Commercial Cast Bullets

[David Reiss]

I have a friend who does not cast or hasn't yet. He has always been of the opinion that all lead bullets "lead". Over the years I have shot with him many, many times and he would never even try them, what a hardhead. But recently he bought a .44 mag Herter's Powermag and fell in love with it. He then started asking more questions about my .401s and decided he wanted one also. He thought he would shoot jacketed bullets for the .38-40 which are sized .400 - .401. I told him the bore of the .401 powermag would be .403-.404 and the cylinder throats would be about about .405, making bullets sized to .405 to be the best for accuracy. One of mine accurately is more accurate than the other two with .406 CBs.

Well a little range time with the .38-40 bullets and not the best accuracy, he decided to try some cast .405s - NOE 403-200-WFN GC, I gave him. To make a long story short, he shot a nice WT buck today with one of those NOEs at 45 yards from a tree stand. He was so pleased he called to tell me & asked me to help him get started on casting. He's no longer a hardhead, not because he finally snapped about cast bullets, but because he's bringing me some venison.

 

[Brad]

Amazing how a guy who just can't believe cast can work sees he is wrong and gets hooked.
I have had more odd looks while shooting cast than you can imagine. Even more when I'm gathering range scrap. I don't mind as long as they keep filling berms with bullets for me.

 

[David Reiss]

Amen Brad, I get even weirder looks when I tell them I lost a bullet!

 

[SierraHunter]

Glad to see another convert! Good job!

 

[freebullet]

Lost a bullet...that's funny.

It is quite amusing how some folks veiw lead. Had a young Asian fellow share our range one busy day. After talking to him for a moment to agree on firing line placement we got to talking about ammo.

He explained his tactics for getting ammo. He found out when the local walmarts get their shipments & waits for them to bring it out. He described it as if he had the world figured out. He gets there at 7am & there is usually only 2-3 other guys waiting. They bring the ammo out & they all get the allowed amount unless there ain't enough. Then they have a word battle about splitting up what's there and scurry away.

I gave him an introduction to how we get ammo, let him try some through my guns. Showed him the clean shiny bore when done. He looks at me with all seriousness & says "lead is poisonous and I can't risk it". Oakey dokey.....thanks for the lead & brass cool guy, thought to myself.

Another belted magnum butt shooter on the rifle range seen my cast loads on the bench, he tells me with authority that "lead bullets blow up guns". I told him he'd better stand clear then cause that's what I'm shooting. He packs up hurriedly, goes & talks to the range officer, & leaves the range. Guess he didn't like what the range officer told him either. From the looks of his patterns I don't think practice would even help him.

It takes all kinds.

 

[SierraHunter]

I remember my dad once having a handful of Nickle 45/70s loaded with cast bullets and someone asked him where he got the "stainless steel bullets".

 

[9.3X62AL]

Buckshot is nicer than I am. I looked on one fine Spring morning as he explained to an onlooker about the cast bullets I was cartwheeling ground squirrels with in Cedarville. The onlooker's expression was like that given by the Indians at Plymouth Rock to the Pilgrims--if the Pilgrims were explaining quantum physics. If someone asks an intelligent question, I'm happy to help--but the "Are those silver bullets?" cadre get my stock response--"No--they are an exotic and proprietary galena alloy, meant for non-toxic shooting." If it was painful to be ignorant, there might be less of it.

Commercial cast bullets? Sure, if they fit. Some calibers lend themselves to commersh castings better than others, though. 38/357s tend to be pretty close to the .357' "ideal", and 40 S&W hews closely to the .400" standard. 45 ACP is pretty good also. 44 Special or Mag is a total crapshoot, 41 Mag is fairly predictable at .410".

 

[KHornet]

Over the years, I have tried various commercial cast bullets. Most of them shot between about
half a$$ and fair. The exceptions have been those from Beartooth, and Matts Bullets. Both shot
as well as any that I have cast myself of the same molds. Years back, I would buy from them, the
bullets that I wanted to try before I bought the mold myself. Found that to be a good practice.

Paul

 

[RBHarter]

I shot some in a BlackHawk once . 8 gr of Unique fair groups nominal recoil .
8.5 violent recoil , and full profile holes .....

I didn't get any leading . The bbl was .451 so the fat .452+ filled it up but with .454 throats I think they were tipping and slamming the front band into the forcing cone making oval bullets .

 

[David Reiss]

The secret that most commercial cast bullet makers don't let you know is that they cast them harder and smaller for several reasons, none good for the shooter. They cast them so hard so they don't get dinged up in shipment so they arrive looking good. But they are so hard they won't obturate to fit the throat or bore, causing leading and poor accuracy. it's the #1 reason why people get turned off by cast bullets, because this is usually their first exposure to them. They are almost always undersized because they want to make sure they will fit even the smallest dimensions and will have no issues with excessive pressure. It is just like factory cartridges are sized to fit the smallest of chambers, which again is not the best for accuracy in some cases.

 

[Rick]

Exactly right David. And to promote their bullets they promote the term "Hardcast". Hardcast is a term that has warped the minds of many prospective casters and caused them to fail and/or drop cast bullets completely. It is in part the reason why old wives tales such as ruin your barrel and others persist.

 

[Brad]

Nothing leads a revolver better than really hard, undersized bullets. I mined a half ton from my GP100 after 50 rounds. By then bullets were impacting sideways at 25 yards.

 

[Winelover]

Some commercial casters do offer their bullets in optional/larger diameters. Beartooth Bullets is one of the few. I have, in the past, bought their bullets (.432 diameter 280 WFN) for my oversized bore 1894 Marlin. Besides the higher BHN and hard lube, the other downside was the nearly year long wait.

Meister Bullets is another one I've dealt with that is still in business. I have several 400 count boxes of their .430 diameter 240 RNFP that gave acceptable accuracy, in the same Marlin, at distances of less than 50 yards. Leading was very minor for hard bullets lubed with less than desirable lube. Years ago, I did harvest a nice Michigan farmland doe with this bullet. These bullets are at least 15 years old and I'm currently using them up in a recently acquired Charter Arms Bulldog. Since I have my own range, they will be recycled for later use.

 

[Rick]

That's a good point. Commercial casters use hard lube not because it's good for their customers but because it stays on the bullets better during shipping.

 

[SierraHunter]

I believe that the Bullshop is still in business. They would Also be an exception to the rule.

 

[Pistolero]

I have shot literally hundreds of thousands of commercial H&G 68 clones. They will, after 5000 rds or so, leave a few
streaks in some .45 ACP bbls, but nothing serious. Scrubs out with a brass brush in maybe 30-50 strokes. Similar
results with .357 diam in .38 Super at 1230 fps, for about 70,000 rds worth before I went back to .45 ACP for
competition.
Grim results in .45-70, some success in .44 Mag, some success in .38 Spl, poor results in some 9mms, a few were
OK with commercial....real crap shoot in that cartridge.

Getting good fit and less than flint hardness, plus a good lube is far easier when you make your
own.

Bill

 

[JWFilips]

I definitely can vouch for the quality of both Bullshop's and Matt's bullets.
I shot a lot of Bullshop's 6 mm bullets and also a lot of his .223 bullets ( probably the reason I do not own a .223 cal mould...his shoot that good)
Matt's , while slow to receive your order ...you get what you ask for! For my wife's 38 S&W I wanted the traditional RN bullet 149 gr sized .363" and with softer 11 BHN alloy...no problem!
Waited 6 weeks but finally got them and they shoot super in her little S&W Mod 32 Terrier

 

[KHornet]

I was one of Matt's first customer, and he remembered that when I just ordered a
couple hundred from him the other day. .359's and that's what they will be.

Paul

 

[shootnlead]

Ya' know, it is kind of funny...I have to be reminded that everyone doesn't shoot cast bullets. Heck, I have shot them so long, that I seem to just go along assuming that everyone does.

 

[Minute Of Berm]

I was happy with Montana Bullet Works offerings, then Dave quit for awhile. They are back in business again with Dave as a consultant, I can't offer any opinion on the new owners product. If one is going to buy cast bullets, they offer several options most casters do not.