Accurate 31-142D Therapy session

Bliksem

Active Member
Another work day and I needed some therapy in my cave when I got home.

Some folks use chems, others use meditation, some do physical exercises but most sane people have something to let off the pressures of daily life, I choose to do something repetitive to allow me to reach my Zen state of mind of neutral cognitive equilibrium. I decided to set up my casting station and create some pieces of metal that will allow me to ultimately focus on launching same to pierce targets at distance.

OK, I needed some cast bullets for my 7.62x40WT and I was out.

It has been far too long, maybe 4 weeks, since I last cast anything so this evening I set up for casting the 31-142D and I had a nice session where everything just fell into place.

I'm still blown away by the quality of the molds created by Tom @ Accurate as the mold used this evening has only been used twice before and it just works after pre-warming on my hot plate. Included here are some pics of my setup after I shut down but an idea can be had of how I do it. The melting pot is a self built unit that when full is 30lbs of alloy so I don't slow down when casting. I add the cut sprues back into the pot once the session is done. The PID keeps the alloy temperature stable and casting cadence does the rest to help craft consistent cast bullets.

Here is the new crop of bullets that will be used to feed the 7.62x40WT rifle:

IMG_1254.jpg
My casting setup. Self built casting pot.
IMG_1256.jpg

PID controller for the casting pot. All major parts are from Auber Instruments. Solid hot plate is a *mart purchase that cost me less than $20. I have had it for probably 15 years and I know where to set the dial for perfect pre-warming. Mold on the plate is the Accurate 31-155W. I ran out of steam tonite so did not cast with it.

IMG_1257.jpg
 
Last edited:

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Nice setup you have there!
Casting bullets can be very meditative, I agree.
I see you use quite a bit of slick bullets. I have no genuine slicks myself, so far. But when Arsenal molds find the time to process my order, I’ll get my first slick design, looking forward to playing with it.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I have been long wanting a 140-160 30 cal for the BO. Being Im strongly considering a 300 HAM'r my "ears" perked reading the 7.62x40 WT. (Same church diff pew. From the Ham'r)

I also dont own a slick mold. Suprising as I PC everything and own hundreds of molds...

Any thought you can share on the caliber or cast bullets for/thru it would be most appreciated. Have you any past threads about the WT?
CW
 

Bliksem

Active Member
I have been long wanting a 140-160 30 cal for the BO. Being Im strongly considering a 300 HAM'r my "ears" perked reading the 7.62x40 WT. (Same church diff pew. From the Ham'r)

I also dont own a slick mold. Suprising as I PC everything and own hundreds of molds...

Any thought you can share on the caliber or cast bullets for/thru it would be most appreciated. Have you any past threads about the WT?
CW
CW I don’t recall doing a thread on the WT but I’ll do a write-up soon as these cast will be for that. The limited cast experiments I have done with the HAMR were not a success as the chamber is tighter than the WT.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
I use that in BO, works great. Even used the PB version (2100 fps, special alloy), it too worked great. Should work fine in my 308 too. PB did fine in 30/30 (~1500 fps) also - posted in a different thread. I changed to the GC version for the gas ARs.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I wish my BO's shot cast better. They dont but all shoot supers marvelously! I have a couple guys on some teams in on who have experienced the same.
I have tried lino bullets and "reg" rifle alloys. I have tried all velocities. I have even bought some bullets and tried gifted bullets from other casters.
The modified LEE and a 312-1552R lee GCd are the best I have gotten. I can live with this accuracy of a fat 1" @ 50 yards.
Same bullets in my 71 year old Savage 30-30 shoots them into overlapping clovers at same ranges. WITH PEEP SITES!
So in my mind, my cast can shoot...

CW
 

Bliksem

Active Member
Part deux of my casting session. Tonite I cast these using the 31-155W mold. I have used these seated deep in the WT but want to test them in the 30WCF and 308W. They do work ok in the 300BO but I have other molds that satisfy the itch there.

64337813-912F-497E-89D0-FF351B89651C.jpeg
 

Bliksem

Active Member
I wish my BO's shot cast better. They dont but all shoot supers marvelously! I have a couple guys on some teams in on who have experienced the same.
I have tried lino bullets and "reg" rifle alloys. I have tried all velocities. I have even bought some bullets and tried gifted bullets from other casters.
The modified LEE and a 312-1552R lee GCd are the best I have gotten. I can live with this accuracy of a fat 1" @ 50 yards.
Same bullets in my 71 year old Savage 30-30 shoots them into overlapping clovers at same ranges. WITH PEEP SITES!
So in my mind, my cast can shoot...

CW
CW in my opinion the typical 300BO barrel and chamber is a poor comprise trying to satisfy different requirements, like a monkey wrench it can but is not perfect in any specific requirement. I really tried to make the different BO rifles I had perform well but it ended when I realized the promises were overblown.