Got a little casting done today but it was supposed to be range day.

Brother_Love

Well-Known Member
This past Thursday I dug up 30 feet of water line to repair a leak. I dug the trench with a sharpshooter shovel and a ax. Yes, ax! Lots of roots. I was going around a tree that had grown up right on top of the original line. Friday I was just about unable to move, I work like I’m 38 but forget I’m 68.

Today the rain came so no range day plus I was still sore. I decided not to call the day a complete loss and fired up the lead pot. I cast some of the 220 gr HP from my recent purchase from Slovenia and some of the Ranch Dog solids. Now here’s where it gets tricky. Im about to try to work up some loads that are accurate and have the same point of impact. The HP will be the venison load and the range dog will be for fun and stuff like armadillos.

It was a fun day casting. I know a lot of guys hate it but I love to cast bullets. Almost as much fun as shooting them, almost.

F920744E-DB27-44C3-AC88-FA847C6990D0.jpeg1E57E1A9-5E6A-4696-815E-ECDBA51B551F.jpeg
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I also really enjoy casting bullets. Entering my casting cadence is a little like meditation. It brings a certain peace of mind.You really made some nice piles of bullets! I would be interested in hearing your experience with the Mihec- mold and bullets. They look like shooters. I have considerd buying one of those molds myself.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I too enjoy casting, its my back that will not let me cast for more than about an hour before talking a long break. Productive day.
 

Chandler

Member
I too enjoy casting bullets. I don't like fluxing so much and wish I could avoid that step but casting is a blast.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Fluxing is one of the "Mad Scientist/Alchemist" stages of casting. I'm tempted to come up with magic incantations to utter at this point. Especially when the flux starts burning on the surface.

Helpful hint: Do NOT go on youtube and look for alchemist incantations. That stuff is just too weird there.
 
Last edited:

don3

Member
I like to cast also. Have a small shed just for that. Have 3 electric bottom drop pots so when the mood hits I go out, turn one on and cast for a couple hours, feet start to hurt after that.
 

waco

Springfield, Oregon
Good looking bullets there Malcom. What firearm/firearms will these be shot in?
 

Rally

NC Minnesota
Good looking bullets. My thought when you mentioned digging up a water line was you are in pretty good shape for 68!! Up here we have to bury them below frost line, which is @42” deep. Then i remembered where you live and am wondering how deep you bury water lines down there?
 

KHornet

Well-Known Member
I like to cast as well. As to fluxing, a number of years back, an old caster
wrote about just fluxing via sturing the melt with just a clean pine paint
stick or a wooden dowl abou half inch or so. They smoke a bit, but per
his advice figured he was getting X amount of carbon in the melt. I tried
it, and have been doing the same thing for a number of years. Know that
there are some who will not approve this method. However it works for
me, and I try very hard never to fix what aint broke.

Paul
 

dale2242

Well-Known Member
I like to see my bullets with the light frosted look like these.
I know everything is up to temperature and casting well with good fill out….dale
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
that's the satin finish I look for too.

that HP looks like a pretty good one, it would probably do well in the 357 Max.
 

Brother_Love

Well-Known Member
I also really enjoy casting bullets. Entering my casting cadence is a little like meditation. It brings a certain peace of mind.You really made some nice piles of bullets! I would be interested in hearing your experience with the Mihec- mold and bullets. They look like shooters. I have considerd buying one of those molds myself.

My first loads with Mihec mold at 50 yds., 8 shots. I will tweek it a little more and see if I can wring more accuracy out of it.

2707CD11-C3D5-4DBE-9578-FE0041E4B888.jpeg
 
Last edited:

fiver

Well-Known Member
that's a pretty stout load of 2400, it looks like the bullet is responding well though.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I'm sure it's within book spec's. [off the top of my head 24-25 is around the most that manuals show]

I usually switch to something else when I start wanting to get into an area like that.
it's a pressure-velocity trade off where I switch to a slower powder and keep the pressure about the same as where 18-19 grs would be,, just gaining more gas volume in the process.

not saying it's right or wrong [obviously it's shooting well] and it's definitely below the rifles max. for pressure.
22+ is kind of the area where most are using something like 4227, 4198, AA-1680, or RL-7.