Cast bullet questions

I finally found a place that sells lead wheel weights; a 5 gallon bucket full for only $25. I want to get into casting, but first I have a few questions.

1. I'll be casting bullets exclusively for my 460 S&W. Any recommendations for a mold or bullet type to look for? I'm interested in heavy for caliber weights, such as 300, 335, or even 360 grain bullets.

2. If I use an appropriate bullet in this weight range, what velocity should I attempt to fire these bullets at? Looking at some of the load data I have on hand for cast bullets, some of these 325 to 360 grain bullets can be pushed at up to 1800 fps. I'd like to shoot these bullets at a reduced velocity to lessen the recoil, muzzle blast, and fouling in the barrel.

3. Are there any books about casting that I should look into reading?

4. At what point do I need to consider gas checks?

Also, any other equipment recommendations will be helpful.

I am loading the lee 300WFN for my 45 colt. It has two crimping grooves and a gas check. I use the lee sizer to size and apply gas checks. I am only running about 1100fps so I use Allox liquid for lube. The bullets average 318gr when I have a finished product.

I get ~2 inch groups at 25 yds with open sights and I am positive it would do better, if not for the "loose nut behind the trigger". Pics can be found in my album.

l prefer Lyman products.Their molds are made of cast iron and their sizer/lubers and pots are top of the line.. They also publish good manuals for casting. l think any good 45 Colt mold would serve your 460 well as long as the design uses a gas check for those 1800fps loads

I was looking at some of the Lyman stuff. They have a few casting kits I may have to take a closer look at.

Head over to http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com. I literally just cast my first bullets this week. Did about 100 260 gr 45s for my 454. They have tons of info there, got got most of mine there

Thanks, I'll have to check it out.

I would aim for 1200 to 1500 fps or so and wouldnt go any faster than that with cast. The 400 gr works well in the 460

Which 400 grain bullet are you using, tradmark?

I use bearttooth bullets 405. Any 400 gr bullet mold works though. The 460 is just wasting horsepower unless ya load up that high and its nothing to run those up to 1500 fps and theyre the only hardcasts i would run that fast. I would think itd be nothing to run them up to 1350 fps with hs6 powder and have an easy shooting load that penetrates well and doesnt exceed the bullets integrity by using what the 460 has to offer. Now i will admit i just pretty much use barnes xbps out of it and busters which ya can run hot but for cast i think thatd be the ticket and if youre shootig a smith the gain twist rifles settles those down nicely. Congrats on buying a great caliber

Lone Wolf--l hope you enjoy your first 5 gal bucket of wheel weights..l cant begin to tell you of the satisfaction of making your own bullets...But first a little caution in prepping that bucket.. Unlike days gone by ,,,all wheel weights are NOT equal.That bucket weighs maybe 150 lbs,,but it aint all lead..Likely you will find steel,zinc,plastic, and combos of materials..Sadly you will need to sort those weights one at a time.. A magnet and side cutters will help greatly.. The magnet tells you which are steel and the cutters will hopefully help you avoid the zinc ones.. Zns will ruin your whole melt..

Most weights are marked,, but not always.. Pb for lead.. Fe for steel/iron..Zn for zinc. You will also find some plastic ones in there too.. Also thrown for extra measure you may find cigarette butts, valve stems, battery clamps.. Lotsa surprises are in that plastic surprise...Some can be dangerous too...Back when South Carolina had annual inspection stickers the old stickers AND the razor blades used to remove them usually ended up in the WW bucket....l hope l have not discouraged you.. Just trying to point out the land mines in the playground.. lf you are fortunate you may end up with 75 to 100 pounds of ingots for bullets. @ 7000 grains to the pound you will be able to get app 20 bullets per pound. That 5 gal bucket will get you 1500 to 2000 bullets.. Good luck and stay safe...282

Melt weights outside or in a well ventalated area. Lead fumes are toxic and can burn your eyes, etc. There is oil and stickers, adhesives, etc that burns off and causes some serious issues. You will need to pull off all the garabge, metal clips, etc then you will need some pine pitch to really clean the lead. Too much tin will really harden your lead. Wheel weights cast nice hard bullets for my pistols, i like to add pure lead for my black powder cart. rifles.