Shooting Cast Bullets

[Rick]

I am going to start with seeing how I do with shooting at a gong the range has set up at 200 yards and 100 yards.

Depends on how big the gongs are... a 5+" grouping load in either jacketed or cast is going to be sketchy with an 8" gong, I think, unless you can reliably hold 2 MOA offhand shooting a Lee Enfield and its trigger.

Some specific cast bullets in milsurp sub-forums on cast bullet forums:
Military Surplus Rifles
Military Bench Rest Cast Bullet Shooting
Silhouette Shooting
CB Loads / Military Rifles
Military Rifles

You'll probably run into Wineman who advised you earlier on one or two of those forums, BTW, I would guess it's the same username.

His mention of the SAECO/Redding 315 tapered bullet has gotten me to thinking it would be fun to try that bullet powder coated. A heavy powder coat just might make that 30 caliber bullet into one that might work well in a .303 British.

[Jonzie]

The gongs size from 8 to 12 inch at 200 and 6 to 8 at 100 I never really checked them its just a guess.
I do fair hitting them depends on what kind of range day the shooter is having .

[Piscoda14]

Coming in a bit late I run a 7-1 mix of w/w scrap solder I get it from the radiator repair shop I mainly shoot 303 have tried powder coating works in some but not others groups are 1 1/2 -3 inches I can live with that

[Jonzie]

I am going to give powder coating a try still have to get some items . Seams no one has Gas Checks at this time anyway its still 110 outside so I have time to gather components.
I like shooting at gongs at the local range at 200 yards off hand if I can do as well as with my jacketed loads I will be happy.

[browningautorifle]

Seams no one has Gas Checks at this time anyway

When I was looking and saw two puny boxes at one of my go todealers I bought them both, there's a shortage here too...

[kjohn]

Interesting thread. I have used LEE molds for many years. There are many how-to articles on the net, so I can only say that having them clean is important. I mostly used straight WW, but sometimes add a bit of lino. I have never had any leading in my rifles and only one revolver, a 44 mag. I gas check everything that allows it. I realize that might not be necessary, but have a good supply. I mostly cast .38, 9mm, .429, .452, .308/9, and 8mm/.323.

It is popular with some to slag LEE molds, so have your salt shaker handy. I use straight LEE Liquid Alox, but will smear on a bit of blue lube with my fingers if the bullets are to be used in a bit hotter load. Again, never had leading in my rifles.

[Rick]

It isn't that "it is popular" to slag Lee moulds (and equipment), because there's apparently nothing else for the buyers of those moulds to do with their time. LEE gets slagged so much because, proportionally, so much of their offerings are crap. In other words, the success ratio for the buyers is lower than for the same products from other manufacturers.

Some of their moulds DO deliver for many people; one example being LEE's mould designed by Ed Harris, who knows a thing or two about shooting and hunting with cast bullets. Compare all the criticism buyers of LEE moulds post in cast bullet forums, versus how little criticism you see from buyers who purchased LEE's collet dies. Quite a bit of difference; same manufacturer!

And when you look at the results from Cast Bullet Association match results where they list the rifle and other equipment used in the match by those who placed, LEE moulds are noticeable by their absence. People wanting to do well in competition don't ignore good moulds because they'd prefer to slag them rather than win with them...

Don't need to have a salt shaker handy to look at those results for yourself...

Or compare the amount of criticism from buyers of Lee moulds, versus the criticism you rarely hear from buyers of Accurate, MP, NOE, etc moulds. Worlds of difference in quality and performance straight out of the box for casters whether they're novices or experienced is the difference.

One thing Lee can brag about is how cheap their moulds are. Nobody else has purchase prices anywhere near the price of Lee moulds... you aren't out too much if the mould leaves you less than impressed. So a Lee mould isn't a bad place to start.

I do wonder if they're the best place to start for a new caster, versus an experienced casters who is aware of the variety of techniques you can use to get better results out of a mould that is dropping bullets you are less than happy with.

The flip side of that, is that a mould specifically intended for a rifle like a Lee Enfield from Accurate, NOE, etc is far more likely to give you great results straight out of the box, whether you're a novice or have been casting bullets for decades. It's essentially paying more money to buy a greater likelihood of results without any buggering around with the mould.

Might be one of those "you get what you pay for" types of things. I do have a few LEE moulds that have earned a permanent place on my bench after 50 years of casting. But the majority quickly got sold down the road due to poor results. The range of small mould makers, and those who will make your mould to your exact specs leaves me almost certain I will never buy another LEE mould.

Or for that matter, not much likely to even buy a Lyman, Saeco, RCBS, or similar mould.

The time and expense you invest in the actual casting, obtaining suitable alloy, etc, makes the extra money you pay for a high end mould worth it. The less time I invest to get the results I want, the better - and people at my age are starting to run short of how much time they have left to invest.

Like many other things in life, we make our choices and then the results of our choices are ours as well. It is difficult for anybody to tell some other shooter/bullet caster what it actually is they want, and what they will be satisfied with and what they won't. There are far too many variables involved.

[Rick]

I use straight LEE Liquid Alox, but will smear on a bit of blue lube with my fingers if the bullets are to be used in a bit hotter load. Again, never had leading in my rifles.

I used to use a bit of Lee's liquid alox for .455 Webley, despite the annoyance of how messy it is. Tumble lubes start running out of usefulness the higher the velocity gets - or the more you go looking for the best accuracy possible. Again, a look at the results sheets from Cast Bullet Association matches, and it is rare to see those who placed using any kind of tumble lube. Putting gas checks on bullets and loads that shouldn't need it will make up for some shortcomings in lube choices, whether using a tumble lube or conventional hard lube.

I have pretty much sidelined all my lubes in favor of powder coating, which is essentially applying a jacket (although a much softer than copper jacket) to the bullet. For loads that result in less than 1600 fps muzzle velocity, the addition of a gas check does nothing other than increase the cost as far as finding the best grouping loads goes. Above 1600 fps, reports suggest that the more less than perfect your bullet fit to ball seat/lead gets, the less likely you are to get results you're happy with if you aren't using a gas check.

For hunting loads up around 2200 - 2400 fps, a gas check is definitely needed to maintain grouping ability.

And no leading in either handguns or rifles. The highest velocity cast bullet load I use is a WFN design used for hunting in my 35 Whelen - runs just over 2600 fps. After that, the groups start falling apart; I didn't see any reason to invest a bunch of time trying to figure out a way to get more velocity versus what possible difference it would make when used on the elk/moose/deer I was hunting. As far as that goes, if I had lost grouping ability with that bullet at around 2400 fps, I doubt I would have lost any sleep over that either.

One thing that should appeal to any bullet caster - especially these days - is that powder coat is very inexpensive and easily found from many sources. I get mine from a member on the big cast bullet forum, but you can also get it at Harbour Freight, Princess Auto, local powder coating and autobody places etc.

The time it takes to shake and bake a few hundred cast bullets isn't any worse than using any other lube method to do the same number.

[Jonzie]

I went ahead and purchased some lee Moulds to give them a try. I plan on using alox lube and also try powder coating as well.
It will be a learning experience for me but I'm willing to go down that road. I look forward to giving it a go and gain some knowledge along the way.
As soon as I get caught up on things around the home, I will fire up the furnace. As Rick said the lees are cheap so hopefully, I will be one of the guys that can make use of them.

[BJung]

I'm late in contributing to this post and would like to add my two bits. I have only Lee molds at this time. Given my limited budget, the increasing cost of bullets, and their short supply, 6 cavity Lee bullets are a great buy. This goes the same with the few Lee rifle bullet molds I have. For the price of all Lee products, they fill a nitch for hunters and casual shooters. They work. PC is better than alox. If you can reimburse me for the shipping costs, I can mail you some tubs, pc, and styro-foam (to build static electricity) for free to try out. An inexpensive toaster oven can be found at a thrift store, craigslist, or on garbage day. I found mines on a garbage day when a landlord was tossing a renter's toaster oven. I've seen them for $5-$10 on Craigslist.