The Black Magic of Lead Casting

[ccongos@me.com]

All,

I have received the bulk of my casting supplies from Midway. When the temps here in Texas dip below 1000 degrees, I'll start thinking about putting things together in the garage. In the mean time, I'm collecting the remainder of the things needed.

And right now, I'm in research mode. And I'm starting to think that coming up with a proper lead concoction is "black magic"! I was hoping to melt the pure lead I received and be off to the range, boy was I wrong!

I've been reloading black and white powder for a couple decades now. Never messed with casting, but here I am. The reason is that I can't find 500 gr BPCR projectiles out on the interwebs, and certainly not for a fair price! So, I'll be casting.

My question is going to sound naïve, but here goes. What do I throw in the pot to make a generally accepted BPCR bullet for my Shiloh 1874? I eventually want to compete, but that's a long way off yet.

[Luke]

Go to an accepted supplier (Rotometals, Buffalo Arms, Walters). And order the desired alloy.

[Luke]

Lots of folks start with 20-1, 16-1 also popular. Search the forum for lots of info. I'd try both of the above, let the rifle tell you which it likes better, then refine from that base.

[Luke]

Do you have a Mold. A Saeco 645 is an excellent starting point. Avoid Lyman IMHO. ACCURATE molds are also a great entry into custom molds.

[Dan O]

Check Buffalo Arms website for molds. Jim makes a great Mold. They normally show their unavailable, but he makes upon receiving an order and then gets them out in a short time. The standard 535 grain Creedmoor is a good bullet to start with and 20-1 works good for it.

Good Luck,
Dan

[Aviator]

Add 1 part by weight tin to 16 parts by weight of pure lead, if you want 16:1. This is what I use most.
Add 1 part by weight tin to 20 parts by weight of pure lead, if you want 20:1.
My belief is that the longer the bullet nose, the more tin you want in the mix. Others are free to disagree.

[Doc10039]

John Walter's of Walter's wads has very good lead as well with fair prices and shipping. I try to help out the little guys.

[JonnyV]

A binary alloy would be the simplest to start with. 16 to 1 seems to be a pretty good middle of the road, do it all type alloy.

As pointed out above, simply mix 16 parts pure lead to one part tin (by weight). Last time I looked, John Walters had a really good deal running on tin for something like 25 bucks a pound if I remember correctly. You can use a large turkey burner with a big Cast-iron pot to mix the lead in. Some stainless steel utensils, such as a slotted spoon, and a soup ladle will help you pour the lead into your ingot mold. You can get an ingot mold from Lyman or Lee, or you can just use a muffin tin.

Buffalo Arms has really nice molds, so does Steve Brooks at Brooks custom molds. The very best mold handles are available right in the Shiloh store on the website. They are the locking type handles which allow you to close your mold to the same pressure each time and greatly helps with consistency.

Good luck and keep at it!

[ccongos@me.com]

Thank you all! I just researched Walters Wads and found he is in Moore OK. I drive paratactically right past him when I go to OKC every few months or so. I'll call him!

[Minerat]

I don't like to promote another forum on this one so will say there is a popular forum out there dedicated to casting bullets. If you use a search engine it will lead you there. If Kirk wants to list the forum then that is up to him but out of respect for The Shiloh Rifle forum I will leave it unnamed.

They can and will help you get started and it has a plethora of information to help you.

Roto metals is one source if getting alloy mixes that are consistent and you know what you are getting which is important in the beginning.

[steveu834]

Search for "From ingot to target" by Fryxell, it is a good resource on casting. What are you going to shoot with your Sharps, paper, silhouette gong???

Cheers,
Steve

[beltfed]

16+1 that is 16 plus 1 more logical and precise.
Yeh, I know "everyone" calls it 16 to 1........ etc etc
beltfed/arnie

[bpcr shooter]

16lbs of lead and a roll of 95-5 solder. crank up the heat to 780F and cast


matt