Cast

[kogashuko]

I was thinking about doing this after people keep offering me free lead. From what it looks like I need a mold, furnace, and bullet sizer press thing and I am set. Less that what I would pay for 1000 210grn bullets.

[redneckdan]

Lee dipper-$10
Old stainless steel or cast iron pot- free if you got one layin around
Hot plate-$5 at walmart
200gr lee rd nose mould- $15
Gas checks- $20 / thou
Lee sizer - $12

[kogashuko]

I have found plenty of .309 molds but it looks like the shaped ones that are heavier bullets are .310 or .311. I have found a little about this on a google search, will these fire or should I get a lee sizing die and make them all .308 or .309. Also, someone was saying that 32apc bullets could be used... I can probably get those cheaper than casting or get a 6 cavity mold easily for them. Also 7.62X39 molds are around with a more pointed shape. Where should I be looking with these? Do I even need to use the damn lee resizer die?

[redneckdan]

ideally, you want the bullet to be sized .001" over bore diameter to get a proper seal. At first I was sizing to .311 since thats the closest I had on hand but it was too large. Bullets should be sized. For more info, head on over to castboolits.gunloads.com everyting you ever cared to know about casting. The lee moulds for the 7.62x39 work well in the whisper.

[21contender]

I have 3 .30 cal moulds, a Lyman 195 gr., a Lee 200 gr., and a Lee 180 gr.. All are gas check style and I size them .309. I use a Lyman 30 short Neck Expand (M) die to expand the neck and that does a nice job of starting the bullet into the case. Since I shoot a contender, I'm not worried about cycling of the action. I like to shoot cast bullets subsonic and have tried Trail Boss with mixed results so far. 5.7 gr. (all most full case) only gets 850 fps with the 195 Lyman bullet from my SSK 21" barrel. Extreem spread is around 40 fps. I use 9.6 of Acurate Arms #9 powder with 220 Sierra Match Kings for 1060 fps with ES of around 25 fps.

21c.

[kogashuko]

Found a thing on the lee website today about custom molds. I wonder if we could get 25 people together to do six cavity 250gn molds.

[GaryM]

Originally Posted by kogashuko

Found a thing on the lee website today about custom molds. I wonder if we could get 25 people together to do six cavity 250gn molds.

Now that is a good idea, any idea on the price?