What type of Lead For Bullets??

[idahoron]

If anyone needs to find out how hard some bullets or lead is send me a couple and I will test it. Bullets are the best size but I can test about any size.

I shoot Lee 500 S&W bullets Paper Patched and sized to .501 after that they are ready to shoot. I take pure virgin lead and add lead shot to it until it is about 6 to 7 BHN or to be exact .035 on my hardness tester. I have developed this hardness after years of shooting targets and game. I used to shoot Hornady 410 gr great plains bullets. I got wind that they were going to be removed from production and bought 30 boxes. After buying those I decided with the stash I would now work on a replacement. So I ended up with the Paper Patched bullets. Now I have a couple hundred pounds of pure lead and 1000 sheets of Paper and I am set for a life time supply of bullets. I don't have to wait in line for bullets. I have a couple thousand caps and I am worried about that.
The Lee 500 S&W bullets are the best game bullets I have ever shot. Ron

Ron,

Is this the same bullet you refer to?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/266944 ... -gas-check

I seem to remember seeing one of your posts about paper patching but don't remember the bullet. If it is like the one from the mould above, that is fairly close to what I have in mind. I would rather get it smooth sided and closer to 350gn though. I'm not sure I really have a great reason for the "smooth sided" verses the lube groove type but it is just what I have shot and have in mind for Sabots. As for the hollow point.. Not sure that matters or if that shallow HP really helps that much with expansion but then again some of the Speer's I shoot have shallow Hp's too. I just might Pm you one day soon and see if you can test one of these Knights for me.

Thanks,

Yes that is my bullet. I also have the 45 cal version. The 50 cal shoots awesome. For a 1-28 twist this bullets is like a freight train. They are unstoppable. I had over 200 rounds of those Knights that I just gave away with the rifle. Anytime you want a hardness testing done let me know. Ron

 

[Critter]

http://www.mountainmolds.com has a program on his site that let's you design a bullet. Pretty cool to play with.

 

[edmehlig]

YOu may want to look at these two sites. I had a mold made up at Accurate Molds and I am quite pleased with the mold and the fast turn around. If you have a mold that you want to convert it to a Hollow Point you can send it to Hollow Point Mold and they will take care of it for you. They can also make another pin that would enable you to go back and make solid bullets again.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/

http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

Being you are possibly going to Cabela's this weekend you may want to stop at Dixon's. You will pass it on your way to Cabela's. I think Cabela's is another 10-15 minutes further from Dixon's. They have all kinds of Traditional ML's as well as ML supplies, bullets, powder and anything else you can think of.

Dixon Muzzleloading Shop, Inc.
9952 Kunkels Mill Road
Kempton, PA 19529
610-756-6271

 

[ShawnT]

YOu may want to look at these two sites. I had a mold made up at Accurate Molds and I am quite pleased with the mold and the fast turn around. If you have a mold that you want to convert it to a Hollow Point you can send it to Hollow Point Mold and they will take care of it for you. They can also make another pin that would enable you to go back and make solid bullets again.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/

http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

Being you are possibly going to Cabela's this weekend you may want to stop at Dixon's. You will pass it on your way to Cabela's. I think Cabela's is another 10-15 minutes further from Dixon's. They have all kinds of Traditional ML's as well as ML supplies, bullets, powder and anything else you can think of.

Dixon Muzzleloading Shop, Inc.
9952 Kunkels Mill Road
Kempton, PA 19529
610-756-6271

Ed, Thanks! I did not know about them. Usually when I stop at Cabela's I am on my way home to Ohio to visit the family, so I am there waiting for them to open the door for me! :wink: :lol: I was ecstatic when they built that store in Hamburg. I only make a "round" trip over there about every other year. Not sure I am going yet but if I am there why not.

 

[ShawnT]

http://www.mountainmolds.com has a program on his site that let's you design a bullet. Pretty cool to play with.

Hey Critter,

I looked at their site but not that program yet. I will get to it soon though.

Thanks,

 

[ShawnT]

Those of you casting your own bullets. Do you prefer a Lead pot that has a pour spout like the Lee production Pot or do you get better results from pouring with a Ladle? I have only ever cast from a small RCBS iron pot over a flame.

I am looking at the Lee Production Pot, the Lee Pro 4-20, or the Large Plain Pot made for Ladle casting. Lots of decisions here.

Also , how do you usually heat your mould, just place in the hot lead??

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/637732 ... e-110-volt

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/645810 ... e-110-volt

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/709235 ... e-110-volt

As a Side note, I did happen upon a pack of 16 .500 Lead bullets with 50x54 sabots like the pick above that Knight made at one time. I had never seen or heard of them, so they were discontinued a Long time ago. They are 450gn, which is heavier than I was planning on, but might give me a good idea of a profile. I just have to see If I can win the bid at a reasonable price.

 

[idahoron]

I have the lee production pot. I could not get the mould to fill proper with the bottom pour. I went to the ladle and my weight shot up to 460 grains on a mould that is listed as a 440. They list them with alloy so the pure is heavier and the mould filled better. For bullets over 300 grains I won't use anything but a ladle. Ron

 

[Squeeze]

I use an old 8 qt cast iron dutch oven on a propane (hooked to a natural gas line) cajun cooker style burner and have several ladles of differing styles. I like working with big batches, and usually try to melt a lot and even make ingots just to universalize as much as possible in batch to batch deviations for uniformity on size and weight. I preheat the molds jut by holding an edge in the molten lead a while. and try to make large batches with each different mold at each session. Usually a few hundred+ at a time, and then cull for weight

 

[ShawnT]

Ron and squeeze,

Thanks. Since I live in an apartment the propane thing is out, which is why I was looking at the Lee pots. I have an old Lyman ladle and an old RCBs pot but since I can't use the pot here I was looking at the electric pots. I spent most of the afternoon reading on the CastBoolits web site about some upgrades those guys have done to their pots, and a lot of them are using the Lee Pro 4-20. The upgrade was to put a PID set up on them to make the temperature much more consistent and controllable. They have a Sticky that is about 19 or more pages long about it, have not reached the end of the thread yet. I knew you had to get the lead up in temp and have your mould hot but I did not really know just how much it really affected the end quality of the bullets. there were some that mentioned the lighter weight issues and even rough looking pours and the temp was a big issue. I even saw them mention the differences it took for steel verses aluminum moulds. I was actually amazed at how many bullets some of those guys are casting in one sitting, literally hundreds! :shock: They are basically taking a $60 to $70 Lee pot and turning it into a $300 + dollar pot for less than half the price, very interesting. I can see where this could get addicting too.

I preheat the molds jut by holding an edge in the molten lead a while.

I used to do that with my round ball mould too, but I never made more than a 100 or so at a time. If I remember right the last time I cast round ball I did a large peanut can full and that was the last time I cast any and used on those for years. I was just curious to see if that was what you all did. I even saw some on the other site mention using a hotplate for preheating moulds and even the lead ingots prior to adding them to the pot to minimize temp fluctuations. :shock: 8)

I guess there are tips and tricks you can learn about anything when you talk to guys that do it all the time. 8)

 

[edmehlig]

Ditto to what Ron said. Using a Ladel is the way to go. You will find your bullets will be more consistent in weight..

 

[WV Hunter]

This may be a stupid question, but where do you guys get the lead (other than used wheel weights?)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WV Hunter]

double post

 

[ShawnT]

double post

I know Midway sells it in 6lb qty. I would imagine some BP shops have it too. But I was thinking of asking that too.

I may just get the Lee Pro 4-20 and use my ladle at first. Then see how it goes from there.

 

[ShawnT]

YOu may want to look at these two sites. I had a mold made up at Accurate Molds and I am quite pleased with the mold and the fast turn around. If you have a mold that you want to convert it to a Hollow Point you can send it to Hollow Point Mold and they will take care of it for you. They can also make another pin that would enable you to go back and make solid bullets again.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/

http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

Being you are possibly going to Cabela's this weekend you may want to stop at Dixon's. You will pass it on your way to Cabela's. I think Cabela's is another 10-15 minutes further from Dixon's. They have all kinds of Traditional ML's as well as ML supplies, bullets, powder and anything else you can think of.

Dixon Muzzleloading Shop, Inc.
9952 Kunkels Mill Road
Kempton, PA 19529
610-756-6271

Ed,

Does Dixon stock Lead? If so any idea on price?

Thanks,

 

[flounder]

When I started casting I called a plumbing business in town, an old family business, to see if they had any lead around. They had over 100 lbs from when they used it for joints in cast iron plumbing. I also started collecting wheel weights by dropping by tire shops and found a local guy who would trade wheel weight lead for pure, soft lead. (They use WW lead for casting for centerfires). Scrapyards are another source. I know some people who work for the city and from time to time they come across some of the old lead water pipe in the older parts of town. Sheet lead on roofs or for shielding in the walls of x-ray rooms are other sources.
Good Luck!

 

[idahoron]

This is where I get my lead. I get the pure and then I alloy to my own needs. Ron

http://www.rotometals.com/default.asp

 

[edmehlig]

YOu may want to look at these two sites. I had a mold made up at Accurate Molds and I am quite pleased with the mold and the fast turn around. If you have a mold that you want to convert it to a Hollow Point you can send it to Hollow Point Mold and they will take care of it for you. They can also make another pin that would enable you to go back and make solid bullets again.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/

http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

Being you are possibly going to Cabela's this weekend you may want to stop at Dixon's. You will pass it on your way to Cabela's. I think Cabela's is another 10-15 minutes further from Dixon's. They have all kinds of Traditional ML's as well as ML supplies, bullets, powder and anything else you can think of.

Dixon Muzzleloading Shop, Inc.
9952 Kunkels Mill Road
Kempton, PA 19529
610-756-6271

Ed,

Does Dixon stock Lead? If so any idea on price?

Thanks,

Not always, I would call them if they do I think they charged $2 per ignot. Don't know how heavy they are.

 

[ShawnT]

YOu may want to look at these two sites. I had a mold made up at Accurate Molds and I am quite pleased with the mold and the fast turn around. If you have a mold that you want to convert it to a Hollow Point you can send it to Hollow Point Mold and they will take care of it for you. They can also make another pin that would enable you to go back and make solid bullets again.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/

http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

Being you are possibly going to Cabela's this weekend you may want to stop at Dixon's. You will pass it on your way to Cabela's. I think Cabela's is another 10-15 minutes further from Dixon's. They have all kinds of Traditional ML's as well as ML supplies, bullets, powder and anything else you can think of.

Dixon Muzzleloading Shop, Inc.
9952 Kunkels Mill Road
Kempton, PA 19529
610-756-6271

Ed,

Does Dixon stock Lead? If so any idea on price?

Thanks,

Not always, I would call them if they do I think they charged $2 per ignot. Don't know how heavy they are.

Thanks. If it is $2 per ingot then it must be 1lb ingots. Sounds like the going rate.