300BlkTalk

Experience reloader for the 300blk but never casted anything, zero experience, only seen youtube videos. Seriously thinking about getting some equipment and trying it. I have lots of really basic questions - sorry if they sound stupid:

1.) Where do I get the lead? Can I use wheel weights?
2.) I know I can only do subsonic, but can I run them through my suppressor? Will it foul it up bad? It's an AAC and can't be taken apart.
3.) Will the cast bullets feed from standard mags ok?
4.) How bad is the barrel fouling. I have a stainless barrel, any issues? Nightmare to clean?
5.) Any cycling issues in an AR platform? Will they foul up the gas system?
6.) I see sometimes there is a little brass cup on the base of the bullet. What is that thing? Do I need it for every round?
7.) Any good references? Equipment recommendations? Tutorials?

Thanks!

Let me take a stab at a few:
1: Lead wheel weights are just about perfect if you can find them. Range scrap is also good, but you'll want to harden it a bit. RotoMetals is probably the cheapest retail source. http://www.rotometals.com/Bullet-Casting-Alloys-s/5.htm

2,4 and 6: You can also do supersonic. All lead bullets must be lubed or coated. In the last few years, many people have switch from traditional lubes to powder coating. Done right, fouling with powder coated bullets is no worse than jacketed bullets. The cups you're referring to are gas checks, used when pushing cast bullets to high velocity. They are not mandatory for subsonic bullets.

5. No

7. Some links.
NOE is a good source of molds: http://noebulletmoulds.com/
This is a great general casting reference: http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf
Here's a Google custom search for this site: https://cse.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx ... tl9hapdoi0
The casting section of this board has just 275 threads. If I were just starting out, I'd spend an afternoon reading from the beginning. Lots of good information.