Who casts their handgun bullets?

[Adam Helmer]

I stopped by the local gunshop today and noticed the price of jacketed handgun bullets. I have a few boxes of jacketed projectiles in the reloading room, but 99% of my handgun projectiles are cast right on my front porch.

I get wheelweights free at the local tire shop in town. I add some tin and cast, quench, size and load handgun bullets by the bucket full. I keep the cost down by casting plain base bullets. Cast bullets are fine for target and hunting and are as suitable as the more expensive jacketed bullets.

My favorites are:
.45 caliber 200 grain SWCs
.44 caliber 240 grain SWCs
.357 caliber 148 grain WC, 158 grain SWCs and 168 grain SWCs.

Who else casts their own handgun bullets?

Adam

[popplecop]

About once a year several of us ge together and cast up byllets. Do it outside and make an afternoon out of it. Use several pots with different alloys, works out well.

[Adam Helmer]

popplecop,


I cast on a Coleman Stove on the front porch or on the bed of the haywagon in the tractor shed regardless of weather. I get all the wheelweights I want and have a shed full awaiting the trip to the melting pot.

What handgun calibers do you cast? What do you use for lube? I use Aalox mostly and flux with discarded church candles.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I cast the following for handguns:

150 grain SWC for .38 special

111 grain RN and 120 grain TC for 9mm and 38 Super

160 grain SWC-GC for .357 magnum

245-250 grain SWC-GC for .44 magnum (depending upon alloy).

All are LEE molds, and I use the LEE bullet lube. In addition, I cast 44 conicals for my 1858 Remington:)

[PJgunner]

I cast bullet for both rifle and handgun. take my advice and snag all the wheel weights you can. Everbody in my neck of the woods is taking theirs to the recyclers who want an arm and a leg if you want to buy some. :mad: :( One wanted a $1.50 a pound with a minimum of 2,000 pounds and he wouldn't even deliver. That's for raw uncleaned weights.
I still have about 600 pounds of cleaned weights and maybe 300 pounds on linotype so I'm good for a while. I'll rin bullets when it cools down. casting at 100 plus degrees in the sghade just having way too much fun, not!
Paul B.

[Rapier]

I am just an old caster type, as is Paul. Been casting and rolling my own since 1965. I cast for handguns, centerfire rifles and muzzle loaders. My problem around here has been finding lynotype, only embossing printers are using it anymore and it is hard to find or expensive.

I have shot cast only in long range competition since 1986.

I cast outside in the garage with two fans blowing and at 100 degrees it is a chore, but at 60-70 degrees it is plesant work. So I use a 100 pound production pot in the yard with a big propane burner to produce alloy once a year. The alloy is cast up in muffin tins. I then use an RCBS Pro Melt and at least 4 moulds to cast.

The list of moulds is way to long for here, but I do cast from .224 to .458 in centerfire and .36 to .600 for muzzle loaders.
Ed

[muskrat30]

I cast 38/357, 44, & M-L conicals. I am thinking of shooting some 240 grn 44 cal casted bullets in my Knight M-L. The plan is use the plastic cup(sabot) to get the tight fit. I'll see how they shoot & maybe use them for hunting.

[PJgunner]

Rapier. Do you use linotype straight :eek: or just to alloy wheel weights and pure lead?
Seems like current wheel weights do not have as much tin as before, so I add one pound of linotype to ten pounds of cleaned weights. I also add a three foot piece of 95/5 percent lead free solder (The type with silver content rather the one with copper content) and one third cup of magnum bird shot. preferably in 7 1/2 size or smaller. Bullet cast out right 14 BHN and by over treating and water quenching, will age harden to 30/31 BHN in about two weeks. That 50 percent harder than linotype, FWIW.
I'll use the water quenched for serious target workwith the .308 and 30-06 and in air cooled form for hunting loads, mostly in a 30-30.
I have enough linotype that if I could score enough wheel weights to clean up to make my alloy, I'd have a little over a ton and a half of my prepared "universal" bullet metal. :cool: :D
I'm workin' on it.:D
Paul B.

[Rapier]

Paul,
Years ago I became friends with Carlton Shy, the cast bullet editor for the IHMSA News at the time. Carlton was and engineer and did extensive reserch into various loads and bullets used in cast bullet / cartridge making. Carlton developed a formula that is very good for an alloy. I have used the formula for 20+ years.
It is:
6 Parts clean wheelweights
3 parts lynotype
1 part chilled lead shot (arsnic)

The alloy casts similar to what you are using with heat treating it reaches 34-37 B and with a gascheck and a good lube like LBT Blue will reach 2,800 fps without leading. It water drops to 22 B. The most important attribute of the formula is it is very consistant in weight and fills a cavity full, with square edges on every pour. Thus you have good consistant match quality bullets.

Carlton wrote a book, now out of print, that explains a lot of what he did. He also created a computer program named Compubal. The book is excellent and the computer program I have used to design cartridges.
Ed

[PJgunner]

Rapier. What's the name of the book. I'd like to try and see if I can find a copy on the used book market.
Paul B.

[Rapier]

Paul,
The book is titled Cast Bullets and Silhouettes sub titled (Lead Bullets and Steel Rams) by Carlton Shy Jr.

It was copyrighted by Valley Ventures, Inc Chamlee Dr Fort Valley, GA 31030 the date was 1989. This address is Carlton's old home address.

The last time I tried to contact Carlton, about 5 years ago, he was in a nursing home, after a stroke. His daughter said he was not communicating. I believe that Carlton is deceased as I have written and the mail comes back.

What Carlton did that was very different from most reloaders and editors, is he worked up loads and as a match director kept notes on his club's member shooters. He would send the folks that had guns chambered in the same cartridge the data and ask them to try the load. He would then tabulate the results. The idea was to determine a load that worked in every gun, what Carlton called his optimum load. The book contains optimum loads.

Carlton noticed a relation between powders, cast bullets and case capacity. He designed a computer program to predict and produce optimum loads for any given case capacity and then made the program adjustable so one part of it is a "What If" program that can be used to design cartridges.

Carlton had a very sharp mind with a wide spectrum of interests. He was also a true southern Christian gentleman. We spent 3 International Matches together, about 10 days each. Carlton and I were the gun tech crew, certifying guns, we had a ball doing so. One of those matches is in the Guinness Book as the largest shooting match ever held.
Ed

[PJgunner]

Thanks. I'll see if I can chase down a copy.
Paul B.

[Adam Helmer]

I casted two pots of bullet metal today.

It was cloudy and windy this morning, so I went into the 3-bay tractor shed and set up the Coleman stove on the bed of the haywagon. I was out of the wind and casted 245 grain SWCs for the .44s, 200 grain SWCs for the .45s and 148 grain WCs for the .357s. I always feel like I am wealthy when the bullets pile up in the bucket. Now I need to size and lube them all.

Adam