Sunday, November 16, 2014

Casting BoooooLets Almost





I managed to clear a path and actually put some stuff away in the shop this afternoon. All the honey harvesting equipment is now stored and out of the way and believe it or not I discovered my reloading bench once again!!!

I still have some work to do out there. I got bored pretty quick this afternoon. There are still tools and boxes of screws scattered all over hell and gone. Seems like every thing I used all Summer long managed to make it back into the shop to be laid on whatever horizontal surface I had and not put back where it belongs. Extension cords, power tools and scrap lumber still litter the floor but I made a good dent.

It didn't help that I stopped to count how many .38 slugs I had cast and left over from last year (526 if your curious).  That means here shortly I need to pump out another 700 or so to have more than enough to load up my goal of 1200 .38 cartridges this Winter. I store them in boxes of 50 that fit almost perfectly at 12 boxes (600 total)  in one regular 50 cal ammo can. I didn't bother to count out the .38 cases as I am sure the five coffee cans I have left will more than cover the brass side of things. If I need to I can switch to .357 as I know I have about 500 cases stored up in that caliber.

So after I counted the bullets I decided to fire up my little smelter and make sure it was working. Of course after that I had to flux the metal that was left in the pot just to be sure you know. Then I put a few of the wheel weights I have collected all Summer into the pot because well it was already liquid and I might as well get it full. More fluxing.... Now what was I suppose to be doing? Oh ya.

I managed to stop myself short of actually casting anything this afternoon. There really wasn't enough open space on the work bench. One more cleaning and organizing session is in order and I think I will wait until it's a bit warmer than 27 degrees out as my little heater out there doesn't keep up when it's in the 20's.

Once I get into production I will do a step by step post with pictures of the process. I still need to lube and size the ones I have left over anyway plus the new ones I will cast. All this shooting I been hearing around the place has kinda got me excited about reloading once again.

Sounds like many a hunter has been bagging their deer this year and I have seen a few hauling down the road already.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!


6 comments:

  1. Sounds like what my basement looks like.
    Elk season here now.

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    1. MV - I try and put everything away but by the end of Summer I am usually so rushed I just toss it in. Oh well gives me a chance to see whats broke or lost at one time this way :)

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  2. Now that it is much, much cooler, Senior needs to get back to his re-loading. He needs to pump out some 9mm for me. : )

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    1. JuGM - I need to buy a 9mm mold or two. I don;t own a 9mm but I have a bunch of cases I collected over the years from the range and thought I would press some out for a few friends. Maybe it'll be a good excuse for me to buy one :)

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  3. Reloading is something I've never done but then I've only got a license for a shotgun so I doubt it would be worth it. I do need to order some more cartridges though, I've got a days shooting just after Christmas booked in, pheasant and ducks. Should be fun and plenty for the freezer.

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  4. You can always find things to do be it summer or winter.

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