Cast a few today --

I have not used cast bullets in any of my rifles except for the M1 Carbine. Due to cost of ammo constantly going up, I decided it was time to give them a try. My first attempt will be for my 7.62X39 guns -- AKs and SKS. Got a Lee mould from Midway a couple months back and dropped the first cast today. I was pleased with the results -- BTW, I needed a few more M1 Carbine bullets so I cast up some of them while I was at it!!




Guess I will have a full day tomorrow sizing, lubing, and gaschecking them all.

Anyone had any experience with cast in 7.62x39?

Got 'em all sized and lubed today -- with a little time left to load a few ... started with 7.62x39 and only loaded 15 (3 different loads). Will take 'em to the range tomorrow and see what I have ... sure hope they shoot as good as they look!!

Pretty Pretty....can I have some!

good looking bullets

Couple questions, where'd you find the lead? Tire shops? And where did you get the 7.62 brass?

I'm considering getting into casting 7.62.

I have been collecting lead for a long time -- always looking!! These are cast from wheelweights that have been heat-treated and the bullet has a gascheck.

Do not have enough 7.62x39 brass. Make a couple trades recently on other gunboards for most of my brass. Traded some 308Win and some 30-06 that I had excess of. Winchester does make factory new cases for sale -- may wish to check the Midway site; they usually carry them.

i think I am going to have to get back into casting. It has been a loooooong time since I cast a bullet.

captain-03 wrote:I have been collecting lead for a long time -- always looking!! These are cast from wheelweights that have been heat-treated and the bullet has a gascheck.

Do not have enough 7.62x39 brass. Make a couple trades recently on other gunboards for most of my brass. Traded some 308Win and some 30-06 that I had excess of. Winchester does make factory new cases for sale -- may wish to check the Midway site; they usually carry them.

You use any of the new lead we got last Sunday yet?

Nope -- these were wheelweights that were water dropped ... I did melt what we got -- came out to 33lbs.

Didn't get to shoot them today .. got it on the schedule for tomorrow. Also, loaded up 10 500S&W 440gr GC -- light load of about 900fps.

Also, loaded up 10 500S&W 440gr GC -- light load of about 900fps.

Hell, that's a plumb plinker!

captain-03 wrote:Nope -- these were wheelweights that were water dropped ... I did melt what we got -- came out to 33lbs.

Didn't get to shoot them today .. got it on the schedule for tomorrow. Also, loaded up 10 500S&W 440gr GC -- light load of about 900fps.

Hmmm.... Let's see -

33 lbs. x 7,000 = 231,000 grains

That's a buncha bullets!

I have been really considering casting. I have 3 5 gallon buckets of lead. How do you melt lead in bulk?

Brutus wrote:Hmmm.... Let's see -

33 lbs. x 7,000 = 231,000 grains

That's a buncha bullets!

Yea, at 155gr per bullet = 1490 7.62x39!!

Rbelote wrote:I have been really considering casting. I have 3 5 gallon buckets of lead. How do you melt lead in bulk?

First off -- want to sell the lead -or- trade it? Always in the market!!

For large batches, I melt it down using my propane turkey/fish fryer and a stainless steel pot. Many people use cast iron pot for the task. I just happened to have a stainless steel one I got at a garage sell. I have some Lee ingot molds that I use to make the ingots for future casting. I have also used muffin pans (get one at Wal-Mart for about $4.00) and they work well. Just make sure that the ingots you make will fit into your casting furnace/pot.

Pure Lead will melt around 630-50degrees -- some of the lead alloys may require a little more heat.

A few things to remember:

1: Make sure that your fryer stand will hold the weight of the lead you wish to melt. I usually melt it in 50lb batches. I have my pot marked on the inside to let me know when I have about 50lbs melted.
2: Lead fumes are toxic - always melt it in a well ventilated area - I do it outside and use a fan "just as a precaution."
3: Keep your batches separate - this is especially true if you are using wheel weights, range lead, or a mixture of lead sources. Each batch will be different in its composition. As you know - Consistency is the key to accuracy.
4: Lead and water DO NOT mix. A single drop of water in your molten lead will be like a small explosion sending molten lead everywhere. Make sure that your lead and anything you use to stir/poke the lead is completely free of moisture.
5: Wear protective clothing - I wear an apron, long sleeves, and gloves ... a couple drops on the 'ol skin "hurts - for days!!"
6: You should “flux” the molten lead before casting into ingots and/or bullets. There are many options regarding “fluxing” - the need to, how often, what flux agents to use, etc, etc, etc … The purpose of fluxing is to help remove the impurities in the lead and all carbon to the mix for a harder alloy and easy of casting. There are several commercial fluxing agents out there and they work well, When I am making a 50lb batch of ingots, I use a little sawdust and bees wax stirred into the melt with a wooded stick (wood/sawdust holds moisture - so make sure it is completely dry - I actually put it in the oven for a few minutes). After fluxing, remove all the “crud” off the top of the melt. I use a large spoon with holes in it for this task.
NOTE: If casting bullets and not ingots, you will want to flux often.

I know I probably went on a little too long -- I just looked back over you question, “How do you melt lead in bulk?” Of course the simple answer is to put it over some heat ….

UPDATE - If you want to read it!! Got to the range this afternoon with the 15 7.62x39 cast rounds and ran them through my Norinco MAK-90 Sporter. I had three different loads to test. My main objective was to find a starting load that would cycle the action. All were fired from the bench at a 50yrd target. Here are the reloads and results:


Load #1: 7.0grs Unique When I fired the first shot, I know that it was going to be a light load. Not much report and virtually no kick to it. It did not cycle the action leaving the spent case in the chamber. However, when I look at the target through my scope, I could not believe what I saw - had to get up and walk down to the target to verify what I was seeing ... here is 5 shots --



2: Load #2 14.5 grs 2400 -- They did fully cycle the action and accuracy was so, so. This is 5 rounds -- either one went completely off the paper or there are two shots in the bottom hole (I believe it to be 2 rounds) --



Load #3: 15.0 grs 2400 -- Action fully cycled without problem. 5 shots -- I do remember pulling one of the shots to the left ...





Reloaded 3 more loads tonight -- 8.0 Unique, 9.0 Unique, and 10.0 Unique. Will give them a try tomorrow.

This is FUN ... a lot more fun that casting and loading for a pistol!!

Captain PM me with trade options. I might trade half of what I have to come learn and get the other half turned into clean ingots.

Rbelote wrote:Captain PM me with trade options. I might trade half of what I have to come learn and get the other half turned into clean ingots.

PM sent ...