Anybody cast their own bullets?

[gryffon2004]

I bought a mould off a guy for my 45 and he told me that he didnt need to size the bullets to shoot in his vaq.  How and what do you use to lube these things?  Can you just lube them by hand or do you need a machine?

[El Paso Pete]

You can pan lube 'em if ya got the time.  But IMHO, get a Lyman lube sizer on Ebay and .452 die fer it fer Rugers, .454 for Colts.  It goes much faster, 500 to 600 hours per hour and you'll be sure they are the correct size.  When your castin bullets and maybe don't close the mould all the way ya could get one .006 to .008 oversize and not know it till ya shot it.  A lube sizer will make 'em all the right size.  Stop by your local tire store and they give ya a pail of wheel weights.  Your goin need a top punch that fits yer bullets too.

[Arcey]

Might wanna check out:

http://missoula.bigsky.net/western/used/index.htm

Jon has a bunch of stuff at decent prices and he does ya right.


..

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[gryffon2004]

Ive got a pretty good source of lead.   Thanks for the heads up on the ebay auctions.  I didnt think about that.

[Wes Virginian]

I sometimes do, and I use the Lyman Lube Sizer afterwards.  I mostly shoot BP and make my lube using French Jack's recipe. And I also cast my RB's for my ROA's, '51 Navy Colt, and '62 Colt Sheriff's Model.

Wes Virginian

[Evil Vaquero]

Howdy Pard!

I don't cast em, but my bro does for me....He uses a lyman mold, .452 for .45 Colt, and i do the lubin and sizin.

I use LEE Alox lube, and i size em in a cheap LEE press usin their sizin kit, (bout 20 bucks).  The alox may be a bit messy at first, but ya let em dry overnight, and it does a superior job of lubin your boolets.  I have had NO lead build up in my guns usin this method. Give it a try, you may like it.

Happy Trails!

[Mustang Gregg]

Yup.  Castin' since the '70's!
(1)  Our CAS bullets (non-BP) are LEE TL lubed.  This is quick & easy (but a might messy).  No special euip needed here.
(2)  Others, like high velocity bullets, are lubed on a Lyman 450 Lubrisizer wit' Rooster Red lube & heat from a blowdryer. 

PM me & I'll getcha info.

MG

[Calamity Jane]

I'z pan-lubed 'n' I'z lubed with a 450. Given any choice 't'all, I'd be usin the 450. It also has the advantage of absolute uniformity in boolit size.

[Delmonico]

When using Lee TL I dust the bullets after they dry with powdered mica.  That takes care of most of the mess.  After I tried it I bought a pound of it from Midway.  It won't spoil and it will be years before I run out.  It is also useful for anything that needs powdered graphite as a lube and it don't make as much of a mess.

I also think the extra lube helps.

Mustang Greg, those 9mm I gave you when I was cleaning up my gun room were treated that way.

[Griff]

If'n you got 3rd or 4th(?) gen .45 Colt's you'll need to size them .452 also.  I ain't got any 2nd gen .45 Colts so I can't categorically say what size they need, but if you look at Speer's reloading manual #10 it clearly states that pre-WWII guns were of .454 groove diameter while post war bbls. were generally .451-.452 diameter.  Colt wasn't known for using parts religiously with guns of a certain period, so any transistion arms should be closely measured to ensure you're using the correct diameter pills.

[Badlands Walker]

No!  But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one time!