Hey folks,
Just getting into bullet making, by way of fishing lure making. In-laws got me a Lee melting pot and do-it mold for Xmas to make jig heads, but I quickly found bullet making. Just scored a free tgal pail of wheel weights from the local auto shop, excited to melt them down. Any tips for the FNG?
Boy...you asked a question that starts out as a rabbit hole and ends up big enough to drive a D8 cat into...and to answer that question in a word, Yes, about 200 yrs worth of trials & errors have been recorded over time, all the way from buffalo hunters casting over a campfire to some that really make the rest of us jealous and use a Master-caster of some sort...hope you like reading!!
First of all I'm not trying to scare you or discourage you as casting good slugs is quite easy and a quick learn for most with a little proper tutelage from someone who has done a bunch.
The first question you need to answer to yourself is what level of usage do you plan on with cast bullets...do you plan on just making a few slugs a year for plinking with one gun and what gun would that be, muzzle loader or handgun or rifle...what level of satisfaction do you wish to achieve, from just plinking at a 40 yrd pail or 1000 yrd buffalo rifle shoots or do you expect jacketed bullet quality target groupings at any range ?? Results can be very satisfactory at every level I have stated but equally possible is some very discouraging & trying results can be had...your level of determination will dictate the level of achievement that you will journey thru.
if I were tutoring a newby I would start with one recommendation...pick one gun that you want to shoot cast through the most and sort of learn the ropes with that. Casting equipment can be a money pit the same as any other re-loading hobby but if you stick with one gun that can be kept to a minimum...to put it bluntly, you don't need to buy a bunch of sh!t you don't need until you know you will use it enough to make the purchase necessary. I would break the journey down into 4 sections, all with a reference that I would recommend for that section...again, hope you like reading.
For the first section I would recommend purchasing a copy of Lymans Cast Bullet Handbook. It is a combination casting tutorial for beginners as well as re-loading manual for cast bullet velocities. You already have the basic equipment, smelting pot & mold and probably some safety items as well and this book will cover all this as well as some advanced casting info...read it twice...Mine is from the third printing edition in 1986 & I still refer to it a few time a year to refresh something.
Second section I would tackle is bullet sizing. I consider a bullet sizer of some sort as an essential part of the formula ( its not "some sh!t that you don't need" as referenced earlier). Adequate Commercial sizing equipment can be purchased from $ 35 or so (Lee push-thru sizer) to a moderately priced combination Lube-sizer ($150 or so) to a very expensive Auto sizer(many hundreds). The Lyman book is a good "starter" for this topic as well. My 2 cents worth: heed the warnings about using a improper sized slug for your gun...a leaded up barrel will tax your resolve to continue casting more than anything else...
Third section is lubing, either by the old much used wax-grease or combination of both lube up to the much newer powder coating. Again the Lyman book will cover the old grease lube topic enough for the beginner caster but the internet is the best source for quick Lube advise now, two sites in particular stand out, the one you are already on now and the absolute "must see" bible on all things cast-wise... Castboolits.com . Hope you like reading.. One personal comment I will make here is that while wax or grease lubing has been around for a couple century's and can be made to work, I consider powder coating the biggest break though in successful accurate bullet casting in a century or more...it can mitigate frustrations of casting qualities & lead melt alloys down to almost nil...and its easy to do and very inexpensive to acquire all the necessities.
The fourth section is to acquire a book called "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners by Authors Glen E Fryxal & Robert Applegate forwarded by John Tappin. These are all very accomplished casters and this book is a "must read" for accomplished casters as well as having been written in a style that a novice caser with a bit of experience will gain a lot of knowledge from...these boys know what their talking about!! Read it twice...Its free online to download. Even tho you are a beginner, a couple hours reading this book will save you days of crawling around in one of those proverbial "rabbit holes" that are often referred to in this hobby.
