WIXLIB

Acknowledgements:I am a student of the gun; or perhaps more accurately, I am a student ofthe bullet. I learn something every time I cast, load or shoot. Such aneducation clearly did not take place in a vacuum. I have the unwaveringsupport of my lovely wife (who is still the nicest person I have ever met), acouple of great kids, and the most wonderful grandkids in the world (OK, so I’ma little biased!). My parents have always been loving and supportive teachers,who valued education (and paid for much of mine), ensuring that I would havethe ability to be a good provider. The resulting career has provided me with thewherewithal (and occasionally enough free time) to pursue those things thathave fascinated me since early childhood; guns, hunting, bullet casting andhandloading ammunition. Building upon that foundation are the contributions ofa multitude of teachers, who have taught me these things, as well asgunsmithing, metallurgy, machine work and the art of integrating all of thesedisciplines in the pursuit of my own personal vision of ballistic perfection. Thelist of such teachers is far too long for any sophomoric attempt at completeness, but there are several men that I have been privileged to call friend whoseguidance and insights must be acknowledged; Colonel Loveless of PleasantAcres (College Station, Texas), who taught me marksmanship and ethics as apart of the NRA Junior Marksmanship Program when I was growing up back incentral Texas; Dale Harber, who adopted me as a “kid brother” and took mehunting and nurtured my fascination with guns and handloading; Reo Rake,who got me started handloading and taught me the joys of the lead pot; LyleEckman, who taught me much, including how to shoot, listen and teach (onceagain, as a part of the NRA Junior Marksmanship Program); Dave Ewer, who ispatiently teaching me the art of gunsmithing, and has helped me rediscover thejoy of plinking; and John Taffin, for his guidance, advice and encouragement,for contributing to this book and for being a shining example of what agentleman and gun-writer should be. Each one of these men is a crack shot,seasoned competitor, knowledgeable handloader and darned fine man. Thankyou gentlemen.Lastly, I would like to thank Rob Applegate for being the ideal partner towrite this book with. Rob is the kind of man that is met all too rarely thesedays, unfortunately. He is a hard-working, good Christian man. He is honestand industrious not just because he was taught that was the right way for aman to handle himself, but because he simply cannot operate any other way. Itis his fundamental nature. He is a quiet gentleman, usually of few words, butwhen he speaks I listen, because Rob is a goldmine of knowledge on all thingsballistic (among other things). Rob is the kind of friend that you can walk formiles through the mountains with and never say a word, because nothing needsto be said -- the mountains, wildlife, wind and clouds speak volumes, and hehasn’t the rudeness to interrupt. He’s the kind of man that can be caught a mileand a half from the truck in his shirt sleeves in a surprise rainstorm and inconversation during the soggy walk back never once complain about theweather. He’s a giddy little boy who can spend hours out in his shop talkingabout the vice he made to cut mould blocks with, and while he’s justifiablyproud of his gadget, his real joy comes from the fact that his skills have createdthe ability to build new things, and to build them right. Much of Rob’s liferevolves around building things. My Mother taught me many years ago, “Any7

fool can destroy. It takes a real man to build.” Rob is a real man, a man whobuilds. He is a meticulous craftsman whose attention to detail is exquisitelyapparent from the exceptional quality of his work. His nickname is“Persnickety”, and for good reason. Rob, we live too far apart. We should gettogether more often; you and Marilyn are special people. Thanks for everything,my friend.This book is a partial summation of these educational gifts, my primarycontribution being my fascination with the subject and my unquenched desire tolearn (and shoot) more. If the reader finds this book enlightening, educationalor in some way of value, it is simply a reflection that I have been blessed withso many good teachers. Any flaws in the presentation are clearly my own.Glen FryxellKennewick, WashingtonWithout Glen, this book would most likely have never happened in itscompleteness of text on the subject of casting bullets for handguns. Hiseducation in the sciences put a finality to the quandary about how and whyalloys perform (or don't perform), both in the mould and in the bore. Glen isone of a handful of friends I have who looks past my stubbornness and basicanti-social behavior to have many deep discussions about cast bullet use andperformance.To the men who were responsible for my education and training (myfather, Uncle Rex, great-Uncle Gus Perot, etc.), I have said thank you andfarewell, for they have all passed from this earth, as I will one day also.I have a few of the dearest friends anyone could hope for. To them I owemany thanks, not only for their encouragement for me to keep writing, but inmany other things as well. For anyone who learns anything from this book, orwho receives much needed help of advice, you can thank my lovely wife Marilynfor sorting out my hand-written scribbling and putting it all into an intelligibletype-written manuscript. Without her, none of this would be possible.Each and every day, I thank God for the wonderful life I've had and forhis Son, Jesus, the Great Forgiver.Robert L. ApplegatePrineville, Oregon8

A few words about safety OK, let’s get one thing straight right from the beginning: casting bulletsfrom molten lead can be dangerous. So can handloading ammunition, shootinga gun, driving a car, or operating power tools. However, if one thinks about thehazards associated with each of these practices, recognizes what and wherethey are, applies a little common sense, follows established safe practices andtakes appropriate preventative precautions, the risks can be mitigated to thepoint that bullet casting is pretty much as safe as collecting butterflies. If youchoose to cut corners, ignore safety rules, be lackadaisical or just flat don’tthink about what you‘re doing, you will get burned, and you may well poisonyourself and those around you. Just like handloading, bullet casting is as safe oras dangerous as you make it.Bullet casting inherently involves hot metal, both the molten alloy thatwe fashion bullets from and the hot moulds and lead pots. Leather gloves are agood idea (and remember, a hot mould looks just like a cold mould, this is whywe put wooden handles on them!). Even very small splashes of molten lead cancause nasty burns and leather does wonders for preventing them. And lead potsdo splash -- when adding metal, stirring in flux, or if (heaven forbid!) theyencounter any moisture. Keep all sources of moisture well away from your leadpot! A single drop of water can empty a 10 pound lead pot explosively, coatingeverything in the immediate vicinity with molten lead. If your lead pot is out onan open work bench, even minor splashes mean that safety glasses are a must.I cast with my lead pot wholly enclosed in a laboratory grade fume hood, with aglass sash in place between my face and the lead pot. I leave the little leadsplatters in place on the glass sash as a reminder to myself as to how easilythese things happen, and for instructional purposes for any new casters that Imay be teaching.Good ventilation is very important to the bullet caster. My fume hoodalso serves to provide suitable ventilation, not only for the smoke coming offthe pot but also for the heavy metal fumes emanating from the pot. Lead fumesare an obvious concern, but more subtle is the fact that wheel-weight alloy alsocontains small amounts of arsenic. Arsenic is kind of a quirk in the periodictable in that it forms an oxide that is more volatile than the metal, and in factat lead pot temperatures, some forms of arsenic oxide are fully gaseous, so ifthe arsenic gets oxidized all of it evaporates from the lead pot and is easilyinhaled. Use of a reducing cover material helps to prevent this oxidation (seechapter on fluxing).Fumes are not the only exposure vector that we need to be aware of,teething children like to put anything small and chewable into their mouths,especially if it’s bright and shiny. This includes cast bullets and discardedsprues, making housekeeping an important issue if small children have accessto your casting area. This is easily dealt with, keep the sprues contained (heckjust recycle them!) and keep the bullets packaged and out of reach of smallfingers. Big fingers are an issue too: wash your hands thoroughly after eachand every casting session, and again before you eat.We’ve all heard about lead poisoning, but what does it really look like?9

The symptoms of lead poisoning in adults include: loss of appetite, a metallictaste in the mouth, constipation, pallor, malaise, weakness, insomnia,headache, irritability, muscle and joint pain, tremors and colic. Lead poisoningcan cause elevated blood pressure, sterility, and birth defects. The mostsignificant site of lead toxicity is the central nervous system, but lead poisoningalso impacts the red blood cells and chronic exposure to lead most often resultsin kidney problems. A child’s body is more efficient at absorbing and retaininglead than is an adult’s, and lead gets stored in a child’s growing bones. The netresult is that children are far more vulnerable to lead poisoning than are adults,and since their central nervous systems are still growing and developing, theimpact of lead poisoning on a child’s life can be far more severe than it mightbe for an adult, and may include brain damage, mental retardation, convulsionsand coma. Responsible handling of lead can prevent these exposures,symptoms and health hazards.Remember, safety first. Think about what you are doing, takeappropriate precautions, use adequate ventilation, and keep your lead out ofreach of small children. Bullet casting is a wonderful hobby and one that willallow you to get so much more out of your shooting, but just like handloading,bullet casting is only as safe (or as dangerous) as you make it.10

Chapter 1: IntroductionA Brief History of Bullet Casting: American IndependenceBullet casting contributed significantly to the independence of thewestern cowboy, trapper and mountain man. That independence is still valuabletoday. Just like the mountain man, once the modern caster buys a particularmould he can produce that bullet for the rest of his life, and he doesn’t have toworry about whether commercial bullet makers will alter or drop a particularfavorite from their line. The ability to produce countless thousands of identicalbullets for decades to come reveals what a miniscule investment a bullet mouldreally is.HistoryOriginally bullet moulds were made and sold by the firearms manufacturers themselves. Colt was an early player in the mould manufacturinggame, making ball and conical bullet moulds for their early cap-n-ball revolvers.Shortly after the advent of the self-contained centerfire (i.e. reloadable)cartridge more sophisticated reloading tools became available. Soon after S&Wgraduated from rimfire cartridges to their centerfire Number 3 .44 American in1870, they also added loading tools, including bullet moulds, to their productline. In the Remington catalogs of the 1870s are listed bullet moulds made bythe Bridgeport Gun Implement Co. (BGI was a partner company, started around1870 specifically to make loading tools for Remington). Winchester startedmaking iron-handled bullet moulds in 1875 (and in a humanitarian gestureadded wooden handles in 1890). In their 1876 catalog, Sharps advertised bulletmoulds to make paper-patched bullets for their popular and powerful rifles.Marlin (Ballard) was also making moulds in the 1870s, and in 1881 enlistednone other than John M. Browning’s input for a mould/loading tool that hedesigned and patented, and was subsequently manufactured by Marlin. TheMaynard 1873 cartridge had a 5-piece case, very thick cartridge head andBerdan primer. The Maynard loading tools had a bullet mould, as well as a hookand a chisel for prying the spent primers out of the spent cartridge case. One ofthe more unique moulds from this era is that for the Maynard exploding bullet,a HP designed to be fitted with a .22 blank cartridge, advertised in the 1885Maynard catalog in .40, .44 and .50 caliber. The 1870s were indeed a time ofgreat change in the firearms industry.In 1884 John H. Barlow took his experience as a shooter and as a tooland die maker and founded the Ideal Company, offering his patented tong toolsto reload spent cases, and later separate bullet moulds for those using benchmounted presses. These bullet moulds were either single cavity, or 6- or 7cavity Armory moulds, all with fixed handles at this point.The landscape was changing dramatically in the firearms industry in thelate 1800’s and early 1900’s, and John Barlow kept pace with his contributions.His Ideal Handbooks (first published in the 1880's) were the first reloadingguides published in America, of critical importance as shooters moved into therelatively uncharted territory of the then new smokeless powders. In IdealHandbook #4 (published in 1890), he described the use of cast hollow-pointedbullets for enhanced performance on game animals. In Ideal Handbook #9(1897) he unveiled the now familiar mould numbering scheme for Ideal's first150 mould designs. In 1906, Barlow patented the first American gas-checked11

cast bullet designs to take advantage of the higher velocities available from thenew smokeless powders (described later that year in Ideal Handbook #17). InMay of 1910, after leading the IdealManufacturing Co. for 26 years, Mr.Barlow retired and sold the company toThe Marlin Firearms Co., with whom hehad worked closely for many years.Marlin sold Ideal a few years laterduring the first World War to PhineasTalcott (but Marlin remained involvedwith production of the IdealHandbook). By 1925 things were notNote the lack of alignment pins and the handgoing well and Phineas Talcott sold thecut vent lines.struggling Ideal Reloading ToolCompany to the Lyman Gun SightCorporation (founded by William Lyman in 1878), along with the rights to theIdeal Handbook (which was later renamed “The Lyman Handbook“ with #27,published in 1926). Lyman scaled up manufacturing capacity and continuedproduction of the Ideal line of bullets moulds, using the Ideal name into the late1950s. During this time Lyman introduced interchangeable mould blocks in theirsingle cavity moulds (first advertised in the American Rifleman in 1927, andcataloged in 1931), and phased out the older fixed handle style. In 1940-1(Ideal Handbook #34), Lyman added a special retaining pin to hold their hollowpoint plug in place during casting. Interchangeable double cavity mould blocksdidn’t appear until after World War II (first listed in the Ideal Handbook #36,which was published in 1949), followed soon thereafter by venting lines cut inthe faces of the mould blocks. Interchangeable 4-cavity mould blocks wereintroduced in 1958. Lyman continues to produce many of these mould designsto this day.Early Ideal rifle bullets weredesigned not only by John Barlow,but also by such notable shootersas Harry Pope, Col. TownsendWhelen, and Phil Sharpe, amongothers. In the early 1920s, avociferous northwestern cowboy,rancher and competitive shooternamed Elmer Keith went toAn Ideal Armory mould for the 360344 wadcutter.Belding & Mull with some of hisideas for experimental revolver bullets. Belding & Mull made the moulds(interestingly, B&M moulds were made out of solid nickel) and Keith assembledand evaluated many test loads using these bullets. Keith learned much fromthese experiments with cast bullet design, but he never quite got to where hewanted to be. In 1928, shortly after Lyman bought the Ideal Co., he turned toLyman and asked them to make some bullet moulds according to his optimizeddesigns. Thus was born the Keith SWC. The Keith SWC's have 3 equal widthdriving bands, a square-cut grease groove, a beveled crimp groove, a sharpwad-cutting shoulder, a compound-radiused ogive for stable long-range flight,and a healthy, meat-crushing meplat. They have proven themselves over thelast three quarters of a century as some of the finest revolver bullets of all12

time. The original Keith SWC was for his beloved .44 Special (#429421), butKeith/Lyman went on to produce similar moulds in other calibers (e.g. .357,.45, etc.) and in hollow-base and hollow-point variations.Similar fixed handle moulds were also made by the Yankee SpecialtyCompany. These were made out of bronze and were commonly cut with thesame designs as used by Ideal, including the Keith SWC's. Yankee Specialtymade 1, 2 and 3 cavity moulds, as well as HP moulds (they claimed to haveover 600 designs available). Yankee Specialty was in business from 1916 untilthe owner died in 1954, although their business volume after 1940 was small.Yankee moulds are commonly unmarked and have simple cylindrical woodenhandles that are wired on (although a few are reported to have ferrules).Things got busy on the American bullet casting scene in the secondquarter of the 20th century. George Hensley was a machinist involved in themanufacture of all sorts of things (like bicycles, a gasoline fired marine engine,etc.), as well as doing general machine work and repair, with his company thathe started in 1893. In 1932, he started turning out some top-notch mouldsfrom his shop in San Diego in response to the demand for multiple cavitymoulds needed by police departments. The P.D.'s had to supply practiceammunition for their officers and needed moulds capable of casting largernumbers of bullets than what was generally available at the time. The GreatDepression meant that budgets were tight, and affordable practice ammo wasa significant need, just as it is today.James Gibbs was a farm boy from theMidwest who was very mechanicallyinclined and was operating a smallgunsmithing shop on his own.James met up with George Hensley inthe late 1930s as a result of theircommon interest in firearms, and Mr.Hensley quickly saw James’ talentsA copy of the Ideal 452423, made by Yankeeand the two struck on an agreementSpecialty Co. with integral handles (Yankeefor James to help George out in theSpecialty also made a few moulds withinterchangeable blocks). This Depression-erashop making moulds. Hensley &mould is made from bronze, not iron.Gibbs worked together from 1938 to1940, when George became too oldto work in the shop. Eventually, he sold the business to James in 1950. Thepartnership of Hensley &

a little boy, he sat in stillness and watched with awe as his father patiently dismantled his sporting weapons and carefully cleaned and oiled each part before reassembling the rifle, revolver or shotgun upon which he was plying his gifted skills. This interest continued