Everyone that starts out casting bullets gets a little discouraged, from what one reads in the gun forums. Casting is easy but not simple; a lot of processes are involved that have to be learned first and perfected later. Hopefully you’ve read some books, studied websites, and finally put together your equipment. You expect some difficulties and you’ll probably have some. Even the people who sell bullet molds tell you that your first attempts will be less than perfect.

You can cast good bullets using cooking utensils on your kitchen range, but not easily or in quantity, and probably putting relationships at risk. I like to cast outdoors on a nice day, once or twice a year, so my setup is geared toward that end. Everything shown here was purchased at resale shops or yard sales except the large casting pot and the bullet mold.

QUICK NOTE: Why do I call them "Boolits" instead of "Bullets"? You will run into that term often, usually without explanation. My own definition is that a beautiful projectile lovingly crafted, lubricated, and placed atop a charge of Black Powder deserves an extraordinary appellation.

RIGHT TO LEFT: Muffin ingots from Wheel weights (see the Smelting section). These go into the Feeder Pot above them, which today is a small Lee melter originally designed for ladle casting. I use it to fill the Lee bottom pour 20 lb. pot using the ladle shown. The spoon is for skimming both pots. Candles are for fluxing if necessary. The stick is used to rap on the mold’s hinge pin if boolets are reluctant to drop out. Note that the casting pot has scraps of marble under it as a mold support, this is a larger target to return the mold onto, and allows it to slide forward easily while filling. Resting on that is a Lee six cavity aluminum mold for casting .38 caliber "Snakebite Greasewagon" boolits designed for Blackpowder use. Both pots are screwed by the edges to the plywood, which is clamped to the table. No tipping! Behind the casting pot is a pan with a wet towel in it. Left of that is a cardboard box with old towels to catch boolits and sprues.

Note the industrial thermometer in the pot. Fluctuating temperatures were the cause of a lot of my early problems in casting, and I find it a BIG help.

This setup is geared to SPEED CASTING, meaning that when you really get cranking and have plenty of lead at a consistent temperature, and boolits are falling like rain, you don’t want to stop for anything until you absolutely have to. It is a great feeling. Let’s get going: this procedure happens quickly so I’ll step through it in detail as it happens. Starting a run, I count ....

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