Casting for a 25-20 versus a 32-20

[HEAD0001]

The smallest caliber I cast bullets for is a 30 caliber. And it is more difficult for me to cast 30 caliber bullets than it is to cast 45 caliber bullets. I guess I am saying that the smaller a bullet is, the harder it is to cast(IMO). I have had a few others say the same thing.

I am going to buy a nice lever action in either 32-20 or 25-20 when I find the right deal. However I am going to order a 10" barel for my Contender handgun in th near future. So I need to decide between the two cartridges. It will either be the 32-20, or the 25-20. Both are avaliable in the Marlin rifles, it will just take time to find one.

So my question is about casting for the smaller 25 caliber bullets. Versus casting for the 32-20 bullets.

How much more difficult is the 25 caliber to cast a bullet for??

Are there any tricks for casting smaller bullets?? Tom.

[Guncase]

I find it easier to cast GOOD bullets when they are smaller. I use a bottom pour furnace, and have no problems with casting 25-20 bullets. When I cast the bigger stuff I have to crank up the heat and I make plenty of bad bullets before the mould heats up and starts making good ones.

[6pt-sika]

In the past I cast for the 32-20 , 25-20 , 25-36 and 218 Bee . I found the smaller calibers harder to cast for because it seemed harder to me to keep the molds hot enough for a good pour .

But I was able to cast some nice 55 grainers for the Bee as well as nice 65 and 86 grainers for the 25-20 . As well as 86'rs and 113 grainers for the 25-36 . For me casting for the 32-20 was a breeze with either 90 or 115 grainers .

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Technique can be learned to cast any size bullet.
But from a hunting standpoint I favor the 32-20 in cast as a close (50 yards and less) hunting caliber for groundhog to coyotee size critters. It will easily take bunnies with low velocity 90 grainers of 40-1 mix also. Ground hogs get 50-50 mix at about 1250 fps. Smack then in the shoulders and they stay put. No chasing through a beanfield. I have not seen the same results with a 25-20. Bunnies again are no challenge. But bigger critters must be wacked with high velocity.. more noise... more powder less reliable and there goes the stealth.

[Shasta]

I do quite a bit of bullet casting, the smallest being 70 and 75 grain 25-20 bullets. I also cast a lot of 115 grain 32-20 bullets. I would agree that larger bullets are easier to cast than small ones, mostly because of what I will refer to as "flow time".
I use a bottom pour RCBS 20 pound capacity electric pot and a Lyman bottom pour 10 pound pot, so my comments are directed toward that method. For me, the key to casting good bullets easily regardless of size is to have the alloy very hot and more importantly, control the volume of the flow. If the pot is full, there is a lot more pressure as lead passes through the spout, so the "flow time" to fill a small caliber bullet mould cavity is very brief. Molten lead tends to quickly overflow the mould and make casting messy and difficult. Large caliber bullet moulds make for a longer "flow time" that is easier to respond to and control.
The solution is to turn down the handle stop screw to limit the flow and keep molten lead from overflowing the mould. As the level in the pot goes down and pressure is reduced, I back off the handle stop screw to maintain the desired flow.
I don't notice a great deal of difference between casting 25-20 and 32-20, they are very similar for me. I often cast both calibers at the same time, using two or three double cavity moulds.

Now if you were to ask which caliber I prefer to shoot, it would be the 32-20.

SHASTA

[Charles]

Small caliber bullets are not difficult to cast if:

1. The mold hot
2. An alloy with a healthy antimony content is used, such as linotype

Antimony works backwards from others metals in that it contracts when hot and expands when cool. This property is very helpful in filling out the small cavities. Linotype was developed to produce well filled out letters from the mold.

[jlchucker]

I've cast both Lyman gascheck boolits for the 25-20 and 32-20. My 32-20 mold is the discontinued Lyman 311316 which I size to .310 to use as a 30-30 plinker. Like Shasta, I don't notice much difference in casting effort. I will say this though. If you start casting up a bunch of 25-20 bullets, you can produce a real pile of them once you get going. You'll have a sprue puddle that's bigger than both boolits in the mold, but that sprue can just be collected and tossed back into the pot. There's not much lead scrap when casting. I'd pick whichever rifle in either caliber that you get the best deal on. The ideal thing would be to own one of each and a mold for each.

[cowboykell]

Quality bullets of that size are easily available and very inexpensive to buy at local gunshows. I cast for my gong and silhouette rifles, but spend too much time hunting and shooting to mess around with the little bullets.

[w30wcf]

Head0001,
I have found that I have no problem making 22 and 25 caliber bullets as compared to 30 cal.

The "trick" is that I preheat the mold(s) in a toaster oven and use an alloy that is the equvalent of ww + 2% tin or a lead/tin mix, since the sprue will solidify much quicker than the higher antimonial alloys. Thatallows a faster casting rate that will help keep the mold up to temp.

I was recently testing some 25-20 bullets in 40/1 alloy for expansion at 1,400-1600 f.p.s.
left - Factory Lubaloy bullet pulled from 1950's vintage Western 25-20 ammo
right - 25720 40/1 lead/tin


expansion in wet newsprint

left 3 - lubaloy factory - 1450 / 1550 / 1610 f.p.s.
right 3 - 25720 40/1 - 1450 / 1550 / 1610 f.p.s.

w30wcf