Ok, let me start off by saying I "get" making your own stuff is cool. I've built my own boats, fishing rods, carved plugs, poured my own rubber worms and still tie near every fly I fish. Admittedly it's all fun but none of it has realized the savings projected when I started. ( Most paid me back about 67 cents and hour too:-))
That said, several years ago, I helped out a friend who needed cash and had a box of casting gear and lead that he never touched. Included was 100# of lead ingots, an electric melting pot, some lube and a Lyman sizer. I'm now looking at this stuff and thinking I should put it to use and make some pistol bullets in .38, 9mm and or 45acp.
However, the more I look at getting started the more expensive it gets to get out of the gate. I still need molds and handles, sizing dies, handles, hardness testers..... Not to mention that replacing that lead in a lead free wheel weight world is likely going to run $2lb. ( That's $18-$28/500 heads for most handgun calibers by my math. i.e already at 60%+ the cost of commercial cast delivered to m door. )
So, I get I'll donate my time in the name of fun, but I'm still having trouble figuring out how a $400 investment + high lead costs are going to save me money. Is it that much fun? Am I overlooking something?
Talk me into it. (p.s.Liers welcome :-)

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Dave

I cast to get projectiles that can not be found any other way.

These are for the 500.

The little guy on the left is 450 grains while the sledgehammer on the right is 725 grains
Remember these are half an inch across

You just gottsa cast your own IF :

1. You have source of free or nearly free wheelweights.

2. You have intrest in shooting shooting bullet designs/sizings that are highly out of the mainstream, and are not available commercially.

3. You have an intrest in its own right of experementing with casting beyond mere shooting, or reloading generally.

4. You live in a state that throws a half dozen new ammo restrictions/taxes/fees a year against the wall in an attempt to price shooting out of the range of the non elite.

I have 400+ lbs of lead/alloys stockpiled & I don't even cast my own... yet.

It's time vs money. Buy bulk lead when it goes on sale and your boolit costs go down (way down). Most vendors will ship via flat rate.

As mentioned above if you can develop a source of free or low cost lead then the boolit costs next to nothing.

Casting, sizing/lubing takes time.

It's also a lot of fun.

Everything has trade-offs.

castboolits dot gunloads dot com
will help get you started
read the stickies some before you start asking questions

I cast for one reason only and that is to shoot a more perfect bullet. Of course nothing is free and the equipment, not to mention learning curve to turn out consistent top grade bullets, is not always real costly but takes some time to track down. Good molds built on a good design, a quality lubricator and sizer if needed are just the beginning. I shoot black powder cartridges at distance and poor quality bullets can instantly ruin your day. If you have good quality lead in quantity and a need for something better than off the shelf by all means drop the keel off that sailboat you built and shoot it

Good luck

Sounds like you've got enough to get started, other than a mold. Don't worry about a hardness tester yet. A thermometer would be handy though.

Does your Lyman have a die/top punch in it now? Any of your friends cast? You might be able to borrow a mold.

If not, buy a used Lyman mold & handles off ebay and give it a shot. If you don't like it, you can recoup most of the cost of the mold. If it were me I'd start with a 158gr .38 RN or SWC and go from there.

Variety and quality are the best things about casting your own, followed by cost savings. You can often find lead for $1-1.25 a pound shipped to your door. My favorite is ISO lead.

I cast because 1 I'll never run out of bullets
2 I'll never have to buy or depend on others for bullets
3. I can shoot more cheaper
4 It fun!

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S&W Accumulator

The 100 pounds of lead ingots would be enough motivation for me.

Not to rehash what others have already said, but just a few things to think about: If there are any gun shows still allowed in NE, you'd be surprised how much casting equipment is available. No one is jumping up & down to buy the stuff, so you might be able to get some good buys. Figure out what type & caliber bullet you shoot the most and search for 2 or 4 cavity molds w/handles at the GS, near-by gun clubs (post a wanted to buy flyer) or E-Bay. RCBS, Lyman, Lee are the most available brands & if not abused used molds are fine. Also these companies will re-hab them if needed for a small fee. When you run out of your lead stash, try reclaimed range lead to mix with commercial ingots or wheel weights. Finally, bullet casting is a part of our sport and casting keeps the garage or basement warm in winter.

There's also a lot of satisfaction in killing a deer with a bullet that you made.

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S&W Accumulator

It's not really a money saving occupation, but you do end up shooting more for the same money.

One of the great things about reloading and casting is that you eventually get an attitude of "I fear no caliber".
In other words, you can buy any obscure or obsolete caliber you wish, and shoot it as much as you want.

Often, you can buy a gun in a weird caliber for hundreds of dollars less than the some of the more popular ones go for, simply because the factory ammo is expensive or hard to get.

i shoot several different handgun calibers and started reloading over 40 years ago. In an effort to get a bullet that was of the quality and hardness that I wanted, I took up casting. Shooting and reloading are my favorite hobbies. Casting is not. Dealing with the heat, molten lead, sizing and lubing is just a pain for me. I have 4 five gallon buckets of Linotype and wheel weights squirreled away that I will use when it becomes prohibitive to secure them from commercial sources. There are some great bullets being produced out there now. I plan to use them as long as I can.

Thanks for the insightful responses.
I've been off doing some research tonight as this is (already) becoming an itch I know I'm going to have to try scratching soon. From what I can figure out, I'm about $60 away from being able to assemble all this stuff into some shootable bullets. So I'm going to pick up a 6 cavity .358 SWC mold and a lube sizing die and do a test case for the one caliber.
By spring I figure I'll either get luke warm on the whole thing and sell it all off or (more likely) start NOT saving any money by entering into another addictive hobby.

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Dave

I've been casting for more than 50 years. I've invested a few bucks that amortized over the years amount to near nothing. I can cast a bullet for most anything that shoots. I love old military rifles and can load reasonable loads that are a pleasure to shoot. Over that time, I've averaged more than 2,000 rounds a year. Calculate that in store bought ammo and think of the cost. Currently, I've about given up on 22LR ammo. I can shoot 38's cheaper.

Not gonna talk you into or out of casting. It really comes down to cost if alloy & time. If I have to pay more than $1.50/# I'm only going to cast specialty bullets, I'll buy my plinkers.
Time is best handled by buying better equip, reloading or casting. The Lee 6cav molds can be quite good & once heated, you can do about 800-900/hr. A Lee bottom pour pot is like $70, so mold, handles, pot, less than $130, about 1500 comm cast bullets. More exp molds are better, but best to start with the Lee.
Then you have to decide size & lube or coat & size. If you are gonna lube & size, only the magma/star will do. At 1200 + bullets per hour, the only way to size & lube. If you are going to coat, you can use the cheap lee bullet sizer in your reloading press. All you need is a cheap conv toaster oven, some hi-tek or powder coat & you are making "plated" bullets pretty darn cheap.
So I can cast, coat & size 1000 bullets in about 90min of actual hands on time. If I get the alloy free by scrounging, I'm shooting bullets for less than 1/2c each, regardless of size/caliber. It's another hobby & if you don't like it, don't do it, you won't enjoy the time. I do enjoy casting, more so than reloading. Brings out the mad scientist in me. I also like the idea I am self sufficient, at least for all my handgun calibers. If I can get lead, I can make bullets & keep shooting. Lots of lead ww in most states. Get it, stack it deep, it's not gonna last.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

It is not cost effective to cast your own unless you want something that just ins't easily available on the open market. I think the last bullets I cast myself were for a .442 Webley. I had to have the mold made.

I don't cast, but from what I've read there are some other things to consider:

Do you have a suitable location? Melting lead gives off toxic fumes. You must either do it outside or have a hood. My dad knew a guy who poisoned himself and died who was casting in his basement.

Waste disposal. I think the waste is considered hazardous, you can't just put it in the trash.

Like I said, I don't cast, so I don't know how hard it is to solve them.

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Common sense isn't so common.

1. I enjoy casting! 2. Since I have plenty of free scrounged cases and I use free WW lead from friends at tire shops I can load a box of .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .40 S&W, .357 Magnum.... for less than $3.00/box of 50 (cost of powder and primers)! 3. I was completely unaffected by the last ammunition "panic"!

That's enough justification for me!

It certainly is cost effective if you get the alloy for free. I went over costs, pretty straight forward. Even if it took me 2hr per 1000, call it $80 for 200gr/45, that's $40/hr net, about $65/hr gross, all for a $130 investment in gear. Certainly worth it for most of us with free or cheap alloy.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Casting bullets from clean alloy gives off no lead fumes. Your dad's friend didn't die from casting in a basement, unless he set himself on fire. You should do it in a ventilated space though, fluxing the alloy could be an issue, depends on the flux. I cast in my garage, flux with a wooden stick, just wood smoke coming off the pot. I do wear a particle mask to not breath the wood smoke though. There also isn't much waste using clean alloy. There is a small amount of dross, but put it in a paint can when you take those to hm.
Now smelting scrap into ingots, totally diff issue because of the crud on most scrap lead. If you scrounge from a range, the lead is pretty clean, no oils, grease or tapes that can give off ugly fumes. Clean alloy though, no issues. Lead doesn't vaporize at casting temps of 650-750deg.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I'd get more satisfaction missing a deer with a bullet that I made.


I ain't gonna hunt no mo, no mo.

Unless I'm really hungry.

To stay on thread, I'd like to try casting, but the really good reasons people are giving here just don't apply to me. I can buy tons of bullets from casters fairly cheap.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I like casting, when I get two 6 cavity molds going I can cast about 1k every two hours. With 240gr. swc's, commercial hard cast gets expensive.

I have quiet a bit of Linotype saved up, and pure lead is easy to find cheaply, so I'm not too concerned about lead wheel weights becoming unavailable.

I like being my own producer, not relying on someone else's quality control or availability. When I need it I make it.

I can tune my hardness and diameter at will, and experiment with a whole other aspect of load customization.

You know that sense of satisfaction you have when admiring and shooting your hand loaded ammunition? The stuff you tailored precisely for *your* firearm? The stuff that turns your firearm into a laser beam?

It's exponentially better when it's made with bullets you've painstakingly handcrafted to your own exacting standards.

I've watched too many cowboy movies. Casting lead bullets and loading ammunition connects me to the past.

When cast bullets can be had as cheaply as they can today, it's difficult to justify casting your own bullets from a financial perspective. Luckily, it isn't about money.

Can sombody help me justify casting?

My answer is No.

From your self description you sound like someone that would probably get into / enjoy casting.. And that is fine and good enough reason to do it..
But IMHO if you shoot alot, it takes too much time and you don't save that much money. And if you shoot a little, it takes too much time and you don't save any money.

There are many good quality bullet mfg. out there for very reasonable prices. Just my opinion ,, that and a buck and a half might get you ca cup of coffee,,

I have a bunch of molds, and a good supply of lead stockpiled. Last winter I spent several weeks casting bullets for various calibers, running thru abt 600 lbs of lead. I cast bullets that I cannot buy. "Bread and butter" bullets like normal weight SWC's,RN etc. that I shoot for recreation and practice, I buy. There are a bunch of commercial bullet casters out there who make good bullets. For me anymore, it depends on what the end use is going to be. I am loading 44 magnums today for the upcoming deer season. The bullet is my own cast bullet to the hardness I want, with a big hollowpoint / GC, I have taken several deer with bullet over 20. gr of 2400 and am getting ready to do so again.

I don't know how far away you are, but I would certainly give you a hands on demonstration.

I know many that load shot shells, it saves about $1.50 a box of 25 vs cheap field loads. Even if you shoot 1000 a month, you aren't saving a lot. Still people do it as a hobby & to tailor their ammo. Bullets are much the same. Casting allows me to have what ever I want, when I want & at well over 50% savings vs buying comm. you can work 4hrs & buy bullets or spends two hours & make bullets. I dont like my job that much. Casting workable bullets for my 6.8, worth the cost of the mold for sure.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Since you do all those other things, I think you'll enjoy the satisfaction of casting.

fredj, I agree..
I reload handgun and rifle ammo to save money and to tailor my rounds to type shooting I am doing. ( personally I don't understand why everyone does reload )

I have cast bullets in the past. Personally I thought it rather time consuming and at the volume of bullets I was going thru ,I didn't have the high speed equipment to keep up with my needs.

Now I purchase bullets from folks like SNS Casting,, Missouri bullet,, Xtreme,, Delta Precision, Sierra,, Hornady ,, and others.

I have the equipment to reload shot shells. But I can not reload them as cheap as I can buy them when they are on sale around here. ( A few months ago, a flat of 12 ga. ( 250 )was selling for about the same price as a brick ( 500) of .22 LR , )

Nothing wrong with casting,, reloading,, etc.. If you enjoy it, and if you can save some money that's even better..
Each one can be a interesting hobby,, by itself.

I just enjoy doing it. It's my hobby.
I find satisfaction in the process and knowing that I am in complete control of my bullet supply and availability.
Way too many times I have gone into local shop and found nothing on the shelf. Way too many times trying to order on line I get the "out of stock " message. I don't want or need that.
Gary

1) you reload
2) you like to shoot cast bullets
3) you take pride in rolling your own
4) you would enjoy doing it
5) you want bullets you can't buy

This thread needs more pictures.

Attached Images

Boolits.jpg (121.3 KB, 47 views)

An afternoon of casting and sizing gives me enough to go to the range many times with $0.01 9mm and $0.02 45acp projectiles.

Gee it is shame old Skip is no longer on the forum.

"I can cast what I want when I want" or something like that.

It's only viable if you have access to FREE lead. Plus factor in the pay back period of molds, heaters, sizers etc etc. Maybe if you shoot one caliber.

No wheel weights here in Fl they are a Haz Mat item.

No I am not mining the berm, the Heat index TODAY is over 100F!!!!!!

For $40 someone can make 500 of them and deliver them to my door.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I like to have flexibility in my ammunition. Store bought factory ammo doesn't let me load whatever caliber and whatever load I'm in the mood for. Lead ingots, powder, brass and primers let me make whatever I want whenever I want at a price that is equal to or less than 22LR at the present time (5 cents a round for centerfire cartridges no matter what the pistol caliber and 6-11 cents per round for rifle cartridges).

By far, the bullet is the most expensive part of reloading once you already have the brass. Typically you spend 10-50 cents per round for commercial bullets. If you can get lead at $2/pound, you can make 500 115 grain bullets for $16.50 or 500 230 grain bullets for $32.86. That's half the typical cost of commercial lead bullets plus you can taylor your bullet size to eliminate all leading in your barrel which you cannot do with commercial cast bullets. Plated or FMJ bullets would cost even more.

When I get a new caliber gun, I typically spend about $40 for a new 6 cavity mold which means the mold pays for itself after about the first 1000 bullets. I've shot about thirty thousand 40 S&W bullets in the past 4 years which cost me about $1730.


In lead, I spent $660. If they were commercial cast bullets at $0.08 each it would have been $2400. For FMJ at $0.25 each, it would have been $7500. There's no way I could have afforded an extra $6000+ for bullets in this hobby and that's not counting all the other calibers I've been able to shoot.

The difference in cost between a 115g lead 9mm bullet and a 230g 45ACP bullet is just in the lead. So a $0.03 9mm bullet ($2/lb lead) would cost 6 cents for the 45ACP bullet. The primer would cost the same and the powder might cost 1 penny versus 8/10th of a cent if you went from 4 grains to 5. 45ACP typically costs a lot more than $2 extra for a box of 50 vs 9mm but if you cast and reload, that's the difference. If you use a 200g or 175g 45 ACP bullet, the cost is even lower.

As for lead, right now you can get "scrap" lead very easily for closer to $1/pound if you look at the reloading ads on most gun boards. For handgun target practice, you can use the typical "range pickup ingots" and not worry about harness, adding tin or anything else. Salvaged boat keel lead is a little more sketchy because you don't know what garbage is in that and the seller typically gets it for free.

There is a learning curve for casting just as there was for loading, but the good thing is any failures simply go back into the pot and you are out nothing more than a few seconds of your time. Even mess ups in loading like shaved bullets, crooked seated bullets or pulled bullets that get mangled simply go back into the pot to be remelted. You have no qualms about making test cartridges or test seating a number of bullets to see if they chamber because no matter what happens to the bullet, they can always go back into the pot for the next casting session.

Casting opened up a lot of doors to new aspects of shooting for me including muzzleloading,



subsonic rifle shooting, trying out all sorts of rifle bullets


and casting/loading/shooting slugs in shotguns.

Rule3 nailed the key factor to casting, having access to lead is what will determine your savings.

If I could make a reliable primer I would. Being able to shoot regardless of a bullet supply is comforting. In the weird political environment we are in, having options is a good way to go.
I can cast for all my handguns, some of my rifles. With powder coating, useful rifle ammo can be made for cheap. I can scrounge lead & powder from shotgun gauges I don't use to load into pistol rds in a real pinch. Ha gotta have primers though.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Very true but doesn't have to be free, just cheap. Free is always better, but even $1/#, 1000 200gr/45 only cost about $30 & less than 2hrs of your time. You do have to enjoy it though or the savings isn't worth it.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I have to agree with you. I like the idea of being able to make my own but I don't have a source of free lead. When I run the numbers I see no real savings from buying already made.

Wrong! Its very cost effective. I don't have to BUY or DEPEND on anyone for bullets..........Because I make my own......Cheap!.....Plus.......Sometimes I "mine" the berm on my personal range and recycle the lead.....So.....Some of my "bullets" may have been down the barrel several times.

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S&W Accumulator

No such thing as free lead anymore. If you have a connection to free lead you sell it on forum or eBay. Most tire places either give it to long established friends or (big box stores) dispose of it as hazardous waste. 20+ years of casting and I now buy all my bullet alloys from a known certified source. Yes, more expensive but I'm no longer in it becuase I'm looking to save a few pennies.

I reload for many reasons but bottom line I enjoy it as much (maybe more) than collecting firearms. I can spend months custom tailoring a bullet and load to a firearms.

The one that really irks me is people that say I can buy el cheap ammo that goes bang really cheap, why shoot I reload. I guess if all you care about is the gun can make a loud bang than cheap ammo is just the right thing. But please don't compare my reloads to el cheapo ammo. Compare it to what it is for pricing. Say, Buffalo Bore for example or Hornady Critical Defense ammo.

This really is the defining point. Unless you are making a special bullet not readily available, cost of alloy is the make or break point. For me it's less than $1/# for clean alloy. More than that I am not casting practice bullets & I already have all the gear, including bottom pour pots, star sizer & even a magma caster. Time is still $$ for me so the alloy has to be cheap.
The newer coating processes may change that for me. You can now effectively make plated bullets for the cost of lead + 1/2c or less. Something to consider.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Well I may be a control freak but, I get the bullet I want, the alloy I want, the diameter I want and the lube I want. As a bonus my Lewis Lead Remover has lain unused ever since!

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Stay safe people!

I started reloading .38 almost 50 years ago. Always bought commercial bullets and always had a leading problem. Since I had a free source of lead I thought I would give it a try.

A little lead pot for a couplabucks, a homemade stand out of angle iron and a propane bottle torch. The Lee mold cost (if my memory serves me correctly) 10 bucks, and maybe another $5 for a hand sizer.

Problem solved - have not seen any leading since. Also have not bought a store bought lead bullet since.

I still have the 148 grain .357 wadcutter mold and it still casts as good as the day I got it. Over the years I aded an electric melter and a dozen other molds and sizers. I only wore out 1 mold. All my equipment is the value priced Lee. For $400 today I could buy a heck of a lot of stuff.

When the free lead supply ran out I started making friends with gas stations. The usual price for a 1/2 full 5 gallon pail was about 5 bucks. When the writing was on the wall that lead wheel weights were to be banned I accelerated my search. My basement now holds a lifetime supply. Boy I hope I never have to move...LOL.

The last few buckets were had for a buck a pound.

When its too cold and snowy to go outside to shoot, reloading and casting help make Summer come quicker. It would be hard to convince me to NOT cast my own. If lead goes to $5 a pound and it is no longer cost effective it'll still be better than watching TV!

I got tired of buying scrap "lead" with all the unknowns and un-repeatablility in my loads. I buy commercial for some calibers, espicially the smaller 32 caliber. There are a lot of good casters out there and pricing is very competitive. However almost all of them cast a very hard bullet, too hard for my taste. For 44 and 45 Colt I cast with 1:16 alloy at $3.40 a lb. I figure about the same cost (or less with shipping) as a commercial caster but I get the bullet I want from my custom designed molds (most custom molds like Accurate Molds aren't that much more than off the shelf molds).

The highest, or maybe second highest, cost is the brass. But for the common revolver calibers (45 Colt, 45 ACP, 35 special, etc.) the brass seems to last for ever in these low pressure rounds.

There is one issue that has not been mentioned much and that is the health exposure! There is a lot of NRA information about this. There needs to be high air flow and even then you will pollute your home , garage or anywhere you do the casting. I might add that it's most risky for the children!

Understand that I have everything needed. I shot muzzle loaders way before factory swaged balls were available. I have molds for 45 , 38 ,32 , 40 cal round ball and 50. I buy them now. No air bubbles no casting flaws and I use the bullets from Precision Bullets on Line that are coated with a coating that eliminates leading. They are cheap and from time to time they have free shipping.

Back in the day I was younger and information about the health hazards were known I did cast. Not today! Mu bottom drop furnace and molds are clean and ready if required. Until then I'll buy bullets and round balls!

I am lucky, I have never had to buy any bullet metal. The area
I live in had many industries that used lead and tin. I have never
bought a ounce. Conservative estimate of lead on hand is over
a ton, and several hundred pounds of tin. Then I have drywall
buckets full of type, 50/50 bar , all kinds of Babbitt and other
bearing metals. Casting equipment picked up dirt cheap over
the years. I cast over 50 bullets, over 100 fishing lures, and
even some buttons, battery lugs, and toys (tin).

I started casting in 1974 in an unventilated basement. When I switched to wheel weights, with all the dirt and such, I moved to the garage with the doors open in the Summer to do the ingot casting. The bullet casting was still done in the basement in the Winter.

Never thought about lead poisoning until somebody mentioned it. I obtained a copy of a report done by an independant testing agency that showed no particular air contamination hazard when using an electric melting pot and hand held molds. Of course, I admit that the work was sanctioned by a bullet casting equipment company.

Earlier this year when I took my annual physical I told my doctor about all the indoor range shooting I do, plus the bullet casting. He ordered a lead screening along with the lipid profile, etc. My lead results were so low they hardly made the chart.

My guess is that the health hazard has more to do with touching the lead with your hands, and then blowing your nose or smoking, etc., where ingestion could occur. But from all I know its not from lead vaporizing in the air.

I know I've been a little googy in recent years, but on the basis of those tests It's not from lead poisoning...