17 cal. cast bullets

L

Les B

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Some40 yrs ago I made this set up to cast 17 cal. 22.5 gr lead bullets. I had a 17Ack. Bee and wanted a bullet which would be similar to a 22 LR for shootingsquirrels. I used a HS end mill of .250 dia. and ground it down to .180. Thepicture shows the rest of the set up. After casting I used a sizer die to trueup the dia. and lube at the same time to .178. With 2 grs of Bulleye I had whatI wanted. The twist was not correct for this size bullet and I never did trywith a 1/16 twist. I learned how to make what I wanted and if we get to thispoint in time I could make up any size which I might need to hunt game. A lotof experiments took place during WW11 on barrel making and bullet making.
Istarted with a HS end mill of .250 dia. and then ground the body down to .180dia. Next I ground the shape of the noseof the bullet, then ground a couple of grease grooves. The blocks were milled and attached to Lyman handle and I could make mybullets.
17 cast bullet 22.5 grs.jpg


17 cast bullet 22.5 grs.jpg
 
I did not think the 17 has been around that long. I do not have one, just 22's and 223's for varmits. I would like to cast some bullets again if I can find a good source for lead or a decent price. My wife thru away most of my casting stuff years ago because she did not know what it was and did not see me use it. She is still around, but does not throw any of my stuff away anymore. I still load and trying to find a good source for lead and will need some equipment and some molds for sure as I have got more guns now than I had before.
I would like to see different angles of your molds and how you attached them to the handles as the pics do not show a good angle. If I do get into casting again I might make some molds for 223, 45, 357 and 9.
Paul
 
If you have a dentist buddy, his hasmat is your new source. The wafers you bight down on for xray have dead soft lead sheets in them. It melts a dream.
 
LEEQ,
I think they are doing away with that type of xray because they don't want lead in your mouth. It does take a long time to get a lot of lead that way unless the Denist is real busy. I am trying to get range scrap from the club I belong too but the older guys got dibbs for now and are getting old so maybe a good shot for the lead. Boat docks and scuba are good sources too. I am getting a lot of once fired stuff from the range when I have range duty. This Monday there is Police qualifications all day and I plan to be there as Range Officer and get some empty 40's for my Son-in-Law since he bought me the dies for his gun. He also got me some dies that I had a hard time finding today for my 9x18.
Paul
 
Sailboat ballasts, car battery terminals and connectors, wheel weights, and others range scrap is a great place for lead.

Just make sure your range doesn't make a profit from the lead they collect and recycle or it would be unfair to them if you took some without asking.
 
Very nice. How do you get a good pour into the cavity of such a small mould? Do you have a bottom pour smelting pot? It must be messy affair to use a ladle? What alloy do you mix? Can you do this with pure lead and get a good fill? I have been wanting to cast bullets for airgun use. I have been discouraged by the experts to attempt the .17 because the length required gets a bit long and is difficult to stabilize at airgun velocities, too fast a twist rate causes too much drag, the bore is also so small that ya cant port enough air without locking up the valve and getting tank dump. Just the type of challenges to make it interesting!
I currently shoot 88gr cast bullets in a .257 caliber air rifle that is 1050fps and nearly 200/ft lbs It shoots 20 shot 3/4" groups @ 100yrds
 
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