Hardcast bullet source?

hm1996

hm1996

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Staff member
Have a friend just getting into reloading in the market for some .357 and .45 (ACP) hardcast bullets. Been lots of years since I loaded handguns; anyone have good source for such?

Thanks,
hm
 
I cast my own, powder coat, lube,Lee Alox,45-45-10, etc. and run a BHN of 12- 15 for 45 ACP, 10mm, 9mm (RN & TC for auto), 44mag, 38 SPC and .357 Mag (WFN, SWC & HP for revolvers) from mild to wild (full power) loads. Lyman and Lee have manuals that covers load data, hardness, etc.


Anyway, bullet fit is king over hardness which means you need to slug the barrel and be .001" over bore diameter. The only hard cast I cast is for my 450 BM (BHN of 21) and that is because I hunt in brush.

Matter fact, my 30-30 cast alloy is WW and pure lead mix w/ 3% tin (170gr FN sized to 311", gas checked and PC'd) with a BHN of 10 using LE powder which I run them at 2100 FPS with no leading issues. The bore slugged at .309" and was getting 3-5" groups with jacketed bullets. My cast shoot 1.25-1.50" groups @ 100 yds.

It's been at least 6 plus years since I bought any but google cast bullets and tons will come up.

FYI- I had to send my Ruger GP100 in to have the cylinder opened up as the bore was .3565", cast sized .358" and the front (some) of the chamber openings were .356" (checked with a pin gauge) which squeezed my bullets down and caused accuracy and leading issues.

Montanna, Missouri, Midway, Brownell's, etc. sell decent cast bullets.

ACME Bullet CO. was my source before I started casting and they would custom size them for me. Also, cast boolits forums is a good place to buy casts from some of the vendors at a good price with custom sizing, coatings, hardness, etc. too.

Powder coating them yourself is easy and there is lots of YOUTUBE, Rumble, and Reloaders Network videos about PCing, sizing, etc.

 
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No problem. I just covered the basics that I've learned over the years.


PM me with any questions that he/she may have.

Take care.
 
I used to cast my own. Eventually a few companies like Missouri Bullet Company came along and offered high quality bullets at very reasonable prices and I packed away my bullet casting gear. In fact I am right now in the process of loading 500 .45 ACP hard cast SWC of Missouri Bullet Companies fine bullets for my 1911 Lwt. Commander Dan Wesson Vigil. I found an accurate 200 gr. .45 SWC running along at about 900 fps to do a lot of good work in a real laid back sort of way.
 
Shot a ton of 200 gr SWC hardcast bullets over both Unique and AA#5 over the years but bought a lot of them in 2000 or 2001 from small shop north of Houston and still working on those. Unfortunately he is no longer in business. Have also used ACME 200 gr and they still seem to be in business. Great combo in the 1911. Thanks, Gary.

Regards,
hm
 
I cast my own. Buying them defeats the purpose of saving money. I have a Couple tons of free lead. The mold was $89. Powder coat and gas checks are about four cents each. I’ve sold enough of these to members that all my casting equipment has been paid for 100’s of times over. Bought a group buy 200 grain .358 hollow point mold. I cast them at 10.5 BH, powder coat, and gas check them. I sort within one grain of each other. They group better out my 336 chambered in 35 rem than any jacketed bullet I’ve tried. They will shoot in the same hole at 100 yards and MOA at 200 yards loaded with 40 grains of varget with a muzzle velocity of 2100 fps and are the hammer of Thor on deer! So far all deer have dropped at the shot and never moved. Imo they have performed better on deer than any 35 caliber jacketed bullet I’ve tried to date. If I could only get my 35 whelen 7600 to feed them reliably life would be great. They feed and cycle just fine in my 35 Remington 7600 and my 336. I have a huge pile of 300 grain flat nose lee .452 cast bullets I’d sell. They are powder coated, gas checked, and color coded to 1 grain increments. Guessing 300 grain might be to heavy for 45 ACP? I shoot them in my new vaquero along with the 255 grain lee .452.






3 shot group At 100 yards with my 336. It’s a tac driver!

 
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I just got another 3500 count box of 9mm bullets from these guys:

dgbullets.com

DG Bullets | Home

DG Bullets are coated, lead cast bullets made on machinery specifically designed for coated bullet production and coated with Hi-Tek Supercoat.
dgbullets.com dgbullets.com
 
My buddy gave me two 500 count wood boxes of ACME cast bullets in 9mm and10mm. They both shoot pretty accurately with no leading on my Glock 20 and Ruger P85 MK11. I’ve casted up softer hollow points for my 10mm. They are pretty accurate but even with powder coating I get a very light streak of lead. Only gun or pistol i ever got leading from. Guessing it’s from the poly rifling since I’m over sluged barrel diameter. I put another coat of powder coating over the original and changed to a slower velocity and a slower burning powder. I’ll have to retest the loads some day. If I still get leading I’ll try an aftermarket barrel with relgular style rifling in it. The ACME 10mm factory rounds no leading. Guessing the super hard alloy is the key. If so the that means my hollow point nee to be casted harder which defeats the purpose as they will never open up at pistol velocities.

Here's the 10mm hollow point I casted up. The extra coat of powder coat added. 002" in Diameter. Hoping it will oversize them enough to prevent leading.

 
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