Casting Bullets for Air Guns (video and pics)
A video of me with my equipment casting bullets. In it, I’m casting for the Corsair 308 as i just received yet another mold from LEE. Its a 113 gr FP mold that drops at .309″ and weigh 119.5 grs. According to Lee Mold’s website, the bullets have a BC of .199 and based on my trajectory plot, the BC seems to be right on the money. I had been wanting to try a lighter weight projectile for the Corsair anyways. Something in the 115 gr weight seems like a good start.
This past weekend, i tested the new bullets and the trajectory, bc and mildots all match up. The BC numbers are ONE of my favorite things about LEE MOLDS. They actually do the work for you and post BC numbers right on their website for each bullet.
I managed to shoot at 75 yards and then out to 175 yards with the new bullets. This first bottle at 175 yards took me only 2 shots to connect then the second bottle only took 1. After reviewing the video, it was amazing to see the bullet hit the water bottle then pass through it and hit the dirt in the background with WARP SPEED! It was like the bullet hit the bottle then the dirt with the same speed as it exited the muzzle…lol! The bullet appeared to not slow down (of course it did, it’s an exaggeration).
Anyways, enough of my blabbering. Here are some pics and a video of me casting bullets for Airguns:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqc36dlodoU&list=UUDBsDGN9infjfprvoHuqE6w&index=1&feature=plcp
WATCH OUT JERRY B., I’M ON YO AZZ! 😀 😆 😎
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Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
Tof,
Great video.
Hard to argue with your success, however everyone has their tecnique, things I do differently, is that I have found especially when casting large soft bullets, if I drop my bullets so that I would hear that clink, I would have dented bases.
So I take a cardboard shoebox, and invert the lid and put cloth like a towel or the bottom of a cut off levi pants leg to cushion the fall, and then let them roll into the box major when they are crowded enough on the cloth that they are in danger of hitting each other.
Another thing I do differently, is I use casting flux to flux my lead and I do it often. It seems your removing a lot of alloy without it. With the flux, most of that alloy would return back to the mix and only a oxidated gray dross will be removed. I use a large spoon that I keep heated for that task.
Some say that fluxing often mixes thealloy back together and if you don’t use flux you will skim the tin off, many interesting articles and hypothosies have been forwarded on that, some detractors to that theory have been if the tin floated to the top, they could make a fortune by simply skimming it off a unfluxed pot and selling it, which of course is not the case.
I have read articles that state on a bottom pour pot to just put a layer of sawdust on top of the lead and it will reduce oxidation, I know I have used pine pitch as a flux for soldering so that would probably work. But I use a top ladle pot like you do.
On sizing, I lube my bullets prior to sizing, it helps resist that snap when the the press overcomes the friction and the bullets go thru the die which again reduces stress on the soft bullet.
I have tried all sorts of lube and until recently never been satisfied. They Jerry recommended Imperial sizing wax and I found my search for a good presizing lube was finished. That stuff is amazing.
I followed Jerry’s advice and use a Q-tip inside the die every 10 or so bullets. I am also experimenting with not removing it and shoot them with the Imperial sizing still on the bullet and find it is a good bullet lube also. They just have to be packed in the field so that dirt does not collect on them, but you have to take that precaution anyway.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Hey Cedric: another great video!
What gun camera are you using? I am currently using a Sony DCR-SR68 with a 60 X optical zoom. It works well on 100 yard shots but, the colors are not as vivid as the camera that you are using. I also need to find new video editing software that allows the slow motion gun’s firing and the pellet’s impacts to be recorded.
I have just got RCE swaging equipment in and I have tried my current swaged 25 cal Keith nosed, flat side, hollow base 35-55 grain swaged bullets in a custom ordered non choked LW 25 cal barrel that I fitted to my R3 25 long Matador. I want to try shooting the lightest bullets that I can get by with, accuracy wise, in my Matadors. The initial 50 yards groups were not good. The LW barrel has 3 tight and loose spots when I pushed a swaged bullet thru. I have given up on LW barrels.
I have a Hart .224 and .257 barrel ordered and I hope to have them next week. I also have a couple of hammer forged TJ’s Enterprises barrels coming in. I hope that they give better accuracy than the LW barrel did. Richard Corbin at RCE said that he can make me a die that will give me great accuracy and I am going to send him the slugs from the Hart barrels and have him make me dies for the barrels.
His design is a Ogive nosed, bore riding, hollow based bullet with a rear driving band that fully engages the groove‘s depth. It is worth a try. I can swage around 400 bullets in an hour with my current setup.
I know a Ogive nosed bullet won’t have the energy transfer that a flat nose or hollow point bullet has. I want to take the Matadors out to 200 yards and I have to hit something first before I worry about the knock down power. Roachcreek got me started on this quest.
You make casting look so easy! I don’t want to spend the time learning how to do it but, I might have to.
The really great thing about this hobby/sport/addiction is, there is always something new to try!
NATE,
Never really timed it but, just to cast 100 bullets AFTER everything is up to temp maybe takes about 45 minutes with a 2 cavity mold. Its just a guess though as there are many variables. With molds, even aluminum ones, the first couple of bullets don’t come out the best cause the mold temp is always either too hot or too cold. So with all that, i would say about 45 solid minutes. With solid bullets, it goes faster than with a Hollow point mold. And that’s another cool thing about big bores, unlike small bores, 100 bullets last you quite a few shooting sessions.
DOUG,
PM me your schedule on Sunday. Would be willing to finally meet you and drop off a mold or two that you might be interested in. My buddy RJ is about to mail me back my 308 HP mold if you want to try that one. We can just get together once he mails it back. But i do have plenty others to try out though until then.
Oooops
Nice. That looks like Jerry’s 118’s.
I picked up a Lyman 311316 off eBay. It drops at 311-312 and weights 116 gr and is simular to yours.
I also have a Saeco mold that drops 119 gr and is pointed.
I would like to swap a few molds with you so I can increase my selection of slugs.
I did a little over 500 perfect ones in 2 hours. Would have been quicker but I was having a hard time getting the molds up to temp. I poured around a 100 before I started keeping them.
Nice video bro. Out of curiosity, how long does it take you to cast 100 bullets, without sizing and weighing? :thumb: :thumb:
Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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OldGoat,
Thanx man. I have a Canon HF-10 HD camera and i use Pinnacle HD video editing software for editing. Believe it or not, i havent even scratched the surface of that editing program. It’s got more features than i know what to do with….lol!
I also spend a lot of time actually reading the instruction manual and going through all the settings the camera has to get the optimal picture and sound quality. A lot of times, there are features your camera could have and you never even know.
SLO MOTION TRICKS: 2 things. I have a Casio camera that records in true slow motion but its grainy. But it works though. The other thing is obviously recording a shot in HD and then using some editing software to SLOW IT DOWN. Kinda like on some of my squirrel shooting videos. One of the tricks though, is to mount the camera to a tripod then place the camera along the same focal/aiming point as the barrel of your gun. In other words, i adjust the camera to be NEXT to and AS HIGH as and IN LINE with my barrel. So this way, the camera tracks the pellet or bullet during its entire flight. And it also won’t shake like a scope mounted camera video will during the firing cycle.
Your bullets sound pretty good to me. Can’t wait to hear and see more about eh.
RC,
Good advice my friend and its always appreciated. The flux thing i will have to try for sure.
I do use wax that i get from lee. I DON’T pour it on my bullets but, i do swab the inside of my sizer die with it using a q tip. But i’m definitely interested in that WAX that Jerry recommended. I will GOOGLE it today or tomorrow and buy a bottle. Thanx for the tip.
And yeah, i’ve used paper towels for a while now with much success. I use a lot of layers and the TINK sound is really over amplified by the camera. It sounds worse than it is. Non of my bases get dented. BUT, i do have an old T shirt or 2 that i could easily use. But like i said, the paper towels do work.