Thinking about Casting for My Modern Muzzleloader

[rivercityshooter]

So I have been watching all these videos about casting ingots and bullets. I have access to a lot of lead wheel weights and I would like to try my hand at smelting these and casting these into bullets for my CVA Muzzleloader. I love shooting this gun but I don't like that it cost almost 0.75 a round to shoot it with cheap lead bullets. I feel I would like to make my own cast bullets and shoot these for plinking. I would like to know if any of you guys here have done this and/or what cast mold do you use for casting. I don't want to cast round ball. I am thinking I would cast in 45cal and use sabots for them or should I just cast in 50cal and shoot with out a sabot or will i have to lube the bullet before I use it? Do I have to use a resizing press for cast bullets when I am using them for my Modern Muzzleloader? If I cast in 50cal will I get alot of fouling? Is there a big health risk of doing this at my home or do I need to go to the desert and smelt this stuff first? It seams like when smelting there is a lot of smoke and fumes that are produced. Can I just sit in my back yard and do this or is there to much of a health risk?

[foesgth]

You will find all of your answers over on the Castboolits site. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

As a caution if your wheel weights are new ones they are zinc not lead.

[DesertWalker]

Wheel weights

You will find all of your answers over on the Castboolits site. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

As a caution if your wheel weights are new ones they are zinc not lead.

^^^^^what he said, plus I think you are just melting and not smelting. Try to separate the newer wheel weights from the old. Old are mostly lead. Newer you can get all kinds of elements/alloys that you do not want in the mix. Wheel weights are marked with what is in them. There is even a website that shows you. Just GOOGLE wheel weights.I have cast 50 caliber wheel weight round balls & conical bullets and had no problem shooting them out of a traditional style percussion cap rifle and a straight-through style ignition with a shotgun primer. I did lube the bullets.Some people think wheel weights are not great muzzle loader bullet material. The sabot may be a good idea, since now you have that sabot against the barrel and not the lead itself.Also, melt lead in a very ventilated area. I have done it in the back yard, but can't really recommend it. Be prepared to skim off the dross. All this having been said, definitely go to castboolits and read up, and your questions will be answered. You will end up with lots of almost free bullets ,and have some fun casting them.