Veral makes the molds, he knows what he's talking about.

 

-- Delete Dupe --

 

See http://www.selectguns.us/Useful_Links/Bullet Acronyms and Abbreviations.pdf
Also WFN vs WLN by whoever

and finally http://www.beartoothbullets.com/images/tech_photos/BulletNoseProfiles.jpg

 

Thanks for the replies. I think I’ll order the LFN that Veral recommends in 400 gr then I’ll also see if he can make a WLN also

 

Your best track with Veral is to send him a chamber/leade slug from your barrel. Talk with him - and then buy whatever he recommends.

Just know now this one thing...

Casting your own bullets is it's own hobby rat-hole. You will have $300-$400 into it just to really get going between casting pot, dippers, welding gloves, casting molds, mold handles, lube sizer, and lube dies. Don't forget a quality caliper and micrometer. Then there is the expense of lead alloy, bullet lube, gas checks, etc....

If you are just loading 100 or 200 bullets a year - it's nowhere close to "worth it" from a money perspective. 100 comercial cast 405 grain rifle bullets will cost you probably $50.00+ shipping.

I am not telling you not to do it. I like casting my own bullets. I am just trying to help you open your eyes to what it will cost. .

 

Nah - you don't need all that crap to cast.
Don't get me wrong - it's nice, but not necessary.
You can use an old pot, coleman stove and a ladle to melt and dip lead.
Hit up Home Depot for free sawdust to use as flux.
Molds are the priciest part.
You can still find wheel weights or buy ingots of WW and linotype off eBay or sites like CastBoolits.com
Lee has sizing dies but they are all standard and useless on Marlins which run oversize. Veral will deliver a mold that drops boolits on the money.
Accurate Molds also will ask what mix you're using and your rifle and will deliver spot on molds that literally don't need sizing.
You can make your own lube cheap or just use the Alox that Lee hands out with any of their $19 molds.
Besides - it's hard finding commercial cast that fit your gun. Dardas - a sponsor here - understands Marlins and will deliver properly sized boolits, but it's rare to find others.
Whups - I just checked - Matt closed shop last year. Dang.

 

Well I spoke to Veral again and sent him my order form and money order. I ended up going with what he suggested and just got the one mould for now.

Now I just need to figure out what all else I need to get going. Many thanks to all the replies. I still have a lot to learn

 

Biggest problem I see in casting your own is the availability of the lead itself. I got a bucketful of wheel weights a few years ago and unless you can find a source they are no longer available like they once were. Pure lead used to be available from plumbing supplies and is no longer used for that purpose. About my best source has been bird shot. Tin is not cheap anymore either. Economy wise I agree with Truck John.

Bubba John hit on the issue of the custom fit to your rifle. Most commercial cast will come in different diameters but I do not like the hard cast alloy for anything but plinking loads. I use them for my 357 as tractor loads as I am not shooting anything bigger than coyotes. For a hunting load I like to be able to control the alloy as well as the sizing. I have made loads at about 2000 fps that perform great as well as at 1400.

DEP

 

I also take exception to the "hard cast" commercial bullets that every one is selling these days. My straight wheelweights water dropped straight from the mold hardens the surface so the bullet holds together up to at least 2600fps (as fast as I've driven them so far) and leaves the rest of the bullet soft enough to open up on game. Antelope, deer, and elk out to 150 yards from 32Wspl - 183gr at near 2300fps. And no, you don't need to spend a lot of money to start casting, but you can. My only electric pot is a 10# Lee, bought at a yard sale in a box with 15#of pure lead and lyman lubrasizer with several sizing dies, all for the princely sum of $25. I sold the lead to a BPCR competitive pal of mine for $10 win-win. I have used my coleman stove, the gas stove in my camper, the electric stove in my house, a gas burner in the shop, a campfire at the lake. Whatever works for a heat supply and any cast iron pot at a thrift store. Watch the shopping guides for a private sale of "his" stuff. They are everywhere...good luck and trust Veral. You may not understand his concepts and you may not agree with all of it (I've known him over 40 years and still don't) but he will not steer you wrong and he does stand by his stuff. He has a profile along with the LFN, WFN, etc that is for Marlin rifles. I doubt very much you will ever get a WFN to feed as it is so fat and the Marlin chambers are so not cut to fit that. A WLN might, but what ever Veral cuts you WILL feed so do go with his recommendations. You will be blessed..

 

I went with the .460 diameter 400 gr in LFN. I will see how I like it and I might get a WLN mould later down the road.

Thanks for the reply. You are right. I decided to just trust Veral on this seeing it is my first time casting.

 

That sounds like a great mold. Can't wait to hear your range results.

 

ZIP metals has a great selection of lead and lead alloys available at fairly reasonable prices.

 

In 1993, I picked up two 5 gal pails of wheelweights. Around 10 years later, I got 65 lbs of printer's lead for $65 delivered. I've yet to use any of the printer's lead and have about 5 lbs of wheelweight ingots left. I expect there will still be some left when I pass all this stuff down. My son will probably say the same thing I told my Dad when he offered me his casting outfit. "No thanks, Pop!" Ha, ha! It took 9 years for me to figure out that if I was going to shoot, I was going to have to cast. It was that simple. There was no choice. In my budget, baby stuff always won out over shooting stuff...LOL

 

Loading and casting is not about economics. It's about capability.

 

jgt is 100% correct! John "Pondoro" Taylor once stated that the cast lead bullet was the most perfect bullet ever developed.....and I believe that still holds true. Keep in mind, that "back in the day" the cast lead bullet took every animal that walked the earth......soft or pure lead for thin skinned game and pewter hardened lead alloys for use on thick skinned game. I have been playing with different alloy's and hardness factors for some time now, and have come to realize that a cast bullet can be made to do anything that one would desire. After not only doing penetration and expansion testing, but, all out destructive testing of cast bullets of differing alloy's and hardness's I would put a "made for the purpose" cast bullet up against just about any jacketed bullet produced..........................to add to that, over the long term casting your own bullets is cost effective, and you dont have to settle for store bought cast bullets that offer very limited performance parameters..........as far as molds, I have a number of LBT's and for my custom designs I use Tom at Accurate Molds to make custom molds for that purpose. I also have a few Lee molds and they serve the purpose as well.

 

I shoot my own cast bullets in all my handguns except a Ruger SBH that I use 240xtps and full magnum loads. In rifles all my originals from 25/20 up to 45/70 I shoot cast. I've got a 1970s 1895 that I have shot a lot of cast in. Used 322gr Gould Express HP an old Lyman Ideal design. Shot as cast pan lubed. In fact the only reason I held onto this rifle was its accuracy. This particular rifle is a cherry off the assembly line. Now it's turned for hot loads with 300gr JHPs for deer.

Before you buy a 500gr mold I would buy a few and try them. I never shot them in new 1895 but I had a old Marlin in 45/90 that I loaded with 500gr cast and it would rattle your teeth with BP loads. I have shot several deer with 405 cast in original RBs and trapdoors and never failed to have bullet exit. That was with 1200fps loads and deer as much as 125yds. I killed just as many with the 322hp. I have a 366gr but have never poured it.

To much overthinking on bullets for animals other than big bears and African game. When you get .40 and above any bullet that shoots accurately in your rifle is more than enough for deer, black bear and hogs. The only reason I'm shooting 300JHPs in my 95 is for the velocity to flatten out ballistics a little.

 

GP'17,

Congratulations on becoming a caster. You will not look back. A new world of options is in front of you. If you want hunting bullets, the wide flat nose is a good choice. However, you don't need to over do it when you use an alloy that is not super hard like most pre made bullets come in today.

If you have not seen Accurate Molds, you should look them up on line. The pricing is about average for customer molds. No need to get more than two cavities or an oversized longer block. Aluminum is the best material and easiest to use for someone new to casting. If I recall correctly, your barrel has Ballard rifling so loads up to the 1,500 fps range you are looking for will not need a gas check.

If I can suggest, a easy to blend alloy is electrotype 96-2-2. A great alloy that will expand at supersonic fps unlike many of the super hard alloys. For slower loads with the 500 gr a simple 25-1 lead-tin allow will get the job done and expand at the slower speeds. 1 pound of Rotometals foundry blend and 11.5 pounds of pure lead will give you the 96-2-2 blend. For the 25-1 12.5 pounds of lead and 1/2 pound of tin.

Look up all of the mold designs Accurate has. I am sure Tom has something that will fit your needs. You may want to consider something in the 360 gr range vs the 405 if you are also going with a 500 gr pill. Be you buy be sure to verify that the nose length will meet the max OAL length of the cartridge so it will cycle correctly.

Enjoy the new hobby! Oh, find a local commercial roofing company or flashing mfg in your area and see if they have scrap pure lead for sale. They always have scrap cuttings.