Lead Pots

I've come to the conclusion that it is an uphill battle to continue to try to cast large lead bullets with my itty-bitty Lee lead pot. Dad gave me this pot for my birthday. I suppose he didn't think I'd really use it or maybe he was just too careful with his money. I need something to cast quantities of the larger lead bullets for my .45-75. That thing is going to eat some lead.

I've been looking at the Lyman and RCBS pots. Most good words have been said about the Lyman pots and they should have it down pat by now! However, RCBS seems to be made by the same manufacturer. I wonder why they are not so highly rated? Not enough experience perhaps? And the prices! Good gracious the prices on these things have gone up. Oh, I know that it is reasonable given the value of the dollar but it is a shock to the system.

Lyman Mag 20 Furnace

In any case I'd like another pot/furnace. A couple of years ago I cast up a quantity .730" round ball and tried to cast some .575" "minies". It was soon apparent that the upper limit for the current pot was about 300 gr. Bullets requiring more metal just weren't easy to do. Why? Because the pot couldn't melt enough metal to keep the mold(s) hot and produce good bullets. The small 4 lb capacity was soon exhausted by casting these large bullets of around 450-500 gr. then the mold would go cold while waiting for the next pot full of metal to reach casting temperature. This does for a lower volume shooter (maybe) but not for me.

So, I guess I'll be getting a new pot. I'll just have to save some money or luck onto a good used pot at a yard sale or something...