I have been using 185gn cast LEE with gas check and lubed and power them with 13gns Red Dot......awesome load and devastating on bunnies.....
A lot of talent here commenting on what works, take it to the bank.
I have Saeco (Thanks Swabby for selling it to me), Lyman sizer bullet lubricators plus the Lee sizing dies. All serve a purpose but you can easily do the job with the low cost Lee units and sacrifice nothing on results.
Take time to study castbullet site, lots of good info there. If you are serious, spend the time to read all the "stickies" which is a speed course in bullet casting lessons learned.
Failed to say earlier: my .311, .312, .313 and .314 sizing dies allow me to load and shoot Enfields, Arisaka and Mosin rifles with bullets precisely made to fit bores of those rifles. One other thing, cast bullets are gentle to old rifles and don't wear out bores. On pistols: same thing, zero bore wear.
So, proper .314 sized bullet driven out of a WWI era Lithgow No1MkIII* with worn bore, will routinely shoot 2 MOA at 300 meters. It has done better and if I am off, it will do worse. On average 2 MOA with iron sights may be not a bad average for 67 yr old eyes.
Making your own bullets means you never are out of bullets. Never out of the right bullet for a specific rifles bore. Lots of folks avoid casting but those that try it find its a great benefit to the shooting life.
Just know this: find sources of lead and wheel weights before you sink money into gear. If wheel wt. are not available in your area, it is a game changer.
If you have sources: buy up a large supply pronto. Then start casting and sizing bullets to properly fit your bore. You can get into gas checking bases later when you want to push the bullets faster.
One note: gas checks are a added cost and sometimes Hornady (cheapest I could find) supply dries up and there are voids of availability. I solved that problem for eternity by buying t he gear to make my own checks (total was $150 in gear) and never looked back. At $30 per 1000 (that was the cost a few yrs ago), my gear paid for itself inside a year of s hooting cast bullets . I make 11 checks for a penny now and I have a awesome load of Unique powder, 170 gr Lee bullet, .314 gas checked hard alloy, Carnuba bullet lube loading that costs me 10 cents a shot (current costs ) and is good to 300 meters. As long as I can find powder and bullet making material, I can shoot .
There has been times these last few years when .311 and .312 jacketed bullets could not be found for reloading and while it matters, it did not stop me from shooting Mosins and Enfields. I have rifles that I just shot cast bullets from and never missed a range opportunity...granted I shot to 300 meters where with FMJ bullets I go to 600 yds and on to 1000 yds. I saved my hoard of FMJ for the long range work and used cast for 300 meter work.
I shoot a lot pistol and rifle cast bullets: been doing it for 40 years and its paid HUGE DIVIDENDS in more shooting and money saved.
Yeah casting is work but its a labor of love ... it puts me on the shooting range . Its a hobby...that supports my shooting passion. If you don't shoot much...all of this falls on deaf ears.
