Bullet casting basics: Simple tips that make a difference

Written on December 3, 2013   By Tony   in Bullet casting, Reloading

Some Helpful tips that will make getting started with bullet casting.

1. Pre-heat the molds before starting to cast. I like using an electric hot plate with a piece of copper on the top (the copper helps distribute the heat to the mold evenly). Since hot plates are all a little different, finding the right temperature setting takes a little experimentation. I find that a medium setting is a good place to start. Some molds need a higher setting than others, and some need lower. Iron molds generally need more heat than aluminum and brass molds.

2. Clean a new mold with soap and hot water. I use a stiff bristled toothbrush to scrub. When I store a mold long term, I use oil to preserve the cavities, and so when pulling a mold out of long term storage I also scrub with soap and hot water.

3. Use a cotton towel or other natural fiber cloth to catch the bullets as they fall from the mold. Synthetic fibers may melt, natural fibers generally won’t.

4. Size is important. I try to make sure that the bullets are at least .001″ oversize for the bores of the guns I’m planning to use them in. Sometimes .002″ works better. I use a number of sizing tools to make sure the bullets are uniform, depending on the application.

5. Use as soft an alloy as possible for the caliber. “hard cast” bullets are popular from commercial casters, but I only use hard alloys when I’m shooting rifles at a high velocity. Softer bullets generally shoot more accurately and produce less leading.

I hope those tips will help out, and if you have any questions, Please let me know, and I’ll try to answer them.