Silver and precious metals

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hornetguy

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2016
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#21
Haha... I hear wheel weights have the perfect amount of tin for bullet casting. ;)
Yes.... those are the more useful shapes I was talking about. (y)
 

hornetguy

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2016
6,646
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#23
You can get as heavily involved in casting as you want... lots of guys are powder coating bullets now, which eliminates the need to lube them, and it also minimizes or even eliminates any lead vapors for indoor shooting ranges. There are also several companies that sell powder coated bullets that are considerably cheaper than jacketed or plated.

What's cool is that you can get them in a variety of colors.... :D
 

calibob

Sinner saved by grace
May 29, 2018
8,268
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Anaheim, Cali.
#24
Yes... those two metals are good to have... I have quite a bit of them already.... in various iterations....;)

I also have all the necessary items to convert plumber's lead or wheelweights into more, um, useful shapes.
Like bullets?
 
Dec 12, 2013
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#25
Yes... those two metals are good to have... I have quite a bit of them already.... in various iterations....;)

I also have all the necessary items to convert plumber's lead or wheelweights into more, um, useful shapes.
HAHAH I just keep investing.................enough to make the Alamo look like a 1874 Sunday church picnic......HAHAH
 

hornetguy

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2016
6,646
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#26
Yep.
I've been a bullet caster for over 40 years. I don't do it much anymore, but I still have all the "stuff" necessary, if I need to. I even modified my Lee Pot with a temp controller, to maintain the temp very precisely.
 

calibob

Sinner saved by grace
May 29, 2018
8,268
5,510
113
Anaheim, Cali.
#27
My uncle made ammo for the mail order market when he was alive [cancer]
 
L

LPT

Guest
#28
Rhodium is not a bad investment at all. Two years ago 1,000 ounce today it's 2,380 ounce and climbing.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,628
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#29
Hornetguy, do you have a .361 diameter mold for S&W 38 you would part with?
Thought I would ask, just in case.
I have a lot of .357 HBWC that I plan on powdercoating, red from harbor freight. it might bump them up a little in diameter from what I hear.
 

hornetguy

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2016
6,646
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#30
I don't remember right off hand what my .38 molds cast at. I have a couple of semi wadcutter gas check molds, and a couple of wadcutter molds.
.361 is a little on the large side, though. Sometimes, if a mold casts a little large, you can play with the diameter a little with your alloy and casting temp. It might be easier to get a Lee mold that is for that diameter....
Last time I checked, Lee molds were less than $15... they could be more than that now.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,628
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#31
yes, they are ok in my book, seldom have used any other.
They make one they list for 38 S&W but list the size as .357, the 38 S&W was .361 so I want to limit barrel leading, perhaps the HBSW base will expand enough to help seal.
Wish I could find a hollow base wadcutter mold, but I am close enough to Brownells to be able to buy them.
The powder coat paint from Harbor Freight in the red is the one many have used with success, it is reported they will bump up the size a couple thousandths, that is also an option , just got 38 S&W dies on ebay ( or amazon?)for a good price, just need to fire the commercial loads I have on hand and give it a whirl.
Mollie Tibbets was from just west of here, please pray for comfort, healing, and restoration, in Jesus Name for all impacted by her murder.
Thank you brother

P.S. I may be over thinking the >361 over .357 thing
 

hornetguy

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2016
6,646
1,396
113
#32
yes, they are ok in my book, seldom have used any other.
They make one they list for 38 S&W but list the size as .357, the 38 S&W was .361 so I want to limit barrel leading, perhaps the HBSW base will expand enough to help seal.
Wish I could find a hollow base wadcutter mold, but I am close enough to Brownells to be able to buy them.
The powder coat paint from Harbor Freight in the red is the one many have used with success, it is reported they will bump up the size a couple thousandths, that is also an option , just got 38 S&W dies on ebay ( or amazon?)for a good price, just need to fire the commercial loads I have on hand and give it a whirl.
Mollie Tibbets was from just west of here, please pray for comfort, healing, and restoration, in Jesus Name for all impacted by her murder.
Thank you brother

P.S. I may be over thinking the >361 over .357 thing
You could also get the Lee mold you want, and do the "Lee-ment" trick to increase the size. I've never done it, but I've heard lots of good reports of folks getting the results they desired.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,628
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#33
yes, it doesn't sound hard at all and I am tempted to do so, perhaps a winter project. Still would be happy with a hollow base mold from Lee, they don't seem to do that for a .361 mold, again, perhaps I am over thinking this.
The 58 caliber minie barrel mold sure works well and I always prefer the .357 HBWC and would make my own if possible.
 

hornetguy

Senior Member
Jan 18, 2016
6,646
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#34
There might be some vintage hollow base molds out there for that caliber, but it seems they demand a pretty high price. I'll keep my eyes open for something.

I used to cast and shoot a hollow base bullet in my 45-70. It was a Lee mold. It was almost minute of angle at 100 yards, but I didn't push it very hard. I think I was getting between 1100 and 1200 fps or so. VERY easy on the shoulder, and was a blast to shoot. There was a long enough delay between "bang" and the target, that I could hear the bullet strike the paper most of the time.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,628
7,658
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#35
Interesting, I see on the Lee website they no longer make the hollow base molds, don't know if that is for all calibers, the 58 mini ball is a kind of standard. Thanks for your help.
I have a trap door, I should get it out and launch a few.