up shit creek and no paddle

[GlockG23]

I make cast rifle bullets for a lot of guys at the gun club
Well This year the gun club is hosting national rifle shoot so I needed to make bullets for them to be used at the same time

well a 1903-a3 and 1903 have 4 groove and 2 grove barrels and the bullets I make for them look identical except..
The 4 groove has a .314 diameter bullet (driving band) with a .303 nose
The 2 groove has a .311 diameter bullet (driving band) with a .299 nose

So when I was casting these lead bullets I made 1000 a piece, well so I thought

This is what I think I did... I made the 311-299 first then I took a break
I came back to the working station thinking before the break I set up for the 314-303
and I did not! So the whole time I was making one bullet instead of two different ones

Why am I telling you this??
Well I will be busting butt making bullets at night and I will not be on the Puff much
boooooooooooooooo

[slyder]

damn man that sucks. Watch them lead fumes.

[BigRay023]

aint it funny how a couple thousands of an inch can ruin your day in anything firearms related lol....have fun with the casting....thats one thing high up on my wishlist is an old springer....i heard we had to pay royalties during the entire first war for the trademark infringement by springfield on the mauser action they stole for the 03....what say you g23?

[nativetexan_1]

Age old advice: measure twice, cut once.

[FN in MT]

I got back into the casting again this past Winter. Had a fifty can full of mould blocks, handles, etc that I dug out after at least a dozen years. DID upgrade to a STAR luber too. My personal Christmas gift to myself!

I cast primarily pistol slugs but do have a few Lyman 2 cavities for my .375 H&H and for a 405 gr for the 45-70. Can relate to your dilemma as well. I've cast for a few days only to figure out I ALREADY had a ton of that slug...but NEEDED to cast something different.

It is fun though to take a bucket of dirty WW's and turn it into a cigar box of lubed, sized and neatly stacked slugs though! And an excuse to buy sticks by the BOX.

FN in MT

[Jack Straw]

Hey glock, what's the rationale for making the bullets? Are they not available, or expensive, or out of date or what? (not a gun guy just curious).

Originally Posted by nativetexan_1

Age old advice: measure twice, cut once.

Measure once, cut twice.

[Jonesee]

Jack, he is casting just the slug. It is the lead end of the bullet. And the reason is it is cheaper to do it yourself. A lot guys that shoot alot will reload their own ammo. Not only is it cheaper over the long run, it allows them to experiment with bullet weights and loads. Each gun likes a slightly different load. Reloaders are obsessive about finding which load shoots the most accurately through each gun. Then, if you are a long range shooter, you start experimenting for distance also to see what works best at what distance. So you end up with seperate loads for each gun and further refined by distance. This is for distance shooters and hobbyists. Hunters that reload learn what load works for each gun and stop there. At least I've never seen a hunter carry different loads to drop in at different distances. Usually hunters just make a call on what gun they will hunt with that day and take the best load for that gun.

This goes for shotguns too. Go to a turkey shoot sometimes and just listen to the sound of the shotguns. As they drop back farther, they bring out heavier loads to reach out farther. There is dramatic and noticeable difference int report when they reach in and start loading their hot shells for the longer distances.

[FN in MT]

To add to the previous post....Many of us cast in order to produce a lighter or heavier bullet (meaning the projectile) or a bullet with a different profile or nose design to do a specific job. Many use a near square "wadcutter" design as the flat nose cuts perfect caliber sized holes in paper...making the scoring of a target easier. Or a round nose design for quick reloads in competitions like Cowboy Action shooting.

I shoot quite a lot of .454 Casull but don't need to be flinging 325 or 350 grain (weight) slugs such as I'd use for hunting...when I'm simply punching paper or plinking rocks and cans at the local quarry. So I cast a 260 gr slug that works perfectly for my purpose. Still accurate, but far less recoil, and less lead wasted on a heavy bullet.

Reloading is the same situation. Not only can you tailor the hand load to the specific firearm, but you can add lighter or heavier slugs as well as less velocity than standard. I load for a pair of young hunters who both shoot .270 rifles. For the 50-100 yd deer hunting these two do...they do not need a 140 gr slug at 3000+ feet per second for a deer. Nor do they need the recoil or muzzle blast. I load them a 130 gr bullet at a very modest 2200 fps that kills their deer handily...yet is also easier on them.

Hope this helped.

FN in MT

[fiddlegrin]

Nice posts guys! Thanks for stepping up to answer Jack cause Bill is still out working in the shop!

:sweating:

[GlockG23]

Nice job!
thanks guys

Originally Posted by Jonesee

Jack, he is casting just the slug. It is the lead end of the bullet. And the reason is it is cheaper to do it yourself. A lot guys that shoot alot will reload their own ammo. Not only is it cheaper over the long run, it allows them to experiment with bullet weights and loads. Each gun likes a slightly different load. Reloaders are obsessive about finding which load shoots the most accurately through each gun. Then, if you are a long range shooter, you start experimenting for distance also to see what works best at what distance. So you end up with seperate loads for each gun and further refined by distance. This is for distance shooters and hobbyists. Hunters that reload learn what load works for each gun and stop there. At least I've never seen a hunter carry different loads to drop in at different distances. Usually hunters just make a call on what gun they will hunt with that day and take the best load for that gun.

This goes for shotguns too. Go to a turkey shoot sometimes and just listen to the sound of the shotguns. As they drop back farther, they bring out heavier loads to reach out farther. There is dramatic and noticeable difference int report when they reach in and start loading their hot shells for the longer distances.

Originally Posted by FN in MT

To add to the previous post....Many of us cast in order to produce a lighter or heavier bullet (meaning the projectile) or a bullet with a different profile or nose design to do a specific job. Many use a near square "wadcutter" design as the flat nose cuts perfect caliber sized holes in paper...making the scoring of a target easier. Or a round nose design for quick reloads in competitions like Cowboy Action shooting.

I shoot quite a lot of .454 Casull but don't need to be flinging 325 or 350 grain (weight) slugs such as I'd use for hunting...when I'm simply punching paper or plinking rocks and cans at the local quarry. So I cast a 260 gr slug that works perfectly for my purpose. Still accurate, but far less recoil, and less lead wasted on a heavy bullet.

Reloading is the same situation. Not only can you tailor the hand load to the specific firearm, but you can add lighter or heavier slugs as well as less velocity than standard. I load for a pair of young hunters who both shoot .270 rifles. For the 50-100 yd deer hunting these two do...they do not need a 140 gr slug at 3000+ feet per second for a deer. Nor do they need the recoil or muzzle blast. I load them a 130 gr bullet at a very modest 2200 fps that kills their deer handily...yet is also easier on them.

Hope this helped.

FN in MT

[Jack Straw]

Wow, I had no idea that much thought went into it. Cool.

[fiddlegrin]

Hey Bill,

How ya coming along with this project?

Are you still "tied to the casting post?"


:sweating: --working: --parched: needing a gar:

[GlockG23]

I have casted, then sized and then lubed over lead 1,300 bullets (projectiles)
and have 400 to go

Then I have some 7.5mm to do, that are special
The below video is me making them some time back

[fiddlegrin]

WOW!

That's a lotta love!

Looks like you do top notch work!

Thanks for sharing the vid

.
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