Starting to cast your own boolits

[Chapuis]

dromia I've only recently started bullet casting in a very modest way, and as you say it is a learning process. Your comments on Lee are interesting and very much in line with my own views regarding Lee reloading equipment in general. I have been looking for a mold for a 9.3mm bullet and was tempted to have one custom made by Lee but following your previous comments I think that I will now probably look at other custom makers first. In all probability the cost will not work out that much more than a Lee custom mold.

So far I have only cast 8mm bullets for my 8x57jrs and a few slugs for the shotgun both with Lee molds. Results from the 8mm are very satisfying and have certainly encouraged me to get more into it and not simply because of the savings involved.

[dromia]

What weight boolit are you looking for?

[dodgyrog]

dromia I've only recently started bullet casting in a very modest way, and as you say it is a learning process. Your comments on Lee are interesting and very much in line with my own views regarding Lee reloading equipment in general. I have been looking for a mold for a 9.3mm bullet and was tempted to have one custom made by Lee but following your previous comments I think that I will now probably look at other custom makers first. In all probability the cost will not work out that much more than a Lee custom mold.

So far I have only cast 8mm bullets for my 8x57jrs and a few slugs for the shotgun both with Lee molds. Results from the 8mm are very satisfying and have certainly encouraged me to get more into it and not simply because of the savings involved.

There's a 9,3 single cavity mould on flea bay dot com at the moment

[dromia]

I don't know if this is the sort of boolit that you are looking for or not.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... hlight=9.3

If it is it might be worth giving Al (Swede Nelson) a PM to see if he has any extras left over for sale.

Looks like he's sold out but still could be worth contacting him.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=103726

Also it could be worth trying for another run as once Al has got a design he only needs five orders to do a small GB run. I'd probably come in on one as I missed the last run so thats just 3 other moulds needed. Only problem would be the wait time as he is backed up somewhat with orders, quality sells.

His current schedule is here:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=83330

A WTB post on the WTB forum at Cast Boolits might just also yield a result, shy bairns get nowt.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47

[dodgyrog]

item number 250764133804

[Sandgroper]

Sandgroper, what calibre/firearm will you be casting for first?

Dromia,
All advice is greatly appreciated - and you're not lecturing. The only outlay I have to make is for molds and a ladle as I'm sorted for everything else.

I don't mind making mistakes and expect to make plenty while I'm learning.

The first calibre will be 7.62 for the Ishapore. From the slug I made of the barrel, I know it's nice and tight.

The Destroyer will have to wait until it gets rebarreled. The slug showed it was well over 0.355 with faint rifling. After that it will 357, once the wife decides on which L/A she wants. :lol:

After that I'll get exotic with obsolete calibres etc and see what happens.

The more I explore casting, the more I want to take my shooting "back to basics" and get away from the "need for speed" and a rifle with all the latest bits and peices.

[dromia]

7.62 is a good calibre to start with and a lot of good moulds to go for.

If you aren't after speed say up to 1400 fps good out to 200yrds easily then you'd more than likely get away with Xlox.

What is the groove size of the barrel?

Generally speaking when going for cast you want your boolit to be a bit heavier than the normal condom bullet weight for the calibre so anything over 170 gns would be good.

For starters you can't go wrong with a Loverin design.

Lyman don't currently list any Loverins in 30 cal but looking on b*****dbay usa could give you something at reasonable cost, Lyman mould numbers to look for are 311291 170 gn (not a true Loverin but a good 30 cal shooter in my experience and still in the Lyman catalogue), 311403 176 gn, 311407 180 gn, 311467 177 gn, also depending on you bore dimension the classic 311299 202 gn bore rider (still in the Lyman catalogue) has a good reputation, I've used its bigger brother the 314299 with great success in my .303". Lee also have good boolit designs so if you get a good mould they will usually work well so the C 309 170-F, C309 180-R, C309 200-R would be worth a punt. The C312 185-1R for the 303" could also be worth a try as I've never seen one cast more than 312" and could be a better bet for sizing down to 2 thou over groove.

All the above designs are gaschecked except the 311403 which is plain based, if you are going for lowish velocity then I would try your boolit of choice first tumbled in Xox cut 50/50 with white spirit and with out a gas check, no point in going complicated if simple shoots well.

[Sandgroper]

Thanks for the mould advice, my initial thoughts was to go with a 170-200 grain boolit.

The slug measured 7.8mm (0.307).

I'm going keep it simple and run them at 1400 or less without gaschecks and then move on from there.

[dromia]

.307" on groove that is tight, with that I would be tempted to try one of the Lee .309"s.

Whats the throat like? Some wear on the leads would be good.

What powders do you have?

[Sandgroper]

.307" on groove that is tight, with that I would be tempted to try one of the Lee .309"s.

Whats the throat like? Some wear on the leads would be good.

What powders do you have?

I haven't done a cast of the throat as yet, but from looking at it, it appears in very good condition. I suppose a throat cast is in order.

At the moment I've only got H4895, titegroup and lil'gun. I was going to research some loads before restocking. I am somewhat limited to the power choices up here and I won't buy powder from Inverness as the store there charges through the nose. I'm heading up to Evanton tomorrow to see the Club's Rifle Secretary (he's an RFD as well) so I can see what he stocks.