Using cast lead alloy

[OhmsLaw43]

[divingin]

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/

[N21911S]

To answer the question, yes they are a viable option. They do have limitations but they will keep you shooting. The Castboolits site that divingin suggested is a good place. The Lyman cast bullet books is a must. You will need some equipment to actually cast or load them. What bullets do you have that are already cast? What would like to load for? What is you location?

[sofbak]

If you are pushing your reloaded rounds to very high velocities (hot handgun or rifle loads), or you just need something to worry about....powder coating is your friend.

[NapalmCheese]

I use them, I like them for certain applications. Both coated and uncoated.

[M1NM]

Leading is dependent on alloy and speed. Softer faster will cause problems. Harder faster or soft & slow won't.
If you have 500 pounds of bullets invest in a tool to check the hardness so you can plan your reloads by the speed the bullets should go.

[bohoki]

powder coating has been revolutionary ,alloy no longer matters you can take dead soft lead and push it 2000fps no prob

[maxx03]

I load lee key slugs lyman sabot and the Lyman foster slug.
The Foster slug is the only one I don't use a wad with and have not had any issues with leading shooting them out of a rifled barrel.
On the other hand the wads do more fouling to the barrel than the lead slugs do.

[kevin c]

All I shoot now is home cast and home coated bullets, 10 to 20K a year (would have been more except for health issues, both personal and public).

Cast Boolits is a very good site where I picked up a lot of good pointers, including the information that bullet fit to the bore of the barrel being used probably affects leading more than the hardness of the slug, and that, as mentioned above, coating the cast bullets is neater and cleaner than traditional wax lubes, and, done properly, also eliminates leading and smoking.

[slamfire1]

I think the 45/70 is the only rifle caliber I shoot cast bullets. Cast bullets work very well in pistols, but rifles you can't push the velocities and the bullet to barrel diameters are too finicky.

I shoot one heck of a lot cast bullets every year in Bullseye Competition. I buy commercial because I don't have the time, nor am I going to spend the time, casting bullets.

I did go to junk yards for lead




I did smelt the stuff





and pour it into ingots



I cast bullets and sized the things





And that was enough fun for a lifetime. Don't care to repeat. It simply takes too long to make bullets, and the equipment is not cheap. Maybe you can find a commercial caster who will trade you bullets for your scrap lead.

[OhmsLaw43]

[kevin c]

I think you might be able to sell the alloy and even the projectiles (sorted by caliber and type). Unsorted, the slugs and bullets are still worth something as alloy.

I'm not sure how much casters hang out here, so interest might be light. The Cast Boolits forums have an active market place where alloy and projectiles are definitely bought and sold, but you need to be a member for 30 days and have 30 meaningful posts before being able to post a for sale ad.

[rsrocket1]

Dear Mr. V=I*R
You can't load and shoot lead shotgun slugs. Why?
You'll shoot your eye out <g>

I cast 12 gauge 1 oz Lee key drive slugs using dead soft lead, wheel weights and reclaimed lead shot



I get no leading because I use a wad to prevent the lead from touching the barrel

On the left is a Claybuster Lightning wad, on the right is a Claybuster Windjammer wad. Both slugs have a tuft of pillow stuffing under the slug to make it fit and create a snug crimp.



Both wads have 8 thin petals rather than the traditional 4 thick petals. The thinner petals give a little more room between the slug and the hull and prevent bulging.



With a smooth bore IC choke on a Remington 1100, it is accurate enough for short range paper punching with nothing more than a vent rib ramp to sight it in.



Since these are only plinking rounds, I use lead shot data for 1 ounce loads and the 1200 fps loads are very pleasant shooting on the arm and do nice damage to 2 liter bottles. Always haul out your garbage when you're out on the range.



Have fun

[OhmsLaw43]

Thanks guys for all the good info. I signed up at Cast Boolits mainly to learn since if have the lead smelter, molds and enough lead to last forever. Might as well learn how. I also have a powdercoater so can someone explain exactly what you PC?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bumpo628]

Here's a good site that shows the powder coating process.

https://www.mp-molds.com/tipstricks/powder-coating-lead-bullets-dry-tumble-dt-method/