How long to let boolits age?

[Hick]

Hardening depends on the alloy. Pure lead does not change. Lead-Tin mixtures (no antimony) soften slightly during storage. Lead-tin-antimony alloys mostly get harder (sometimes by a lot). If you want to read details find the book "From Ingot to Target" by Glen Fryxell and Robert Applegate. I use all tertiary alloys (lead, tin antimony) so I size and either lube or PC immediately (same day).

[gnostic]

I respectfully disagree with this statement. I use Lee push through sizing dies. I size my water dropped bullets as soon as I can get them dry. Why?...because they go through the sizing die just like any other boolit. I let a batch sit 2 days one time and I thought I was going to rip my press right off the bench trying to get them sized. No difference in alloy, I use straight coww lead for all my bullets and water drop, or gas check for the loads I want to push.

I've got a few coffee cans full of unsized bullets from a year ago, that may be tough going. I've never noticed a difference but you may be right. Push come to shove, I'll tumble lube and use a push through size die before the RCBS LM2.

That's funny, I did rip my press off the bench. That's why these bullets have been sitting unsized all this time.

[Elpatoloco]

So from what you guys are saying perhaps 2 weeks for rifle or high velocity magnum. No worries/wait for pistols like 9mm, 38, and 45.

Thanks for the insight gents!

I use 475 linebaugh and 44 mag bullets cast the same day. Just loaded up some 44s from 10 years ago. They hit at the exact same p.o.a.

I doubt a wild hog will notice any difference. I size everything in a lyman 4500 and can't tell the differenve

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'm curious, what makes them grow? Is it a particular alloy that is more susceptible to this, like a high antimony? Or does it have to do with larger diameter boolits curing slower due to their mass? Therefore the center would remain in a softer, more plasma like state and grow as it cures much like water freezing?Interesting.

You ask a lot of good questions. Once you get answers to those, you will likely have more questions.
Have you read the chapter on alloy selection and metallurgy in "From Ingot to Target" ?

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chap...Metallurgy.htm

[kevin c]

I size after HiTek coating a ternary alloy with a BHN around 11, usually within a few days of the second bake. I don't WD. Maybe because the alloy is so soft to start with, plus the slick coating and the use of sizing lube, if the boolit is any harder from waiting longer than that it still sizes down one or two thousandths easily.

[Evoken]

You ask a lot of good questions. Once you get answers to those, you will likely have more questions.
Have you read the chapter on alloy selection and metallurgy in "From Ingot to Target" ?

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chap...Metallurgy.htm

Excellent read JonB, thank you. I will have to read it a few more times (especially after the coffee kicks in) to take it all in.
Yes, this will absolutely make more questions rattle.around in my pea brain....

[Lloyd Smale]

my 79s kieths were a good vintage Seriously its not worth worrying about. I cast them sit them on a cookie sheet outside in the snow to cool them for about a 1/2 hour. Then in the tumbler to coat with pc then in the oven and then back outside to cool and load them many times the next day. Heck ive done 40 lb batches like that and shot some within a day and some a year later and never noticed even a tiny bit a differnce in accuracy.

[Evoken]

my 79s kieths were a good vintage Seriously its not worth worrying about. I cast them sit them on a cookie sheet outside in the snow to cool them for about a 1/2 hour. Then in the tumbler to coat with pc then in the oven and then back outside to cool and load them many times the next day. Heck ive done 40 lb batches like that and shot some within a day and some a year later and never noticed even a tiny bit a differnce in accuracy.

My main concern was swaging the boolits down in my brass. To keep neck tension I am trying to stay a few thou under with my expander plugs. I have read enough here and beat enough lead balls into bores and cylinders to know what size I need to be at (at least I think, haha).

[Chill Wills]

My main concern was swaging the boolits down in my brass. To keep neck tension I am trying to stay a few thou under with my expander plugs. I have read enough here and beat enough lead balls into bores and cylinders to know what size I need to be at (at least I think, haha).

I am sure you know this but worth stating, if you seat a bullet or three in sample cases and then pull them, measure them, you can decide how to proceed. Either go to a harder bullet or use a larger neck expander.

[poppy42]

I respectfully disagree with this statement. I use Lee push through sizing dies. I size my water dropped bullets as soon as I can get them dry. Why?...because they go through the sizing die just like any other boolit. I let a batch sit 2 days one time and I thought I was going to rip my press right off the bench trying to get them sized. No difference in alloy, I use straight coww lead for all my bullets and water drop, or gas check for the loads I want to push.

I totally agree with everything you’ve said. I do the same thing as you. Water drop all my bullets unless for some reason I want a super soft bullet. I once waited about a month before I sized my bullets and I thought I was gonna break my press. I size ASAP after I cast my bullets!!

[porthos]

on the issue of necks being too tight; here's what i found out. bought 2000 once fired 9mm military brass. sized,deprimed and bellmouthed. loaded up some dummy rounds setting the dies up. a week or so later i pulled one . bullet was a lee 125 gr. around 13 bhn. cast at 358 and unsized. when i pulled it, it measures .356-. checked the inside measurement of the sized brass with a pin gage. it measures .351+. so ,i made a new expander/bellmouth plug that is .3565. so, guys , check the size of your bullets after seating and the sizes of your neck expanders.

[Texas by God]

I never water cool any of my cast bullets and I size the ones that I size with Lee push through dies in a Rockchucker press. I usually size them within a day or two after casting.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[John Boy]

Evoken, work your question from the back end .... bullets are cast to make loaded ammunition. I have ammunition that is 75 years old, wiped the ogive on a few, loaded em in the rifle and guess what? Excellent accuracy. Ergo, the answer is ‘whenever’

[Evoken]

Evoken, work your question from the back end .... bullets are cast to make loaded ammunition. I have ammunition that is 75 years old, wiped the ogive on a few, loaded em in the rifle and guess what? Excellent accuracy. Ergo, the answer is ‘whenever’

I very fair statement sir. Wow you have boolits that are near twice my age, neat.
I guess this about sums it up then, it doesnot really matter in the end as long as they shoot with accuracy.
Thank you gents for all the input once again!
Ken

[canyon-ghost]

Straight to the point, the bullets harden from 3 days to 3 weeks. At three weeks they are supposed to be as hard as they get. I cast some water dropped 7mms, sized with gas checks, and left them in mica. I can't imagine doing that after wheelweight completely hardens. Maybe you're stronger than I but, are your presses? I tried hard bullets but, seems like a lot of force on the press.

[firewhenready7]

I don't have a time line. I water drop from the mold and because I cast in the winter, I'm stockpiled for the summer.

[JoeJames]

I don't water quench anymore, except for boolits I shoot in my 44 Magnum Rossi R92. For 32 S&W Long, 38 Special Wad Cutters, and 44 Special SWC's, I now let them air cool. I tumble lube all of them.

[Alferd Packer]

I wouldn't wait and haven't sometimes.
Just resting arms up after an all nite of casting.

[Joel Chavez]

So I’ve been water dropping since I’ve been casting(15yrs) and never sized sooner than a week and never had an issue sizing in my Lyman 45. Now, the 357446 mould drops a .3585 pill and is sized at .358. The 452374 drops at .4530 and it gets sized at .452 so even if I wait weeks, months or even a year(happened once) I’m not sizing down much to put a great deal of stress on the Lyman 45. Oh and I generally use berm recouped lead.

[David2011]

I learned the hard way to size promptly before I started powder coating. With the alloy I like they get much harder to size a couple of weeks after casting and put quite a strain on my Star. The alloy is nothing special; just a half pound of Monotype to 20 pounds of COWW but Mono has a fair amount of antimony. I just use it because it makes the boolits cast easier and they look nice.

Once they’re sized I don’t care how long boolits sit around before loading.