casting for 45acp

[Kaiser Mike]

I've finally got a source for lead. It'll be straight plumbing lead. I dont think its in an allow. Cut off parts from installing toilets i believe. This is an old school plumber.

that being said, tin, pewter, and antimony are gonna cost out the wazzoo by comparision. Scrap yards dont seem to sell their goodies. Just buy. Kinda weird.

With the bullets only going 800-850 fps in my 1911, would pure lead do ok or do i need to gas check it.

Thanks for your time.

[Ttwwaack]

In shooting cast bullets, I have learned over the past two years that 1.) Fit is king, 2.) Lube will get you by a softer bullet and 3.) Hardness is not all what it is cracked up to be below about 1200-1250. Gas check are more of an anti skid to help the bullet spin when engaging the rifling and protecting against blowby in higher pressure rounds.

With a 45 ACP you can get by with 8-11 bhn bullets. Go for .452/3 dependiig on accurracy and check to make sure you expand the case mouth enough to not swage the bullet down when seating (pull a few and mic after seating) and the same with applying a taper krimp.

You can get satisfactory results with that lead mixing it 50/50 with clip on wheel weights and if needed a bit of tin o pewter to help with fillout if needed (1-2%). If your really interested in casting, there is a wealth of info over at www.castboolits.gunloads.com concerning all facets of casting.

I got into a couple of oddball calibers (32-20, 327 FM, 44 mag, 45 Colt and 454 heavies 300+ and 475 LB) which at the time the market supply was not there. Now, I cast for the above plus starting 9mm and 38/357. I just ordered a custom copy of a Lyman 4 cavity 358 170 SWC that has HP pins and drops a 158 HP also. Its a big rabbit hole so be careful.

[Kaiser Mike]

Ttwwaack. Thanks for this.
I've got some old rucker alloy bullets and they shoot fine. No noticeable leading. No idea of the alloy.
I just today got a line on some tin sheeting they will give away. The guy said something about it being galvanized but when i looked it up, tin cant be galvanized and its useless. Tin doesnt rust it seems.

I was just given about 150 lbs of lead scrap today. Looks pretty clean but i realized there will be a bit of trash.

[Gunnar da Wolf]

Pure lead mixed 50/50 with wheel weights and dropped from the mold into a bucket of water works quite well at .45 acp velocities. I've been very lucky buying wheel weight ingots off of Ebay, though my mail man doesn't seem impressed. It saves me sorting and smelting wheel weights with all the fumes and crap that goes with it.

I'd second a suggestion to check out castboolits.com . Don't be put off by the name, the fellow who started the site originally found that "Cast Bullets" was already taken and thus the "Cast Boolits" spelling occured.

[amd5007]

When it comes to casting for 45, given that the velocities are generally around 750-850 fps, the alloy composition details don't matter all that much. That being said, you don't really want to shoot pure lead in a 1911, however you certainly can. And you certainly don't need a gas check.

For me, I sift through the berms at my range and salvage an ammo can of lead every time I go. I wait till I have a 5 gallon bucket and then smelt it and pour it into muffin tins. Given that a lot of what's shot at my range is 22 and FMJ (usually pure lead inside the jacket) my ingots come out to 9-12 on the brinell scale. Leading hasn't been a problem for me whatsoever.

[m1a_scoutguy]

Powder Coat Them !!! Use the pure lead and save your wheel weights and good metal for other stuff. A buddy and I have been powder coating everything the last year and its great. It is another step or two but worth it we feel. We shoot inside alot in the Winter so we wanted a safer/cheaper alternative then shooting lead indoors and the powder coating is cheaper than buying plated or jacketed. Depending on tumbler and your oven size you can do 1K in a little over a hour. You still have to size the bullet after coating but not a big deal. Buy the Lee Bullet Sizing Kit and your GTG. Tons of good stuff on Youtube,but if ya have any questions hit me up,,glad to share.