FREE Bullets!

[Super Sneaky Steve]

So I was able to source some free lead and I'm excited for my FREE bullets!

After dabbling in various lube methods I decided to go all in with tried and true lube and ordered a sizer. Looks like the Star pass through design is the best of the bunch. Ordered a machine and dies for about $550.

Since I've got a super duper sizing machine to replace my Lee press sizing dies now I need production to match. I bought three Lee 6 cav moulds in my favorite designs. I've got them all in 2 cav form already. About $50 each. Handles for each $18/per on Amazon.

With all this new gear I'm going to need a lot of lube! $10 for a pound of bees wax on Amazon and about $8 for two jars of Vaseline at the local store.

Getting close to $800 not counting all the other stuff I've bought in the past.

FREE bullets here I come! :razz:

[slim1836]

You'll be surprised just how much you'll save by casting your own.

[adam_mac84]

$800/$40 per 500 payoff at 10,000 rounds if you were loading plated.
If you were shooting factory at $10/50, will be significantly sooner (4k)
I don't have many investments that pay themselves off in a year or 2 :)

[lightman]

Well, you jumped in in a big way! Enjoy the new volume levels that you will be able to reach. At least the lead was free!

[P Flados]

You'll be surprised just how much you'll save by casting your own.

Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle ;)

[RayinNH]

Yes but when the next ammo shortage occurs you'll be laughing all the way to the range. You do have powder and primers galore to go with those bullets don't you?

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Yes but when the next ammo shortage occurs you'll be laughing all the way to the range. You do have powder and primers galore to go with those bullets don't you?

Yes I do. Sometimes I question myself if I'm stocking enough. About 4K of each primer type. 8# jug of Bullseye should keep my handguns running for a long time.

I've just been doing small batches so far of a few hundred each time. With the new gear I'm going to try and hit it hard the next warm weekend and try to make a bucket of boolits.

[Dusty Bannister]

Cast for the enjoyment of casting and it will never become a chore. Cast for production, and it will become an unwelcome task that has to be done. No problem with maximizing your time when enjoying yourself though.

[Grmps]

My containers of reloading components and loaded cartridges has increased exponentially but I have yet to see any money being saved from casting and reloading!!! Just more enjoyment for the same money.:)

[Budzilla 19]

Ohhh, you in trouble now! Hahaha! Welcome to the addiction, in a big way! Yep, free lead! Enjoy it. Just my .02

[Tom W.]

Just order a bunch of lube Carnauba Red ( or blue ) from White Label Lubes. It's cheaper than trying to make some, and is the best out there........

[blikseme300]

You'll be surprised just how much you'll save by casting your own.

The best & fastest way to recoup your expenses is to buy something like a 458WM and cast & load for it. The savings per round is much better than trying to do this with something cheap like 38Spl. [smilie=s:

[Beagle333]

$800 is a good start. Now get in the $1000 club at NOE a few times over and you'll be on your way! [smilie=s:

[44Blam]

I've saved a TON of money! But, you have to buy some stuff to do it... And maybe you need a new mold to save more money...

[bstone5]

I started may years ago with my father when I was 12 years old casting and reloading 38 Special.
I am now 72 years old, have cast thousands of bullets over the years.
Got a Master Caster second hand about 8 years ago, ran the machine manually a few years and then automated the machine from info from this sight. Last week a friend came over and we cast 4500 lead bullets, then powder coated the bullets we cast.
My friend took all of newly cast bullets for this years shooting.
The lead and powder coating powder were purchased at a reasonable cost, so I guess money was saved by making the bullets.
I keep 10,000 cast and powder coated bullets on a a steel shelf cart for my family and a few friends who help in the casting and coating.
I do not sell the bullets as a business but cast for myself, my family and a few friends in my gun club.

[marek313]

Its funny because my last order just came in so now I have over 20lbs of powders and I think around 8K of various primers. Before I started which is not that long ago I would have thought that was a lot. Now I'm thinking I need more primers right ? Last year alone I dropped over $1K on powders and primers alone but that only means that I saved at least twice that much right? Good part is I never run out of ammo now. I know I have enough for this summer and I'll continue to stock up as i go. I enjoy reloading just as much as shooting.

[Black Prince]

The benefit of what the OP has done will be very obvious the next time the American people go nuts and elect another president like Obama. When that happened, ammo supplies dried up and so did reloading supplies. All my friends screamed like stuck hogs. I had 50,000 primers in stock and about 50 pounds of powder of various sorts, but two 8 pound kegs of Bullseye and 2 kegs of Unique that I shoot a lot in handguns. Those supplies will store a long time if done correctly, so it's just like money in the bank as far as I am concerned because people were offering me 40 dollars a thousand for primers that I paid 22 bucks per thousand for when I bought them three months before Obummer was elected.

Right now, supplies are plentiful, so people think it'll stay that way. WRONG!!! And Obummer is your best example that it will not. It pays to stay ahead of the crowds and what they are thinking and if you want to shoot, you had dam well better be prepared with adequate supplies to last 4 or 5 years when the next Obummer comes along. The demorats are looking for him or her right now. And remember the republicans were no better with their Never Trump people they still have today.

[Plate plinker]

You need more powder...trust me. Primers too.

[sw282]

l have shot around twelve thousand cast boolits thru my 629 Magnum Hunter:-).. For the same amount of money spent on store bought boolits my round count would by only about twelve hundred:-(.. By home casting l was able to shoot TEN TIMES MORE for the same amount of money:-) :-) :-)





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[dverna]

You were smart to get the Star. Nothing is faster. Lubing (and I include coatings) and sizing bullets is a drag. Getting it done efficiently makes it less onerous.

BTW, the Star is “free”. If you were to sell it now, you would get 80% back. In 5 years, 100% back. If you keep it longer, it will appreciate. And along the way, you enjoyed the benefits of the best equipment out there.

I bought my first Star 45 years ago for about $60. Look at what used ones are going for on EBay