Really real

Cast some 50-320 reals this evening. Have only tried them once & didn't have any wads, so we are giving it another shot. Going to test these (among numerous others) in 4 inlines. Thinking about making a batch of Emmerts.

Casting with pure is a unique experience.

Any tips or experiences you'd share are appreciated. I poured some warm ones for you.

Add 1% tin and they'll fill out a lot easier, but looks like you got it figured out fine. LOTS of heat, I tend to cast pure lead at around 800°F pot temp, seems to help a bunch and it isn't like they cast undersize when you do that. Smoke the mould very lightly with a Bic, I mean VERY lightly, like just a slight caramel-colored haze (a great tip and description from Swede Nelson).

That's all I got.

Onandaga (if you know him) used to load those in his .500 S&W Handi rifle and clobber Upstate NY deer with them. I don't remember now if he just coated them with LLA or if he paper patched them, but it had to hit like the hammer of the gods.

Beeswax and Crisco works well. Adjust the mix for temp, more wax in summer helps keep the mess down. Just a simple dip in molten lube, set aside, and let em harden up.
I always cast pure as hot as the pot will go. Get the mould hot and let em rip.
Years back Khornet and I went thru 600 pounds of pure lead scrap in a couple years. Most of the went into 58 cal mini projectiles for rifled muskets. All those were lubed with beeswax and crisco.

That mould brings back memories. I've still got the mould from what must have been in the 70's?
Wish i still had the original TC rifle i bought it for. A buddy of mine still has it though and still hunts with it.

Thanks for the tips.

I did run the melt @810°. Made some maxi-ball 50-370 couple nights ago. Maybe some 50-250 reals tomorrow. Hope to take a range day next week to test a multitude of loads from 9mm-50bp.

As Brad said, as hot and fast as they will go. Frosting hurts nothing!

Paul

I run purish lead without a pause for the sprue to suck down or even cool off a little.
it's pour open dump close pour.

My TC White Mountain Carbine (quick twist) preferred the lighter .50 REAL. The base band on the longer one was noticeably undersize for my bore. I've only shot sabots with BH209 from my Omega.

For faster twist inlines in 50 cal I prefer a .452 sabot with a sized down pure lead Lyman 457122 HP. It hammers deer like nothing else. Shot very well for me.

I appreciate the tips & experience!

I'll try the lube, Brad. Emmerts just adds oil to the same mix. I was curious about a dash of carnauba added because, it's fun to say and I like the shiny bore it helps provide. Have no idea if it would work with bp.

No 457's but have 2 .454 variants & 3 different sabot styles to try. That's a heck of a size down from 457 to 452. Probably not so bad with near pure though.

These are 1-28 twist rifles. Not sure about the pistol, crs. The rifles all shoot 200-250 in sabots over pyro well. Just broadening my experience base & learning what I can.

Any benefit to running the melt even more hot? The lee 10lb will go up to 950-975° but, I didn't want to warp the tiny mold and it seems the sprues want to stick on the plate around 850 or just past.

Fiver
That's really interesting. I have never heard of anyone not letting the sprue slump or suck down. No problems with smearing or anything when doing that?

I had to cull some where my sprue puddle was inadequate and I noticed a pinhole in the base in the sprue cut. Only happened when the sprue puddle drained of the top by accident or I inadvertently left to little sprue puddle.

In a Lee push thru with a little lube you would be amazed what you can size down. Pure lead does make it easier.

I don't run my alloy that hot.
I rely on the mold temp to do the job.

I have been pouring 50gr cores with bright shiny lead with 1% antimony for the last few days in an aluminum mold so you can imagine the headache that could be.
it [the mold] hangs off the edge of my bench and I have to use a ladle to fill the mold with.
the only way I can keep the oxidization down in the pot is to not run it full blast, but the mold has to be kept hot.
I keep the pot temp down in the 740 area and scoot the pour and dump routine in a smooth continuous flow of motion.

A wise man said . . .

fiver said:

I don't run my alloy that hot.
I rely on the mold temp to do the job.

Click to expand...

Gave it another pour this evening. Made some 50-250 reals. I tried the fiver shuffle (740-no waiting) and it worked cept that I was getting more pinholes in the base cut.

Like that there. If I let the sprue cool 2-3 seconds those were pretty much eliminated.

I've only cast with pure 6-7 times now. Hadn't been able to run the melt that cool previously. Worked out pretty good.


Going to make some lube & dip lube these as Brad recommended.

Any additional thoughts, tips, or experiences welcomed, and thank you everyone who provided input thus far.

I think you found your rhythm.
that's a big hole in that sprue plate.. that might be the difference.
I do have to keep the plate hot to make it work so I pour extra alloy on. but I don't have any sprue holes that large.

I agree with Five! Overflow the sprew, and think the base pinholes will go away.

Paul

You have to wait a couple seconds for the lead to suck down or you'll get coring. That couple seconds is included in the "pour open dump close pour" sequence.

KHornet said:

I agree with Five! Overflow the sprew, and think the base pinholes will go away. Paul

Click to expand...

Exactly. As the bullet is cooling inside the mold it is shrinking and trying to draw metal from the sprue. What your picture shows is what they look like when they don't have the molten metal to draw from.
.

I normally watch the sprue, you can see the dimple pull down, then cut it and dump.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the pointers.

Excited to try the slugs out soon. Back to casting alloys instead of pure for now.