Iam I cast-aholic

G

geotndtwine

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Just wondering how much time you spend casting. I love casting it is not a chore for me. During the summer I spend no time casting, while the winter where its to cold to be outside I will cast an average of 5hrs every weekend. As well how big is your hoard of cast boolits. I find I cast far more then I shoot. I have stored about 25 Large coffee cans full of cast boolits. How about you guy.

1)fun or chore
2)time invested
3)size of hoard

O yah and Im a castaholic
 
I have come across way to many oxidized bullets in my lead search to keep huge stashes.

I probably have 2-300 bullets sitting around. All coated with Alox.

Lead stash? Don't get me started, too much.
 
yomomma said:
I have come across way to many oxidized bullets in my lead search to keep huge stashes.


I probably have 2-300 bullets sitting around. All coated with Alox.

Lead stash? Don't get me started, too much.
Click to expand...

Powder coat them

I to have a problem.
Buts it's not a true addiction if you're willing to admit to it...
 
I cast for a couple hours on Saturday morning about once or twice a month. I usually cast a couple hundred of two or three different bullets each time just to keep a good supply of ready to load bullets on hand. They also have to be sizes or gas checked and TL or powder coated as well. I usually reserve that for nights after work to unwind a little.
 
Just started casting a few months ago. Really enjoy the whole process, finding alloys, making ingots, casting, coating etc.. Casting only 30-30 and shotgun slugs right now, but hope to find a 270 mold soon.

Only casted a half dozen times for a few hours each time, but have spent hours scrounging for lead, making ingots, looking for molds and doing research.

Managed to cast a couple hundred pounds of ingots with half that remaining in sorted wheel weight. Casted and coated enough bullets to get me through the winter or until a new mold comes my way.

MRM
 
I cast 95% of my bullets in the winter. I typically cast a pot to try a particular alloy mixture. If it turns out well, I cast 2-3 more pots worth to store for future use and testing.
I cast maybe 15-20 different bullets,and use them in multiple rifles. I have many stacked containers with perfect, weight segregated bullets in wait to be shot. How many? I wouldn't hazard a guess! More than I can likely shoot in my time. But I will continue to cast, load and shoot anyhow. When I am gone, my boys can shoot till they are tired of it! It is just very satisfying to look and tinker with my stash of prepped and segregated cast bullets! When I cast a pot of bullets, I get about 3 to 5% culls +/- , and I remelt them for a later casting session .
 
The wife has her girls night at the house 1-2 times a month, that encourages me to cast some bullets and slugs. Tonight will be a couple of hrs so I Should get through a couple hundred 12g slugs and a couple hundred 45-70 bullets tonight. All I do is apply a quick coat of lanolin and then off to storage. This keeps them pristine until I load, also a sealed ammo can help quite a bit. Lead supplies are dwindling a lil, down to about 700lbs of ingots. There isn't a wheel weight left in the shop to melt down, I took care of that earlier this year. Yes I am beginning to admit my problem...... I might be a castaholic..........
 
Wow must say dthunter 2-5% cull, that's pretty good I find I am around 20-30%. I am probably OCD but anything with the smallest of flaw is back to the pot, plus my bad when casting is its kind of a race against myself to see how many buckets I can fill in my afternoon.
 
To be 100% honest, I visually inspect my bullets under a magnifying glass and when all the "perfect" bullets are collected, I weight segregate from there. Its at this stage that I get approximately in the realm of 5% culls by weight.

I set the bullets in rows of each weight, and group them together so that all bullets in a group are within a couple of grains or less. This way each bullet in a group is much more consistent in relation to each other.

I only allow a few grains on the light side for segregation, due to potential air inclusions and therefore a likely somewhat unstable flight.

bullets on the heavy side don't bother me much. as long as they are sharp and well filled/formed

That OCD thing,............I can relate VERY well! LOL!
 
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Last night was a success for the slugs, cast 352 last night with only 16 that were not up to snuff...... So 336 good ones, time to get to loading this morning and hittin the range this aft. Not bad for spending a lil less than 2 hrs sittin by the melt pot. Nothing like a lil powder and lead in the air to have a great day.
 
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