Any commercial "custom" bullet casters out there?

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  • Last Post 08 January 2011
Tom in Pittsburgh posted this 08 November 2009

:(

Well, I seem to have lost my source of custom cast bullets. I have been doing business for 15 years or more with Will Hafler up in northcentral Pennsylvania. Will did business under the name “Ammo Expertise,” and I first met him at one of the big Pittsburgh gun shows -- back when they were worth going to, and not just tables of camo clothing and cheap imported ninja stuff.

Will left Pennsylvania earlier this year and relocated to Wyoming. He planned to get back into business, but -- after getting one postcard from him -- I haven't been able to raise a response from him. I hope he's OK.

In the meantime -- short of going back into casting my own -- I'm out of luck. Will had a wide variety of moulds (including some of mine), and would cast bullets in a number of alloys -- one-by-one, by hand. I generally bought mine from him in 16:1, unsized and unlubed.

The only folks I can find out there now are into the high-volume, hard-cast bullet business -- the kind where you buy boxes of 500 bullets in bulk -- cast from a machine.

Randy Moyer is an exception, but he only offers one alloy, and his mould selection is limited.

Right now I'm looking for a source of 311291 bullets that will go .314” (to feed my M1917 Enfield by Winchester -- she just wants bigger bullets).

I've poked through recent Fouling Shots looking for ads without much luck, and the bullet suppliers listed here all seem to be high-volume, hard bullet suppliers.

Any thoughts -- or tips?

TIA

Tom

http://www.vintage-gunlore.com>http://www.vintage-gunlore.com

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Dicko posted this 22 December 2009

If I were living within easy reach I'd be your man, Tom.   I cast quality rifle bullets for myself and a couple of friends.   Its much more satisfying than the high volume stuff I usually cast.   But bullet casting is a high volume low profit price sensitive business.     Rifle bullets are slow to cast and in my part of the world no-one will pay the price that makes it half viable.   Dunno how your previous supplier made it work, but I reckon that's the problem.

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Tom in Pittsburgh posted this 23 December 2009

Thanks for your e-mail, Dicko -- must be nice summer weather down there. Snow on the ground here, and only about -9 degrees C. Last work day before the Christmas Holiday.

Good news on two fronts: my bullet casting friend has resurfaced and seems to be getting back into business after his cross-country move from Pennsylvania to Wyoming.

In the meantime, however, I picked up a factory-reconditioned 10# Lyman pot, a thermometer, and a few vintage moulds. I have some soft alloy coming (16:1), and should be trying my hand at bullet casting again after about a 20-year break. My wife will be glad I'm not trying it again using the kitchen stove!

I'm going to start out with some old Ideal/Lyman .30 caliber classics (311290 and 311413) and see what I can do with them in my “new” M1917 Enfield in .30-06.

Not to get into politics or anything, but I just saw the new “Invictus” movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela) and Matt Damon -- about the 1995 rugby World Cup. We enjoyed the film -- I'm curious how it's being received over in your neck of the woods?

Best,

Tom

http://www.vintage-gunlore.com>www.vintage-gunlore.com

P.S. I have a nice old 2-band MK III Snider Volunteer rifle made in England, but which supposedly came out of King Williams Town and was used during the 9th Kaffir War there by a local unit. I bought it from a dealer Down Under -- not sure how it got over there, though...   

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Dicko posted this 23 December 2009

Tom in Pittsburgh wrote: Thanks for your e-mail, Dicko -- must be nice summer weather down there. Snow on the ground here, and only about -9 degrees C. Last work day before the Christmas Holiday.

Good news on two fronts: my bullet casting friend has resurfaced and seems to be getting back into business after his cross-country move from Pennsylvania to Wyoming.

In the meantime, however, I picked up a factory-reconditioned 10# Lyman pot, a thermometer, and a few vintage moulds. I have some soft alloy coming (16:1), and should be trying my hand at bullet casting again after about a 20-year break. My wife will be glad I'm not trying it again using the kitchen stove!

I'm going to start out with some old Ideal/Lyman .30 caliber classics (311290 and 311413) and see what I can do with them in my “new” M1917 Enfield in .30-06.

Not to get into politics or anything, but I just saw the new “Invictus” movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela) and Matt Damon -- about the 1995 rugby World Cup. We enjoyed the film -- I'm curious how it's being received over in your neck of the woods?

Best,

Tom

http://www.vintage-gunlore.com>http://www.vintage-gunlore.com

P.S. I have a nice old 2-band MK III Snider Volunteer rifle made in England, but which supposedly came out of King Williams Town and was used during the 9th Kaffir War there by a local unit. I bought it from a dealer Down Under -- not sure how it got over there, though...    Yeah, Tom, we are running at 25 - 30 Celsius most days.  Can expect 30 plus in Feb running up to 40 occasionally.

You are doing the right thing getting back to casting.   Cast rifle bullets really need to be tailored to each rifle especially the old military stuff, and the fact is that you can only do that yourself.   The old 311290 mould is a nice one.   The modern RCBS silhouette moulds are nice, but I found that the most consistently concentric and dimensionally accurate moulds are Lee.   Even then you might have to polish out the bore riding portion.    

Ah, the kitchen stove !   I don't use hollow lube sticks, too expensive.  I buy the big commercial sticks, melt them in a small pan and pour hot into the lubricator.   Used to do it on the kitchen stove until one day I knocked the handle and spilled melted hard wax all over the stove and the floor for a radius of about six feet.    It got into nooks and crannies I didn't know were there.  Had to scrape it off and dig it out with a knife blade and clean up with thinners.   Took all day.

Slug the barrel.  I just slugged a P14.  Bore dia was 303 as it should be but groove was 313.   Bullet should therefore be 314.   Can't get a die in this part of the world so I polished out a 311 die.    You can then get the problem that if chamber is tight and brass thick you can't chamber the loaded round.

I wouldn't cast with 16:1.  Too soft.   Forget about tin unless you are going to hunt with them, then the whole alloy spec changes.   For range use you want them decently hard.   I have recently tested 8% antimonial alloy at 1600FPS with no leading.  That's the limit for plain base.   At 1800FPS I got a lot of leading.  

You can shoot 8% alloy to 2000FPS with gas check, possibly faster, but I recommend 10% antimony for those velocities.  It has to do with bullet deformation under pressure.   Honesty compels me to say that there is much argument about it and the guys seem to think WW are OK at 2000FPS.   I reckon you'll do better with decent hardness.   With respect, Americans get their raw materials dirt cheap compared with us, so I reckon a few cents per bullet for antimony is cheap enough.

I'm always happy to talk politics.  It's what dictates our lives whether we like it or not.   There is wide approval of the film here because it suits the mood of the majority.   I didn't bother to see it.   I've had a excess of liberation politics for the last fifteen years.   The world thinks we have democracy.  We don't.   We have government that does what it likes with the benefit of a 65% majority.   We are suffering from collapse of our systems because of a grotesque incompetence that would see it ejected anywhere else.   South Africa is very polarised between black and white.   Whites cling to western concepts of democracy and governance.   That makes us alien in our own country.   Which is why one million of our four million whites have emigrated since 1994.  That's as far as I'd better go as this forum is not for politics and I did not intend to disrespect that.

Best of luck with the casting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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billwnr posted this 23 December 2009

If you need a .314 diameter bullet I'd look at the Lyman 314299. The 311's usually don't come in bigger than .3115.

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Dicko posted this 24 December 2009

billwnr wrote: If you need a .314 diameter bullet I'd look at the Lyman 314299. The 311's usually don't come in bigger than .3115.

Generally true, Bill.   The mould is the Lyman 311332 that was a bit unusual dimensionally.   It is supposed to be for 308 cal, but it casts 313.   Originally the bore riding portion cast at 297 so I polished it out to 301 but overdid the job and ended up witth 303.   It is a tight push in the muzzle of my SMLE so when I slugged the barrel at 313 I figured this bullet is more suitable for the 303 British than 308.   Ideally I would prefer to size 314 but obviously can't, so I must be satisfied with bullet and groove the same.

The fact that it casts too big for 308 can clearly be seen when it is sized 308 or 309.  It squeezes down so much that the driving bands become distinctly wider than when sized 313 or even 311.

You never know what you'll get with moulds.   Most are close enough to intended dimensions but I've gotten used to the idea that I sometimes have to modify one.

 

 

 

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Tom in Pittsburgh posted this 04 January 2010

Thanks, Dicko,

I got started with 16:1 back when I was mostly shooting black powder cartridges, either with duplex or straight smokeless. I stuck with the same alloy over the years, and it has almost always done the job for me -- probably because most of my loading is for low-velocity 100-yard paper-punching. I have also used bullets cast from linotype whenever they seemed to perform better in some of my loads.

Will keep your advice in mind -- and have also sent you a PM.

Thanks, and best,

Tom 

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jazzman251 posted this 31 January 2010

I too would like to re-connect with Will Hafler. I always saw him at the Roulette show and then he just disappeared. Any contact info would be greatly appreciated.

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Tom in Pittsburgh posted this 31 January 2010

Will has resurfaced, and is back in limited operation from his new base out in Wyoming. Contact info:

Will Hafler

PO Box 264

Fort Laramie, WY 82212

I just got a bullet shipment from him, and they are the same high quality I have enjoyed from him over the past 20 years or so.

Tom

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Tugdriver posted this 29 October 2010

Hi All (Bill)

This will be my firts post on this forum.

As a caster i need all the info i can get,and this is the place to get it !!

Recently i have bought a Lyman 314299 mold.I got this .314 mould to make some CB's to feed my Lee-Enfield Nr4 MkII.

There's one problem...the mould does'nt cast .314 !!!  It casts a lot smaller. ...012-.013. So be very carefull if byeing Lyman molds.Just maybe i try to lap this mould to .314-.315 then i can size them to a full .314.The exact size i need !!

Anyone has the same problem with Lyman moulds??.Maybe some of you have other good moulds !!Let me now ,ok !

Thanks for this great forum

Greets to all

Frank

 

 

 

 

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Maven posted this 29 October 2010

Frank, You're not the only one who has got an undersized Lyman mold.  If you have the right equipment and don't rush things, it can be lapped out, or it can be sent out to be lapped.  However, you may want to contact Jim Allison of Cast Bullet Engineering, http://www.castbulletengineering.com>http://www.castbulletengineering.com as he has quite a few mold designs for the .303 British round...and his workmanship is first rate!

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RicinYakima posted this 29 October 2010

The other option is is cast some from an alloy with more antimony and/or tin. That will make the bullets larger. HTH, Ric

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Tugdriver posted this 29 October 2010

Thank you guys,

For the quick respons,just visited the Castbulletengineering website;

I think they have some promising molds for me,i will get in contact with Jim Allison and ask him what would be the best solution for me.Maybe i'll keep the .313 -314299 mold for my Eddystone P17 rifle,and get me a new one for the Enfield.

Some casters had give me the advice to send the mould back to Lyman, that seems ok if you are a American ,but as a European its a whole other ballgame!

I never did lapping on a mould,it looks to be easy,aldow i'm a little scared to ruin the mould.

As alloy i am using the Lyman #2 forrmula.so in my opinion there is plenty tin and antimony inside Could try to put in some more monotype in the melt and see what happens.If a could only gain a couple of thousend more?? 314 would be great.

any way,many thanks for the good advise !

Greets

Frank

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jimkim posted this 30 October 2010

You might “Beagle” the mould and get the desired diameter. http://www.lasc.us/Brennan4-0ModifyCastBullets.htm

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Tugdriver posted this 21 December 2010

Hi guys,

After my official complaint by mail to Lyman,they promised me to send me a brandnew 314299 mould.In fact...they kept there promise!!!

Today ,14 days later i have received a new mould from Lyman,together with 2 casted bullets.with that very mould.The bullets mesures .314.Ok...this is the size i need.

I think Lyman used the Lyman #2 alloy,the same alloy i try'd to duplicate .I will wait a couple of months before i'll casts some more bullets,untill the outside temperature gets warmer(springtime)I try to cast my bullets outside as mutch as possible.

Hope this new mould will cast some fine bullets,with the right size !!

Will keep you all informed.

Greetings from Belgium

Frank

 

 

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gunarea posted this 08 January 2011

Hey Frank

   We all have gotten moulds and dies from everywhere that just aren't right. You are not alone here. To get a little bigger size, run the temperature up. Hot moulds and hot alloy will produce larger and heavier projectiles from the same equipment. Frosted bullets are accurate. You will find many such tips here at CBA since we are all subject to commercial product production. Best of skill to you.

                                                                                                                    Roy  

Shoot often, Shoot well

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mrbill2 posted this 08 January 2011

Maven "it can be lapped out, or it can be sent out to be lapped." Where can I send molds to be lapped?

mrbill2

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