Does anyone cast????

[Guest Astra900]

I notice the majority of TGO members belong to the EBR crowd. I don't see much activity in reloading and virtually no mention of casting. Just puttin' out a feeler to see who all might be interested in swappin info/exp/stories on the wonderful world of boolits.

[kckndrgn]

Don't cast, yet. It's on my list of things I want to learn to do though.

[Guest Astra900]

Well, I hate to sound corny or cliche' , but it's a very fulfilling hobby.

There's a very ignorant stigma that I fell to years ago; Accuracy and hyper velocity, premium jacketed bullets go hand in hand. Well, I learned that is all bull:poop:. For most of us, reasonable distances of 300 yards or less for rifle, 50 yards or less for pistol, will be all we ever know. With the exception of my Ruger Heavy barrel .308 loaded with LC match brass, and a 174g FMJBT match bullet over AA 2520; my cast bullets are more accurate than anything else i load.

At the moment I am working on developing a cast load for 7.92 Mauser. I will be loading a 170g cast round nose gas check. I'm really looking forward to this.

The rabbit hole goes very deep with casting. I found myself in over my head a bit when I first started. I tried to do too much at once.

Don't cast, yet. It's on my list of things I want to learn to do though.

Pick one caliber, just one. Pick one bullet you think you will enjoy, and work to develop it into something that suits you. If you start off slow the price for errors are low. I suggest (pistol) the .45 ACP or the .38/.357 These cartridges really shine with a good cast load. A .38 special with a 158g cast RN is hard to beat for a do-all round.

Caution! Stay away from polygonal rifling, IE Glocks and such. They DO NOT LIKE cast bullets and in extreme cases have been known to load up to the point of causing a barrel obstruction.....BOOM! Bad scene.

What are you looking to get started on? I'll help if I can.

.

[kckndrgn]

Well, since I have mostly Glocks, that rules out .40S&W

I've got a .44mag rifle coming in, that would prolly be the first thing I cast for. But I may not be able to start until the spring time.

The other calibers I have are:

.38S&W

9mm

.30-30

.25-20

[Guest Astra900]

Well, since I have mostly Glocks, that rules out .40S&W

I've got a .44mag rifle coming in, that would prolly be the first thing I cast for. But I may not be able to start until the spring time.

The other calibers I have are:

.38S&W

9mm

.30-30

.25-20

Well, even in Non-Glock pistols, I have come to understand the .40S&W does rather poorly on a cast diet.

The other calibers mentioned? All GREAT candidates for a cast bullet. The .44mag is a good place to start, as long as the rifle isn't a Ruger Deerfield. Cast bullets are a no no in a gas operated semi. That said, the .44 mag was one of Elmer Keith's favorites. Actually that's an understatement. Study a bit on him and his work if you haven't already. It's impressive.

Some of the loads he's responsible for developing and the bullets he designed are VERY accurate and super deadly. Great place to start even though I don't cast for it, I know it to be an easy place to begin.

[DWARREN123]

I have a XDm in 40 S&W and it likes hard cast bullets so far. I run them close to 1,100 to 1,150 fps and haven't had any problems.

I like flat point cast but just picked up a 1,000 SWC bullets.

My XDm also likes plated and jacketed bullets in 165gr and 180gr, either HP or FP.

I only reload 40 S&W and have settled on Hodgdon's Longshot powder as the best for me.

[Superman]

I think I'm going to reload some. From what I've seen on the web, I'm pretty confident that i will enjoy it. AFA casting goes, I haven't looked into it much so I don't know if I will try it. All I've got right now, that can be reloaded anyway, is 9mm

[glockster157]

I have not cast any in a couple of seasons because of time. I just loaded the last of my Lyman 429421 245 grain Keith bullets in 44 magnum so I am going to have to throw some more soon. I have also been collecting Ruger #1's and I want to start shooting a lot of reduced rifle loads in cast to enjoy the rifles more and lower the cost. I did pick up a couple of 45-70's and I purchased some Laser cast bullets but that is one caliber I am really look forward to casting some big ones in 45.

I used to shoot a ton of the 173 grain Keith 358429 bullets in 357, my next move is to pick up a couple of big 357's, thinking SW M28 and/or 686 or Taurus 608 etc, I only have a 3" M19 and 4" GP100 now and I like this bullet better in a 6" or better. Great bullet by the way.

[strob2000]

Casting is definitely on my to-do list right now. I'm trying to procure enough lead at the moment to keep me going for a while, then I want to start casting for 9mm, 38 special, 357 mag, and eventually 44 mag.

[Westwindmike]

I cast .429 for my .44Mag, and .457 for my 45/70. I use Lee molds and pot. They work well. I don't do it often, but when I do cast, I cast a lot at one time so I don't have to set up as often.

[Guest sling]

Eh. I've thought about it for awhile. It would save money. But when i load rounds i prefer to load jacketed. Barrels are just so much easier to clean. Most of the guns i've ever owned (Glock, HK) have all had polygonal rifling so i've never needed to.

If i had a source for free lead i would probably get into it. Ordering that stuff just doesnt sound fun to me.

[Guest Astra900]

Eh. I've thought about it for awhile. It would save money. But when i load rounds i prefer to load jacketed. Barrels are just so much easier to clean. Most of the guns i've ever owned (Glock, HK) have all had polygonal rifling so i've never needed to.

If i had a source for free lead i would probably get into it. Ordering that stuff just doesnt sound fun to me.

If properly sized, lubed, and loaded to sensible velocities, I can't see any difference in cleanup. If you need a faster moving bullet use a gas check. One thing I have learned in my casting and reloading {I touched on it earlier in this thread} is to slow it down. I get very good accuracy out of my .45's using a 225g round nose, and it's only traveling about 825-850 FPS. Nice and slow, Still gentle on the wrist after several hundred, nice and accurate, no chore at all to clean up.

[Guest Astra900]

Any of yall cast for 8x57? I'm looking into a Lee 175g RN w/ a gas check.

Any suggestions?

[JohnC]

Where do you guys get your lead?

My Dad always used old tire weights, cooked them down with beeswax, skimmed off the trash, and then cast the bullets.

[Westwindmike]

Where do you guys get your lead?

Boolit casters never reveal the source of the precious silver metal!

My precious!!!!!!

[Guest fan of the 1911]

I also cast for the 44mag Lyman molds for a 215gc and a 245 Keith style. If you have a good place to cast, I think it's almost as enjoyable as reloading.

[JohnC]

Boolit casters never reveal the source of the precious silver metal!

My precious!!!!!!

Great! I'll call you silver bullet from now on!

[glockster157]

For the most part you just have to scrounge, put the word out among friends and family, and just ask alot. I have been given buckets of WW's, a friend at church once gave me a 100 lbs of Linotype in 2 big bars, another gave me a bunch of bar solder for doing gutters. I still have a bunch and I am fixing to crank it back up as the price of bullets is getting real high.

[Louisb]

make wheel weights look a whole lot like shiny silver bullets, but they are really BOOLITS.

22 to 458

[Guest FroggyOne2]

Yeah.. I am fixing to get back into casting for my .40's