How i cast BIG Bullets with a Bottom Pour Pot

[michiganmuzzy]

I like the idea of having different pots with different alloys. I did trial and error til i found the right setting. I pretty much make everything at 40:1. But sometimes want pure lead and i may start shooting some 30:1. So a thermometer and a couple more pots may be my Christmas gifts to me.

 

[Idaholewis]

I like the idea of having different pots with different alloys. I did trial and error til i found the right setting. I pretty much make everything at 40:1. But sometimes want pure lead and i may start shooting some 30:1. So a thermometer and a couple more pots may be my Christmas gifts to me.

Careful, it’s a SLIPPERY Slope This Stuff is Addicting I have a TON of .45 Cal Bullet Molds, I Bet i have over 50 Molds Total, All Calibers. The Majority being .45 Cal

 

[MSalyards]

While buying you lead premixed is a great idea, you could also pre-mix your own too. I acquired a large supply of pure (99.9) lead and a super deal on pure tin and have been blending my own for a few years now. Most of what I cast is 30-1 for hunting and general shooting , but like Lew I have a pot for pure and one for harder pistol bullets (16-1). Just mix up a batch of ingots and mark them with a sharpie.

 

[Idaholewis]

While buying you lead premixed is a great idea, you could also pre-mix your own too. I acquired a large supply of pure (99.9) lead and a super deal on pure tin and have been blending my own for a few years now. Most of what I cast is 30-1 for hunting and general shooting , but like Lew I have a pot for pure and one for harder pistol bullets (16-1). Just mix up a batch of ingots and mark them with a sharpie.

I am really happy with the 3 Lead Pot System i am Running. I have messed up several pounds of Good Pure Lead by Mixing Unknown. Live n learn! Now that i have 1 Pot for PURE Lead, The ONLY Lead that i allow in that Pot Comes From Buffalo Arms, Stamped, Certified PURE Lead.

 

[Sideshow]

No competition shooting for me, I Shoot strictly for Fun, against myself, maybe a Friend or 2 along Competitive Shooting takes the Fun out of Shooting to me Personally. I have Shot Competitively in Shotgun Trap (How i met my Wife ) And Archery, i did Very well, Placed in Both. But it took the Fun RIGHT OUT of Shooting for me. I see 2nd Place as a 1st Place Loser

I understand what you mean now, But i have never tried the Knurling and Greasing a Bullet? It sounds like it would Work Though, i would bet that it would.

I have Paper Patched a Minie Though This was a .533/410, This is Something I might Re-Visit, Back when i did this I didn’t understand the importance of Lead Hardness (These were HARD) And i tested this in a Stock 1:48 Twist Thompson Center New Englander, I was lucky to Hit a Volkswagen Broadside, it was AWFUL! I did more testing of Different Bullets Paper Patch with the Same “Unknown” Hard Lead and found that Hard Lead and Paper Patched Bullets in a 1:48 Twist was DISASTROUS

My Bullets Turned out Good Though I wish i had owned a Fast Twist .54 Cal Back in this Time, Or had Poured these Minies of PURE Lead, instead of an Unknown HARD Alloy for the Stock 1:48 Twist .54 Cal i shot these in. BUT it was a Good learning Experience, What i did was a DISASTROUS Fail, Which taught me NOT to do that Again

Did you find the info i left for you ?? It made a world of difference for my 300 win mag , in fact with a total group(5) size dia of only .055" OVER .308 either which way @ .418 @100yds !!! You NEED this stuff !!!!!! I think i shoulda sent it as a conversation . Im still learning the ropes around here . Thanks for your input by the way !!!

 

[MSalyards]

I know what you mean by unknown. I have special buckets that goes in for Sturgeon and decoy weights that will never see my lead pots again . They get melted down in a cast iron pot and cast or given away for someone else to use. Years ago I ended up with about 2000 lbs of underground cable sheathing and still have close to half of it. Once or twice a year I fire up the Turkey burner and my cast iron pots and stink up the neighbors burning off the cosmalean and pouring pure lead ingots . Pure lead comes in many forms such as this sheathing and should be tested with a hardness tester when in doubt. Roofing lead or flashing is another good source , and so is lead used in the medical field ( Radiation barriers) used in MRI machines . I have a bucket of lead test tubes I acquired that held the radioactive pellets used for prostrate cancer treatment. I tell folks I use them to cast tracers. Truth is I never used them. I don't use wheel weights or Linotype. They work good sitting on the bottom of a duck pond.

 

[Idaholewis]

Did you find the info i left for you ?? It made a world of difference for my 300 win mag , in fact with a total group(5) size dia of only .055" OVER .308 either which way @ .418 @100yds !!! You NEED this stuff !!!!!! I think i shoulda sent it as a conversation . Im still learning the ropes around here . Thanks for your input by the way !!!

I did get it!! That Stock Filler/Bedding Stuff, I watched some YouTube Vids on it, appears to be some AWESOME Stuff

I doubt I could improve on the Way this 300 Win Mag Shoots, She FLAT OUT SHOOTS! Just a VIOLENT Recoiler Due to this Stock, Bad Enough that it would Drop my Floor Plate 50% of the Time. I have this Factory Plastic Remington Stock Ruined, I actually Pulled the Butt/Recoil pad off Back in the Summer and Filled it with Some “Live Rubber” a Few old Lead Bullets for added Weight, and Then Pumped it Full of Liquid Nails. This DEFINITELY helped, But it’s stil not a Pleasure Filled Experience to Shoot, I put a New Floor Plate Spring in as Well, The Floor Plate has Not dropped again Since I plan on Buying a Boyds “Prairie Hunter” Stock for it and Pillar Bed it. I MUCH Prefer Wood, This Factory Rem Stock will go in the Trash when i get the Boyds

She Shoots GOOD, These are my Handloads of Course Here is a .292 Group Back in July, I have a 180 Grain Load that Shoots just like this

 

[Idaholewis]

I know what you mean by unknown. I have special buckets that goes in for Sturgeon and decoy weights that will never see my lead pots again . They get melted down in a cast iron pot and cast or given away for someone else to use. Years ago I ended up with about 2000 lbs of underground cable sheathing and still have close to half of it. Once or twice a year I fire up the Turkey burner and my cast iron pots and stink up the neighbors burning off the cosmalean and pouring pure lead ingots . Pure lead comes in many forms such as this sheathing and should be tested with a hardness tester when in doubt. Roofing lead or flashing is another good source , and so is lead used in the medical field ( Radiation barriers) used in MRI machines . I have a bucket of lead test tubes I acquired that held the radioactive pellets used for prostrate cancer treatment. I tell folks I use them to cast tracers. Truth is I never used them. I don't use wheel weights or Linotype. They work good sitting on the bottom of a duck pond.

I just recently messed up a Small batch of Pure lead, I had a Full 5 pound Box of Hornady 000 Buckshot that i had ZERO use for, Why not make some Bullets out of it? Something i will MOST Definitely use So I Quickly looked it up to See if they were Pure lead or Not? The VERY First sight that popped up was TOTW (Track of the Wolf) They Say Swaged PURE lead. So in my Pure Lead Pot they Went.

These guy’s (TOTW) are DEAD WRONG on this!!!
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/189/1/SHOT-000

I poured up some .54 Cal LP Bullets, The VERY First Bullet i poured, and cut the Sprue, i KNEW i had Screwed up!! I knew by the Sprue Cut that it was at least 1-30, I ran up and Tested the Hardness, SURE ENOUGH it was 1-30 ON THE DOT! I had Just Wasted about 5 pounds of Good Stamp Certified PURE Lead by adding 5 Pounds of HARD 000 Hornady Buckshot.

After messing up my Lead, i ran up and Did more Research, I wish i had done this BEFORE taking advice from TOTW, I find it AMAZING that they would list a Product DEAD WRONG, But they Definitely did, and it Cost me 5 pounds of Good Lead

From Hornady’s Website, I should have went STRAIGHT to the Source

Buckshot
Made with the same dedication to uniformity as Hornady bullets, Hornady Buckshot is cold swaged using a lead alloy hardened with antimony to prevent deformities after firing. This helps it fly straighter and hit harder.

We use a strict roundness tolerance of +.001" to put more pellets in your targets. The industry standard is a +.006" tolerance.

Buckshot is sold in 5 lb. boxes

 

[MSalyards]

Man that sucks! I've seen where people used chilled lead shot and thought it was pure , only to find out it has arsenic added to it. I believe that was the addition. Any how it doesn't work.

 

[earlyg]

This Video is Long, But it Shows my Process, I did this awhile Back on Casting BIG Heavy Muzzleloader Bullets with a Bottom Pour Pot. I know The Majority of Casters For BIG HEAVY Bullets prefer Ladle Casting. I have 2 of them, i have tried them, I personally DON’T Like them at all! I started out with a Bottom Pour Pot, and learned how to make them Work for me. When Setup Correctly, A Bottom Pour is SLICK! I can Cast a PILE of Bullets in a HURRY, My No. 1 goal is to Cast QUALITY, Not QUANTITY, But it just so happens to be that i Get BOTH with a Bottom Pour Pot

Idaholewis,

I know this thread is old, but is there anyway you can repost this video? (I didn't see it on your youtube channel either) Just trying to learn how to do a little casting, and you seem to have a lot of good info on this forum.

 

[Idaholewis]

Idaholewis,

I know this thread is old, but is there anyway you can repost this video? (I didn't see it on your youtube channel either) Just trying to learn how to do a little casting, and you seem to have a lot of good info on this forum.

I don’t have the Video anymore, But i do plan to do another one soon an updated version as i do a few things different now, Temp, the way i pre-heat my Molds, Etc.

 

[earlyg]

I don’t have the Video anymore, But i do plan to do another one soon an updated version as i do a few things different now, Temp, the way i pre-heat my Molds, Etc.

I’ll keep my eye out for it, thanks!

 

[GM54-120]

There you go.

 

[gregdaws]

I don't cast my own but it's good to watch someone who really knows what he is doing. Don't know about anyone else but I learnt a lot from that !!

 

[earlyg]

There you go.

Much obliged, that's exactly what I was looking for!

 

[Kent Tehl]

I challenge ANYONE to Cast a Nicer Bullet with your Ladles Anyone That Say’s you CAN’T Cast HIGH QUALITY Bullets with a Bottom Pour Lead Pot Simply Don’t Know what they are Talking about.

A few Examples

These Bases are PERFECT, This is EXTREMELY important!! The Bullet Base is What Steers the Bullet

485 Grain .50 Cal Bullet, PURE LEAD

340 Grain 9MM

I agree completely. I am a newbie and dove in. Tried ladle casting and got inconsistent results. Switched to bottom pour and quickly started casting great bullets! As long as I control temperature, pour speed and pot volume, I am able to get great results.

 

[Kent Tehl]

This Video is Long, But it Shows my Process, I did this awhile Back on Casting BIG Heavy Muzzleloader Bullets with a Bottom Pour Pot. I know The Majority of Casters For BIG HEAVY Bullets prefer Ladle Casting. I have 2 of them, i have tried them, I personally DON’T Like them at all! I started out with a Bottom Pour Pot, and learned how to make them Work for me. When Setup Correctly, A Bottom Pour is SLICK! I can Cast a PILE of Bullets in a HURRY, My No. 1 goal is to Cast QUALITY, Not QUANTITY, But it just so happens to be that i Get BOTH with a Bottom Pour Pot

Very good information! Wish I had this when I started out!

 

[Kent Tehl]

A good read:

From Ingot to Target:
A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners
Glen E. Fryxell and Robert L. Applegate