Just shot my first cast bullet 7.62x39 loads

[tujungatoes]

hey lead waster. if you're in the LA area, and want to try your hand at making boolits you're invited. I'm definitely not a casting guru, but I can teach you the basics.

*edit* woo hoo! post #666

[bohoki]

ive cast probably 5000 9mm and 45acp bullets so i'm still prob a noob i dont think i would do it for a rifle its easier to scrub my lead skuzz out of a 5 inch barrel

besides factory x39 is only slightly more expensive per round than the components

9 and 45 i load and cast for near 1/5 the cost of factory ammo

[problemchild]

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.

I know a whole team of guys that tested REALLY HIGH in lead from working at an indoor range. The range was two different rooms too. One for workers and one for shooters. The family actually sold the range because of the massive lead in their blood.

[CSACANNONEER]

hey lead waster. if you're in the LA area, and want to try your hand at making boolits you're invited. I'm definitely not a casting guru, but I can teach you the basics.

*edit* woo hoo! post #666

I'm no casting guru either but, if you want to hold a SMALL casting clinic, we can do it at my place and end the day with running a few through a crony. I've got "a few" molds, bottom pour lead pot, Star lubesizer, Lyman 45 lubesizer and "a few" sets of reloading dies.

[ArticleTheFourth]

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

Good article on how to make and shoot hard lead bullets. I've mostly followed Richard Lee's writings on hand loading with lead. I made my own hardness tester (small carbide ball BHN) and created a spreadsheet of maximum load pressures, even for store bought bullets. It's appears true that best projectile accuracies are attained at up to 90% of material ultimate strength, no matter the material or method used in manufacture the bullet.

[Lead Waster]

Bummer, I'm in the SF Bay area! Thanks for the invite though, I appreciate it!

[CodeDog]

I know a whole team of guys that tested REALLY HIGH in lead from working at an indoor range. The range was two different rooms too. One for workers and one for shooters. The family actually sold the range because of the massive lead in their blood.

They should have just gone in for Chelation to remove the lead and keep the business.
Chelation is very effective. I wouldn't worry to much about lead or mercury. Just get tested if you are concerned and get it treated if the levels get to high.

[SKSer]

I know a whole team of guys that tested REALLY HIGH in lead from working at an indoor range. The range was two different rooms too. One for workers and one for shooters. The family actually sold the range because of the massive lead in their blood.

Yea, thats weird, maybe they didnt have proper ventillation. Even casting bullets though, you wouldnt have near the exposure as working in a range everyday. I could see myself casting a decent size batch maybe once every few months.

Also the lead safety lady mentioned something about taking Iron supplements. It has something to do with taking the place of the lead in your body and also preventing the lead from depositing in your body as well, I cant remember the specifics.

[SKSer]

ive cast probably 5000 9mm and 45acp bullets so i'm still prob a noob i dont think i would do it for a rifle its easier to scrub my lead skuzz out of a 5 inch barrel

besides factory x39 is only slightly more expensive per round than the components

9 and 45 i load and cast for near 1/5 the cost of factory ammo

You are right, you dont save a whole lot of money with the 7.62x39 round if you buy wolf in bulk or even single boxes over the net, but my local gunstore sells wolf for around $9/20. Then again of course we all know saving money isnt the only reason we reload.

I heard someone say that wally world is going to start selling tula ammo for $4.97 per 20, thats only a couple of bucks saving per 20 vs. casting, I will definately stock up on some big time if my wally world starts selling it.

[SKSer]

On another note, I mentioned earlier that I shot these same cast bullets loaded in .308 out of my stevens 200 and they did terrible as far as accuracy. I gas checked these as well and sized them down to .309. Just last night I was thinking. When I was chambering these in the rifle they were a little hard to chamber. At the time I was thinking it was more of the case that was causing the problem, then I remembered that it could mean the bullet is to large. When I shot them out, nothing major happened other then innacuracy, but could that have messed up my barrel if they were slightly oversized? They were not really hard to chamber, you could just feel like you were squishing it in there a little?

[tujungatoes]

could that have messed up my barrel if they were slightly oversized?

no. they're too soft.

[SKSer]

no. they're too soft.

cool, thanks for the quick response bud, I did shoot some factory loads out of it after the fact, and they seemed to have the normal grouping.

I dont plan on shooting this perticular cast bullet out of it again, I might try to find another mold that is better designed for the .308.

[Lead Waster]

Yea, thats weird, maybe they didnt have proper ventillation. Even casting bullets though, you wouldnt have near the exposure as working in a range everyday. I could see myself casting a decent size batch maybe once every few months.

Also the lead safety lady mentioned something about taking Iron supplements. It has something to do with taking the place of the lead in your body and also preventing the lead from depositing in your body as well, I cant remember the specifics.

Well, be careful with that, iron is something you can get too much of.