I cast bullets an eon ago when I was a kid using a Lyman 450 sizer, Lyman and H&G moulds with a gas furnace. I gave all of my gear away to my nephew years ago and now need to resupply.

I intend to cast maybe several hundred various rifle bullets per year, with say two to three thousand pistol bullets. This would be a near maximum figure. I buy commercial cast for the autos so really only need to cast some premium Keith style bullets for my revolvers. Along with possibly one or two of the heavy LBT designs for hunting.

What should I do for a sizer? Are the Lymans still good quality and all I need?

I'd like to get an electric furnace so I can cast in the garage in the Winter. I already have a workbench with a range hood for exhaust I can install to vent the heat and harmful vapors. Any thoughts on a good electric furnace?

I intend to buy a few LBT and possibly ballisti cast moulds.

Thanks,

FN in MT

Hi Frank,

Getting back into the game is a good thing! I can't help with the rifles- there's a hunnert people here that can provide all the advice you need though.

I write a monthly article for the club I belong to....here's the advice I offer....

It reeeely depends on how much money you want to spend. If you're like me, money isn't as available as I'd like it to be. For several thousand pistol bullets you can get away very cheaply- I recommend a Lee 6 cavity or two, and a Lee bottom pour furnace. Lee again for the sizer and Lee's liquid earwax for lube. I cast about 15,000 pistol bullets yearly- therefore I use H&G, Lyman and a custom mould from Mountain Moulds. But, I use Lee's stuff for all the rest of the bullet processing tasks. The Lee push-thru sizing dies work great and the liquid earwax (liquid allox) is cheap, very easy to apply and quite effective. Likewise I use a Lee bottom pour 20# pot and have done so for a long time.

There's lots of folks that won't use a Lee mould and I'm one of them. They cast good bullets but I find the aluminum blocks to be very fickle- aluminum is a much better conductor of heat than steel or iron. When I cast, I'm casting at least two types of bullet at once, rotating the moulds. Because the aluminum blocks conduct heat quickly, they often cool between pours- or worse, one part of the block cools, leaving you to dig out more wrinkled bullets than with other moulds. However, for a few thousand bullets, a Lee will do just fine. I do own 4 or 5 Lee 6 cavity moulds- my rationale is that a box of commercial cast bullets costs almost as much as the 6 cavity mould (more so if you get a deal on the mould at Ebay). So, to test a bullet style, it makes sense to buy a Lee mould knowing that you will retire it in short order. If your pistol does not shoot a particular style well, at least you have something to trade with when you're done. You really don't have that option with a half-used box of commercial bullets. I've got two unusable Lee moulds- a .44 wadcutter and a .44 200g SWC- neither shoot worth a damn out of my 629. The rest of the Lee moulds on my shelf cast very accurate and usable bullets.

I suspect if you're like us here that you will become addicted to casting- you'll get deeper into the passtime than what you originally suspect. If that's the case, buy the very best mould you can afford....as you would with any other tool on your bench.

Good luck and welcome back to casting!

Sizer -- I'd get an RCBS unless you can afford a Star. The Lee push-thru's are useful for sizing rifle bullets without bumping the nose, but you'll still need some way to apply lube. Definitely go with the RCBS sizing dies as the quality of some of Lyman's recently manufactured dies was dissapointing.

Pot -- Depends on whether you want to ladle or bottom pour. Ladle, get an RCBS ladle and a Lee non-bottom pour pot, preferably 20 lb. Bottom pour, forget the Lee and be prepared to spend serious money for an RCBS unit.

Frank, the vast majority of my pistol and revolver needs are met by Lee. The push-through dies and earwax also serves well. Even with my stiff 44mag loads. There is some frustration involved when you get a bad mold but Lee WILL grease the squeeky wheel. Good luck, glad too have you back!

For a sizer, I would recommend a Star without hesitation. I had an RCBS and now have two Stars. I bought them on Ebay for about 2/3 the price of a new Star from Magma Engineering. The Lee push through sizers work very well and so does Lee Liquid Alox. I prefer to fill just the lube grooves and I use Felix's lube. Super stuff, that Felix Lube!

For the furnace, I bought a used RCBS on Ebay for a little over $100. I see them occasionally for $100.00 to $150. I wouldn't trade my RCBS furnace for any other. I have two Lees and hope to never use them again. The RCBS furnace is guaranteed for life, even if bought used. Turbo

I second the votes for the RCBS casting furnace for bottom-pour casting. FAR superior to the two Lees it replaced.

Lee molds are "iffy"--if you have time to finish building them, they can be fine tools. The six-cavity Lees seem to be better-made than the two-holers. I much prefer RCBS molds in the mass-produced category, and NEI and Mountain Molds in the semi-custom/custom venue. Lymans often need a bit of finishing, just like the Lee products--but they cost more than twice what a Lee does.

I haven't bought a Lyman H&I die in several years, and mine are fine tools. So are the RCBS, as is a sizer made for me by Mountain Molds for the otherwise non-existent 9.3mm.

Conclusion--the past several months have become VERY busy at work, and have cut into my casting and shooting time greatly. I don't have time right now for balky molds or extensive R&D projects to get a firearm acting right. That will have to wait 19 months and 3 days when I retire. In the meantime, I try to get GOOD tools that don't require a lot of tweaking to get good results from.

Turbo, Deputy Al,

Why do y'all dislike the Lee furnace?

I am getting tired of the camp stove routine and thinking about buying a furnace. I see the Lee is not expensive, and I do not want a bottom pour.