Just shot my first cast bullet 7.62x39 loads

[SKSer]

Hey guys, i just shot my first cast 7.62x39 loads. I will admit, I was scared at first , but I was really happy with the results.

I shot them out of my SKS and AK

Here is a pic of my best group. I flipped the target over and marked a black dot in the center cause at 100 yards I couldnt see my bullet holes in the black and it was getting frustrating cause i didnt think I was even hitting paper. Here is a picture of the SKS group at 100 yards. this was my best grouping.



the lighter is about 3 inches long. so my grouping was about 4.5 "


im using this mold: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=752956

Alloy was water quenched clip on wheel weights. I sized them down to .311, gas checked them, and lubed them with LEE liquid alox. They were loaded with Reloader-7 and standard large rifle CCI primers. I tried 18,19,20, and 21 grains of powder.

20 grains proved to give the best grouping with both rifles, this picture above is with the SKS at 20 grains. The AK grouped a little larger at about maybe 5-6" or so. Id like to add, I wouldnt consider myself the best shot, with PMC I was grouping maybe 3-4" so it isnt that much different then the factory loaded ammo. These were also not the best of the batch of cast bullets. I sorted and saved the best 20 to load for my .308 (which did HORRIBLE with this cast bullet), these ones had more imperfections like cast lines and some were a little oblong before I sized them.

cleaning the rifles also was not that bad at all, it was almost the same as cleaning with jacketed rounds. I maybe used a couple extra patches

Just thought id share cause I know some people have showed interest in casting for this round. This brings my 7.62x39 costs down to $3/20, or $15/100

let me know if you want any further detail.

[Linkpimp]

Congrads SKS...

I still remember shooting my first loads.. Hahahahaaa.. Man that was a little scary.. HAHhaaa.. Now I don’t even think twice about my kids shooting anything I load up.. I do have to say that I still have not (yet) loaded up any 7.62x39 rounds, I just cant find the brass so I never bought the dies, etc, etc..

I'm glad to hear it was an enjoyable experience for you; hopefully you’re taking a close look at the primers, watching for any sings of pressure as you continue up in your gr count in search of more / greater accuracy.

I was also happy to hear that your barrel kept clean, a few extra patches is nothing. I’ll be keeping a eye on your updates as I’m really looking forward to hear how your barrel holds up with the lead..

[problemchild]

Good article on this you should probably read. Its not the fist bullet you worry ab out its further on down the line if the barrel leads up and pressure spikes occur.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/articles/guns/category16/9.html

[WTSGDYBBR]

Casting you own led safe ? Do you wear a mask ? I thought about doing it as more and more people tell me that shooting led casted bullets are safe. Everyone who I talked about shooting let bullets out of a 45acp said it was not good as it would build up and stick down your barrel .

[mif_slim]

Casting you own led safe ? Do you wear a mask ? I thought about doing it as more and more people tell me that shooting led casted bullets are safe. Everyone who I talked about shooting let bullets out of a 45acp said it was not good as it would build up and stick down your barrel .

I've casted over 500lbs of 180 gr lead bullets (thats 19,400rds) and still casting it every day at 10 lbs per day.

Its safe, just cast in a ventelated area and dont place your nose right over the pot and your good to go.

Build-up are only because the lead is too soft/hard and the pressure isnt enough/too much to cause leading. If you find the right load you wont have any issues.

[Cowboy T]

Casting lead is perfectly safe when you follow proper precautions. I recommend doing it outside, and if there's any wind, preferably have it to your back. And shower immediately afterwards, before you eat or drink anything.

[ponderosa]

That is awesome.

For the other inquires on casting/safety I found this to be a fun read: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu102.htm

[tujungatoes]

SKSer, I'm glad to see you followed through with it.

I'm curious, how did your rifles cycle with that powder?

[swerv512]

Good article on this you should probably read. Its not the fist bullet you worry ab out its further on down the line if the barrel leads up and pressure spikes occur.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/article...egory16/9.html

nice article! very informative indeed.

[aaronraby1]

those looks like some pretty nice bullets.

[SKSer]

Good article on this you should probably read. Its not the fist bullet you worry ab out its further on down the line if the barrel leads up and pressure spikes occur.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/article...egory16/9.html

thanks, thats a good article. Yea I was keeping a close eye even as I was shooting, every few rounds id strip the gun and check the barrel for leading.

even cleaning it, there was a slight bit of lead colored gunk on the patches, but it was mainly brown from the LEE liquid Alox.

[SKSer]

Casting you own led safe ? Do you wear a mask ? I thought about doing it as more and more people tell me that shooting led casted bullets are safe. Everyone who I talked about shooting let bullets out of a 45acp said it was not good as it would build up and stick down your barrel .

yea you just have to use common sense when handling lead, you really have to injest a bit to be harmed. A guy at my gun store said he has cast in the 100's of thousands of bullets over the past 40 or so years and he has a heavy metals test every 2 years and he never had one come back bad. He was also saying that the fumes dont even really become harmfull until the lead reaches close to boiling point.

we have to take an asbestos and lead safety class every year at work, and the lady that teaches it is really cool. I explained my whole process to her, and she didnt sound too concerned, just said the typical wash your hands before you eat or smoke. It was amazing how much people used to be exposed to lead before we realized how much of a danger it was.

I remember being a kid and my dad teaching me to put split shot weights on my fishing line using my teeth.

[SKSer]

SKSer, I'm glad to see you followed through with it.

I'm curious, how did your rifles cycle with that powder?

thanks bud, I thought I remembered us talking about this in the past . They cycled good at 18,19,20 and 21 grns. I was worried about the lead bullets feeding properly, I figured if there was any problems it would be with that. but they cycled just like normal. I thought the loads were going to have a lighter recoil, but it was weird, they felt almost the same as factory loads, maybe because these are 155 grains, and most factory loads are 123 grains, dunno, just guessing.

[SKSer]

those looks like some pretty nice bullets.

thanks bud

[Lead Waster]

Every time I see a cast bullet (boolit?) thread I want to try it, then I have to consider the time element (and somewhat the safety element, since I have two toddlers) and just figure I'll spend the extra money to buy them from someone who casts them professionally.

I'd really like to try it just "for fun" though. I think an investment of about <$40 for a Walmart hot plate and sacraficial cooking pot, then $30-$40 for a Lee mold ... but no... must resist!

It's funny, I don't shoot nearly enough that it makes any sense for me to cast bullets, but I just want to do it!

Oh yeah and as to SKSer's comment about lead ... I remember as a kid playing with a coil of lead from a "tiffany lamp" kit that my parents bought (and never used). It was used to hold stained glass pieces together into a lampshade. It melted really nice too, over a candle. But it wasn't as fun as the mercury from the broken thermostat that I spent time rolling around. My wife also has a story about how she put a thermometer into a bowl of hot noodle soup and it broke and the mercury balls were floating in the soup, but she was afraid to tell her mom that she broke the thermometer and so just played with it a while, scooped it out, then ate the soup!

And yeah, as kids, we spent many summer days in a boat handling fishing sinkers with bare fingers and bare teeth!