Back on track...I did some casting with the new LEE mould I purchased...312-160-2R a GC mould throwing 160gr bullets.

I have used several different LEE moulds in the past, all were excellent, but this mould is by far the worst mould I’ve ever used. It’s physical size is the smallest, yet it took forever to come up to heat and start producing acceptable casts, and when I closed the mould, it wouldn’t shut properly because the “pins” didn’t seem to want to align with their holes properly. This wasn’t always obvious because the top would shut OK, or at least looked OK.

I reckon I dumped at least 80 bullets back into the melting pot that were all wrinkled because the mould was still cool. I had the LEE melting pot set on high heat (#9), higher than it should be for casting, in the hope it would warm the mould quicker. Once I started getting acceptable bullets I dropped the heat back to #7, although it threw a few “frosty” bullets as the alloy was a little hot. The “round” lube grooves in the bullets are exactly as the mould is made. The alloy I used is a 6/2 mix - 92% lead, 6% tin 2% antimony...equivalent to Lyman #2 alloy. I ended up with 141 acceptable bullets from what was nearly a 3 hr casting session.

Long story short, once it started throwing acceptable bullets, they were good, but what should have been a fairly short casting session ended up being about three times longer than it should have been because of problems with the mould. I can’t say I’m happy with this mould at all, but only because of the problems, not the end cast.

they look great mate....next time wont take you as long as you will already know tricks to making it hum......sure hope you keeping well ventilated and not brown bubbly hydrated when casting,them fumes are nasty huas and can do not so nice things to your body.....

Thanks Elvis. I think the heating up of the mould will still be time consuming, but hopefully not as bad as the last time. Now all I gotta do is load some up and try to get some range time to see how they shoot.

Vince wrote:

Thanks Elvis. I think the heating up of the mould will still be time consuming, but hopefully not as bad as the last time. Now all I gotta do is load some up and try to get some range time to see how they shoot.

Put the mould in the oven whilst the Mrs is out...

English Mike wrote:

Vince wrote: Thanks Elvis. I think the heating up of the mould will still be time consuming, but hopefully not as bad as the last time. Now all I gotta do is load some up and try to get some range time to see how they shoot. Put the mould in the oven whilst the Mrs is out... :D.

I’m game, but not that game mate.

A friend who does a lot of casting sets his molds on the edge of the melting pot as the lead heats up. It helps get them up to temperature while the lead heats to the proper temperature. He also put lead up there to remove any moisture and preheat it for adding to the pot as needed.

PaulS wrote:

A friend who does a lot of casting sets his molds on the edge of the melting pot as the lead heats up. It helps get them up to temperature while the lead heats to the proper temperature. He also put lead up there to remove any moisture and preheat it for adding to the pot as needed.

That’s what I do Paul, but I sit out front of my garage in the open air, and there was a bit of a breeze blowing, so it was cooling the mould a little.

Elvis...no cleansing ales whilst casting mate...too easy to make a painful mistake, and I always sit in the open air when casting.

I’ve done a heaps of research/searching on the net and have identified what appears to be a couple of loads that I intend trying. One is 16gr of 2400 that is supposed to be quite accurate at 200yds and another is 13gr of Red Dot. I don’t have any Red Dot, but Promo is pretty much the same powder, so I’ll give that a try. I’ve been through LEE’s book, and one of the powders he makes note of that can be downloaded is Varget (AR2208) of which I have a goodly quantity. He lists it using jacketed bullets, but I’m certain that downloading it will be ok with hard cast. I haven’t done the calculations yet, but they are easy enough, and I’m hoping they will produce good results. This week is going to be very busy for me, so I will hopefully find the time for loading in the following week.

Vince ,,,,I use a lot IMR-4895 , but did manage to find some IMR-3031 yesterday , gonna try it as most all reloading manuals and others on some of the other forums like it..

On another note , I loaded some 215-gr Woodleighs ,started out with 38-gr IMR 4895 , 3.070 AOL ..... finally settled on 40-gr.
The vel. is around 2200 fps.
Then started on the AOL Max for the chamber is 3.105 ,
50-yd groups
The 2.85 = 1.25 inches
The 2.90 = .9 inches , close enough for a brush-gun.
The 2.95 = 2.0 inches started too spread out .

Oh,,, did I say it kicks like a mule with these 215-gr compared with the 150-gr or the 174-gr

a good slip on recoil pad is worth its weight in gold.....

Elvis wrote:

a good slip on recoil pad is worth its weight in gold.....

Already have the Enfield No.4 rubber pad installed. Mainly too lengthen the stock , for a better shoulder fit. Something to do about these long arms

On the subject of the cast bullets, I have the same mold , but have never cast or shot any of them.

I do shoot The 150-gr Hornady & Speer hot-cores , but that not that great on groups with either , not enough bearing surface . The AOL ,load-data, is to much jump before engaging the rifling . They're fair groups if you set them out , but not enough in the case to hold them in place ,

Pete wrote:

... I do shoot The 150-gr Hornady & Speer hot-cores , but that not that great on groups with either , not enough bearing surface . The AOL ,load-data, is to much jump before engaging the rifling . They're fair groups if you set them out , but not enough in the case to hold them in place ,

I’ve had the same problem with two Hornady bullets...a 174gr RN and a 150gr offering...but the PPU 174gr FMJ shoots well. Got me confused. I’ll be interested to see how these cast bullets shoot. My shooting buddy had good results with cast in his Mk4 SMLE.

Vince wrote:

I’ve had the same problem with two Hornady bullets...a 174gr RN and a 150gr offering...but the PPU 174gr FMJ shoots well. Got me confused. I’ll be interested to see how these cast bullets shoot. My shooting buddy had good results with cast in his Mk4 SMLE.

Just before ordering the Hornady 174-rd nose, thanks for the heads up , but I just ordered some hulls and 180-gr Prvi Partizan www.grafs.com/retail/c...ctId/12615 , I have the 174-gr fmj ,fair groups, at the price I'll give them a try.

Keep us informed o the cast bullets

On the lighter-side of reloading.......

"Was told years ago how much money I'd save by reloading my own"
, man it's a never-ending story on spending for this habit I have , making more accurate rounds .

Very addictive huh Pete.

Bushmaster wrote:

Very addictive huh Pete.

Almost as expensive as a woman , and almost as much fun in my old age