Cast bullets

[kuduman]

I was acctually looking at the cast 45-70 bullets on midway that were around 23 cents ea. for 45-70. Was hoping it would be as simple as no lube or gas check.

Are you under the impression that you would be buying those bullets from Midway, then having to lube them yourself? And/or adding checks? Those bullets will be ready to load. Like these:

http://www.pennbullets.com/4570/4570-caliber.html

Commercial lead bullets already have the lube and the checks, if checks are needed. You can order them either way. Also, you can order the bullets with the plastic coating (Missouri Bullet Company, etc.). That is cheap, and really reduces smoke and leading of your barrel.

I've shot 10K plus lead bullets, and I don't own a sizer, luber, or lead pot.

You can fiddle with alloy mixes to control leading, or just order them with the hardness you want from Missouri or whoever.

 

[RamRoddoc]

18 cents each for $36/200 .458/405GR ROUND NOSE FLAT POINT. Lubed and ready to go at GA Arms. You can call them. You pay and they will carry them to the gun shows they attend and skip shipping charges.

Buy $105/600 and that's 17.5 cent per bullet. Why pay 23 cents for a cast bullet?

http://www.georgia-arms.com/content/lead bullets.pdf


Gas checks if required are typically when the bullet begins to lead the barrel as velocity is maxed out. Doubtful with decent hard cast alloy 45/70 bullets that it would be required as 45/70 is not a real barn burner.

 

[noylj]

I am still confused about the original question. Lead bullets are either swaged or cast. You can buy cast or swaged bullets, but for most folks, casting is the only option if you make your own.
If you buy the bullet, it is already sized (something I found I didn't need to do and I haven't sized my cast bullets in about 37 years) and lubed and ready to go. You can order lead bullets from the manufacturer as-cast and unlubed if you want (I have wanted a couple of times).
The problem with casting your own is that there are no longer cheap wheel weights readily available and you need to be sure you have a source for lead before getting into it.
For .45-70, you use a lot of lead, so bullets will always be expensive compared to lighter bullets.
There is a lot to learn about lead bullets. The first thing is that you really need to know the actual groove diameter of your barrel and ensure that the bullets are at least 0.001" over groove diameter. Fit and lube trump alloy hardness every time.
Penn Bullets has 350n L-RNFP for $94/500, or just under 19 cents/bullet. Penn makes great bullets. They supply 300-530gn bullets. There are, of course, other suppliers out there.

 

[mishoprat]

jamn47,
Check out Missouri Bullet Company's Hi-Tek coated bullets. They offer the .459 diameter bullets in 300 gr ($42/200) and 405 gr ($46./200) weights with the coating. The coating eliminates the need to lub your bullets. The alloy is also 18 Brinell hardness, so you won't need a gas check. If you are just starting out this allows you to concentrate on working up your loads without the added complications of producing bullets. It also provides a sealed coating that can be fired at most ranges requiring limited lead exposure. Down the road you can add the additional processes of casting, coating, lubing, gas checking bullets. Just a suggestion for reasonably priced bullets to get you started. I have used their coated bullets in 38 Spc, 357 mag, 44 mag, and 45 auto with no issues like leading, etc.
Regards from GA 30230
Pete (mishoprat)

 

[JBKnifeworks]

I run the Missouri Hi-tek 30 cal 245s in my 300 blk bolt gun. They wack deer hard.

 

[JBKnifeworks]

 

[EMC45]

Go over to castboolits.com and ask all the questions you can. They are a great bunch over there and can answer all the Qs you might have.

 

[woodstock]

You can run cast bullets, but you need to keep TTY he velocity down( iirc 45/70 is 1500) as opposed to fmj. Plated bullets tend to be able to run higher (1700?)r if they have a thicker coating which I believe Berry's has on certain types of projectiles.

 

[EMC45]

You can also cast out of almost pure lead and then paper patch the bullets and run them at modern jacketed velocities.

 

[done911]

I got a 45-70 about a year ago and have never run a commercial bullet thru it. Mine is a marlin 1895. I purchased a Lee 405gr plain base mold, electric bottom dropping pot and learned to cast my bullets in about 30 minutes.... no gas checks. I use wheel weights and pan lube my bullets. I do not have to size them as they drop from the mold .460 and that works great in my gun. I'm not sure what they cost me per bullet, but its certainly less than .10 if I don't include the cost of the pot. I can use the pot across several cal's (45acp, 30-30, 38spl, 45-70) so I call it good on the cost of the pot. My Lee mold was the cheapest available, but it makes accurate bullets. I don't own a chrony, but I have run my loads up to what the book says should be 1650 and have not had any leading at all.... most accurate load for me was right at 1500 using 3031. A 405 grain chunk of lead will kill anything walking ( and most kia's, toyota's ect) at even slower velocities.
I can sit on the porch for an afternoon and make enough bullets to shoot all year. I can inspect every bullet and if its not absolutely perfect I simply drop it back in the pot and it becomes another bullet. Pan lubing adds a little time to it, but I find that I enjoy the process and I have more time than money anyway.
I would do it again even if I had more money than time. With shortages of components that seem to come and go, I'm happy to know that I will not run out of bullets simply because some far away company thinks that government orders are more important than mine.