Got back into bullet casting

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Gulf Coast States

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Daezee

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Joined
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages
    3,354
    Points
    113
    Location
    Milton
    When my house burnt in 2007, I lost *all my bullet casting equipment and tin, lead, and antimony I'd accumulated over the years. I used to cast a variety of rifle bullets, and even shot cast bullets in the M1 Garand.

    * = One non-steel mould (bronze) was salvaged by a friend for me, a double cavity specialty mould from Australia for the .310 Cadet.

    So I get back into Swiss rifles and am having a time getting accurate loads for the M1889 Swiss (l-o-n-g oversize throat designed for paper patch bullets back in 1889). 2 friends that were either getting out of casting or greatly slowing down their casting gave me samples of a variety of cast bullets to try and get the 1889 Swiss going. Lyman 314299, a 200grain long bullet for the .303 Brit and 7.62x54R when sized to .314" and seated quite a bit long did the trick. Lyman 311291, a 173gr bullet worked well in the K31 Swiss. Picked up some used equipment from friends at attractive prices, and I'm now back into making rifle cast bullets.

    Bought a 5 lb bar of true Lyman #2 alloy from a metals supplier/smelter (90% lead, 5% tin, 5% antimony) (expensive to buy if doing a lot of casting) so I could cast sample bullets and weigh them and get a "standard". I then mix my scrounged bullet metal with some linotype, keeping track of the amounts of each, until I get bullets of the same weight as the known metal. The resulting bullets seem to be of the same hardness and shoot the same with no leading, so that's good enough for me. For example: 1lb soft lead + 1lb linotype = ~#2 alloy in weight and hardness. 1lb wheel weights + 1lb of salvaged cast bullets from the berm + 1lb linotype = ~#2 alloy in weight and hardness.

    In scrounging metal, I did find that lead wheel weights are going extinct. Checked with Vannoy's and was told steel and zinc WW's are cheaper to buy. Some states have outlawed lead wheel weights. A friend gave me a cat litter bucket of WW...sorting them I found that only about half were lead, the rest steel and zinc. Zinc ruins lead for bullet casting. Scrounging for metal can be kinda fun and rewarding itself. Example: Sawman had some lead he'd use long ago for simply the weight to hold some things down, and he gave it to me. Turned out to be 20lb of linotype which is great for making softer lead harder for rifle bullet making/shooting. It does help that I'm retired, so I have the time for the labor intensive bullet casting and preparation.

    Top pic: Lyman 311291, 173gr 30 cal that is useful for both the Swiss K31 and 30/06, 308, and 30/40 Krag loads. I used to use the 311291 in several 30 cal rifles. Bottom pic: Lyman 314299, 200gr 303/7.62x54R that I'm using in the 1889 Swiss.

    DSCN3851.JPG DSCN3849.JPG
     

    Attachments

    • DSCN3849.JPG
      DSCN3849.JPG
      186.7 KB · Views: 326
    • DSCN3851.JPG
      DSCN3851.JPG
      152.5 KB · Views: 321
    Last edited:

    Daezee

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Joined
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages
    3,354
    Points
    113
    Location
    Milton
    Bruce I have a 303 mold if you want to try it. jj

    Actually the friend that gave me some of the 314299's to try was getting out of casting. I ended up buying that exact mould that had cast his bullets from him. But what is the mould number so I can look up a picture of it?
     

    FrommerStop

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Joined
    Apr 7, 2016
    Messages
    6,897
    Points
    113
    Location
    NWFL
    ...... Scrounging for metal can be kinda fun and rewarding itself. Example: Sawman had some lead he'd use long ago for simply the weight to hold some things down, and he gave it to me. Turned out to be 20lb of linotype which is great for making softer lead harder for rifle bullet making/shooting. It does help that I'm retired, so I have the time for the labor intensive bullet casting and preparation.

    Top pic: Lyman 311291, 173gr 30 cal that is useful for both the Swiss K31 and 30/06, 308, and 30/40 Krag loads. I used to use the 311291 in several 30 cal rifles. Bottom pic: Lyman 314299, 200gr 303/7.62x54R that I'm using in the 1889 Swiss.

    View attachment 79755 View attachment 79754
    For lead Scrounging I have seen people at the PRPC collect lead from the bullseye pistol range berm. It will be soft and dirty, but it is free. You likely could get some from the plinking range also. Need a bucket, hand cart, and shovel. Most of the lead at the bullseye range will be from unjacketed bullets and mostly .22 rimfire. Probably hard enough for black power rifle and pistols. Likely need antimony in it for other things.
     

    Daezee

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Joined
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages
    3,354
    Points
    113
    Location
    Milton
    I try to pick up a pound at PRPC every time I go out. I normally only pick up the cast bullets lying on the berm, as they are harder then the lead inside the jacketed bullets. It adds up after while and stretches out the Linotype.

    My experiments show 1 lb Linotype to 1 lb soft lead = Lyman #2 in hardness and weight or 1 lb Linotype to 2 lb picked up cast bullets = Lyman #2 in hardness and weight, so they are the formulas I successfully use. If given unknown lead, I tweak the proportions until the bullets cast how I want them in order to use up that mystery lead alloy. I am only casting rifle bullets.

    For example Wednesday I was given 2 boxes of mystery ingots. Ingots were 3rd hand given so the composition was unknown at the point I got it. One needed 1 lb Linotype to 1.7 lb mystery lead, and the other needed 1 lb Linotype to 3.3 Lb mystery lead.
     
    Last edited:

    MauserLarry

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Joined
    Dec 17, 2017
    Messages
    1,405
    Points
    113
    Location
    Crestview Florida
    "Got back into bullet casting"...........might not be a bad idea for all of us. If they ever clamp down and tax ammo at a high rate it might be your only way to shoot or even have any bullets at all.
     

    FrommerStop

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Joined
    Apr 7, 2016
    Messages
    6,897
    Points
    113
    Location
    NWFL
    I try to pick up a pound at PRPC every time I go out. I normally only pick up the cast bullets lying on the berm, as they are harder then the lead inside the jacketed bullets. It adds up after while and stretches out the Linotype.

    My experiments show 1 lb Linotype to 1 lb soft lead = Lyman #2 in hardness and weight or 1 lb Linotype to 2 lb picked up cast bullets = Lyman #2 in hardness and weight, so they are the formulas I successfully use. If given unknown lead, I tweak the proportions until the bullets cast how I want them in order to use up that mystery lead alloy. I am only casting rifle bullets.

    For example Wednesday I was given 2 boxes of mystery ingots. Ingots were 3rd hand given so the composition was unknown at the point I got it. One needed 1 lb Linotype to 1.7 lb mystery lead, and the other needed 1 lb Linotype to 3.3 Lb mystery lead.
    I got curious about .22 lead did a quick google and hit an old castboolits post.
    The best answer was:
    Larry Gibson
    05-26-2011, 03:03 PM
    I've used quite a bit of .22LR range lead over the years. as mentioned .22LR bullets come dead soft or with some antimony in them to make them harder. I found, for general cast bullet shooting, that mixing 2% tin in the alloy makes it cast much better and depending on the amount of antimony makes for a decent alloy in the 14 - 16 BHN range. It mostly worked out better than plain WWs that way.

    You can also use the alloy straight as is and cast some hot and WQ them. They will harden quite well if there is sufficient antimony and makes for a nice hunting bullet in CF rifles at 1850 - 2200 fps as it will be hard yet malleable for decent expansion.

    Or, you can ship that ugly chunk to me and I'll take good care of it for you....that way you won't have to mess around with it.......:drinks: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?117546-Alloy-in-22LR-lead
    I eventually want to fire cast bullets in my 30 to 8 mm rifles to save a little on shooting costs. i was hoping that my PTR91 would work with reduced loads. Very sure that my gas operated guns will not. I have a few bolt guns also. As long as 9mm is cheap it might not really pay to reload them.
     

    FrommerStop

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Joined
    Apr 7, 2016
    Messages
    6,897
    Points
    113
    Location
    NWFL

    Daezee

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Joined
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages
    3,354
    Points
    113
    Location
    Milton
    Rotometals is where I got my bar of #2 alloy to experiment with. #2 or its hardness has always worked fine for my rifle bullet casting and shooting. Labor intensive for sure, but you can make bullets that are otherwise unobtainable or nearly so.
     

    Latest posts

    Top Bottom