Casting Bullets

[truck driver]

Just wondering if any one else cast their own pistol bullets?
These are supposed to be 150gr SWC .358 cal but with my own alloy they come out between 147 and 148 gr with a few running up to 150gr.
I use them for target shooting and size them to .356 to shoot out of my custom 1911 38 Super.

There are over 500 in the big tray and it took about 4 hrs to make from the time I turned the casting pot on till I made the last drop.
Getting the metal to the right temperature and then refiling the pot with more lead adds to the time but gives me a break in between batches.
I then have to sort them by weight and then size and lubricate them so they don't lead the barrel. sorting makes for more /better accurate loads just like with rifle bullets.
I have a pistol match coming up at the end of the month and had run out of these little beauties so I had to make a new batch.
I could use my 1911 .38 Spl wad gun or my .45acp but I like shooting my .38 Super which is as accurate as my custom .45acp. The .38 Spl is no slouch but I can shoot the .38 Super better.

 

[truck driver]

I also make my own .45 caliber bullets I shoot in my custom .45 1911.

 

[jimbires]

pretty neat , that's something I have not done .

 

[truck driver]

When I was shooting in matches on a regular bases I would go threw around 10,000 of these along with the same amount of .45 and 38 wad cutters a year for a total of at least 30,000 bullets.
Casting my own saved me a lot of money and I got a better bullet then I could buy.

 

[jimbires]

in my 45 I shot right around 10,000 per year too . I used the .45 for both , the center fire and the .45 . I bought bullets from master cast bullets , he's close to Pittsburg Pa .

are you using a certain lead , or old wheel weights ? I save old wheel weights for a guy . he makes shot out of them , for his trap shells . he's invited me to come watch him , but I have not taken the time to go .

 

[truck driver]

in my 45 I shot right around 10,000 per year too . I used the .45 for both , the center fire and the .45 . I bought bullets from master cast bullets , he's close to Pittsburg Pa .

are you using a certain lead , or old wheel weights ? I save old wheel weights for a guy . he makes shot out of them , for his trap shells . he's invited me to come watch him , but I have not taken the time to go .

I use a mixture of wheel weights and 50/50 plumbers solder with a little print type mixed in.
I get little to no leading from my mixture and the bullets come out very close to the advertised weight
I shot commercial cast and swaged bullets till they got too expensive and the quality fell off once Star and a few others closed up.
I never tried Master Craft bullets but just about every other brand made.
When I would shoot in the Nationals I would load and shoot Winchester 185gr jacketed SWC bullets which I still have a stash of and would buy them buy 1000s from a commercial ammo manufacture.
I even have a few boxes of Winchester Match factory ammo I use to test my gun barrels to see if they are getting shot out which with lead isn't a problem but is with my hard ball gun.

If you traveled and shot in Bullseye Matches up and down the east coast we probably crossed paths and didn't know it.

 

[jimbires]

I shot a lot for about 10 years , we almost had to cross paths .

I shot the 185 noslers some too . the noslers didn't cut the target like a swc bullet does , you had to tell the guy scoring to use his template on your targets . here are the bullets I was using .

 

[truck driver]

I tried and used the Nosler bullet some also when I shot at Camp Perry but the 185 H&G #130 was the most accurate in my 45 with the 185 Star SWCHP running a close second.
I did also use the Winchester 185 Jacketed SWC when the chips counted and I needed full reliability and accuracy
I won the Maryland All State Champion ship in my class at MarriotsVille Md the last two years it was held using the Winchester Bullet in my 45.
I couldn't do it now if I had to due to physical limitations from injuries, age, eye sight and surgeries.
I can still shoot in the low 90's but can't hold the X ring like I use to.
I haven't shot 100 10X in quite a while and would frame the target if I did it now.

 

[jimbires]

I sure know what you mean on holding the X-ring , that's a fond memory for me . I doubt I could even shoot a 90 .

that's why I got away from it , I hurt my shoulder and elbow . after I shoot a match I hurt for a few days after . it took the fun out of it .