Pure Lead VS 1-20 Alloy Weight

[sdporter]

Has been for me

X2

 

[sdporter]

Is casting your own bullets sort of a normal progression with muzzleloader shooters after they have been doing it for a while?

That’s kinda how it goes. First you get a mould and a lead pot, then you start to wonder if you could make your own moulds, so you buy a lathe and a mill, then you start to wonder if you can make your own black powder, so you go out and get some black willow and make up some charcoal, and grind up some potassium nitrate and buy a little sulfur, make a ball mill and try that.... My next step is to get a bale of straw and start peeing on it out back to make my own potassium nitrate....
I think the boss would kill me if I started that one
It definitely is a hobby that has no limits to how far you want to take it...
Seriously though, I started casting cause I hated paying for bullets I knew I could make myself. My first mould I ever bought was a T/C .50 cal 370 grain MaxiBall. I sold a grundle of those to the guys I worked with cause everybody shot Hawkens back then. Knight and White and Gonic hadn’t taken off yet, starting the in-line craze.
Then when Doc White quit making muzzleloaders, I enlisted a brother-in-law’s help (he worked in a machine shop) in copying the .504 395 grain Buckbuster sold by White cause I had about 5 left and couldn’t find them in the stores anymore. After that, I was on the hook....

 

[sdporter]

Okay, so there’s two spellings of “Mould” I prefer this one. I always think of “mold”
As disgusting stuff.... the dictionary lists each of the spellings as a container to hold a liquid that is solidifying.... whatcha think????

 

[Sideshow]

Okay, so there’s two spellings of “Mould” I prefer this one. I always think of “mold”
As disgusting stuff.... the dictionary lists each of the spellings as a container to hold a liquid that is solidifying.... whatcha think????

I agree but i dont like to think that hard Stacy !!! Lol !!! The English language gets complicated in a hurry at times . Never cared for its loop holes in school either !!! I guess its what we got though , so i spell it both ways so nobody feels left out Lol !!!

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I think of "mould" as too euro fer my likin'.
My preference is the Americanized mold

 

[Walkingeagle]

If it wasn’t for mold, ya wouldn’t have penicillin.
Walk

 

[mrhunterken]

Aluminum Bullet Molds are Something I Despise, and My BIGGEST Regret in the Hobby of Casting. A good Steel Mold is FAR AND AWAY More Durable, Forgiving than an Aluminum Mold, The 2 Materials Shouldn’t even be used in the Same Sentence, NO COMPARISON. I consider a Steel Mold a “LIFETIME” Mold, Whereas an Aluminum Mold to me is “THROW AWAY” That is my Feelings on the 2 Materials. I have No Experience with Brass, I have never Casted with a Brass Bullet Mold. Aluminum is EASY/FAST to get up to Temp, an Iron/Steel Mold takes SUBSTANTIALLY Longer to get to Optimum Casting Temp, But it will Also “Hold” it’s Temperature MUCH Better/Longer than Aluminum. The ONLY reason i Will Purchase an Aluminum Bullet Mold is If it’s REALLY Cheap (Lee) Or i have No other Choice.

Brass is a great mold to work with. It takes time to warm up, but it holds the heat like no tommorow! You can really take your time with it.

 

[Idaholewis]

Brass is a great mold to work with. It takes time to warm up, but it holds the heat like no tommorow! You can really take your time with it.

I bet it would be Good, i need to Buy a Brass Mold Someday to get Experience Casting with one

I am a SNOB With Certain things, Aluminum Bullet Molds Being one of them. Truth is, They Cast an AWESOME Bullet, NO DISPUTING That! I know a few REALLY Good Casters that Love, and Swear By Aluminum. I am just not 1 of them, I am a Steel/Iron Mold Guy, Steel/Iron Molds are EXTREMELY Durable, and will Tolerate Mistakes Made by the Caster, Where Aluminum Can QUICKLY GALL, and Destruct if you Make a Mistake (To Hot, No Lube) I Run my Steel/Iron Molds BONE DRY, They look as New Today as they Did when i unboxed them, they are TOUGH!! They are What i Call Lifetime Molds.

Again, it’s what you get use to, and are Comfortable with I have learned Aluminum Molds, and I can Turn out SUPER HIGH QUALITY Bullets with them, But i stil Don’t like The Material for a Bullet Mold

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I like the steel molds too. I like to buy used molds. I have bought some fugly, caked with crud, steel molds that clean up to like new with a little tlc. A used aluminum mold is usually just a paper weight. I rarely find brass molds in calibers im interested in

 

[sdporter]

I have a couple hundred pounds of brass, I was gonna melt it down and cast it into bars for just that, making bullet moulds. Just don’t have my furnace finished yet...

 

[fourbore]

...snip...
Aluminum Can QUICKLY GALL, and Destruct if you Make a Mistake (To Hot, No Lube) I Run my Steel/Iron Molds BONE DRY,
...snip...

What is this lube? In the cavity where the lead is cast?

 

[Idaholewis]

What is this lube? In the cavity where the lead is cast?

I use Synthetic 2 Cycle oil for Sprue Plate Lube on my Few Aluminum Molds, and NO Lube on my Steel Molds, My Sprue Plates are Set to where they Open at the “Flick” of my Wrist

 

[Idaholewis]

What is this lube? In the cavity where the lead is cast?

You definitely DON’T want any Lube in the Mold Cavity. Sprue Plate lube is to keep the Plate from Galling the Top of the Aluminum Mold Blocks. If ANY Lube Migrates in to the Cavity you have Problems, in the Form of Wrinkled Bullets. My Steel Molds Will Run DAY N, DAY OUT With NO Sprue Plate Lube, And Stil Look as new today as they Did when i bought them. My Aluminum Molds on the other hand look like GARBAGE