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Thread: working with cast bullets

  1. #1
    Senior Member Broondog's Avatar

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    working with cast bullets

    ok, i have ZERO experience working with cast lead bullets. i have only worked with jacketed bullets thus far.

    that being said i was at my local fun store looking for bullets as usual when i ran across a number of boxes of cast bullets from Suter's Choice and Bootheel Bullets in some of my favorite handgun flavors. 500ct boxes for ~$45. not bad at 9 cents a round. there were 3 calibers that i was interested in....9mm, .38 and .40S&W.

    so the .38's i don't foresee a problem with but what about 9mm and .40 running thru an automatic? would there normally be any feeding issues? are there any extra steps needed before seating the bullets?

    and also when i went to look up recipes, my Lyman book had a few for cast but the Speer book had nothing? i wonder why? and Hodgdon's website has their .38's sized at .357 vs .358 like Lyman, Speer and the bullets in question. why would that be?

    any advice, tips and/or tricks would be appreciated.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member NAPOTS's Avatar

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    I love cast bullets for handguns. I have loaded up a ton of .45 acp and found them to be very accurate and reliable.

    From what I have read make sure you clean all of the copper out of your barrel before you shoot them. It also seems like they are recommended against in glock factory barrels because of the way they rifle them.

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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Only thing about cast bullets is nose shape and will it feed in your particular handgun. Round nose designs mimicking FMJ bullet shape is the safest for feeding in semi-auto pistols. SWC, (Semi Wad Cutter) designs punch nice crisp round holes just like a hole punch but can be difficult to feed in some semi-auto handguns. It often takes trial and error to find the seating depth that will allow them to feed smoothly and reliably without hanging up. I've been casting my own handgun bullets for close to 40 years now. Casting your own bullets is a whole other facet of firearms ownership.

    On why Speer not having any cast bullet data ... hahaha, because they don't make bullet molds, they only sell jacketed bullets. Lyman otoh makes bullet molds and does not sell jacketed bullets. They do sell reloading equipment; dies, lead pots, ladles, ingot molds, sizing and lubing dies and presses etc. On .358 vs. .357 is probably to get a better seal of bullet to groove diameter in the revolvers. As soft as even a hard cast handgun bullet is an extra .001" can make for better accuracy, prevents leading of the bore and won't jack up pressures as far as I've seen. However, shooting a cast bullet that is a touch small in diameter will make a lot of leading in your bore and the accuracy will be really bad.
    Last edited by Schuetzenman; 10-18-2013 at 07:13 PM.

  4. #4
    Yup, everything above. You can't go too hot with the loads, or you will lead up your barrel. Look up "gas checks" for lead bullets.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Helen Keller's Avatar

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    It's a fun game.

    Other than Self-defense ammo for house/carry guns Everything else is cast by me .
    You can rack up some $$ in casting tools too. BUT it's worth it when you compare what off the shelf ammo costs now. Best thing i've bought was a Lyman lubri-sizer 4500 set up for .451 for all my 45acp work. No fouling/leading and no sloppy alox to mess with .
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    Senior Member Broondog's Avatar

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    cool thanks guys. i just wasn't sure if cast lead was going to hang up on the feed ramp since it isn't as smooth as a jacketed bullet. maybe that's just my perception that is faulty and things will work out just fine. finding bullets is just so hit and miss these days and my brass is piling up with no real future for itself. this will breathe new life into the reloading bench!

    i guess i'll grab a box of .40's and give them a whirl since that caliber is what i burn the most of (carry and train). the worst that could happen is i am out a few bucks but maybe i'll learn something in the process.
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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Yes cast bullets are worth a try and should save you money even if you are buying them already cast and lubed. Oh one thing, don't shoot cast bullets in a Glock using the original barrel. That Polygonal rifling doesn't like lead bullets. For one of my Glock 19s I have an after market cut rifling barrel that drops in for cast bullet shooting.

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    Senior Member Broondog's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    Yes cast bullets are worth a try and should save you money even if you are buying them already cast and lubed. Oh one thing, don't shoot cast bullets in a Glock using the original barrel. That Polygonal rifling doesn't like lead bullets. For one of my Glock 19s I have an after market cut rifling barrel that drops in for cast bullet shooting.
    ahh yes, good advice. the .40's i shoot are both Glocks. looks like i'll be barrel shopping too.
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  9. #9
    Senior Member Helen Keller's Avatar

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    the Lone wolf barrels are perfect. Just drop in and go.
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    Senior Member abpt1's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Helen Keller View Post
    the Lone wolf barrels are perfect. Just drop in and go.
    Agreed I went the KKM route but that's when I had money to blow. I only reload SWC and i have has zero feeding issues with .40, 10mm and .45 I sold all my 9mm stuff best use a round nose for 9mm this stuff works great http://www.midwayusa.com/product/398...nt-4-oz-liquid

  11. #11
    Senior Member NAPOTS's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by abpt1 View Post
    Agreed I went the KKM route but that's when I had money to blow. I only reload SWC and i have has zero feeding issues with .40, 10mm and .45 I sold all my 9mm stuff best use a round nose for 9mm this stuff works great http://www.midwayusa.com/product/398...nt-4-oz-liquid
    Yo know, my dad told me that you could use WD40 to remove lead and I thought he was full of it but I tried it and it worked great.

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    Junior Member res45's Avatar

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    Slug the bore on the semi's to determine the groove to groove dia. of the bore and the cylinder throats on the revolvers to determine the proper dia. bullet you will need. As mention you want to be at least .001" larger than those measurements.

    Most all commercial cast bullet designed for a particular caliber shouldn't give you any feed issues unless your particular firearm is picky,any of the RN designs will work just fine in the semi's if you don't want to take any chances of having any feed issues. For the revolver calibers I like a nice SWC or FN bullet for better terminal effects. I load those type bullets as well for 9mm as I can shoot those in my Ruger BH revolver with the 9mm conversion cylinder.

    One of the main issues you may find with the 9mm pistols is the different in the groove dia. of the bores,mine actually does best with a .358" dia. bullet and my 357's like a .359" dia. bullet they can vary that's why it's important to slug the bore before purchasing any commercial cast bullet,your result may vary. Commercial cast bullets are for the most part a one size fits all,they use the same hard alloy and hard lube and generally only come in one standard size however there are commercial casters that will size your bullets to your specs. at no extra charge http://www.dardascastbullets.com/mm5...ategory_Code=9 is one such commercial caster and you can buy his by the 100 pak to try before you buy a large quantity.

    I often find that commercial cast bullet will work fine for most applications although I found them to be to harder than they need to be. I used to shoot the bevel base commercial cast bullet in my 357 mag. revolvers at full throttle with no issue or course they did fit the cylinder throats so I got a good bore seal although obturation probably wasn't all that common.

    A bullet no matter how hard will lead the bore of your firearm no matter how fast or slow you shoot it if it doesn't seal the bore an allow the hot gases to escape around it and burn off the lube. Lots of good info here for the cast bullet shoot or beginning caster http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

    On the subject of polygon bores and cast lead bullets there are many that I know that have shot thousands of cast lead bullets in there stock Glock barrels with no issue,I shoot cast lead exclusively in my CZ-82 with polygon rifling and barely ever find a trace of lead during cleaning. It all boils down to fit,lube,proper alloy and moderate loads and keeping a check on the bore.

    The main issue isn't really the bore but the throat of the bore Glocks don't really have tapered leads like standard groove bores it's basically a sharp edge that scrapes off lead. Glock states to not shoot lead bullets because soft lead can buildup on the edges and cause chambering and pressure issue but they also don't recommend shooting any kind of reloaded ammo of any kind for that matter and neither does any other firearms manual that I've owned or read.

    Done properly leading never has to be a issued caused by the bullet itself. In most case it due to to small or to hard a bullet,improper lube or an issues with the gun such as misaligned cylinder to bore or rough rifling due to age or abuse or factory new tooling marks that haven't been smoothed out yet. The cause of leading can basically be determined by where the lead is present in the bore and appropriate measure can be taken to eliminate that or at least lessen it to a degree that it's a non issue. I shoot cast lead bullets that I cast myself from sub-sonic to high velocity in both rifles and handguns of all action types and my bores are 99% lead free. I only have one revolver that is practically new that leads a little due to rough tooling marks left on the rifling but over time that will eventually go away.
    Last edited by res45; 10-19-2013 at 11:55 PM.

  13. #13
    Junior Member res45's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by NAPOTS View Post
    Yo know, my dad told me that you could use WD40 to remove lead and I thought he was full of it but I tried it and it worked great.
    I've never tried WD-40 as a lead remover although I'm sure it would work fine as such. Ed's Red homemade bore clean is my go to cleaner for most applications,Kroil oil is also good for removing lead and copper fouling and it works best if you let it soak in overnight. If you go to the local wally world and get one of those all copper Chore Boys and wrap a couple strands around your bore brush it will help remove the lead fairly quickly.
    Last edited by res45; 10-19-2013 at 06:24 PM.

  14. #14
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Good post on the cast bullets res45.

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    Senior Member L1A1Rocker's Avatar

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    One other thing to note about 9mm. It was never designed to shoot lead so there can be an issue with the reloading dies. The expander die often does not expand the case enough for a cast bullet. The result is you have a cast bullet sized correctly for your bore. But when you load the correct sized bullet into the undersized case, the bullet actually gets squeezed down a bit in size. This can cause accuracy and leading issues. Often the best solution is to buy a separate M-die to expand the case the the correct size.
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