I suppose this has been hashed over 1000 times already, but it all went by me, as I got away from casting and reloading for about 30 years.
Recently, after getting back into it, I bought a Lee bottom pour lead pot. I cast some lead/tin bullets and got some decent results with that alloy. Thought I was done with the old Lyman lead dipper.
Then I got some wheel weights, added some tin and lead, and cast some more. Results not quite as good. Nagging little problems, like frosty bullets, sprue sticking, vent whiskers, more rejects, etc. The usual fixes like varying temperatures, casting techniques, alloy composition, etc. did not help significantly.
Then I tried the old dipper again and, Presto, I got much better bullets; better appearance, more consistent weights, better bases, sharper mould detail.
Pulled the rod and plugged the bottom spout on the pot, and I'm back to doing it the old way with much superior results; same pot, same mould, same alloy, same temperatures, just using the dipper instead of the bottom pour feature on the pot.
I think maybe its got something to do with the temperature fluctuation at the bottom of the Lee pot as the thermostat cycles on and off. Or maybe there's too much head pressure with all that lead over the spout. Drawing lead off the bottom of the pot just doesn't work as good for me as the old dipper method.
Anyone else prefer the dipper over the bottom pour for good reason, or is it just me?