I think the casting bug has bit

[Jal5]

I have been busy casting since Christmas when I started this part of the hobby: 9mm Mak, 3 different boolit loads for 38 special, and 2 loads for 357 mag. Plus I just got a mold to try for 9mm/38 in the mail today from another member.  Each casting session I learn something new about mold or lead temps, getting a rhythm going, or how to drop and refill the mold quickly. If only the weather would break a bit and I could try the new loads!

Plus I scored some WW from my regular auto mechanic today about half a 5gal. bucket. Every little bit helps.

joe

[Tom W.]

When the bug bites it won't let go... welcome to the Dark Side!

[jlchucker]

Yep. You'll spend money, shoot more, be frustrated with some loads but deeply satisfied with others---but when the price of component bullets goes through the roof, you won't give a d@mn!  You'll just load up your favorite rifle and head for your hunting spot, fully aware that the bullets you've made yourself will do the job just as well, if not better, than anything you've bought.  Enjoy!  If you don't already have a 45-70 or a 35 Remington, start sniffing around for one for your cabinet. If, like many of us, you already have a 30-30, then riflewise you're all set for that caliber.  In spite of what some gunrag writers put out, cast bullets will do as good a job as they have for over a century.

[Jal5]

thanks guys. It is fun and rewarding. So far just casting for pistols but after I let a 45-70 literally slip through my hands a couple years ago (long story) I have been keeping my eyes open for a deal on one. The 3030 is another one on my short list. I have a Handi in 243 and another in 270 so I will be researching molds for those at some point in the spring. As well as some molds for my muzzleloading rifles too.

Joe

[jlchucker]

Joe, I see you're shopping for a 30-30, and are about to get into casting your own projectiles.  Sorry--I'd assumed that you already had a 30-30.  Since you're on the prowl for one, let me add to my earlier bullet casting comment by saying that most everything you'll hear about microgroove Marlins not being able to shoot cast bullets (or boolits as they are known on the Cast boolit website), is a bunch of crap.  It may or may not involve a little tinkering but in 30-30 they can be made to do everything that you can expect out of other rifles.  In 35 Remington, if you end up using the RCBS 200 grain mold, your first shots will most likely be every bit as accurate as a Coreloct of similar weight.  Then there's the 45-70. Also called by some the great old 45-70. When I got mine (Marlin) it was in 1982 and I'd never heard of a microgroove problem with cast bullets--so I just molded up some, loaded them up and have been shooting groups every bit as accurate as jacketed numbers ever since.  Someone will surely mention the microgroove thing to you, but among veteran casters, you'll pretty much hear that the microgroove thing is nothing more than a magazine writer's myth. Good luck.

[Tom W.]

Someone will surely mention the microgroove thing to you, but among veteran casters, you'll pretty much hear that the microgroove thing is nothing more than a magazine writer's myth. Good luck.

No!!!  Our favorite gun rag writers surely wouldn't have any preconceived notions or fables!