Each year as new members join, we see more questions and comments on bullet casting. This is not really surprising, as casting bullets isn't generally considered as being necessary to a well-rounded education these days. I'd like to take this opportunity to dispel some popular myths about bullet casting and pass along some of the things I've learned about it in the last 30+ years. Let's start with some of the myths.

YOU CAN'T CAST LARGE BULLETS WITH A BOTTOM POUR POT. YOU HAVE TO USE A LADLE

Nothing could be further from the truth. I've cast bullets as heavy as 900 grains using a bottom pour pot and they cast very nicely indeed. Every bottom pour pot I've ever used has had some method for controlling the flow of the molten metal. My Lyman Mag 20 will fill a one- pound ingot mold in 10 seconds. That is a flow rate of 700 grains per second. How much faster do you need? Colonel Harris of the NRA staff once commented that the ideal flow rate for bullet casting was about 100 grains per second. This allowed the air in the mold to escape and not get trapped forming unwanted air bubbles. This leads into our next myth:

YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE POUR HOLE LARGER SO THE METAL WILL FLOW FASTER

If this were a true statement, why would the manufacturers of these pots not put larger holes in them to begin with and not put any type of flow control on them? Any time I cast, I've always adjusted my flow rate down to 250 grains per second or less depending on the mold and bullet size. Seldom do I experience air bubbles. I'll cover pouring techniques later on.

KEEP YOUR CASTING TEMPERATURE AROUND 700 TO 750 F FOR BEST RESULTS

I used to adhere to this theory until I did some research and experimentation. You can cast good minies at these temperatures, but your weights will be more consistent if you cast at 750 to 850 F. I freely admit that these higher temps will slow your casting rate, but the better bullets cast with fewer rejects will offset the time loss.

ADDING 1% TIN TO YOUR LEAD WILL HELP THE LEAD FLOW BETTER AND FILL OUT THE MOLD EASIER

This myth is true. But if you factor in the additional cost of pure tin, it raises the cost of your bullets by 10% or more. If you don't mind, I don't mind. One other factor to consider, the tin will also add to your alloy hardness. Here again, if you don't care, neither do I.

There are other, less important myths that I've seen, but these are the most common ones. Some people are concerned with pots dripping. This is annoying, but usually easily fixed by removing the plunger and cleaning the hole at the bottom of the pot. Unless, of course, you rebored the hole too large. Then you will need to get it welded shut and redrilled to the proper size. Now that I've alienated half the readers of this BB, let me tell you how I do it. This will give you the ammo you need to prove me wrong.

Starting with leftover sprue from the last casting session, I put about 18 pounds of metal in the pot. This allows me to flux and stir without slopping over the sides. While the pot is heating, I preheat my mold on a single burner electric hot plate turned on high. By the time the metal is ready for casting, the mold is also. I still throw the first 5 back, but it probably isn't necessary. During any given casting session, I only flux and stir at the beginning. For flux, I use Ivory Flakes, one teaspoon per 20 pound pot. Someone recently suggested Borax. I'll give this a try and get back to you.

As I mentioned earlier, now that I know the advantages of steady heat as well as high heat, I use a lead thermometer as part of my casting procedure. I strive to hold my heat at 800 F, but it will fluctuate as more metal is added. When casting minies, I add a one-pound ingot every twelve casts to keep a consistent lead level in the pot. This also contributes to better, more consistent, quality bullets by maintaining a constant "head" pressure on the flowing metal.

Most bottom pour pots come with some type of mold guide or it may be purchased separately as an extra. Or if you wish, make your own to suit your fancy. These do two very important things for you: (1) support the weight of the mold, (2) allow you to control and adjust the distance from the bottom of the pour spout to the top of the sprue plate. This distance should be ¼ to 3/8 of an inch on a regular basis. This space allows you to monitor the flow into your mold without any appreciable heat loss and control where your pour is going.

The biggest cause of air bubbles is pouring directly into the center of the hole in a three- piece mold. This is an almost certain guarantee of trapping air and a hole in the base of the bullet. The flowing metal should hit the chamfered edge of the hole in the sprue plate and then swirl down into the mold. This allows proper clearance for the air in the mold to escape and helps with overall mold fill out. Excess metal on the top of the sprue plate will ensure that the bullet nose will finish filling out properly. The bigger the sprue, the better.

Casting bullets one at a time with a three-piece mold is slow work. The new RCBS molds with an integral third piece are faster than the Lyman style, but you are still looking at a rate of about 200 per hour. If you have any idea how many bullets you use in a years time, this will give you an idea of how much casting is in store for you,

We are fortunate in that our molds are nose pour molds. This fact gives us an excellent guarantee that the base of our bullets will be true and square. This is not always the case with a base pour bullet and it is common knowledge that the base is the most import part of a bullet as far as accuracy is concerned. It is amazing what can be done to the nose of a bullet and still get reasonable accuracy from it, but it only takes a slight deformity in a bullet base to cause flyers.

Many years ago, the American Rifleman did a very in-depth study of this subject using M-1s and M-14s with ball ammo. They found that bullet noses required significant deformation of some type to affect acceptable accuracy, while even a slight nick in the base would send the bullet flying to parts unknown. This is also why a muzzle crown must be true with the bore and undamaged. If any part of a bullet base departs the barrel before any other, the resultant escaping gases will cause the bullet to skew out of line and "fly".

WHAT IS A "QUALITY" MINIE?

By my definition, a quality minie is one with no visible defects that match weighs to plus or minus ½ grain of base weight. These bullets are not that hard to cast using the techniques I've outlined above. I do and have done literally thousands of these every year for 30 + years. I feel that if you can cast bullets at all, then you have the capability to make "quality" ones. If you wish to make your definition read differently than mine, that is your right. But don't be shocked if you experience unexpected for flyers. Quality is as quality does.

I'm sure you have noticed that I have not advocated casting with a ladle. This is not because I think it impossible to do good casting with a ladle, it just means that I can't. For those of you who do use a ladle, more power to you, but do it for the right reasons, not to satisfy a myth

I sincerely hope that this article provides someone with some help. Or at least provides a guide for what can be accomplished with just a little attention to detail. While you may not agree with everything I've said here, I can prove every claim I've made. As the great Dizzy Dean once said, "If you can do it, it ain't bragging."