Advice needed

[hunter1hall]

I've decided to cast my own bullets for my 500 s&w. My question is, what is the best/economical melting pot out there. I will be using lead from wheel weights. I have virtually an unlimited supply of lead. It only makes sense to utilize it. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[reivertom]

There are several decent priced "production pots" on the market. I have an Lee I bought 15 years ago and I does a good job. You need a hardness tester so you will know what speeds the alloy will handle the proper diameter the mould needs to be. With the wrong hardness and speed, the accuracy will stink and you will have terrible leading in the bore. Every gun type has certain combinations that work best. Read and learn all you can before you buy is my #1 advice.

 

[KYBOB]

I just use a cast iron pot ( RCBS ) on a camp stove. Cheap and works well
Wheel Weights ( the old lead type NOT the new zinc type ) make for VERY good bullets. I drop mine from the mold directly in a 5 gal bucket of cool water to quench them. The bullet should be lubed and sized to .001 to .002 over bore ( Groove ) Dia slugging the barrel will tell you the Dia.
Gas checks are only needed for high velocity loads.
Checkout " cast boolits " lotsa good info on there. Casting is not hard to do and will save you a boatload of shooting money
KyBoB

 

[hunter1hall]

Thanks guys. Maybe a dumb question, but are the zinc weights distinguishable from the lead ones?

 

[JDMiller]

Just throwing this out there and no doubt a factory melting pot like the Lee would be the berries ... specifically how it pours into the mold.

But... I use to cast a bunch of muzzleloader conicals & round balls. All I used was a small cast iron pot (which something like a small dutch oven pot would work well) and a small cast iron ladle. Which with the ladle ... I think even with the Lee pot your going to need something to dip off the impurities that float on the surface ... and with wheel weights your going to have some.

For heating / melting .... I just used a coleman stove ... which I did all my melting & pouring outside and I would just drop the finished bullet / ball in a bucket of water as mentioned. Just remember lead & water don't mix though.... and cause the lead to blow out. So whichever way you go... keep your molds dry & the water far enough away it wont "splash" into your lead pot. Again... cant reiterate the latter enough... definitely not fun to have lead blowing out and burning the crap out of you.

Good luck....... always enjoyed casting bullets & balls.

 

[westkybanded]

I cast 10s of thousands of bullets when I was a teenager using a lee production pot. You don't have to worry about slag quite as much with it, because it pours out of the bottom, and the crap floats. I still just kept an old spoon around to scoop the junk off the top.

 

[Quickdraw Limpsalot]

Lead has a lower melting point than zinc and is also a bit harder (try pinching the wheel weights with side snips.)