So you think you cast good bullets?

[LEC Guy]

I have been casting since I was 15. Lots of my Molds are over 100 years old. I'm not going to beat a mold to death looking for perfection in my patterns. I cast for a standard of: (Will it work and give me shooting enjoyment?). Yesterday I got in a new to me mold an RCBS .38 cal., 140 WC. Its obsolete but there is data for it in the RCBS Cast Bullet Handbook and I'll have fun for many years with it. Cast up 500+ last night.

Bruce

 

[JustJim]

Beagle's original point about the voids collapsing in the tumbled bullets brings up some questions. Were the bullets weighed prior to tumbling? If so, what weight range was considered acceptable? How much better did the "perfect" bullets shoot than a run of bullets cast with the same attention but not tumbled?

 

[RBHarter]

3 schools at work here like always .
1. I need a terminal energy , maximum group point . Aka hunters mindset .
2. I just want to shoot to improve my methods and maintain skills . The 1500 fps maximum for cast , 50 yd ,can killer , plinker guy .
3. Why bother if you aren't loading for a sub .005 over double caliber 200 yd group for score guys .

A lot of #3 garbage , and #1 nope gets loaded w/o a thought by the #2 group .

A lot of what the #1 group shoots isn't even plinking bullets for #3 group .........

So it goes with how good is good enough and how much cartridge is enough . We all want perfection, we all want it a a price we'll pay , we all define by what we need .

 

[Bazoo]

I cast pretty good. I let more go than some do. But I also am able to get very good clean bullets. After working on bulletmatch and getting samples from folks... I realize rounded driving bands and junk in the alloy is prevalent amongst a lot of casters.

 

[Rally]

I think I cast pretty decent bullets also, to my standards. Lol I first started because I needed cheaper bullets, and also had some casting equipment ( I cast sinkers for bait shops as a kid). I was a young soldier with a wife and kids, so money was hard to come by for a bad gun habit!
Now I expect my ammo to do the job when I get a shot at a fox or coyote I happen upon while trapping. That ammo needs to be first functional, consistent, and minute of Beaver head accurate, my bottom line is dependent upon it.
I most always cast in large lots, and seperate the first 50 or so bullets cast into a seperate location, which I usually end up putting back into the pot after what looked like “good” bullets. After that, most “culling” comes from visual inspection while sizing. When I find a good load/bullet I load a bunch and move onto another project.

 

[RBHarter]

Let's look at this from "you get what you pay for".
It takes me on average 3# per 100 . Of course at the extremes it's closer to 12 & 110/# . Roto metals is something like $6.00 for general use alloys . So those 500-535 gr 45s are something like $50/100 while the 62 gr 22s are like $6/100 . Last time I bought Hornady 30 150 SPBT they were $28/100 and are more like $40/100 and those are just average hunting bullets , 22s are up to 28/100 . I don't even want to look at something like a bonded 405 SP or a target HP in .458 I'd bet they're north of 1.50 ea . Now I know we should count $15-30/hr for our time and a Kwhr hr for the pot but even with that we're "only" paying about $15-30/100 .

The most amazing thing is that those $15/100 bullets are shooting under 13.5" at 1000 yd . You can't do that with even modern run of the mill hunting bullets . Your going to be at a minimum in 25-30 cal in to something like $50+ per hundred.

The next stop in monoliths are over a buck each and light for displacement.

IF being able to have absolute control over quality, consistency, isn't worth at least half the difference in cost and effort, I don't know what it's value is .

We talk a lot voids and inclusions but if you cast 1000 and 600 pass the visual and diameter checks , then you weigh lot and keep only the heaviest lot you will have eliminated a huge amount variation and made the bulk of the hidden defects nil .

We're not going to use for example a Money or Postell bullet, at least not in the 21st century, for a buffalo/bison , elk , or moose hunt for your 45-70 .

Odds are against a body trying to use a 312-165 RD for a 500 yd target bullet but a variation of the 5R 310-230s backed down to a 200 gr in a babitt rich alloy wouldn't be a bad choice as long as it would hold form.

 

[glassparman]

My wife is ugly but man she can cook!! (There is a song in there somewhere)

Just kidding but making a point. Just because it don't look good doesn't mean it can't do the job.

I started casting for fun . . . and to hang out with you guys here!

 

[todd]

what? i cast only perfect boolits, yep, that's right........only perfect........no wrinkle nosed or different weights or....nope, nothing bot perfect boolits.

i'd cry if i let you see my setup, Coleman stove and and old cast pot, i don't even have a temperature thermometer.

 

[Bazoo]

My wife is ugly but man she can cook!! (There is a song in there somewhere)

Just kidding but making a point. Just because it don't look good doesn't mean it can't do the job.

I started casting for fun . . . and to hang out with you guys here!

Oh man, that was funny, thanks!