tlkeizer
posted this
27 February 2016
Greetings,
Others may have better answers, but what I was told is most molds are set for wheel weights, and most of my lead alloys are heavier. Of course, I may be waaaay off base, but I think that is the reason for heavier bullets and all mine are heavier than mold designation to some degree.
Also, when I get new lead, in a Lee pot I melt a bunch, then pour into biscuit tray segments equally. Melt a bunch more, then pour on top of first pouring, repeating a few times. After cooling, I repeat the process with the “biscuits” to make a large batch of lead that is pretty much the same. Then, when I pour bullets, I use the biscuits in my small melting pot and ladle the lead into the molds, starting to keep the bullets when the edges are crisp. That reduces my variance a lot. I keep like sets of lead separated so when I add a biscuit to the ladle pot it is the same batch as the lead in it already.
I don't use a thermometer, and would surely get less variance if I used one. I get a cadence going with putting the sprue back in the pot as I cast, and as Gary writes the cadence helps consistency a lot, and shoot more so you get more practice in casting (sic).
Hope this helps. Others are a lot more exacting than I, but my goal is heart of caribou, not 10-X. At this point I am meeting my goal at 100 yards with my TD's. Maybe someday I will go back to X's and rings, depends on if my back will ever let me shoot prone again.
TK