First Attempt at Bullet Casting.

[shoggoth80]

Ok you guys... I'm hooked. Lol.
My friend and roommate has casting gear. I bought about a few pounds of lead ingots. Melted some down, used beeswax to separate dross, and cast up some minie ball. .54cal. There's some minor imperfections, but they seem shootable. I ordered my own .54cal minie mold, and a dual cavity .530 round ball mold. Got my own pot on wishlist, as well as .452 SWC mold. Still need a few molds to round out my calibers... But I'm seriously hooked on this. Good times.

Below are results of first attempts at casting. My buddy's pot needs some tweaking with the flow rate, but it's a start.

[Ozzman]

A whole new world has just opened up to you.
Start your research on the following:
- Bullet hardness and alloys for differing calibers (lead BHN values).
- Powder coated bullets
- 45-45-10 Bullet Lube
- Sizing dies
- Gas Checks
- Bullet Swaging & Dies

That should be enough for you to get going.

[shoggoth80]

Well for the muzzleloaders they're pure lead.
I've read a bit about Lyman #2 alloy, but haven't looked into the component metals. As I get the various molds I will. Lube will be a thing. I'm using bore butter on the mz rounds, but have heard various flavors talked about via YouTube. Tallow, beeswax, and oil for example. I'm a fan of DIY, so this fits right in.

[NCshooter]

Casting makes for some really cheap shooting. 100 rounds of pistol bullets cost me about $4. Primers .03 and powder about .01 cents. Plus you can recover the lead and use it again. Good times. PS get as much lead as you can stand to find, carry and store. It’s getting more rare to find these days.

[Rapidrob]

A heavy,hollow base bullet is the hardest to cast. good job on your first attempt!