Bullet Lead

T

Timberman

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I am looking for a place were I can buy lead cake and tin so I can make bullet. If someone knows of a supplier please let me know.
 
Your best bet is to go through a foundry like Canada Metal and buy foundry-certified alloy. They'll make up whatever you like in terms of alloy and you know it'll be consistent.
 
They are putting steel wheel weights on vehicles now; figured that out fast when the wheel weights on my new truck started to rust. Probably best to go to the scrap yard for local metal, and get all that you can before they ban it totally.
Mike
 
Forget about making them yourself. By the time you get all the equipment and buy the material for pouring, you would be far ahead to buy commercially made cast bullets.
Ben, you have just to agree to this one!!!
 
I agree that it would be easier and probably cheaper to buy precast bullets, but I am just starting into casting myself. Still trying to get all of the equipment and I want to do it more for the hobby and the fact that I made that bullet, maybe the alterations to that bullet (split nose, etc) and it is my handywork......I really look forward to hunting with a cast bullet and be able to say I did that. I tie fishing flies as well, and love the great satisfaction I get from catching a fish on something I created....Thats my point of view though, even if it does cost a little bit more :)
 
The pride of making good bullets at home really only comes into focus when you outshoot the expensive factory stuff, and making cast bullets shoot that well is sometimes a long, slippery process. There's just alot more to making cast bullets shoot very accurately, whether you make them yourself or have someone else make them. Good casting equipment can be quite expensive, so make sure it's what you want before you start out. Some will say to just make do with cheap equip. and although it will work for you, it's the same old story, "you get what you pay for".
 
If I got to start buying and not casting how in the world am I going to get rid of all my pent up anger?
That is mt stress relief everyone leaves me a lone and if someone comes around that you don't want there tell them they are going to die of lead contamination from inhaling the fumes and they leave you alone.

Ken.
 
sisiphunter said:
I agree that it would be easier and probably cheaper to buy precast bullets, but I am just starting into casting myself. Still trying to get all of the equipment and I want to do it more for the hobby and the fact that I made that bullet, maybe the alterations to that bullet (split nose, etc) and it is my handywork......I really look forward to hunting with a cast bullet and be able to say I did that. I tie fishing flies as well, and love the great satisfaction I get from catching a fish on something I created....Thats my point of view though, even if it does cost a little bit more :)
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I like your attitude. Had I known that I wouldn't have written what I did.
My thoughts run exactly the same, the pride of doing it yourself. That is why I started pouring bullets, as well as a lot of other things, struggling through getting it done, but relishing in the times when all went well.
I never did tie flies, but here is the site of a friend in a nearby area who is a professional fly tier. I will put in his sight, not to advertise for him, he doesn't need it, but to share his very excellent web site. It is loaded with nature and wildlife pictures, even has about a half dozen of mine in it!
http://www.andytheflyguy.ca/
I struggled for a few years on a project, then beat odds, almost as bad as winning a lottery, by having a major Canadian book publisher, publish my book I had worked so long on. But getting phone calls from strangers, commending me on it, certainly made it all worth while.
I well understand the pride of doing things yourself. Good luck on the bullets.
 
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ben hunchak said:
The pride of making good bullets at home >really only comes into focus when you outshoot the expensive factory stuff, >and making cast bullets shoot that well is sometimes a long, slippery >process.

With all due respect I have to disagree or at least qualify this. It all depends on how much you shoot and what your trying to acomplish with the bullet. If you shoot a lot and are trying to save some money casting is the way to go. If your trying to beat the preformance of some .30 cal premium hunting bullet your probabaly wasting your time.

Casting for handguns is, in most cases, quite easy in my experience. My 686 shoots groups every bit as tight with plain wheelweights and cheap lee molds as it does with jacketed bullets. .45's and .44's I've found the same. Big caliber rifles work well with cast WW in my experience. My 9mm's have been a pain but a not insurmountable one.

It depends on your personality. If your trying to shoot one inch groups with your 45-70 and accept nothing less for hunting it might be difficult. If you know your maximum range for hunting is under 100 yards and you can get 3 inch groups with open sights and a little reduced velocity with a bullet made from WW, tumble lubed from a lee mold the deer will not notice any difference.

If you shoot a great amount, such as IPSC shooters, casting really saves money. Again it depends on personality but if I'm practicing, I don't think it matters if my gun goes from 2 to 3 inch groups or form 3 to 4 with my cast bullets. If I plan on shooting five to ten thousand rounds casting saves a significant amount of dollars and there is no issue around bullet supply.
A six cavity lee mold pays for itself in a thousand rounds.
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I like the guy's attitude. The joy of shooting something you made yourself. And you get to pick what mold to shoot and what lube.

I haven't tried any Match grade bullets but the cast shoot as good as any production FMJ, SP or Cast bullets I've bought.

It all depends on which mold/design you buy. Some bullet designs are better than others. You can start cheap with Lee molds and once you get the hang of casting can go to more expensive brands if you choose. Some of my Lee molds are still in use because I haven't found a RCBS or Lyman design that shoots any better.

As for lead, if you can find wheel weights, as mentioned, they work great. Trouble is a lot of places sell them to licensed recyclers. And other places you have to beat everyone else to the bucket.

If it's slower loads, indoor range lead is good. Not as hard as ww's but can work in certain handguns. Even better if your club shoots PPC, then you get lots of harder lead bullets in the mix. HP's and some jacketed bullets have soft cores and is too soft for making cast bullets from so it definitely depends on what the majority of the members are shooting.

Read up on the net about alloying, too. That will make your mix harder and can customize your ingots for casting.
 
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