Total Cost of Your Mold Inventory

[John Boy]

Molds can be an expensive cost of reloading depending on the number of molds you have collected. How much have you paid for your total mold inventory?

I have not finished putting a dollar value to my mold inventory but so far the total value is $8206

[rancher1913]

not going there, my wife might see it.

[AnthonyB]

My latest inventory is 177. Several are rare; many are custom designs.
Tony

[Hossfly]

Just got into casting, so only have 3 molds 1 was gifted and I purchased 2 more a 357 and a 223. Using the heck out of 2 of them tho.

[Beagle333]

I don't even want to think about it.

[kungfustyle]

Wow, don't even want to look at that. I've seen that NOE has the $1000 club, not there, not even close. Next you'll want us to add up our reloading presses, dies and trimming equipment, our powder measures and all the other things we just had to have. LOOK AT ALL THE MONEY I'M SAVING
:kidding:

[sukivel]

not going there, my wife might see it.

No kidding!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mr Peabody]

Inventory on hand? Or monies spent over the years for items no longer owned.

[tigweldit]

$ amount doesn't matter because I'm saving so much by casting, gas checking, powder coating and sizing my own boolits.

[zymguy]

How much have I spent? All of it. Whats it worth? priceless !

[Harter66]

If I had to replace them ? There's 63 at an average cost of $65 , so $4095 plus handles @$25×14 is $350 .
If they need to be liquidated , like I drop dead over breakfast in the morning they drop to $35 and 15 so about $2500 .

Due to some recent gifts , a couple of just absolutely screaming gunshow deals , and judicious buying , sales , discounts , a few just straight up theft at the asking price enhanced by an offer , and deals where I bought a 3-5 moulds at show for 1-2 I actually wanted and sold the rest below market ending up ahead and getting the moulds I wanted , I'd say I'm at about the liquidation value in outlay for them .

[Mr_Sheesh]

If I told myself I'd have to beat myself. Fortunately most are older ones I bought in the 80s, had lots more income at that time.

[NoZombies]

I'd hate to do the math... For several reasons...

[Mk42gunner]

not going there, my wife might see it.
I don't have a wife to worry about, but I'm not going there because I might see it myself.

Robert

[pworley1]

When I think of all the money I have saved casting my own the cost must be $0.00

[jmort]

Bingo
Truth in sarcasm

[LenH]

I am suffering from apathy & ignorance. I don't know and really don't care.

There was a different forum I look at from time to time and some guy put on there about the cost of each round and had it down to the penny.
My response to the thread was that I have never really thought about it. To which I was castigated for not counting the cost of this hobby.

To which I asked the question, `How many bullets do you have to cast to pay for a mold?'
Funny how that thread died.

My only concern is that if I have the money to buy a mold, primers, powder or lead, I buy it and if I don't, I wait until I do and get it. It is that simple.

[mattw]

This is not really something I want to think about.... I am guessing I could sell them all for 4 to 5 thousand. I have several long out of production Ideals, Lymans and a few good Saeco's. But, I am not sure as I have not been buying more that 1 or 2 at a time and many where acquired when I worked gunshows with a buddy back in the late '80's to very early 2000's when good moulds showed up on tables.

[Harter66]

When I think of all the money I have saved casting my own the cost must be $0.00

Well ....... actually the 40 + boxes 45 Colts , 10 or so boxes of 45 S&W , 2 boxes of 264 WM , 2 boxes of 38 S&W , and 5 boxes of 32 Rem have probably more than paid for the gear , as the 32 Rem alone paid for 3 NOE 5C . 2 boxes of 264 paid for another . The 2 boxes of 38 short easily covered a couple Lee 6Cs and I only gave $30 for the 8C H&G . The H&G did look like it had been laying in the bottom of a John Deere engine compartment for about 2 yr though so you know I could have just as easily been out $30 .
I was gifted a 4C 25 cal Lyman so that was paid for before I turned on the pot . There are at least 6-7 moulds that were the result of buying 3-4 moulds for $20-25 to get 1 I wanted and sell the others for $25 ea shipped . A bargain for a 50 yr old still factory packed Ohaus mould by the way .
I know that on the $2500 or so outlay I've loaded well over 15,000 rounds with probably 5,000 of them being at a savings of $0.50-1.25 a round has more than paid for the whole inventory and then some .
The 6 $250 shot shell presses I paid $35-40 for that loaded 100 plus boxes at savings as low as $10/box and as high as 20/box have paid for those pretty quickly too .

[sundog]

I have cast and shot so many boolits in the past 40+ years that I'm pretty sure that they have all (easily over 100) paid for themselves.

It makes little difference to me the cost, especially when I can make a boolit for an accurate load for cartridges that have few or no choices on the commercial market, or when the price of factory round is prohibitive.

So, the way I think about it is that I get to shoot the old family heirlooms often, and other guns in volume if I desire.

Then, there is the "WOW!" factor when others just cannot believe 'how accurate' my loads are, and how much and how often I shoot.

A year ago my grandson came by to visit just after getting out of the Army. One afternoon we burned up well over 500 rounds of ammo out behind the barn - 9mm, 45acp, 45 Colt (his favorite), 44 Mag and Spl, 357 Mag. Had a good time. I wonder what that would have cost if purchased at LGS! The savings most certainly paid for the beer we consumed while cleaning everything.

[lightman]

I started casting on my own in the 70's but I probably have fewer molds than many of you. I'm more likely to develop a pet load and stay with it than to have several molds per caliber. I would guess around $2000.

[redhawk0]

Not gonna go there...even I don't want to know.

redhawk

[Echo]

I don't even want to think about it.

Ditto...

[Grmps]

That is just an EVIL question

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'd guess somewhere between $2k and $5k, but they have been and will be continually amortized over the years to be $0k.

[kevin c]

When I first got into reloading, I was told to expect that the savings over commercial ammo would pay off the expense of the equipment over the next year. This turned out to be correct (I shoot 30 to 40 K rounds per year). I expect the same sort of thing for home cast boolits versus commercial cast.

Casting my own bullets just in the main caliber I reload for, I expect the primary mold paid for itself in the first couple thousand cast, and if I keep on casting and shooting, it will cover the outlay for the infrequently used molds as well. So, no qualms so far.

Sure, it's still an outlay, and totally discounts my time and effort, but I'm having fun.

[dragon813gt]

I’d have to run a report in Quicken to see what I’ve spent. I will say I’m part of the NOE 1K club a few times over.

[mozeppa]

easily i've spent 30k on reloading....i've saved so.....uh......much that .....uh .....never mind.

[Thin Man]

With about 190 molds in my inventory (along with all of the other rubbish that comes along with this activity) I have more invested than I would ever tell. Yes it has been pricey to gather all of these. On the other hand, I just hope I get a "fair warning" notice before my time comes so I can manage their sale to new users. If I can be the seller, the original investment will be considered a loan from me to me for the time of having them, with the return of some of that investment. If I time out and don't sell them myself, the estate manager will probably move them off for cheap. Now that would really get me hacked off, if I were around to see it happen.

[William Yanda]

you braggin or complaining?

[lightman]

With about 190 molds in my inventory (along with all of the other rubbish that comes along with this activity) I have more invested than I would ever tell. Yes it has been pricey to gather all of these. On the other hand, I just hope I get a "fair warning" notice before my time comes so I can manage their sale to new users. If I can be the seller, the original investment will be considered a loan from me to me for the time of having them, with the return of some of that investment. If I time out and don't sell them myself, the estate manager will probably move them off for cheap. Now that would really get me hacked off, if I were around to see it happen.

Just something to consider. My guns are in my will and I have a few lines suggesting stuff about my reloading tools, brass, and lead stash. Approximate value, places to sell, ect.

[OS OK]

If I hadn't spent it for moulds I would have spent it somewhere else and prolly have nothing to show for it...

[Wag]

That is just an EVIL question

Exactly. I can't believe you made us think about this. :)

--Wag--

[Green Frog]

I don't even want to think about it.

^^^This!^^^ It only takes a few moulds in the $150-200 range (each) to a start adding up quickly, and although I’ve been relatively fortunate (and frugal) accumulating my few dozen moulds, replacement value would be daunting. I guess I would be more discriminating in which moulds I bought if I replaced my array... a bunch that seemed attractive at the time don’t get used, so would be unjustified to repurchase.

Froggie

[gwpercle]

Being a mould junkie and having had the habit for 50 years....the idea of how much money I have spent on moulds just boogles my mind.

I'm not even sure how many moulds I have ....you put them up.....and then forget where dey at .

My children are going to be so disappointed in their inheritance ...it's not like all my "priceless" reloading stuff is actually worth anything .

[squidtamer]

Good grief. I don't ever WANT to think about it! Whatever the total, I'm fairly sure it's somewhat more than I told the wife. Bad memory is to blame. ;)

Then again, it would be asking my wife what she's spent on the horses and couple of the kids ponys over the years. :lol:

[gpidaho]

As moulds go, a guess would be in the four thousand range (over $2,000 with Noe alone) The rest of my reloading tooling is in the thousands. It's not a money saving thing for me, more of a collection hobby like model railroading but with better benefits. When the time comes, I'm counting on all of you to help the daughter turn this into an inheritance. There will be some nice stuff on our sales site. Gp

[Biggin]

If I hadn't spent it for moulds I would have spent it somewhere else and prolly have nothing to show for it...
Only been at this a year or so. Don't want to sound facetious but don't know don't care. Just hoping I have someone to pass it on to.

[Kraschenbirn]

Uh, let's see...sixteen molds in each tray and two...no, three...trays in the cabinet with sizer dies and NOE tools plus, maybe, a dozen Lee with handles on the peg board and those two Arsenal 4-holers I got last Spring and uh...

Bill

[dragon813gt]

As of today I’ve spent $2.91 per day on molds since I started buying them. I should have never done the calculation. Good news is that figure goes down every day if I don’t buy any more........and I’m signed up for at least five group buys. In some of them I’m buying two molds.

[tazman]

This is an impossible question to answer. I have been casting, of and on, for over 44 years now. I have no idea what I spent for some of these molds. Nor do I remember where I got a lot of them.
I would never try to keep track of something like that anyway. My wife might somehow see that list and then it would hit the fan for sure.

[Tom Myers]

About 20 years ago, a database of personal molds was one of my first applications in the Precision Software (http://www.tmtpages.com/) line and, with few modifications, it has served me well over the years.

The Precision Mold List Application (http://www.tmtpages.com/MoldListBuy/index.htm).

Application - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Data page - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Database
229624 229625 229626

Mold Sketch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mold Inventory - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Inventory Totals
229628 229629 229631
As usual, the total page never ceases to amaze me.

The application provides complete printouts of all data and I have a hardcopy sheet of each mold and information stashed away in a binder in case of a total digital meltdown.

229632



I just finished adding my latest acquisition, a most impressive N.O.E. 358-100 4 cavity mold, to the database.

229630

[rbuck351]

I don't know how many I have nor what I paid for them and don't care. The last batch of 18 I bought at an auction for about $75 IIFC. I do remember the price of one I got at a gun show about 30 years ago $10 for a lyman 4 cav with handles. I would take me several hours to make a guess and I'm not going there. This is not about what it costs so much as it is on what each of us has decided to spend his money.

[Walks]

I can't began to figure that out. But I have most of my molds in LYMAN boxes. There are 14 4cav boxes, but a couple/three have 3-4 old small block molds. And the 27 smaller orange boxes have 2 2cav molds in a lot of them. I do know for sure I have 17 RCBS molds as their boxes only holds one mold each. And the 6 N.O.E. & ACCURATE boxes each hold one. LEE molds; 8-9 2cav and 4-5 6cav. Plus about half a dozen OHAUS & LACHMILLER molds.

Don't really want to think about how much that cost me. Because there is at least a dozen+ molds I still need. Plus more sizing equipment. And lube, you always gotta have more lube. And lead, you always gotta buy more lead. And more lead. And more lead.

Not sure how many molds I have, or their monetary value. But I did figure out my two cigar boxes of Lube-Sizer dies & top punches are worth about $1,200

[Tazza]

If i had to figure in shipping and conversion, i'd have to be at about..... $1,700, and for that, i really don't have a whole lot to show for it. The magma moulds shipped with conversion run about 180 each, i have bought 9 i think so far, two lee 6 bangers, my master caster came with 4, the machine cost me $600 landed years ago, so i can essentially call those free.

[Ranger 7]

At present I have/use eight Lee six cavity molds, about $520.00.

[Iowa Fox]

Heck, I'd settle for just being able to find them all. Used to find some real buys at gun shows and gun shops. Where I lost control is the group buys here, Lee, Mihec, and Noe

[Walks]

If I think about how many molds, I'll start to think about handles, then the Lube-Sizers, sizer dies, top punches. Then on to Reloading presses & dies. Scales and..............
GEEZ!!! I could but another house and I live in Los Angeles COUNTY.

[robg]

More than I can afford .

[Tackleberry41]

Not really something you want to sit down and add up. I hit the $1000 club at NOE quite a while ago.

[country gent]

With all the money Im saving casting my own it dosnt matter really. LOL