Thinking about casting bullets.

finnbear270

Well-Known Member
I have just been rummaging in the oddments boxes again, pulled out a good condition Lee bullet mould, .45 calibre 250 grain two cavity jobbie, Muir might be able to put me straight on this one, it says this mould is a "R.E.A.L." black powder for rifle,:idea: can these bullets be shot through a 45 / 70 over modern nitro? Lee stock number #34307 90392.
 
I think you'll find that is a .454" mold which would be too small for the 45-70. You never can tell though without casting. In the world of casting a few thou makes all the difference between treasure and trash.

I never could get Rifling Engraves At Loading (REAL) bullets to shoot from my muzzle loaders but if you wrapped the bullet a bit of damp tracing paper (onion skin paper for the older set) and let it dry, it may work fine as a paper patched projectile in the 45-70! ~Muir
 
I am reminded by your reply of a now foolish statement I made a while back, having to do with reaching a point where there was nothing left on the reloading scene, so casting it will be!
 
Finn: That's how I got started with casting rifle bullets. Let me know if I can help. I can steer you away from the typical beginners pitfalls. JAYB is very good at the game as well.~Muir
 
Finn: That's how I got started with casting rifle bullets. Let me know if I can help. I can steer you away from the typical beginners pitfalls. JAYB is very good at the game as well.~Muir

Yeah, and who's fault is that, keep away from the dark side, you will find yourself casting hundreds of bullets and then having to shoot them :eek:

John
 
Finn, Have you got the Lee reloading book? There's loads about casting bullets in there.

ft
 
The Lyman book is a good source of info on casting.Just spent the last hour knocking out some shallow base 577.
 
Finn, Have you got the Lee reloading book? There's loads about casting bullets in there.

ft
Yes there is. It took Richard Lee some time but he too eventually got on to the idea that pressure is the bane of cast bullet accuracy. His info in calculating pressures and reduced loads is invaluable.

Richard: Which bullet are you using for your 577?? I use an Ideal# 585-213 which was made for the 577 at one time. Great accuracy~Muir
 
And speaking of those "hundreds of bullets" JAYB mentioned... I spent a rainy early morning this past week with two bullet molds and 20 pounds of lead alloy and produced 140 exceptionally fine examples of the caster's art. Some 220 grain for a 30 caliber and 210 grain for my new 8x57. Heated the lead and preheated the mold at the same time, then spent an hour listening to the radio and making bullets. Very satisfying. I heat treated them that evening. Now they are hard as glass and ready for lubing and loading.

Which is all to say that when you get everything set up, it is really quite easy to put up a few shooting session's worth of bullets with a couple of hours effort. This group is a perfect score fired with a Springfield 03-A3, 30-06 at 100 yards with iron sights. Can't beat that kind of cheap accuracy.~Muir
100yd311467REM03.jpg

The attached image, which I thought I had deleted, is from my open-sighted Haenel 8x57J using an elbow rest. These loads were at hunting velocities. I wasn't going to include them as hunting with cast bullets seems to be in question. That is two groups at 50M, using two different loads. ~M
 

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Muir, don't know of anybody being questioned on what bullet they are using to take deer with over here, & if so, I would refer them to your earlier comment on why a lead bullet of such diameter & weight would need to expand in any great detail, other than it's natural for lead to have a propensity to expand when meeting flesh anyway.
 
REAL = Rifling Engraved At Loading for Muzzle Loading firearms only with soft lead. Don't use in metallic cartridges.
May I suggest the Lyman 330 gr HP (Gould Mould) - very accurate in my Ruger No 1
 
I say so. My Ruger shoots 1/2 inch groups (3 shot) at 100 yds with the Lyman bullet.
REAL - look in the Lee catalogue.
Any more questions - do your own research!
 
Yeah, they are.:p Alzheimer's, most likely but really, you're the one being imperious here. Lee doesn't say you can't use REAL bullets in metallic cartridges, but you do? Explain please? ~Muir
 
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