bullet casting questions

C

chickenmcnasty

New member
Hey guys,

I am wanting to get into casting round ball and possibly Lee REAL or Minnie for my .50 caliber Cabelas/Investarms hawken with 1:48. I have around $150 to spend on this little endeavor for the starting equipment but I'm curious in terms of lead prices. I'm also curious as to what equipment is the best value vs. cost and if anyone has any recommendations.
Is pure lead going to be tough to acquire at a reasonable rate? Is it worth it for the money saving considerations or is this simply the fun factor of casting your own?
I'm also curious if anyone has any experiences with cast conical type bullets for this particular rifle? I may ending up casting some for my Bess as well, but I don't shoot many round balls from it, so it will mostly be for the hawken. Thank you very much for your opinions.
 
I enjoy casting, others don't.

I cast for more than round ball though. If all you want to cast for is round ball, you would probably be better off buying it already made up. I shoot a lot but I don't think I'd have recovered my casting costs as quickly as casting for other guns too.

If you want to start casting, you can start with a surplus pot, a ladle, a coleman camp stove and your mold. That's how I started and it was cheap.

I eventually moved to a dedicated melting pot from Lee, the 20lb electric bottom pour pot. I've been happy with it for many years. Others hate it.

I've scrounged my lead but it can be easily ordered online for under 3 buck a pound from sites like Rotometals.com.
 
casting

Lee is probably the least expensive. And doing your research you can likely get a melting pot and a mould for a $100 or less.
I feel Lyman makes a better quality mould though. but they are more pricey.
Overall with a little practice it is pretty easy.
Price of lead will vary depending on where you live.
For our BP guns lead needs to be approx 97% and greater pure.
I go to a metal salvage yard here.
I have them scan all the used lead I buy. Mine is almost always 98.9% and 99.9% pure. The used lead here has been running a $1 a pound.
I have a CVA mountain rife in 50 cal 35+ years old 1:48 twist.
Mine is quite accurate. hit a 12 inch gong at a 100 yards consistently.
conicals and round ball seem to be same. Never went for groups with it.
Most antelope, mule deer have a kill zone about 12 inches in diameter.
If I can hit the gong consistently then the critters should be no problem.
I quit hard core hunting about 10 yr ago. Don't need the meat as bad, kids are grown and these old bone don't take the hills as readily as they did.
 
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chickenmcnasty - I use a single burner gas hotplate on a LP cylinder - if you want to go inexpensive - you can do it over hot coals from a wood fire just the way our ancestors did. If you want to do round ball and maxi - don't make it overly difficult nor think you have to have expensive equipment - i.e. you don't need to get "carried away" and spend a lot of money on expensive equipment that you could be spending the $$ on powder and other necessities.

Check this site out -

http://castboolits.gunloads.com

You can get all carried away with different alloys, etc. but for round ball and maxi - soft lead is just fine. Check local scrap yards or recycling places. If you know a plumber or plumbing company - check with them as lots of time they have salvaged plumbing lead from removing cast iron pipe, etc. Put "feelers" out with your friends.

Safety is the prime factor to keep in mind - work in a well ventilated area when casting, wear safety glasses, welding gloves, etc. For welding gloves and even a leather apron to protect your clothing - check out Harbor Freight.

Casting is just one more step in the "hobby" - for Lee molds - check out Titan - they sell reloading equipment and also handle Lee round ball molds, etc. Lee molds can be had for around $19 - $20 - they work fine. You can also pick up RB and Maxi/Minie off of eBay - just don't get carried away and spend more than they are worth. I have used Ideal, Lyman, Palmetto, RCBS, Lee, etc. molds - been casting for a little over 50 years. The Lee molds are an excellent way to get started and they are inexpensive yet produce a good shooting projectile.

I do and have cast a variety of RB sizes over the years - and now also cast a number of different styles for 38/357 and 9mm. It will take a while but you'll eventually recover the cost of your equipment if you shoot quite a bit. Bullet casting is like any other hobby.

You'll get all sorts of advice and "you need to" advice. Just remember you can get started with very basic supplies - lead, your safety equipment, a source of heat to melt the lead, a vessel to melt your lead in - a small cast iron "lead pot" really works the best, a small ladle to dip the molten lead and pour in to your mold and of course your mold. Expensive "flux" is not necessary - flux is used to stir in to the molten lead to make the impurities float to the top so you can skim them off - a small piece of beeswax, a little sawdust, etc. work well for this. As you begin to get your equipment around, check such places as flea markets, antique shops, etc. as every once in a while you can run across a lead pot, ladle or similar supplies that will work just fine to get you started.

Others will jump in here as well I'm sure as there are a number on here who cast for their front stuffers and BP cartridges. Casting your own can be a very rewarding aspect of BP shooting. Don't get discouraged and if you run in to a question - don't be afraid to ask for help. Everyone who casts was a beginner at some time and - lot's of good help is available on this site as well as others. Good luck to you - check out the site link above as it has a lot of information on it in regards to all aspects of casting your own. :)
 
approx. how many .490 round balls would come from 1 lb of pure lead?
how about when you get into the conicals? it seems most are around the 300 grain mark
I've also noticed the gun seems to like the hornady great plains bullet. Is there a comparable mold for that?
 
great info so far, thank you
does anyone have any experience with this gun or particular twist in terms of minie/maxi? It seems to shoot the great plains bullets very well and of course shoots my sabot with .45 hornady xtp exceptionally well, but I would prefer more "traditional" ammo and not have to fool with plastic!
I would love to know if it's a better idea to go with a minie or lee real type mold before wasting money, but I don't have a good source for obtaining a sample batch.
 
I can't tell you anything about your particular gun or bullets for it, but casting bullets is pretty easy.

I use a Lee bottom-pour pot, the 4-20. It's all I've every used. A lot of people swear by dipping but molten lead oxidizes rapidly and so you will be dipping through dross on every pour if you go the ladle route. Bottom pour avoids that problem providing clean lead with every pour.

The Lee pot can be a little drippy. I put an old shallow cookie tin under the pot to catch the drips but the drips splatter and can annoy you. I also tap the valve stem on ever pour and that seems to help it seat and not drip so much.

It's not absolutely essential, but I'd recommend a metal thermometer so you can be sure of your metal temp for consistency.

Casting should be done in a well ventilated area. I'd fashion a lid for your lead pot, or lay a piece of fiberglass insulation over the top of the pot when not loading lead. This will help retain heat but also keep bugs and moisture out of the lead pot. One single drop of water or one moth falling into the pot will cause a steam explosion that will blast molten lead everywhere.

Lee makes cheap molds (about $20 with handles) but they are aluminum and gall easily, especially their hollow-base bullets like the Minie styles. I find if you coat the moving parts with graphite by rubbing a pencil on them it helps. Also there is a product called Moose Juice that you paint on the mold that helps reduce galling/wear also. I suspect this is graphite in an alcohol solution.

You will probably get the best performance by sizing your bullets for a precise, consistent fit. I use a Lyman Lubrisizer. I can thus size and lube at the same time. You can get sizing dies for big-bore stuff for the Lubrisizer from S&S Firearms or Dixie Gun Works or other places.

You want pure lead for muzzle loading arms. I don't know of any local scrap places that sell it nor do I want to risk getting an unknown alloy so I buy through the mail from Rotometals www.rotometals.com. But it's about $2.50 a pound shipped.

Steve
 
Tape on wheel weights, plumbers lead, there are lots of things around like that. You put a simple ad on Craigs list and you will probably find some quickly. If I am using scrounged stuff like that, I heat it pretty hot for some time and a lot of the junk in it just floats to the top where you can skim it off.
Shooting round balls isn't rocket science as far as getting an accurate bullet.
You will get the hang of it really quick and used components are readily available.
Your 1:48 twist isn't the best for either round ball or conicals, but will do a pretty fair job of either probably. They bring out that twist to be a compromise that will shoot either bullet, and generally they seem to do okay.
 
I like the Lee Production Pot

I am on my second one after about forty years. My first one still worked fine. I just figured I deserved a new one. I gave the old one to guy who wanted to start casting. Cost under seventy bucks. It is ten pound pot.

If you get good at casting you can actually cast balls that are more consistent than the ones you can get from Hornady. I don't know if that converts to accuracy but it seems as though it can't hurt.
 
Good work !!!

does anyone have any experience with this gun or particular twist in terms of minie/maxi? It seems to shoot the great plains bullets very well and of course shoots my sabot with .45 hornady xtp exceptionally well, but I would prefer more "traditional" ammo and not have to fool with plastic!
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I have to compliment you on asking all the right questions and you already seem well informed. Not surprising you are getting good performance on the great plains bullets as well as the sabot with .45 hornady xtp. I too prefer more "traditional" projectiles for my SideLocks and leave the plastic to my In-Line. Now, you have not said much on the TC Maxi-balls and Maxi-hunters. You can still find molds for both. I might suggest that you put the R.E.A.L.'s way down on your priority list and I dumped them, a long time ago. You should have little or no problem finding the optimum, Target & Hunting, shot-string for your 1:48. Go to the Lyman or Lee as well as MidSouth.

Pure lead is really not all that hard to some by, once you start keeping an eye out for it. The last batch I found was from a Garage sale. ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Pahoo said:
I have to compliment you on asking all the right questions and you already seem well informed. Not surprising you are getting good performance on the great plains bullets as well as the sabot with .45 hornady xtp. I too prefer more "traditional" projectiles for my SideLocks and leave the plastic to my In-Line. Now, you have not said much on the TC Maxi-balls and Maxi-hunters. You can still find molds for both. I might suggest that you put the R.E.A.L.'s way down on your priority list and I dumped them, a long time ago. You should have little or no problem finding the optimum, Target & Hunting, shot-string for your 1:48. Go to the Lyman or Lee as well as MidSouth.



Pure lead is really not all that hard to some by, once you start keeping an eye out for it. The last batch I found was from a Garage sale. ..... ;)



Be Safe !!!
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Thank you, I've done my best to try to get informed before asking too many dumb questions.
Where is a good place to obtain the maxi ball and maxi hunter? I guess I'm also confused of the difference. Can you elaborate?
Also, I have found a local source for soft lead at $1/lb
What can be used for flux?
 
Time to go shopping !!!

Where is a good place to obtain the maxi ball and maxi hunter? I guess I'm also confused of the difference. Can you elaborate?
What can be used for flux?
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I really can't say as you will have to go out and shop for yourself. Go to Dixie, Track of the Wolf, October Country and The Possibles Shop. I'm sure that there are other places.
The Maxi-Balls and Maxi-Hunters are/were available from TC but I suspect someone made them, for them. The Hornady Great Plaines is very similar in form, to the Maxi-Hunter, where the Maxi-Ball has it's own look. ..... :rolleyes:

As far as Flux, you are gong to get many opinions, from Crayons to ear-wax. I use a flux, made by Frankfer Arsenal and bought it from Midway.

Be Safe !!!
 
I am wanting to get into casting round ball... .50 caliber
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Unless you already know what roundball/patch combinaion the rifle likes, then before you buy anything,...

1. Invest $20 in some commercial .490 and .495 roundball (Speer/Hornady and the like)

2. Go to your local fabric shop and buy a yard each of pillow-ticking that's (a) 0.015-0.016" thick,
and (b) 0.021" thick (it comes in both weights -- take a digital caliper with you.) If you can find it,
get a yard of 7-8 oz denim as well (same thickness range as the pillow ticking)

Somewhere in this range of roundball size/patch thicknesses you'll settle on the combination.
THEN buy the roundball mould.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

postscript: Do you know what patch lube (spit, borebutter, diluted cutting oil, moose snot, etc) works best yet?

post-postscript: Has anyone mentioned that patched roundball is an art? ;)
 
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Pahoo said:
I really can't say as you will have to go out and shop for yourself. Go to Dixie, Track of the Wolf, October Country and The Possibles Shop. I'm sure that there are other places.

The Maxi-Balls and Maxi-Hunters are/were available from TC but I suspect someone made them, for them. The Hornady Great Plaines is very similar in form, to the Maxi-Hunter, where the Maxi-Ball has it's own look. ..... :rolleyes:



As far as Flux, you are gong to get many opinions, from Crayons to ear-wax. I use a flux, made by Frankfer Arsenal and bought it from Midway.



Be Safe !!!
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Awesome, the plains mold from totw appears to be similar to the Great Plains that shot well.
I'm a little unclear as to molds and various handles. Are the lyman and lee different handles or are they interchangeable? I noticed the totw has no handles and it would be great if I could use the same handles from the lee rb mold.
 
Lee comes with its own integrated handles.
Lyman and RCBS sell separate handles designed for (what else?) Lyman & RCBS moulds.

3rd-party moulds (like TOTW might sell if not Lym/RCBS) will list/tell you which handles to buy.
 
mehavey said:
Lee comes with its own integrated handles.

Lyman and RCBS sell separate handles designed for (what else?) Lyman & RCBS moulds.



3rd-party moulds (like TOTW might sell if not Lym/RCBS) will list/tell you which handles to buy.
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Go figure!
I like the idea of the lee $20 mold as opposed to the $100 lyman...
 
C McN

Lee molds are aluminum which means they heat up and cool down more quickly than steel molds (Lyman). What that means to the caster is that you have to be more careful with rhythm to get good consistency.

I like Lee molds (also because they are cheap) but that means that you have to accept what they have which can be a little limited.
 
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