Consolidation of moulds .

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Consolidation of moulds .

Post by RBHarter »

For new reloaders and often new to casting folks there are a ton of considerations . What will a load be used for , bullet construction/shape , action types and more .
I see so often so many folks in casting duplicating bullets in moulds for different cartridges . Sometimes it's unavoidable ,a case of having a 380 ACP and 35 Whelen , they might share a mould but that 75-120 gr bullet for the 380 just isn't a bullet that will work well in the Whelen much above hot gallery loads and even FMJ is going to perform poorly at the upper potential of the Whelen . I shot some 75&85 gr gold dots some yr ago in a 357 . I have no idea how fast the were going but it was fast and minimal flash from 4" bbl full of Unique . Plated SWC would plow through the 3/4 plywood and 4x4 post but the little ones stayed in the post . They were probably naked jackets and lead powder in reflection.

Take a look at the real world diameters of bbls . 9mm is supposed be .355 but more often than not it's .357 . 38/357 also runs right at 357. The rifles hover close to 358 and usually on the tight side . So if have a couple pistols ,a couple of revolvers and a couple more rifles spread from 380 to 358 Winchester you have a need for more than 1 mould but if you have a straight water budget you'll want to streamline that , it's likely that you'll have a fewer bbls to feed also .
4 moulds will feed the whole range and 3 if you cross off just a couple critters or a cartridge .
If I toss the 380 then 9mm ,38& 357 can share a bullet like the Lee 358-125 RF . That's nominal for the 9 and light in the revolvers . So for the other end we snag a 358-200 RF . Now we have 2 moulds to feed as many as 7 cartridges from business to pleasure the 9mm actually has a lot of wiggle room for bullet weight so a 140-150 gr bullet would make a better solution for all of the pistols and related carbines while the rifle mould could be stepped up to a 230-250 gr and keep moose in the mix . Meanwhile you have bullets happy in rifles of 35 Rem, 356/358 Win , 9x57 , 35 Whelen and 350 Remington mag. Keep the 200 gr in the mix and the 357 is a bear slayer south of the Dakotas and the 35 Rem will be happier.
I am talking about making do minimalist here .

We face the same problem with 30 cal rifles and 32 pistols toss the ACP and the monsters over 300WM and 100 and 150-180 will feed them all. Keeping in mind that the 312-155 SP will generally cross over to 7.7,303 and 7.62 x39&54 but might not be a good idea in a lever gun . The 30 carbine bullets should be good to go in the 32 HR and 327 but the SWCs may not feed well in the 30 carbine carbines .

25s are harder with the needs of the of the bore/groove , the 25 rifles will get by nicely with just 1 bullet from 25-3000 to 257 Weatherby . It might be a struggle to find 1 bullet for 25 ACP and 256 Win mag .

270 is pretty easy with so few cartridges 130 will get them done .

7mm is also pretty easy just pick a weight 130-175 and get it done .

32/8mm 1 bullet 170-180 although there are moulds up to 215 . Remember the object is to feed a 32 Rem and an 8mm Rem mag .

338 ,366(9.3) is another pair where the 308,06' clans will shoot the same bullet as the assorted mags . I guess a guy might struggle with a Lapua and 338 Federal .

40s by name is going to be interesting and it is unlikely to find rifles that would share a pistol bullet . The autos and revolvers will usually play nice someplace between 165 and 210 .

45s a 230 and 350 with a couple of extra sizers should feed all of the pistols ,rifles and magnums . Although some will argue that .460 down to .453 is too much sizing . The nose dimensions come in to play and may cause you some grief but I would suspect that most 45 owners would not getting by if they have a 1911 , 458 WM and a Freedom Arms 460 revolver with a spare 454 or Colts cylinder . You might , and you might even have an X frame turned for moon clips . Few if any ML will play although I did as a matter of fun and games put a 45 Maxi ball in a brass case for a 45/410 lots of case intrusion .

375 could be a challenge for a 1 mould if a guy were shooting a 1894 94 Win in 38-55 and a 375 H&H .

50s ...... What do we have ? 50 AE , 500 S&W , 50 Alaskan and 50 BMG plus MLs . I don't see a work around here minimum of 3 if you have the whole spread .
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Re: Consolidation of moulds .

Post by akuser47 »

Well written thanks for taking the time +guns
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Re: Consolidation of moulds .

Post by RBHarter »

It actually started as a half staff rant about the 80 zillion times I've seen will this or that work in these ........

Ive been trying to pare down some of the options ........ Im one to talk of course , having 4 moulds for 45 pistol and no rifle to go with the 5th, a rifle mould . 3 7mm moulds for 2 rifles . 2 27 cal moulds that serve 1 cartridge and get patched up for 7mm technically making 5 @7mm . Then there's the 30s , no pistols so just heavies ....... Except the 1 that is so oversized that the 8 mm mould is the answer there which is cool because it's only for a tight 32 otherwise. On the 30s there are 5 moulds and 1 of those is actually useless in all but 1 as cast and as a paper patch core in the fat bore .

It just kills me though when the guys ask can I use this or that 38 bullet in a 9mm ?
My first thought is will it fit in the magazine , cause 356-358 just ain't all that far .I have 6 moulds for every possible want in the 38/9mm family but that runs from 88- 230 gr and 380-358 Win . I hate having 28 moulds for 28 cartridges in 17 calibers and 4 gauges .......but when you reach a point of every cartridge is a hunting cartridge first then a range gun it happens .

A 32 short or ACP will be just as happy with 312-90 RN as a 300 WM will with 5-10 gr of Unique for squirrel duty . Is it impractical to make a 300 WM a 22 mag class rifle ? Sure . But is it fun to shoot ? Yes ! At something on the order of $80/1000 who wouldn't . Assuming you have loading gear already and a mould for a 32 something pistol .

There's nothing saying you can't go the other way . I'm sure a 314-155 would be usable in a contender based 327 mag even if it had to be deep seated .
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Re: Consolidation of moulds .

Post by Ranch Dog »

I'm the kind of guy that wants at least a cartridge specific design if not rifle/pistol specific. End up with a lot of custom molds that way.
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Re: Consolidation of moulds .

Post by RBHarter »

I was trying to think of the shoestring budget folks . In some cases there is lots of overlap for shooting even accurate shooting . It is when we reach that tipping point of wanting every cartridge to give us something that the ideal bullet becomes important . Getting twofer pigs every time they line up vs trigger time for the grands .

I guess I'm thinking if I have an 88,125,158, 161,200 and 230 gr bullet moulds and a 358 Win , why would i burn 40 gr of rifle powder and shoot 35 bullets per lb of lead when I could get 85 bullets and 700-100 charges per lb . True if I should fumble in the dark even moving on the 88 isn't going to do the desired job and the 125 will be marginal at best . Can you imagine the mess that 161 gr full WC would make ? I'd bet on a buzz saw beer can .

Thinking of the guy that buys a 357 used for the house and a Ruger 77 357 and another in 358 win thinking that 38s would make good practice ammo being not much more expensive than 22 these days . He snags a classic anniversary kit and a casting package with a 358-158 . 1 bullet 3 guns and 1 powder . Add a 9mm and a 125 gr and a 200 gr . Now he has cheap shooting with 2 powders 3 bullets in 4 guns that are enough to hunt basically all 50 states and every critter on the continent even the imported critters .

Joe Family Guy is probably not going to have a big collection of guns and in reality will have the pistol, 22 , big game rifle with a shotgun , maybe if he is the outdoor life all around sportsman . I'm talking about the Taurus 66 , JC Higgins , Axis guy here . He bought Lee tools because they were in his price range .
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