Tilos]

Yea it don't work like that.. even if it's "smoking" ie fluxed or whatever, no probs.
You have to actually vaporize it with heat for it to pose any inhalation danger to a human, which is almost impossible if you have half a brain cell.

Not casting is just a choice for me, and I see no need to justify/debate that choice with anyone.
Like choosing to reload...instead of buying crap from Ammo Valley...just a choice.

Posters in the Ammo Valley thread have some pretty lame excuses for not re-loading, but jump in there whining about ammo they buy strictly based on the lowest price.
They will never enjoy the pleasure of developing a load tailored to a specific gun, that performs for the intended task.

Shooting coated bullets has improved the reloading/shooting experience for me by removing the gooey/smokey mess of traditional cast/lubed bullets.
So if I decide to cast at some point, the time/equipment for coating will become part of that process.
I'm not looking to debate the merits of casting, and admire those who have made the choice to cast, lube or coat their own.

 

[ditchtiger]

I've been casting for 40 years and see it as a way to keep costs down. Has become more of a chore than a hobby. I do still enjoy reloading though.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Not casting is just a choice for me..

I read that part. A lot of people don't cast. In other words what?

 

[ditchtiger]

It's official, wife going shopping so I'm firing up the lead and make bullets. Really it's not that bad, just a chore. Takes about 1/2 hour to get things warm and going. Have a radio and chair, drink to the side and I'm good to go. Next need is 45's and 44's.

 

[uscsoldier]

My uncle has about 500lbs of really old wheel weights from his dads old tire shop

 

[ditchtiger]

My uncle has about 500lbs of really old wheel weights from his dads old tire shop

And?

 

[jordanka16]

Casting has become almost a necessity for me at this point, I would not be able to afford to shoot my trapdoor Springfield otherwise, I shoot oversize bullets with special lube for black powder, not sure how much they would be to buy but no thanks.

Otherwise it just enables me to shoot a lot of calibers very cheaply.

 

[ageingstudent]

It's official, wife going shopping so I'm firing up the lead and make bullets. Really it's not that bad, just a chore. Takes about 1/2 hour to get things warm and going. Have a radio and chair, drink to the side and I'm good to go. Next need is 45's and 44's.

What do you use for a stove for your initial alloy/ingot operation? I need to get a stove and iron pot.

 

[jordanka16]

What do you use for a stove for your initial alloy/ingot operation? I need to get a stove and iron pot.

I just use a coleman white gas stove, got it for $10 on Craigslist.

 

[ageingstudent]

I just use a coleman white gas stove, got it for $10 on Craigslist.

Would propane work? I already have 5 gal propane bottles for shop heat in the winter.

 

[jordanka16]

Would propane work? I already have 5 gal propane bottles for shop heat in the winter.

It will probably work, but white gas burns hotter than propane, so it takes less time and less fuel to get things going.