question for those who reload their own ammunition

do you guys know if soy candle wax can be used to flux lead in the melting pot? i dont have a regular candle but have soy candles all over and have a 10 lb pot of wheel weights i am smelting to make .38 Spl bullets for my reloading. i am using a lee production pot for smelting.

i guess in a pinch i could try it and if it doesnt work it will just burn up?

Also, do you know where i can get the solder lead / tin bars used by plumbers?

any tips appreciated.

thank you!

Pouring your own bullets? That different. When i used to target shoot i would buy the bullet and just load the cartrige myself.

Pouring your own bullets? That different. When i used to target shoot i would buy the bullet and just load the cartrige myself.

yes, i have access to a lot of free lead via old dive weights , giant sinkers, wheel weights etc....

i bought a lead melting pot to smelt it and am going to pour my own .38 spl bullets to reload as well as make my own sinkers. i was paying about 3.00 for a pack of sinkers so i figured if i can make some why not. since i am already going to pour my own bullets.

i was reloading only with purchased bullets but its getting a bit challenging to find .38 spl bullets for a cheap price. i usually pay about 15.99 + shipping for a pack of 100 and with a 6 bullet mold i should be able to pump out 100 bullets relatively quickly after cleaning the lead up.

i'll post up some photos when i get to pouring a batch.

Its been a while since i loaded anything, its been 20 years since i loaded shotgun shells or bullets..oh well let me know how the bullets work.

If I'm telling you something you already know then I apologize, but I thought it worth mentioning since I was really into shooting years ago.  I cast thousands of bullets, (one at a time) once everthing is in place and on temp you can trun them out pretty fast.

Anyway, you know that after casting they need to be sized and lubed? Or at least they used to, it was a long time ago.

About 30 years ago (things may have changed) the reading I did said that the alloy used to make wheel weights was perfect for bullet casting as pure lead is too soft not to mention expensive. That's all I used and never had a problem.  Of course back then all lube was wax, now I believe they use some type of graphite, or something other than the old style wax.

hi dale,

im glad you could share your experience as you had done it a lot more than myself.

yes, the lee molds i have claim they dont need sizing but i do it anyhow being that the only real way to get a casted bullet true it to size it after casting. before and after sizing the bullets are lubed with liquid alox from Lee. this keeps the sizing die from getting fouled by lead and also keeps the barrel of the gun from building up lead. when it dries its like some sort of laquer finish. i did also reload before with Speer wadcuttters that had some waxy coating. they worked ok but still leaded up the barrel a bit after 50 rounds. i think the liquid alox is supposed to be better.

i bought 500 copper plated rainier wad cutters and they were oversized due to the plating so i had to push all of those through the sizer as well. the copper plated bullets are nice and clean but i was not prepared to have to size those as well. oh well, live and learn.

the lee mold im going to put to work this week are 125 Gr FP's. i am going to make these a little harder and see how they shoot for targets on paper. i have been melting the dive weight bags which i have collected over the years. the lead beads come out and make harder ingots than the wheel weights so they probably have more tin in them. they sure melt fast and clean though and are real easy to process. the wheel weights smell and smoke a bit.

i'll post up some photos later of when i can. sinkers are next!

If I'm telling you something you already know then I apologize, but I thought it worth mentioning since I was really into shooting years ago.  I cast thousands of bullets, (one at a time) once everthing is in place and on temp you can trun them out pretty fast.

Anyway, you know that after casting they need to be sized and lubed? Or at least they used to, it was a long time ago.

About 30 years ago (things may have changed) the reading I did said that the alloy used to make wheel weights was perfect for bullet casting as pure lead is too soft not to mention expensive. That's all I used and never had a problem.  Of course back then all lube was wax, now I believe they use some type of graphite, or something other than the old style wax.

If you melt your own lead, make sure you do it in a well-ventilated area.

i heard that! i use a respirator when making my casting. also use a fan to blow air away from where i am malting and casting.

If you melt your own lead, make sure you do it in a well-ventilated area.

Hey John go over and ckeck out (The Fireing Line) forums, those guys now their stuff, they were very helpful to me when I needed to choose my semi auto pistol. sorry no link I am a computer more-on

Hey John go over and ckeck out (The Fireing Line) forums, those guys now their stuff, they were very helpful to me when I needed to choose my semi auto pistol. sorry no link I am a computer more-on

thanks for the info! much appreciated!