Would it be practical to cast bullets from no-longer-usable brass? Assume jacketed bullets too expensive and you already have large stockpiles of cases. With carbide swaging dies and regular bullet molds would it be practical to melt the brass and cast bullets from it?

thank you

If you have enough pressure and hard enough dies, you can swage anything.

But Mullins, if you are really that worried about the end of the world, why not just pick up a couple thousand pounds of lead and not worry about it?

quote:

if you are really that worried about the end of the world, why not just pick up a couple thousand pounds of lead and not worry about it?

Sorry, but you are missing the point. I was just looking into recycling. Plus, wouldn't a brass bullet be "greener" than a lead one? What about lead fouling in the bbl?

I'm just doing thought experiments here.

Actually I intend to stockpile several thousand projectiles of a couple of weights. I was just thinking outside the box.

You mentioned "hard enough dies". Would Lee carbide dies be of sufficient hardness?

Compared to lead, brass is pretty tough stuff. Copper has a Brinell harness of 35. Pure lead is about an 8. Anything above about a 12 or 14 on the Briness scales, requires special (read expensive) dies to swage.

B Mullins.
Interesting idea. Casting a solid brass, or copper bullet without rings would make it very hard to resize, but if multiple rings were cast with the bullet then resizing I think would be doable using regular dies. How would you cut the spruce? At what tempture do these metals melt? Who makes the moulds?

Brass melts at 1650+ F, versus ~625 for lead.

Split the difference.

Richard Corbin has info and dies to put a lead core into brass cases and make bullets with the brass for a jacket. rceco.com.

As said, yes, you can make brass bullets. It is A LOT more work than lead bullets. Higher melt temps. More expansion/contraction. Dies to suit. You can do it but bring money, LOTS. Happy trails.

http://castboolits.gunloads.co...owthread.php?t=72253

Making bullets from brass cases. Not casting but swagging.
Frank

At the risk of sounding "Holier than Thou", please do not buy into the "lead is bad" myth unless you are driving an electric car.

In direct answer to your question, which I will paraphrase as "Is it practical to recycle used brass cartridge cases by recasting them into bullets?"....in words of one sylable, in my opinion "No, It Is Not".

If it was, many of us would already be doing it, every day.

It is not that it hasn't been thought of, many times. It is that when one thinks it through, it just isn't practical.

First a person would have to have the special moulds for doing it. They would also need to obtain other equipment for handling and processing the "melt" safely from initial heating until the finished product was room temperature.

Second, they would need a source of heat far beyond what most home workshops currently have except in the form of welders.

Third, there would need to be more than just a "casting" phase to the process, if the end result was to be "precision" bullets. Some final "sizing" and or "shaping" process would be needed. That could be grinding, swedging, turning, or whatever, but it would be required to reach the consistent dimensions, weights, and shapes required for good usable bullets.

The result is, it is more practical to collect one's old brass, sell it to a metals recycler at a good price, and use the money to buy, cast, or otherwise obtain bullets made some other way or of some other material.

Your idea is admirable, but so far it is impractical for the great majority of shooters.