Holy Mark-up on lead

novalty

novalty

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Well I received a bunch of recent Cabelas flyers, and I see Berry's Mfg. has some cast lead offered as a new product. Had sticker shocked to see the 230gr RN 45 is priced at $77.99 for 250 :eek: ($0.31/ea), while the plated 230gr RN is $36.54 for 250 ($0.15/ea). Copper plated for half the cost of straight lead :confused: Then a quick check over at Berry's website shows the cast lead of $35.78 for 250 ($0.14/ea). Hoping Cabela's site is a typo error and should be $77.99 for 500, otherwise it looks like Cabelas has lost their mind.
 
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Years ago I knew a retired Army Armorer who ran a small gunsmith and components shop out of hiis basement. He used to cast the H&G #68 200 gr SWC out of Taracorp alloy, they were $20 per 1,000.
And each slug was PERFECT too. Not even an extra smudge of lube, or a less than perfectly square base. And 1,000 meant you got 1,050 too.

Whenever I see todays cast bullet prices I always think of those PERFECT H&G slugs for two cents a pop.

FN in MT
 
Start casting your own out of LEAD. $1.00 a pound will get you lead already cleaned, smelted and cast into smaller size ingots for a melting pot.

$100=100pounds lead=3000 plus 230 grain Lead RN.
 
Hate to say it but the days of Lead are slowly coming to a end,Lead wheel weights are now a thing of the past all new weights are steel or other metals.
 
Well I get some from my father-in-law who cast--and is the one who taught me to reload. Have managed to get him 100+ pounds of lead over the past year, so I can get some from him, but since he does all the work, I don't expect to get the equivalent weight in cast lead back. I have already had my run in with cancer, so I am very apprehensive about casting.
 
That's a departure from Cabela's usual strategy of good prices and a vigorous raping on shipping $$$...:rolleyes:
 
novalty said:
They are just reversing their strategy this month I guess...$2 for shipping over $49. :D
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When I was overseas I bought a ton of stuff through Cabela's. Shipping was the same for $20 worth of feathers or $20 worth of iron.

Betcha ammo is excluded from that shipping deal...
 
thndrchiken said:
Nope ammo is not excluded, all it takes is an order over $49.
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So just order 100 rounds of plinking 45acp and you get free shipping :rolleyes:

The Fine Print...
•$49 minimum order required, excluding gift cards, gift certificates and licenses
•Enter promotion code 32SHIP during checkout
•Additional shipping charges for large or heavy items still apply
•Offer does not apply to firearms
•Good on Standard Express shipping to U.S. Deliverable Addresses ONLY
•Not valid with any other offer
•Offer cannot be used on prior purchases
•Cabela's reserves the right to exclude certain products from this promotion
•Not available to Cabela's employees
•Offer expires March 28, 2012, 11:59 p.m. (EDT)
Click to expand...
 
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gmiller0737 said:
Hate to say it but the days of Lead are slowly coming to a end,Lead wheel weights are now a thing of the past all new weights are steel or other metals.
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That doesn't prevent one from buying bullet alloy metals, it just isn't free anymore.
 
Lead is mined and created in large smelting operations every day.
Wheel weights may be going away but there are many sources for lead from old roof flashing, divers weight belts, boat ballasts, hospital or doctors office lead shielding, (think renovations or old tear-downs) range lead mining recovery, dental foils, old race car ballasts, junk yard wheel weights, and salvage operations.

As for cancer worries, you don't have to do your own SMELTING, just cast from small ingots that were smelted and cast from a hobbyist. Use good ventilation and watch lead or alloy temps. Be sure to NOT smoke or EAT while casting and wash your HANDS well. Wear your safety gear ALWAYS.

Casting is a whole new HOBBY for the shooting person. It enables you to shoot MORE, just like RELOADING, shoot more not CHEAPER, because you will. You will shoot with a bullet that YOU made and experimented with for weight and alloy and accuracy in your specific firearm.
 
Moonman said:
Casting is a whole new HOBBY for the shooting person. It enables you to shoot MORE, just like RELOADING, shoot more not CHEAPER, because you will. You will shoot with a bullet that YOU made and experimented with for weight and alloy and accuracy in your specific firearm.
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Do your smelting outside and away from neighbors if possible, stay upwind and always wear safety gear. Wheel weights are going away but, there is still a good supply on Americans roads. Yesterday I finished 192 pounds of one pound ingots made from WW. If my basic math is correct that comes to 1,344,000 grains of lead, or just over 5000 45ACP boolits:D

You will NOT save money but you WILL shoot more..for sure.
 
Berry's cast bullets seem to be as much as the copper plated bullets-at least on their web site. I have used berrys copper plated before and had good luck with them, but now I use Montana Gold jacketed bullets because I can buy them for the same price as copper plated.

So now I run jacketed for my 9mm competition gun and I cast my own for my 460 revolver. I wish I had collected a bunch of lead years ago. I did some casting as a teen, but now I am getting back into it. I have a few hundred pounds on hand, but that isn't near enough.
 
For those of you who think you can go to the salvage yard & buy lead, used wheel weights or linotype, you can forget it, they will not sell it to you. They can buy it but they can not sell it, those days are history. I tried last week. Some of the small tire shops still sell it but most of them will tell you the same thing....sorry! Its considered a hazardous waste & they have to account for every WW. There's still a lot of metal out there but if you don't have a good supply you better lay off work tomorrow & start scrounging. Yes you can buy new metal.

Dick
 
CGT80 said:
Berry's cast bullets seem to be as much as the copper plated bullets-at least on their web site. I have used berrys copper plated before and had good luck with them, but now I use Montana Gold jacketed bullets because I can buy them for the same price as copper plated.

So now I run jacketed for my 9mm competition gun and I cast my own for my 460 revolver. I wish I had collected a bunch of lead years ago. I did some casting as a teen, but now I am getting back into it. I have a few hundred pounds on hand, but that isn't near enough.
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Who has the cheapest price on those Montana bullets ?
 
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https://www.montanagoldbullet.com/pricelist.html

Buy direct from Montana Gold. Shipping is included in the bullet price per case. You can buy 1k at a time, but it is far cheaper to buy a case at a time. 9mm 124jhp is $325 per case (3750 bullets). That comes out to $86.66 per 1k.

Berrys 124 fp plated bullets are $86.45 per 1K shipped from their web site. If you only want 1k bullets go with berry's, but if you want really good jacketed in a bigger quantity, MG is best. One of the guns I feed is comped and requires a load above max listed loads. It is flying pretty fast, so plated bullets aren't recommended for this gun either.

I have found that cabelas and midway are only good if you want a small quantity of a particular bullet (I bought some hornady xtp mag for my 460, but only needed 100 bullets) and you happen to be ordering other things from them. I buy my bullets direct from the manufacturer and my powder and primers come from Powder Valley or Wideners if PV doesn't have what I need. Of course I buy the 8 pound jugs to save money, if I plan to use the powder often.
 
Sixshot - You must have some area problem out there with lead buying. You can buy all the lead you can afford here in the east .
 
I've shot thousands of bullets from mastercastbullets and they are great. 230 LRN only $64 per 1000. Shipping is $10.70 per 70 lbs (aprox 2000 bullets).
 
DEG said:
I've shot thousands of bullets from mastercastbullets and they are great. 230 LRN only $64 per 1000. Shipping is $10.70 per 70 lbs (aprox 2000 bullets).
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Any issues with shooting the "soft cast" vs. the hard cast? As I see their "hard cast" are significantly more expensive at $88.71 per 1000.
 
novalty said:
Any issues with shooting the "soft cast" vs. the hard cast? As I see their "hard cast" are significantly more expensive at $88.71 per 1000.
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His "soft cast" really are not that soft. They are 14 brinell whereas the 38 special bullets sold by Missouri Bullet are 12. I believe Missouri Bullet's 230 LRN are 18.

I've used both and settled on the soft for the 45 ACP and 38 spec because there was no difference in leading. However, if I were going to load 357 mag loads, I would order the harder bullets.

You don't have to commit to a large order before you know if you like them. I know he'll sell 500 and use a smaller flat rate shipping box for around $5 shipping.
 
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Thanks DEG! That is a really good price. I was going to buy lead from a local vendor, (CB Bullets: Gorham, ME), but even with me picking them up still going to cost around $85 for 1,000 (45) 200gr SWC's.
 
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While wheel weights are drying up in places, you would be surprised how little you really need unless you are a competitive shooter. I was given about 100 pounds and I bet I have not used up 20 and I have cast more bullets than I can load up right now. I now in my basement I have boxes of three or four different varieties of .38/ .357 bullets right now ready to go. I still have a 5 gallon pail untouched with at least another fifty pounds of unsorted. I can go to my local scrapyard and buy wheel weights for $1.00 a pound and I have a few places that I can get it for free since I know the owners. I also was given many loaded old rounds of ammo, several hundred to be exact from anything in .38 S & W up to .44 Magnum that I will pull and recycle in my lead pot. I can tell you that when I was buying bullets I was paying a bit more than $20 for one hundred bullets. I can make and lube my own for a fraction of that cost. I think I have several hundred of those that I have made, even if I pay a dollar a pound for lead, I can tell you that I have saved a fortune in bullets. So far I have actually not had to buy any, but I did trade some scrap metal around the house to my local scrapyard for the equivalent amount in value in wheelweights and the rest I have been given, so right now my only cost has been in the tools and moulds to make the bullets. Before it gets any more expensive, I think people should cast their own.
 
I would cast my own but 2 big reason I don't.

1. Already had 1 run in with cancer. Underwent 10 hour surgery, 30 treatments of radiation, and 4 treatments of chemo.

2. Barely have the time to reload, don't have the time to cast too.
 
I suppose I'm from the very old school here. I've cast my own for over 4 1/2 decades. Now sources for my lead has been, until the past few years, from folks that are in the home remodeling business and such. All that lead used on the roof items and plumbing and such. That has dried up. WW's? Forget it. Not a single shop in my area will part with them.

A few months ago I did something I've never done in my life. I bought cast bullets....that was a mistake. The rounds that were supposed to be 200 gr RNFP sized at .430" were so hard and undersized (.428") and lubed with blue crayons! They were horible! The 300 gr RNFP that was supposed to be sized at .458" were around .456" to .457", and were the same as the others. Cast WAY too hard and poorly lubed.

I melted that whole mess down. Added a bunch of pure lead. And then was able to go back to casting my own like I've done for years. So I learned my lesson. I will never again buy bullets that someone else casts. I don't trust them. As to my lead source now? I buy certified alloy from Rotometals and then I AM SURE that I have PROPER alloy for my needs. My casting system has varried little over the years. I have one pot for ladle casting and another for bottom pour.

A note here is that I was a Class I dealer and gunsmith and a Class VI ammo mfg for many years. I'm retired from all that, as with being a peace officer as well, so I cast and load only for myself. My bullets still come out sharp. Shinny. And are correct for my needs. But I will never in my life, ever buy another bullet cast by anyone else.

Wade
 
Wade,
what is the choice between the ladle pot and the bottom pour? I make sinkers and use a pot with a big ladle but am looking at making some bullets. Can a reloader make a decent amount of bullets with a ladle and a single or double cavity mold? Talking .358" dia stuff for 38 and 357.
Thanks for the info so far. Lucky here. We have good supply of lead from a few different sources, esp boats and ranges.
 
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