Bullet & Ball Casting....

[Adam Helmer]

While we did have 8 inches of rain over the past week here in northcentral PA, the sun is now out and bullets and balls need to be casted for another year of shooting. Since the hayfields are far too wet for haying, I set up my Coleman Stove on the picnic table in the front yard of this old farm and made three buckets full of pure lead projectiles. My old dawg was chained off by the front porch and observed the casting operation. We must cast when we can.

Adam

[quigleysharps4570]

Yep...gotta cast when we can. I set aside Friday nights for casting. What all did you cast Adam?

[Adam Helmer]

quigleysharps4570,

I swapped some stuff for 100 pounds of pure lead in 5 pound ingots. I set about casting Roundball in .45, .50 and .54 caliber. I then casted up many Maxis in the same calibers and added the .58 Minies for good measure.

I am amazed at the cost of Maxis in the stores, so I figure all the money I save while cutting off the sprue on another Maxi. Most of my moulds are single cavity and take a long time to make a pile of projectiles. I swap moulds around as one heats up, I start with another.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I casted last month (May) and casted up enough to shoot through the summer and have a few for hunting season, should I be able to go. Only casted round ball this time for the .54 and .62 cal.....have some conical molds for the .54 (Minie and R*E*A*L bullets), but decided to stick with round ball this time around.
Lately I have been casting up a big batch of wheelweights into .38 special and .357 mag bullets; the ones for the .357 weigh in at 161 grains and are gas checked; the ones for the .38 are plain base and wiegh in at 150 grains. Both are SWC designs.

Casting round balls is much simpler!

would like to find a maxiball mold for the .54 but I can't seem to find one; I know that T/C used to make a mold, but apparently they don't make it anymore (or traditional muzzleloaders, for that matter. )

[quigleysharps4570]

Mr. 16 I recently aquired 3000 wadcutters for a 38/.357 from my brother-in-law. A neighbor gave them to him...had been sitting in a basement drawing dirt on them. Gonna have to melt all but about 700 down. Those 700 were in a closed case in the box so they haven't got dirt in the lube like the rest.

[Deerman]

To darn hot here in Fl to try and cast.I still have enough to shoot untill it cools down into the eighties some.