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interested in bullet casting but i have a few questions...
- Thread starter Smokescreens
- Start date
I started casting over 30 years ago so I could afford to shoot more. Now, after the great ammo panic I cast so I can afford to shoot more AND be independent of panic induced shortages. I can always scrounge lead from one source or another, all I need to do is insure a good stockpile of powder and primers. I had learned my lesson from previous shortages and was able to weather the most recent one without having to buy any components while others went without.
I realized that I had gone off on 13 different tangents,
Franken - a tangent? - you?!? - hehehe
But back on topic - I enjoy casting & reloading so much it's been years since I bought a factory round. Heck - I'd buy a 5 gallon bucket of mixed brass and some wheel weights before I'd buy a box of factory ammo. After all - where's the fun in that?!?
Then there's the part where you pull out your latest and begin an interesting conversation like this one..... As I am not a trophy hunter, I can't do that buying factory ammo ;-)
I cast my own for many years. The bullets that I cast were better than the cast bullets I buy. Any with a blemish went back in the pot. I found that the best bullets I could make was with linotype metal, it got rather hard to get and I eventually quit casting when I got my first 45 ACP, price for good cast bullets at that time was only 28.00 per 1000. It takes a lot of work to get 1000 good bullets with a 2 hole mold. I could shoot a 240 cast in a.44 Mag. with 24gr of 296 powder or 22.5 of 2400, this is factory type velocity. Pure lino, no gas check. 50 yard accuracy was excellent, under 2 inches if I did my part. Now days, I'm old and I'd rather be shooting, don't shoot the 44 any more, old hands don't like it.
I still have my casting equipment, just in case.
I still have my casting equipment, just in case.
My Mom was raised in the 1930's depression , east Texas and dirt poor.Funny how a shortage of and unavailability of something ingrains itself in one's mind.
Don
To her dying day she was frugal . "If you watch the pennies the dollars will take care of themselves " , " Waste not want not " , I heard these sayings and many more my entire life . She scrimped and saved on everything she could....even after my Dad started earning an extremely good salary, she was always pinching pennies.
If the cable TV went out she wouldn't pay for the hours it was out...I could go on but you get the picture .
The shortages and unavailabilities of the 1930's depression era profoundly affected my mom and certainly ingrained that way of life in her mind.
I never realized just how strongly she was affected , I thought every mom was tight with a dollar.
I actually started casting and reloading in 1967 ...for my own pleasure ..the panic buying just reinforced my belief that it is good to have moulds and reload for every gun you own or at least the ones you shoot a lot...
Gary
I love making my HPs, but I really just like casting and lubing/coating. It's the relaxation of it. Just sitting in front of the pot, enjoying the outdoors and turning a bucket of lead into pretty bullets is quite fun, relaxing, and gives me a sense of accomplishment, even if I don't use them. I don't have time to shoot a lot, even though I live in the country, so I end up making many more of them more than I use. I actually give away many more than I shoot.... sometimes even the whole day's castings.
Some ~40 years ago, I started out pretty cheap and only used cast for 38/357 plinking ammo.
After the discovery of powder coat, I now shoot 100% cast for everything bigger than 0.224" (including magnum pistols and bottle neck rounds in Contenders).
I really like shooting about once a week for an hour or two per session. I cast for myself, my son and a friend. I could not justify this volume of shooting without casting.
At least one decent reliable lead source is needed. At one outdoor range I get 2 or 3 opportunities per year to gather a couple of 5 gallon buckets of range lead (no cost, but lots of effort to sift from the loose dirt at the range and then process at home). I have also resorted to buying scrap lead from a big metal recycling center at $1 / lb or so. It is mostly too soft (pure) but much less effort. There are a few small timers that do a decent job supplying lead to bullet casters through the mail, but the shipping does add to the cost.
For someone considering casting, check out Titan reloading for Lee products. A Lee 10# or 20# bottom pour pot, a couple of Lee two cavity molds and some Lee liquid lube are reasonable first investments than can get you up and running for about the price of one mold from other makers.
The next step up IMO would be Lee push through sizers (as needed, if needed) and Powder Coating (PC).
I had my wife shop for a used toaster oven and got set up to use PC for not much. I later upgraded to a PID temperature controller and still have less than $70 invested in PC hardware.
For someone new, I recommend starting with revolver ammo or 45 Auto ammo. Probably buy some cast bullets first, find something you and your gun likes and then move into casting. On the other end of the spectrum, 9mm guns can be really hard to please and the 9mm is probably the worst to start with.
After the discovery of powder coat, I now shoot 100% cast for everything bigger than 0.224" (including magnum pistols and bottle neck rounds in Contenders).
I really like shooting about once a week for an hour or two per session. I cast for myself, my son and a friend. I could not justify this volume of shooting without casting.
At least one decent reliable lead source is needed. At one outdoor range I get 2 or 3 opportunities per year to gather a couple of 5 gallon buckets of range lead (no cost, but lots of effort to sift from the loose dirt at the range and then process at home). I have also resorted to buying scrap lead from a big metal recycling center at $1 / lb or so. It is mostly too soft (pure) but much less effort. There are a few small timers that do a decent job supplying lead to bullet casters through the mail, but the shipping does add to the cost.
For someone considering casting, check out Titan reloading for Lee products. A Lee 10# or 20# bottom pour pot, a couple of Lee two cavity molds and some Lee liquid lube are reasonable first investments than can get you up and running for about the price of one mold from other makers.
The next step up IMO would be Lee push through sizers (as needed, if needed) and Powder Coating (PC).
I had my wife shop for a used toaster oven and got set up to use PC for not much. I later upgraded to a PID temperature controller and still have less than $70 invested in PC hardware.
For someone new, I recommend starting with revolver ammo or 45 Auto ammo. Probably buy some cast bullets first, find something you and your gun likes and then move into casting. On the other end of the spectrum, 9mm guns can be really hard to please and the 9mm is probably the worst to start with.
I started handloading in the late 1980s, a relative newcomer compared to some on this board. However, I've been casting for only a few years.
I now cast for 4 handgun calibers (7 different cartridges), and 4 rifle calibers for 7 different cartridges.
I cast to allow me to shoot more, and because I am a hands-on type. I could not afford to shoot as much as I do now without handloading AND casting. As a plus, I can load those cartridges in ways not available either by retail, loading jacketed only.
Come to that, I'm almost certain that I shoot so I can obtain empty brass to fill again.
I now cast for 4 handgun calibers (7 different cartridges), and 4 rifle calibers for 7 different cartridges.
I cast to allow me to shoot more, and because I am a hands-on type. I could not afford to shoot as much as I do now without handloading AND casting. As a plus, I can load those cartridges in ways not available either by retail, loading jacketed only.
Come to that, I'm almost certain that I shoot so I can obtain empty brass to fill again.