45-70 on the way!! Lathe turned bullets?

[BowHunter252]

Well, after all the suggestions I got on here to go with the 45-70, I went ahead and ordered one of the wood stocked ones from Wholesale Hunter.  Total will be just under $225 after my FFL fee.  Sounds pretty good to me.

Now I need some brass, dies, and bullets.  I was thinking about turning some solid copper bullets on a "mini" lathe.  Anyone ever tried that?  I would probably shoot them into a sand trap and either melt them down to use again or sell as scrap. 

Or maybe I should just cast lead bullets.  I have zero experience casting bullets.  I have a few questions about that too.  Can I just cast the bullets and shoot them?  Do I need to "size" them?  Do I need gas checks?   Do I HAVE to lube them?  Does all of this just depend on the particular bullet mold? 

I would prefer to just cast and shoot.  If this is possible, what mold would you all suggest?

[LONGTOM]

Others will tell you in more detail but yes you have to size them, and lube them.
You can use gas checks but you don't have to.
Can't help you on the copper although I have heard of it being done before.

Sounds like you got a good deal.


LONGTOM

[brennemanj83]

Or maybe I should just cast lead bullets.  I have zero experience casting bullets.  I have a few questions about that too.  Can I just cast the bullets and shoot them?  Do I need to "size" them?  Do I need gas checks?   Do I HAVE to lube them?  Does all of this just depend on the particular bullet mold? 

I would prefer to just cast and shoot.  If this is possible, what mold would you all suggest?

Can you just cast and shoot?Well mainly depends on what on what your bore slugs at.When shooting cast bullets you wann have them 1 or 2 thousandths larger than the bore diameter an example would be....say you slugged the bore of your 45-70 and it came out at .458'' so generaly you would want to have a bullet sized at .460''

Do I need Gas checks?It all depends on what type of bullet mould you are using if it is designed for gas checks.If you are gonna be keeping velocities below 1700 fps I would say no you dont need gas checks.If you dont wanna have to seat gas checks I suggest you get a mold that drops a plain base bullet.A Lee 457-405 Flat Nose mold would be a good choice to start out with.

Do I need to lube them?Lubing a bullet helps to keep the bore from leading up and helps to acheive maximum velocity with the load you are using.I use Lee Liguid Alox on most of my Cast Bullets.It is very easy to tumble lube them.Squezze a little liguide alox in a pan and put your bullets in.Shake it back and forth until  the bullets are uniformly coated.


BTW Good buy on the 45-70

[Gun Runner]

Have a friend in my area that built a custom rifle for a guy in Alaska. He cuts 500 gr brass boolets on his lathe for the guy. Forgot what cal it was, but the owner says with the 500 grainers anything he hits solid with it dont get up and go anywhere.

Gun Runner

[quickdtoo]

Belt Mountain Punch bullets are machine turned and lead filled.

Tim

http://www.beltmountain.com/punch.htm

http://www.gunblast.com/BeltMtn_PunchBullet.htm

[Chas.]

When shooting cast bullets you wann have them 1 or 2 thousandths larger than the bore diameter an example would be....

I think he meant groove diameter.  If they were only 1 or 2 thousanths larger than bore diameter, they very well could be smaller than the groove diameter and would rattle around as they traveled down the barrel.

[OBXPilgrim]

Remelting the copper would take 1984 degrees F, if you have access to a furnace that would do that, maybe it would work for you, otherwise, I think would be a huge waste of resources.  I'm not sure I know what a solid copper slug could take down that a hard cast lead slug couldn't. 

Sounds like what you need is a Ranch dog mold - he has the 425gr 2 cavity mold in stock ($26) - it is a gas check style design, $30-$35 per 1000 for GCs is plenty cheap enough.  A Lee push through sizer will do the job, Ranch Dog buys them from Lee made to .460, but is out right now.  The Ranch Dog design is made to use the tumble lube Liquid Alox lube, for low volume, low cost - hard to beat.  Only other major expense would be a pot & ladle (which would work ok for a 2 cavity) or a bottom pour pot. 

Using straight wheel weights would be your best bet for a hunting bullet unless you want something that would duplicate those solid coppers, then you'd need some linotype lead and/or some wheelweights to cut it with.  Only other major item would be a casting education & it's free - if you don't mind reading and can be found at :  http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php?

[Badnews Bob]

Casting hand loading is fun in my book, You don't have to use gas checks if you keep the speed down but you do have to use some type lube, not a big deal really, Sizeing as said depends on what size the bullet drops at when cast, If 1 or 2 thou ove groove dia when dropped, you don't have to size.  Lee sizers and liquid alox are simple to use and they work well they will also seat the gas checks if you want to use them.

[brennemanj83]

When shooting cast bullets you wann have them 1 or 2 thousandths larger than the bore diameter an example would be....

I think he meant groove diameter.  If they were only 1 or 2 thousanths larger than bore diameter, they very well could be smaller than the groove diameter and would rattle around as they traveled down the barrel.

Yes I did mean groove diameter.

[BowHunter252]

I will probably mainly shoot cast bullets, but thought I would try a few on a lathe.  Are those belt mountain bulletese made of brass?  I couldn't find anywhere on their website that said.

As far as casting goes, do I just need to wait until I get the gun and measure the bore diameter before I buy a mold?  I really don't want to mess with sizing or gas checks.  And I will be keeping the velocities low, probably 1000 fps or under.

What powder do you recomend for a 400 plus grain bullet at 1000 fps or less?  The only powders I have right now are H4350, IMR 4350, H110 and Titegroup.  Would any of those work?

[quickdtoo]

Read the Gunblast article on the Punch bullets. 

[Badnews Bob]

If I owned a lathe and new how to use it I would prolly try to make my own bullets just because I could, A least a few, and the size of the ole goverments bullets would be a lot easier to handle then say a .22 cal.

I'd have to get in my books about powder loads but I like trailboss for plinking loads.

[quickdtoo]

I just remembered(fancy that!! ) Handirifle experimented with making bullets on his mini-lathe.

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,139676.msg1098549886.html#msg1098549886

[tykempster]

Well if you can remelt it then you have some bullets that will last you a while.  It would be neat and different, but a lot of work.  You could definitely do whatever you wanted if you are creating your own bullets though.

[NFG]

Turning bullets on a lathe is labor intensive but fun...forget copper...brass and aluminum are much easier...although I would suggest buying your bullets first...slug your barrel then pick one about 0.001" over that size, they might or might not shoot better...my BC shoots jacketed bullet best for the most part...

This might be new to you but it isn't really new...take your time for a while and learn the nuances then decide...it isn't an either or choice....you can do all the other "thingy's" if you desire.

There are a few places on the net that offer lathe turned bullets at 1-3 bucks apiece...1000's of places that offer cast bullets at 20-30 bucks a hundred...there is lots of road ahead of you...take your time and smell the roses and watch the scenery go by...slowly...the lead casting end is a lifetime project in itself as are all the other aspects of this sport.

Enjoy your projects.

[Dean of Id]

Making bullets on the lathe is fun, like NFG says.  If you really want to use copper, get some that is considered (almost) free machining, like tellurium copper, (C145).  At least you will be able to turn it without having it come off in sticky gobs, but it still presents a few problems.  With some types of copper, milk makes a good cutting liquid.  Really.
You won't be able to melt copper for casting unless you have a lot of money for a real smelting furnace.

Brass is a much more suitable material for turning bullets, and it's cheaper than copper by half.  You can make twice as many mistakes making your bullets for the same price!   
360 half hard rod can be turned to a mirror finish without the grief associated with copper turning.  It's the bench mark for free machining metals.

Have fun with your rifle, and enjoy your machining exercises!

[BowHunter252]

Well if brass will work fine, then I will just use that instead.  I thought it might be too hard and damage the bore.  But if not, then it sounds like brass will be a better choice. 

[NFG]

Check out the price of the different metals before you get too wired over lathe turned bullets....!!!!   

Do some searches on the net and on different forums, much of what you are asking has been covered on several forums and you can get answers quicker that way...Accurate Reloading - Big Bore - 12 GAFH thread...Robgunbuilder makes 1000 gr plus slugs out of brass and aluminum for the 12GAFH...there are 50 pages of good information and pictures that can be translated to use in ANY caliber.  I have several bullet designs I will turn from brass and aluminum when I get my 12GAFH shooter finished.

Luck on your quest.