casting bullets..any one want to show and tell

fogducker

fogducker

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any one out there in the gta area,or within a hours or two drive..that do there own casting of bullets for there m/l ers...
i think i got myself hooked on a new gun addiction:eek:
i would love to get into making my own loads...any one have any tips for a green horn at this? can any one show and tell?
 
For Black powder use only pure lead. Bell Canada pipe but stay away from the solder joint. If you ever get down near Kingston I can give you some.

Andy
 
Why Andy.....I thought that you only used factory rolled stuff. I use anything from pure lead (well, as pure as we can get) to a mix of 20:1 depending on the bullet and the rifle. Casting is a little tricky so the quickest way to learn is with someone with experience. Casting is a science of sorts. There is a member here who runs a cast bullet business on the side "M.T. Chambers Supply". He would be a good on to give advise. Possibly he'll see this thread and help....lives near Port Perry. Dave
 
Meanea said:
George Briggs casts lead bullets
Can you not get lead from used tire weights?
Meanea
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From what I've heard/read,the answer is no because of the 'higher' level of tin. I just recently came accross some lead bars from an "Autobody" guy,he said its pure.
As well,another question to this topic,I found a variety of lead bullets at the range(I believe they were the core of a jacketed round)as well as some .22rimfire and some .38/.357 lead wadcutters.Are these safe to cast?
 
You can pick up lots of used car batteries on the road side in the areas where new construction going on. Doing that is noble cause as you will be taking pollutants out of our soil and water. Just beware of electrolite - it's sulfuric acid, need PET bowl big enough to crack the battery body open in the bowl, then collect electrolite and take it to a recycling plant.
 
You can pick up lots of used car batteries on the road side in the areas where new construction going on. Doing that is noble cause as you will be taking pollutants out of our soil and water.
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Be careful with car batteries, look it up on the net, may find info, I got wind of the dangers years ago, something to do with the plates, a no no for casting. Anyway I stay away from them.:)
Frank
 
I got the bright idea 25 plus years ago to " recycle" battery lead into roundballs for my 54 . I don't recommend it, it's a major pain creating a big mess. Far easier to source clean lead.
 
Lots of added toxins in the plates in a battery, and you will be melting them... Pure lead is easily marked with a thumbnail, and a little harder to cast as tin in lead makes it fill in the mold better. A good point of reference is the Lymann cast bullet handbook.
 
just had new rubber put on my truck..........i asked the owner of the garage ..what they did with the old wheel weights...he said he takes to the scrap yard up the road.......
he asked why...i told him im thinking of getting into making up my own bullets..
he told me..a few years ago some one from a gun club use to collect them.
he told me if i want them..... they will be a freebie..:D


about how many bullets on average could be made out of the average 5 gallon pail of weights?
 
Depending on the size of the bullets you cast, a five gallon pail would yield at least THOUSANDS of bullets, and, possibly TENS OF THOUSANDS.

Edited to add:

Use only pure lead for blackpowder projectiles. Wheelweights are good for centerfire pistol bullets, or low velocity centerfire rifle loads.
 
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Howie said:
Depending on the size of the bullets you cast, a five gallon pail would yield at least THOUSANDS of bullets, and, possibly TENS OF THOUSANDS.

Edited to add:

Use only pure lead for blackpowder projectiles. Wheelweights are good for centerfire pistol bullets, or low velocity centerfire rifle loads.
Click to expand...
so these are a no no for a m/l er
 
If you can't scrounge much pure lead, you can buy it in 70lb pigs and bags of lead "shot" (not gunshot - but shot used to fill counterweights etc.) from Mars Metals in Burlington. They are specialists in lead casting (yacht keels particularly). The market is currently strong for lead - there is a bit of a supply issue due to or or two of the major north american smelters currently off line. A 70lb pig will cost you about $100 CDN. Its a challenge to break it down into chunks for the pot, but I managed to get it down to the point where I could melt it down in an old cast iron kettle on a propane camp stove (you'll need a 20lb propane cylinder and a few hours) then pour into ingots in a Lee ingot mould. I'm now ready to go. I use a bottom pour pot from Lee (Epps) - getting the moulds hot is the key - once they're up to temp its pretty straight forward. Be VERY CAREFUL about handling lead barehanded, and EXTREMELY CAREFUL about handling it molten. You have know idea what pain means until you've been hit with molten metal.
 
M.T. Chambers (new to site)

Use only pure lead for muzzleloaders.....most sources of found lead is not pure eg: wheel weights, batteries, etc. contain antimony and tin and yes, arsenic....
someone else mentioned Typesetting materials such as linotype....this mat'l makes thehardest bullets imaginable!!! The best bet is to buy from a foundry like the folks who make shot. Most muzzleloaders don't use enough to cast their own and find it better to buy the swaged bullets supplied by Hornady, etc. If this reader from the GTA gets ahold of me I will try to help out!!
 
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