considering casting....is it worth it?

J

Jeff2131

New member
Ok, so ill start by saying...
1. Im a bulk reloader for the simple fact of recreational shooting once or twice a week.
2. I know absolutely nothing about casting bullets
3. Im a forklift mechanic who has access to alot of lead contained within junk batteries.
4. I know nothing about casting...hahaha

Ok so, ive been considering casting. Here are my questions.
1. Is it cheaper then buying bullets for reloading
2. Can you put the copper jacket on the lead cast bullet yourself
3. What equipment is needed
4. Is it dangerous....e.i. lead, vapor, toxins...etc.
5. What is the total estimated cost for someone to start out doing .308's
6. Is it a time.consuming project to cast
7. Is there anything else i need to know or consider as a beginner
8. Since i reload ALOT and shoot ALOT is it worth the time and money
9. Can i use lead taken out of junk automotive batteries
10. If you can jacket your own bullets, is copper or plating better/cheaper/easier

Thanx in.advance for your replies, advice, and knowledge.
 
1. its much cheaper then buying bullets, if you get the lead for free all you have to pay is the electricity bill (peanuts) and for high v loads, gas checks
2. Yes but i dont know much about this... IMHO you dont need a jacket, you can do pretty much everything with the right cast bullet as long as the hardness and the sizing is right.
3. you need a casting furnace, a dipper, a mould block and handles, a piece of wood, a bucket, and some kind of lubing/sizing Product. For example: you can get the lyman master casting kit for 240 bucks and a mould for 50 bucks and youre ready to go
4. lead does not become vaporized at casting temperatures, but there are some other fumes that arent very healthy. Cast ouside or with some kind of ventilation and you wont have a problem. there are many 80+ year old guys out there who are casting since the 1930s and they dont have casting or lead related health problems.
5. 350$ - 400$
6. With a 4 cavity mould i can cast and lube/size 1000 bullets on one afternoon and im a pretty slow caster.
7. dont drop anything wet into molten lead!
8. YES, it definitely is!
9. Yes, you might want to add some tin (2-5% or more for high v loads) to get more hardness
10. Dont know...

I cast bullets for 9mm, .38, .308win, 45-70

Casting for bottleneck rifle calibers such as .308 is a bigger challenge then casting for straight walled cartridges such as .38 and 45-70. You need more Tin and often a gas check.
 
previous thread on battery lead question

Read the above thread, and there are several others on using battery lead.
I buy my lead online for about a buck a pound, and my average bullet costs 2.3 cents each, so it is not cost prohibitive to buy nice clean safe lead. And that is if you can't find a local source cheaper. There are still a lot of real lead wheel weights out there in the world. :)
 
oh, i think i have to get something straight:

Can i use lead taken out of junk automotive batteries?
Click to expand...

Yes

Can you take the lead out of automotive batteries yourself?

NO

If you have a source for lead, no matter if its extracted from batteries, range junk or whatever, you can of course use it. If you have a source for automotive batteries and want to extract the lead yourself - forget it - dont do it - it can and eventually will - kill you!
 
Wow....ok. great to know. Automotive batteries out. I may have access to tire weights. Also i looked on ebay and found 10lbs of lead that was "fluxed" and "clean. Wants $20.50 for it with free shipping. Is that a good deal? Also, im assuming that jacketed bullets hold the gas pressure and lead does not hence the usage of "gas checks". What do i need to know about gas checks? Im asking all this because of an article i read about obama shutting down smelters in the usa. We would need to get lead over seas and then prices will go up....assuming what i read was correct of course. Ill find the link and post it for you guys to read. It was sent to me by my neighbor who is a US Federal Marshall. I just got him into reloading this past week. Cool guy.
 
Jeff as has been said do not try it with batteries. It is not worth it.

Wheel weighs will work fine as long as they are lead. Avoid the zinc ones. If you are sorting, and are in doubt place one on a hard surface, and give it a couple of whacks from a hammer. If it flattens out it is lead, if not then scrap it.

Save the reject weights. In a tight spot some places have guys that will let you swap those for the ones that they have. I have done this at a couple of places. They still have a bucket that goes to the recycle center, and no one knows the better.:cool:
 
So, from what im reading so far, a gas check is REQUIRED for cast bullets and is.basically a copper "cap" that is crimped onto the.base of the bullet....? Am i understanding that correctly? Also, from the sounds of it, id probably go the route of water drop. How long does it take from the time the mould is poured, "frosted", cut off with that thingy, and realeased into a bucket of water? And at what point does the gas check get crimped on....the final step?
 
Gas checks are only "required" for high velocities, and even then, this powder coating bit I've been reading on cancels that out too. People are pushing near jacketed velocities out with no gas checks and no lube (save for the powder coat).

I dunno about where you're at, but good scrap lead near me is $0.55/lb. That'd probably make it $0.05-$0.10/boolit depending on how much your time is worth and how cheap you can find alloys to mix with.
 
i cant stress this enough:

A GAS CHECK IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CAST LEAD BULLETS

its all about sizing, lube and hardness, a GC is just the easy way to go for high velocity but its not required!
 
Bear, I agree with ya. The OP states in the subject "Is it worth it?" Well...
On the gas check thing, let's bring it into perspective. Why do you cast?
Purely savings or because you can make your own better or maybe because you just want to? (I'm sure there are other reasons, those were the ones I factored in when I started casting.)
How much are you willing to invest in different alloys to feed your habit?
What's the price breakdown in utilizing gaschecks?
How can I simplify the process?
How much time spent just figuring all this out for a given end result is my time worth?

Yeah more questions than answers, and we all need to figure out what fits our needs/desires.

Myself, one alloy works good for me, ~12 BNH.
I cast 9mm, 45, 44, 30, 35 rem. I gc the 30 and 35 rem, the 44 cast are for target and loaded accordingly for my needs. ( 9 & 45... if ya gotta ask..)

My math tells me that gc is cheaper than smelting another alloy to fit the pressure I'll subject to my pills to and keeping track of it. So I chose the easier way out, one alloy.

All my pills are sized to fit a given arm, brought up to speed by feel (want a chrony, just have always compared to storebought by seat of the pants(shoulder/hand)) and how they hit the target. Hasn't failed me yet.

So really what I'm saying is where do you want to spend your money and how much is your time worth to get to the same result?

Good projectiles, repeatable results, no lead fouling, and within a budget.

The math my friends is for you to do.
 
I got a wild hair this afternoon and cast up a couple hundred 9mm bullets. Time spent, maybe an hour, with a Lee 10 pound production pot and a 2 cavity Lee aluminum mold. Sixed them and lubed with Lee Liquid Alox. Total time invested, maybe 1.5 hours, time I might have wasted watching something on NetFlix. ;) Cost, maybe $.25 for electricity, including ventilation and lighting, and about $6 of lead - I was using certified bullet metal from Sea Fab, a local lead manufacturer. Wheel weight garbage lead is about $1 a pound, good deal for plinking stuff, use it a lot.
I cannot recommend castboolits.gunloads.com highly enough for a resource - GREAT guys who help each other out all the time.
I like casting, I like reloading and i love shooting - three hobbies that really go together.
 
casting

If you reload bullet cost is your projectiles are the most costly component.

If shooting handguns it can be the difference between 22 cents a round and 8 cents a round. It can also mean the difference of reloading and not being able to reload in this time of reloading component shortages. If you have access to wheel weights then you have good lead for casting bullets to shoot up to the 1000 fps range. Also you'll have the molds to cast your favorite bullet instead of having to settle for just what's available.

As far as hunting goes ,there's that satisfaction you get from using the round you build from the ground up.

Be careful when melting WW lead not to melt the zinc ones with the lead ones . It can ruin your lead for bullets..

Also , I agree with everyone else on the batteries..Not worth the effort . The lead is not a good lead for bullets (except for the battery posts), plus it can be dangerous.
 
Yea, pretty much just looking to get a jump on things in.case this "backdoor obama gun control" crap accually happens. Id like to be able to cast in the even that prices go up, availability goes down, and they start making people register ammo. I dont shoot comp or go for pin point accuracy, im just receational and shoot ALOT....probably in the neighborhood of 400-500 rounds per week.....308, 223, 40, 9, and 50ae. Is it worth meaning...cost effective and not too time consuming. I appreciate all the info thus far and im still debating. In the mean time im buying all the jacketed rounds i can, week by week. May start cutting back on range time. Just got an.AR10. I have a ruger bolt i. 308 and i would usually bring 30-40 rounds to the range for that but now with the new rifle, im blowing through ammo quick...hahaha. im gearing up to reload and stock pile about 1000 308's and seal them in an ammo can. Same with the other calibers. So im wondering if maybe i should cast and use the cast boolits to reload the stash.
 
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