- Location
- new brunswick
i want to start casting bullets in .30 cal and want to know all the equipment that i need to get started.
bullet casting What do i need to get started?
- Thread starter firsttimer
- Start date
lead (wheel weights are good to use)
Thermometer( 200-1000 degrees)
cast iron pot or electric pot
moulds with handles
fluxing material (wood stick for stirring and candle wax)
gloves..etc
MOST IMPORTANT PART.. join the cast boolits forum,you will learn everything about casting boolits from this forum.
Thermometer( 200-1000 degrees)
cast iron pot or electric pot
moulds with handles
fluxing material (wood stick for stirring and candle wax)
gloves..etc
MOST IMPORTANT PART.. join the cast boolits forum,you will learn everything about casting boolits from this forum.
Hard alloy mix for .30 cal.
Quality mold of proven design. If you want a Flat pt. I'd suggest Lyman #311041 if you want a spitzer Lyman #311299 or 311284.
RCBS lube/sizer or equiv. with .309 and .310" sizing dies.
Gas checks for bullet base.
Decent sized melting pot.
Quality mold of proven design. If you want a Flat pt. I'd suggest Lyman #311041 if you want a spitzer Lyman #311299 or 311284.
RCBS lube/sizer or equiv. with .309 and .310" sizing dies.
Gas checks for bullet base.
Decent sized melting pot.
blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Lead alloy of some sort - old wheel weights melted down with clips and dirt removed
A casting pot of some sort to melt your lead
A ladle to scoop and pour your lead if you're not going with a bottom pour pot
Flux to get the last of the dirt and crud out of your lead
A metal spoon to scoop off the dross (fluxed dirt and crud)
A bullet mold of some sort...there are thousands of calibers, types and weights to choose from
A 5 gallon bucket filled with water
A sizing die
Bullet lube
Gas checks if you're shooting them in a rifle
Am I missing anything here guys ?? I've never owned a thermometer and I've cast tens of thousands of bullets without any problem.
A casting pot of some sort to melt your lead
A ladle to scoop and pour your lead if you're not going with a bottom pour pot
Flux to get the last of the dirt and crud out of your lead
A metal spoon to scoop off the dross (fluxed dirt and crud)
A bullet mold of some sort...there are thousands of calibers, types and weights to choose from
A 5 gallon bucket filled with water
A sizing die
Bullet lube
Gas checks if you're shooting them in a rifle
Am I missing anything here guys ?? I've never owned a thermometer and I've cast tens of thousands of bullets without any problem.
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
Nobody suggests a fan to blow away all the nice odors??
I cast outdoors so the wind is my fan . Although I'm probably going to build a ventilation setup so I can cast in winter too .
With respect to what's missing: some ingot moulds are nice to have too. Some use muffin pans but I bought a couple of cheap Lyman ingot moulds.
I find it quite handy to have two pots. I use a big propane dutch oven for mixing up the alloy, and an RCBS electric botom pour for casting.
Chris.
. Although I'm probably going to build a ventilation setup so I can cast in winter too . With respect to what's missing: some ingot moulds are nice to have too. Some use muffin pans but I bought a couple of cheap Lyman ingot moulds.
I find it quite handy to have two pots. I use a big propane dutch oven for mixing up the alloy, and an RCBS electric botom pour for casting.
Chris.
If you can live with the shame of being seen using Lee tools, take a look at their push through sizers. Cheap, and they work. Use with pan lube. Either cookie cutter the bullets loose, or press them out of the lube cake after it cools.
Or use the Alox liquid lube.
If you want to start this operation on the cheap, that sizer would be the first place I'd look to save a few bucks.
To start, you don't need much. A mold, a pot to melt lead in (I've cast some roundballs, using a tin can heated with a propane torch, held with a pair of pliers. Crude but it worked) a heat source if not using an electric pot.
Handles for the mold are useful. One of the posters on Castboolits fessed up to having done most of his early casting, holding the mold in a gloved hand. He said it went better with a set of handles!
What are you wanting to accomplish? Cheap shooting? Self sufficiency? Accuracy?
Look at the info on paper patching as well. It seems like a dark art, but will allow jacketed bullet velocities along with cast bullet prices. Also lot's of info on the Castboolits site.
Oh. And you get to choose between plain base and gas checked bullets.
Do lots of reading before you spend any money!
Cheers
Trev
Or use the Alox liquid lube.
If you want to start this operation on the cheap, that sizer would be the first place I'd look to save a few bucks.
To start, you don't need much. A mold, a pot to melt lead in (I've cast some roundballs, using a tin can heated with a propane torch, held with a pair of pliers. Crude but it worked) a heat source if not using an electric pot.
Handles for the mold are useful. One of the posters on Castboolits fessed up to having done most of his early casting, holding the mold in a gloved hand. He said it went better with a set of handles!
What are you wanting to accomplish? Cheap shooting? Self sufficiency? Accuracy?
Look at the info on paper patching as well. It seems like a dark art, but will allow jacketed bullet velocities along with cast bullet prices. Also lot's of info on the Castboolits site.
Oh. And you get to choose between plain base and gas checked bullets.
Do lots of reading before you spend any money!
Cheers
Trev
At one time I did quite a bit of experimenting with cast bullets in a 30-06 and I definetely started on the cheap. I got a good Lyman mold with handles, a .308" Lyman sizer die that had undersize threads designed to work in their undersized press, with an adapter to fit my press. I bought a dipper, but that was pretty much it.
I melted the alloy in a cast pot I had over a hot plate. The bullets came out about .313". I mixed a 50-50 mixture of beeswax and beef tallow (rendered beef fat, or suet) for bullet lube. I pushed the bullets through my die, then pan lubed them and cut them out with a home made cookie cutter.
My bullet mold was for a gas check, so I pushed the gas check on by hand before I seated the bullet. They shot fine and everything worked great.
Later, I got another style bullet mold and this time I ordered it udersize. However, the bullets still came out at .310", but I was able to get them loaded without sizing and they shot great in my rifle, a bolt action 30-06. Later, I loaded them in a Model 94, 30-30, but for this they shot better if I first sized them.
My advice is to start out scantily equipped and work your way through it. You will have fun and a greater appreciation of what it is all about, if you improvise as you go, and figure out from your own experience, what you later want to get.
And remember, your cast 30 calibre loads will likely be far below the pressures your rifle is designed for, so don't be afraid to experiment.
I melted the alloy in a cast pot I had over a hot plate. The bullets came out about .313". I mixed a 50-50 mixture of beeswax and beef tallow (rendered beef fat, or suet) for bullet lube. I pushed the bullets through my die, then pan lubed them and cut them out with a home made cookie cutter.
My bullet mold was for a gas check, so I pushed the gas check on by hand before I seated the bullet. They shot fine and everything worked great.
Later, I got another style bullet mold and this time I ordered it udersize. However, the bullets still came out at .310", but I was able to get them loaded without sizing and they shot great in my rifle, a bolt action 30-06. Later, I loaded them in a Model 94, 30-30, but for this they shot better if I first sized them.
My advice is to start out scantily equipped and work your way through it. You will have fun and a greater appreciation of what it is all about, if you improvise as you go, and figure out from your own experience, what you later want to get.
And remember, your cast 30 calibre loads will likely be far below the pressures your rifle is designed for, so don't be afraid to experiment.
