just loaded my first 6 rounds, have a few questions

**ironcowboy** · November 26th, 2009, 11:49 PM

Well i just put together 6 rounds (.45lc), now i have a few questions, first, the bullets i used were 255grn flat nosed cowboy bullets (I just cast them today, that was a first too). They looked all good, not having any bullet lube i dipped them in hot wax and then ran them under a flame to just give them a very very light coating, from what i've read that should be fine for these first test rounds till i can pick up some good lube.
I loaded 7 grains of unique powder, i'll work up to 8ish from there if all goes good.
The one thing i found odd was as i seated the bullet in the case, a little bit of lead was cut from one side of the bullet (some of it came off, and some kinda hung over the edge of the casing, which i trimmed off with a knife) just a tiny amount, but i'm not sure if its something i'm doing wrong or what...
All the rounds chamber good and freely in my ruger vaquero, and hopefully i'll get a chance to test them this weekend! I can say for sure i've been bit by the "bug".

Also, how harmful are the vapors that come off of the melting lead? If its going to cause me to go brain dead i guess i'll just buy bullets, (though casting them is fun!)
Another thing, the mold i'm using is a lee two cavity mold, but for some reason i could only get the first cavity (away from the handle) to work right, the other one kept not filling right, maybe only half my mold was warm?

Thanks for the help!

**Flash** · November 27th, 2009, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by ironcowboy

Well i just put together 6 rounds, now i have a few questions, first, the bullets i used were 255grn flat nosed cowboy bullets (I just cast them today, that was a first too). They looked all good, not having any bullet lube i dipped them in hot wax and then ran them under a flame to just give them a very very light coating, from what i've read that should be fine for these first test rounds till i can pick up some good lube.
I loaded 7 grains of unique powder, i'll work up to 8ish from there if all goes good.
The one thing i found odd was as i seated the bullet in the case, a little bit of lead was cut from one side of the bullet (some of it came off, and some kinda hung over the edge of the casing, which i trimmed off with a knife) just a tiny amount, but i'm not sure if its something i'm doing wrong or what...
All the rounds chamber good and freely in my ruger vaquero, and hopefully i'll get a chance to test them this weekend! I can say for sure i've been bit by the "bug".

Also, how harmful are the vapors that come off of the melting lead? If its going to cause me to go brain dead i guess i'll just buy bullets, (though casting them is fun!)
Another thing, the mold i'm using is a lee two cavity mold, but for some reason i could only get the first cavity (away from the handle) to work right, the other one kept not filling right, maybe only half my mold was warm?

Thanks for the help!

If you are sure your bullets are round enough and of the right size, you can set them in a cake-pan and pour the lube in and let the whole mess cool and solidify. Then, using a case which you have expanded to be .001 or .002" larger than your bullet, do a "cookie-cutter" act over the bullet, and remove it from the pan. It helps if your case has the side cut out of it so you can remove bullets that way, and just cut them out one after another. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

Best to use a Lyman luber/sizer and the proper die.

As for shaving the lead when seating: Having the bullets run through the correct die in the Lyman Luber/sizer ensures that your bullets are both "correct diameter" and "relatively round". YOUR bullets may be lacking in one or both of those attributes. Also, you may not have properly/sufficiently "belled" the case-mouth prior to insertion of the bullets. However, it it only shaves on one side of the bulllet, my bet would be on the bullet being out of round.

As long as they chamnber, they should go bang. But you want to strive for greater precision. The Ruger is a tough gun, and accurate.

Vapor off the lead? Well, don't get a lot of it, do your casting in the garage or something, where there is enough draft that you don't get the smoke full force. When fluxing the pot, stay out of the smoke. People have beeen casting for years and years without significant accumulation of lead, but they always do it in a place that has adequate ventilation.

As for filling the second cavity- - there are a lot of possibilities: Are you using a dipper or a bottom-pour pot? There is a property called "pressure" that you can get more of by using a bottom pour pot (three inches of "head" - height of lead over the spout - versus 1" in a dipper system) . You must have the sprue-plate in correct alignment and put the nipple of the pot into the pour hole of the sprue plate. Hold it there while the lead runs. You need to do this quickly with LEE aluminum molds. Fill the first cavity and move directly to the second - fill and hold it there a few seconds with the lead still flowing. You should wind up with a puddle of lead the size of a dime on top of each cavity. (Bigger puddles with cool molds warm them quicker, too) Let that cool and chill, it will "sink" a bit, then knock the sprue plate with a small wooden mallet to strike it off, rap the rivet of the handles while exerting a bit of pressure to open the molds, and your two good bullets should drop right out. And don't worry if the first few sessions do not produce 100% good bullets, a thing called experience will creep up on you and suddenly - - - - there they all are.

LEE aluminum molds take less time and heat to get up to usable temperature than do the cast iron ones, but they also cool more quickly. If you have an apron on the top of the pot (like an old Lyman does) leave the molds set there to warm up and also while adding metal, fluxing, etc. Keep them as near to a constant temperature as you can.

Alloy has a lot to do with pouring nice bullets, too. What formula lead are you using? Anywhere from pure lead, mixed range scrap, pick-up from the black powder range, pure linotype, wheelweights, or purpose-bought Lyman #2 alloy (92% lead, 2% antimony, 6% tin) can make suitable bullets, but techniques differ for these various alloys and metals.

Hope that helps.

There are a lot of folks on this board with a lot of experience and everyone has a slightly different take. Usually we are of some help. In the last year, we have been able to adequately guide about six thousand folks into good habits easily, and with the proper persuasion, we have had some success with one or two soreheads, as well.

Flash

**ironcowboy** · November 27th, 2009, 01:48 AM

Awesome info!!! Thanks so much!!

lso, you may not have properly/sufficiently "belled" the case-mouth prior to insertion of the bullets

This turned out to be the problem, i lowered the die a little and after that everything went good, i only loaded 18 rounds, so will see how they shoot.
As far as lead goes, all i had was some old deep sea fishing sinkers (and a few old BP balls tossed in) i'll have to hit up the tire store this week and see if i can get some wheel weights. I melted my lead over a bunsun burner in an old pot, and used an old dipper to spoon it out, nothing fancy at this point, but after about 5 tries my bullets came out looking very nice.

**Tim Ault** · November 27th, 2009, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by ironcowboy

(I just cast them today, that was a first too). They looked all good, not having any bullet lube i dipped them in hot wax and then ran them under a flame

Also, how harmful are the vapors that come off of the melting lead? If its going to cause me to go brain dead i guess i'll just buy bullets, (though casting them is fun!)

Thanks for the help!

The easiest way to lube and size your cast bullets is to get a Lee push throught sizer in the dia. you need (There like 15 bucks) ,It comes with a bottle of LLA (lee liquid alox) Just size, tumble lube the bullets ,let dry and your done.You can do alot of bullets quickly and its alot cheaper than a lubersizer and works just as well IMO.

And for some light reading and a bunch of great folks go here http://castboolits.gunloads.com/ THE best casting and cast bullets shooting site on the web. the search button is your friend.

Lead vaporizes at a temp higher than what your pot can produce, So no harm or danger there, Lead must be ingested through the mouth to harm you So dont chew on your bullets!!!! Wash your hands well dont eat drink or smoke ect.while casting or handling lead and you'll be fine And of course wear gloves.

**Flash** · November 27th, 2009, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by ironcowboy

Awesome info!!! Thanks so much!!

This turned out to be the problem, i lowered the die a little and after that everything went good, i only loaded 18 rounds, so will see how they shoot.
As far as lead goes, all i had was some old deep sea fishing sinkers (and a few old BP balls tossed in) i'll have to hit up the tire store this week and see if i can get some wheel weights. I melted my lead over a bunsun burner in an old pot, and used an old dipper to spoon it out, nothing fancy at this point, but after about 5 tries my bullets came out looking very nice.

Good goin'.

The sinkers are generaly pure lead or maybe 1-2% tin, the BP balls generally pure lead, so you have a "soft" alloy, nearly pure lead. That's a good place to start, as a little tin to the mix makes the bullets fill the grooves better, it aids flow. If you are able to find a regular bullet-pouring ladle, that's better than trying to just spoon it out, but if you are already using a dipper and can make one bullet with one pour, you are "goin' good".

Tire stores for wheel-weights is always a good idea, but beaware, there are now zinc wheelweights in circulation, and that is not good for bullets - at all. You will not be able to imagine what percentages and alloy you get with that stuff but it is cheap and does shoot, so just try to make your batches big enough that you have consistent material for a while.

Sounds like you are a man of resource and determination. Good qualities for relaoder/shooter/bullet caster. How's your patience?

Flash

.

**ironcowboy** · November 28th, 2009, 03:17 PM

Good stuff! Its a good feeling starting with junk lead and ending with a loaded round to be fired out of a gun!

And man is it cheap! Compared to paying $1 a round, were talking like 10 cents! I can now afford to shoot these .45 colts a bunch!
At some point when i have more then $4 bucks i'll try to buy a good ladle and maybe some other finer equpment, but for now it seems to work! Now to find more lead!

Any info on crimping? Is it needed for the .45 colt? Or does my bullet seater die do it for me?

**Flash** · November 28th, 2009, 06:35 PM

Here are a links to a couple of threads in which crimping is discussed:

http://forum.pafoa.org/ammunition-re...not-crimp.html

http://forum.pafoa.org/ammunition-re...ead-first.html

http://forum.pafoa.org/ammunition-re...-question.html

http://forum.pafoa.org/ammunition-re...questions.html

http://forum.pafoa.org/ammunition-re...g-problem.html

45 LC, in a revolver, needs a ROLL-crimp. There is usually a crimping groove on cast bulets that will make the COAL just about right for your cylinder. The reason is that recoil will cause the bullet to creep forward out of the case, and if it creeps far enough, it will bind up the cylinder against the frame.

Crimping is usually done in the bulllet seating/crimp die at the same time as seating the bulet. The procedure for adjusting the die is in the manual, and often furnished with the dies. Crimp CAN be overdone, and will usually show up on straight-wall pistol cartridges as a slight bulge just below the crimp, where the brass is thinnest and weakest.

Some powders and loads require a significant crimp to function properly, that is for the powder to properly ignite - 44Mag loads with Winchester powder are first to come to mind.

Welcome to the sport, enjoy.

Flash