Casting bullets for 45acp

J

jb683

New member
Just thinking of getting into bullet casting due to the price of plated or jacketed bullets override my desire to shoot. I have been doing alot of reading and reserch, but if I cast a bullet to .452 diameter do I need to resize to .451 to use it in a 45 acp? I cannot find any referance that goes into that kind of detail. I do know that you guys will know the proper way to do this. Thanks in advance.

Jerry
 
Regardless of any pistol/revolver/rifle, cast bullets should be sized to make them uniform. They often come out a tad out of round because the mold may not have locked up propertly. It don't take much and you probabley can't see it, but I've found sizing helps accuracy.

Even if you cast .451 bullets and want a .451 bullet, you should size them in a .451 sizing die.

Yeah you can mic and check every bullet, but its faster to just size all of them.

Casting, like any reloading procedure should be consistant.
 
A jacketed bullet for 45ACP are .451; cast should be at least .001 over barrel diameter. Most commercial cast bullets are .452.
As too what bullet your gun shoots you would need to slug the barrel to say for sure.
Many things go into what size bullet a mold will drop.
I am assuming you are talking about Lee molds, most new guy’s to casting, go with the Lee tumble lube bullets.
They are the cheapest start up.
Lee advertises that most of the TB bullets may not need sized. If you want to be on the safe side, without slugging the barrel, you can get the Lee sizer in .452 and run them threw it.
 
I cast thousands of bullets in several calibers, as yet, I have never sized a single one as they shoot fine as cast. YMMV
 
I knew there was a reason that Lee did not make a die in .451. Thanks for the info, would anyone recommend a bullet mold other than Lee? I have all Lee stuff and have loaded thousands of rounds with no major complaints. I always get good uniform loaded rounds. But that as it may ... I am new to this aspect of reloading ...
 
I cast thousands of bullets in several calibers, as yet, I have sized and hot lubed every single one and they shoot more accurately than I do. YMMV
 
My .45 loves the 200 grn RNFP tumble lube bullets out of the Lee 6 cavity. I run them through the Lee sizer @.452, even though Lee says you don't need to size. I do find an occasional fat boy when sizing.

Get the 6 cavity mold. You can make a mountain o'boolits with it in a short time.
 
The Lee 230 grain tumble-lubed TC bullet is a good one. It's supposed to be for .45 ACP but I use it in .45 Colt.
 
JB
A couple things I will mention, before you go out and start buying molds and all, check out lead supplies in your area, if you need to buy lead from a commercial foundry it can add up fast, and not much savings.
But if you find you are able to get cheap or free lead, I strongly suggest you get a copy of the Lyman cast bullet book, I have cast for 40 years but have a copy.
Not only is it full of use full information, but now has load data for some molds other than Lyman, it will be well worth the $20.00.
You don’t need to buy the Lyman equipment, but it will get you going in the right direction.
An added warning casting is every bit as addicting as reloading. you will find yourself walking parking lots looking for stray wheel weights.
Be safe and enjoy.
 
Thanks for all the pointers ... Hornaday... I know what you mean about reloading being additive. It is all I think about, unless I'm shooting. If casting is just as bad, I may need to get my wife interested in it. She already claims I spend too much money on it, and that is just the money she knows about. I will find the Lyman manual, and thanks again for all you guys help.
 
Hi jb,

Find out what the 'as cast' diameter of the mould is prior to you purchasing it. Make sure that the mould will provide you enough diameter to allow you to size to at least .453". This will provide you with what you need.
 
I have only been casting since December but here is what I have learned and experienced.

If you talk to or email Tom at accurate molds he will make you a mold of any caliber and design you want at a very reasonable price.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/pricing.php

I have the aluminum 230-D and so far it has been a great mold. Slug your barrel and find a lead source then email Tom and let him know what you need. He is great to work with.

The lead that you cast from will determine final size and weight of your boolits so having this info when ordering a mold is handy.

I have had good luck so far with the lee sizer dies that go in a single stage press and using their tumble lube.

If you go with the Lee sizing and lubing system you will save what ever it costs you to buy the sizing dies and press.

Do get a lee 20# bottom pout pot. They do have their quarks but they work fairly well.

Here is a great forum to search for more details and info on your new addiction.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

Good luck
 
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Jacketed bullets are groove diameter. That's 451 for the 45ACP. Its standard practice to size cast bullets one thousandth bigger, ie 452 for the 45ACP. That probably dates from earlier times when there was more variance in groove diameter, to give the bullet a beter chance of sealing an oversize bore.

Cast bullets are much softer than jacketed, what's why cast bullets two or three thou oversize can be fired through most guns without excessive pressure.

The nicest 45ACP bullet I've found is the Lee 230 grain truncated cone. I am a commercial caster and have cast lots of them from a six cavity mould. I size them 452 and my customers are very happy with them.
 
The farther I got into casting the more I found that I had jumped the gun (pun intended) and started buying molds and sizers before I had the one thing that I needed to make those decisions; I had not slugged the barrel of ANY of the many weapons that I intended to put those cast bullets through followed by a lot of hot gas.

If you don't mind cleaning up leading then don't bother reading on. If you only shoot once in a while and you never shoot "hot" then don't bother reading on. If you don't care about accuracy and don't want to know how to "tune up" a weapon/bullet combo that should work but doesn't then don't....

I went for a long time and even heard my self say once, "I don't even believe in leading. I have never seen any."

But then I did see it and it took me a lot to unlearn a lot of things and a lot of money to re-buy sizers and molds in the right sizes.

If you are serious about this then slug your barrels. It takes maybe 15 minutes and then when you buy a mold you will KNOW whether to get the .452 or the .434 or the .359 mold.

If you slug your barrel then you will know what size sizer to buy and you won't have all of the "extras" I have now that I have slugged my barrels. I guess I could keep quiet and sell all of those off size items to....everyone who does not slug their barrels.
 
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I never did slug any of my barrels. I just keep buying bigger sizing dies until it shoots good and leads less.:D

Lyman makes a very good 45 225 gr RN mould that shoot very good.
 
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