Local Bullet Casters? Pierce County/So. King

[huntingfool7]

I want to start casting round balls for shotgun.  I have a new aluminum Lee .595 round ball mold (2 cavity) and a little bit of lead.  I'm planning on loading a heavy Tri-Ball load that requires hardened balls and recommends a water quench.
 
Any experienced casters around willing to give me a tutorial?  I'm in Puyallup/Tacoma but willing to drive.

[Bill W]

There's a number of cast bullet shooters that convene at Paul Bunyan on the second Saturday of the month for cast bullet military rifle matches.  Matches aren't held every month but are about 5 months of the year.

I wouldn't cast much more than straight wheelweights for your project.  That's about a BHN of 10.  I'd start out with "pure" lead first and see how those work.  That's about a BHN of 5.   Shotgun barrels aren't all that thick even if loads are held to 11K of pressure.

[huntingfool7]

Thanks Bill.  The Dixie Tri Ball load is pretty stout.  It comes with the warning that the balls must be hard cast to prevent the bottom ball from deforming upon firing setback.  There is a thread on it here -
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?47198-Tri-Ball-Revisited

In particular, I am concerned about hardening through water quenching.

[Bill W]

There's a bunch of BS'ers on cast boolits and you will need to separate the "wheat from the chaff" for what you read.

The poster you cited appears to be the real deal with very good advice.    When you open the mould just drop the bullet/ball into a small wastecan of water.   If you drop the sprues in the water remember to have them perfectly dry before adding them back to molten lead.   It will spit and splatter.

Paul Bunyan holds the national match for cast bullet military rifles every other year.  It would surprise people how small of a group a milsurp rifle would shoot.

[Special T]

I bought a "Do-It" casing mold for making buckshot. They are the company that makes all the fishing weight moulds. I bought thier sling  shoot pellet mould. It has 9 cavites on one side and 11 on the other. each side has about a 1 OZ pour they turn out some where between #1 & 0 for the 11 slot side, and 00 for the other. Ive used the 11 cavity side and poured a bunch using it to kill coyotes. I used wheel weight lead. I found it works well and goes pretty fast which i like.

I tried hard to find a #4 buck mould but could only find some expensive 2 slot moulds so i tried the slingshot mould for half the price... Worked well for me. I get 9 of the #1 in the shot cup of a 2 3/4 trap hull INSIDE of the wad. I have found that they stay together longer because they dont spin off the side of the barrel like traditional buckshot... That said I just bought some estate 00 buck at 35.5c a round at midway.

[jasnt]

Tip for water dropping. Use a clothe over your bucket with a slice in the middle. It will contain any splash 

[Bill W]

Tip for water dropping. Use a clothe over your bucket with a slice in the middle. It will contain any splash

I forgot about the splash issue.   I drop mine onto a floating sponge.  The sponge tilts and allows the bullet to drop to the bottom.