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Cast my first boolits today

I spent some time at my clubs indoor range today and came home with almost 1/2 a bucket full of range lead.
I haven’t started casting any bullets from this batch yet but I did melt and mix my own bullet lube on the wood stove tonight.
 
9mm and 45ACP, the latter in 2 styles. I also have a .38 wadcutter mold inbound.

Now to find a source of cheaper lead.
 
I'm happy if I can get my alloy cost at or below $1.25/lb once tin and antimony costs are considered.

If you don't want to alloy your own - Missouri Bullet offers hardball about as cheap as I've seen for certified alloy.
Missouri Bullet Company
 
You should look into powder coating those. I cast with wheel weights and then powder coat. Cast Boolits is a great resource.
 
Check out 45/45/10 on castboolits. Should drop the smokiness and give a harder finish.

Also check out hi-tek. Amazing coating. Easier to apply than powder coat and it’s purpose built for bullets.
Putting heat activated paint down my barrel never sat well with me.
 
Limited experience but so far I haven’t found liquid Alox to be that smoky so long as it’s applied lightly. It dries slightly tacky but that hasn’t really presented a major problem so far either. I am keeping the velocities fairly low. Just enough powder to cycle the gun.
 
Either I’m getting better or that mold is a good one because it was dropping nice bullets in no time.

I had to struggle a little with .45 200gr semi wadcutters. The mold didn’t always want to align correctly, lead was sticking to the sprue plate and other issues.
 
rocket500 said:
Either I’m getting better or that mold is a good one because it was dropping nice bullets in no time.

I had to struggle a little with .45 200gr semi wadcutters. The mold didn’t always want to align correctly, lead was sticking to the sprue plate and other issues.
Click to expand...
Some molds are great and some give you fits.
I have some molds that I love to cast with even though I don’t shoot the bullets much. They’re just perfect.
Get some 2 cycle oil and lube up the pins on the mold.
Then with a full mold and the sprue cut. Barely wipe a tiny bit across the underside of the sprue plate and the top face of the mold. Use a q tip.
Then you can wipe it off with the clean side of the q tip.
That should help keep down on lead sticking or smearing and should help the blocks align a little better. Also make sure the mold blocks are pivoting freely on the handle screws. That will help it close up properly.
 
rocket500 said:
I have used anti seize as lube so far. Regular old 2 cycle oil like I use in my chain saw?
Click to expand...
Yep. People seem to think it’s the best readily available for mold lube.
Works fine for me.
Just don’t over apply or it will seep into the cavities and make for smoky bullets until it’s burned off.
 

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