reloading question

[Red Hat]

I've been reloading and casting my bullets for years. KimberPB is correct, MidwayUSA has everything you need to cast your own. You can get wheel weights from tire shops and they work great for casting. Wheel weights are fairly hard and if you can find some tin or Linotype you can harden them even more. Dropping hot cast bullets into cold water will make them harder also. Using Gas checks will help you get higher velocities. As far as Lead fumes causing problems don't worry they won't. Like said above it has to reach the boiling point before it will release fumes. The boiling point is 1740.0 °C or 3164.0 °F. The only worry when working with lead is to make sure and wash your hands so you wont ingest any.

[akratzer25]

well i plan on waiting till i can do it out side. i live in indiana. so that will be late feb. or early march. so i dont think the fume will be an issue. thanks you all... i was looking at midwayusa, and i was thinking that all that casting stuff couldnt all be required. again thanks, i got a good idea of where to get the equipment, and now i know i can go to tire shops. wow you guys are great. what sizer would i need to get from midway?

[Red Hat]

You need a .356 sizer. Lee make a good one. Lee Lube and Size Kit 356 Diameter - MidwayUSA 9mm bullets are actually .355 but the .356 will work fine for cast bullets.

[KimberPB]

I've been reloading and casting my bullets for years. KimberPB is correct, MidwayUSA has everything you need to cast your own. You can get wheel weights from tire shops and they work great for casting. Wheel weights are fairly hard and if you can find some tin or Linotype you can harden them even more. Dropping hot cast bullets into cold water will make them harder also. Using Gas checks will help you get higher velocities. As far as Lead fumes causing problems don't worry they won't. Like said above it has to reach the boiling point before it will release fumes. The boiling point is 1740.0 °C or 3164.0 °F. The only worry when working with lead is to make sure and wash your hands so you wont ingest any.

Red Hat is correct about water quenching. Depending on the caliber and the velocity you'll want to play around with air cooling them vs. water quenching. I found with the wheel weights and in my .45 water quenching them gave me the most accurate rounds that left almost no leading in the barrel.

[Jeff Chance]

I have had very good luck with these 2 for buying cast:
Missouri Bullet Company
Home
Another expense with casting is that you may have to buy the alloy as getting wheelweights from tire stores is almost impossible these days. Most places that have casting products will have alloy for sale. here is a good site for some info also NRA - IHMSA Handgun, Rifle, Air Pistol Silhouette Shooting. The Excitement Of Reactive Steel Targets At The Los Angeles Silhouette Club Look for the cast bullet links at the bottom of the home page.
JEFF

[plus1hdcp]

Here is a good site to have as an additional resource

Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets!

[SCfromNY]

Why hard cast??? I have reloaded for a while and if I use SWC I use soft since many ranges will not allow hard cast.

My biggest objection is that you should not shoot them out of a H&K.

My .45ACP SWC from Natchez 1000@ $88 (185gn)

My .45 ACP Ranier JHP $114 per 1000 from Midway (200gn).

[montie]

You can also check on Ebay for the lead. There are bunches of auctions offering lead (often in ingots) that you can use.