Author Topic: I poured some lead  (Read 739 times)

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Offline Idaho Ron

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I poured some lead
« on: March 23, 2007, 01:45:32 PM »
Well today was the day. I got the new moulds out and went to work making bullets. I whipped up some Lyman 395 gr great plains bullets. They turned out heavier than they were supposed to. Most were 398 gr.


The next were Lee REAL bullets 320 gr. These turned out mostly 325 gr.


This last pic is not that great.


I was happy with how they turned out for my first time. I hope they shoot good, any ideas why they turned out heavy?  Ron

Offline Castaway

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Re: I poured some lead
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2007, 02:01:29 PM »
Generally, the posted weight of a mould corresponds to Lyman #2 alloy or a close equivalent.  If you are casting with pure lead or nearly pure lead the bullets will be heavier than adveritsed.

Offline **oneshot**

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Re: I poured some lead
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2007, 02:31:28 PM »
I used pure lead in my Lee REAL bullet mold and my bullets averaged 324gr. I made some with an alloy mix ad they turned out at 319gr average.  I stuck with the pure lead since they loaded and shot the best of the two types I made.
Respect the animals we hunt.  Shoot with confidence.

Offline jhalcott

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Re: I poured some lead
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2007, 04:44:20 PM »
  I figure these are for muzzle loaders and muzzle loader bullets should be made of pure lead. You may have simply squeezed the handles a little tighter on some of them. They temperature of the mold or melt changed for some reason. Adding metal ,even the sprues can do this for a few seconds. A cold breeze can really cool the pot. A change in the amount of drop to the mold can make a difference. You seem to be within +/- 2% so it should not matter a whole lot. You will get better as you play with casting. Try a few of each weight for group ,then try a mix of weights to compare them. If the narrow difference makes a difference in groups I'd be surprised.!