How Many Cast Bullets are in Your Inventory

[John Boy]

Am in the process of updating the cast bullet inventory since May 2012 for all the calibers in the safes .
With more to go, the count is 12,877 :awesome:

[bmortell]

im probably in the minority as I make 50 or so test em shoot em whatever, then I make 50 more. im never convinced I like something in particular enough to make a lot of them. id find out I want a different alloy or something and wasted my time making them all. also im not a person that "practices" I usually just test things for fun

[ikarus1]

I'm about to move from one home to another so it's easier to keep it in ingot form at this point. I've been loading up various stragglers in the inventory just to get them out of little bins. I had about 500 .45 LC that came in handy as I break in a new Blackhawk flattop convertible. Then I found another container full of those pesky 255 SWCs lol.

[tazman]

I have no idea and I am not going to count them. Got to be several thousand easily.

[Conditor22]

A few

https://i.imgur.com/u84jI8R.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/igmRorV.jpg

[USSR]

Tens of thousands. When I get bored, I cast bullets.

Don

[fcvan]

Cast? or cast and loaded? Most of my cast IS loaded, so after counting cases of ammo (roughly estimating I have ammo at both houses) 5K 9mm, 2k 38 Sp., 500 357 M, 250 44 M (wife's new cartridge) 500 41 M, 2k 45 ACP, 500 45 Colt, 2k 223, 1k 300 BO, 300 7.62x51 (newest rifle) and 200 30-06 Spr.

Mind you, multiply by 2 as I have pretty much kept both houses evenly stocked. I have lots of empties to top off, waiting on Baseball season, during which I listen while casting. That is probably 2 coffee cans of 45 ACP and 223, and a 5 gallon bucket of 38 Sp. I cast, powder coat, and load as I go. Is it excessive? Depends on what folks consider OCD. Just know that when it comes to 223, 9mm, 38, and 300 BO, I have also cast and loaded the same numbers with/for my brother. He loads his own 308 and 30-06.

As a rough guess, I have cast, loaded, and stockpiled enough ammo in the past 10 years my brother thinks we may have shifted the Earth's rotational axis due to the concentration of the weight involved. Running out on a good day at the range with friends is never a worry. Heck, 4 of us went to the range one day, all shooting 38s. Try as we could, we were not successful in emptying a 5 gallon bucket full of loaded 38s. We stopped shooting when we ran out of iced tea and pop.

Dang it, I do have a coffee can of 454 RB cast, 10 lbs of 69 RB cast, 10 lbs of 223 cast, and I think a coffee can of 125 RN I shoot in 9mm and 38. I am also reminded that a friend wants me to bring the gear to cast, powder coat and load 3k of 38s with the Lee 358-125 RF. He's buying the lead, and he keeps the boolits, so I guess that doesn't count. What does count is he's BBQing the tri-tip.

[trapper9260]

I do not count them I just cast what I need and go from there. Oh I need to get more casting done. Just to think of it.

[ole_270]

No idea but just finished adding over 50 lbs of 38-250 and 45-200 to the pile the last two days.

[Burnt Fingers]

Around 700 lbs worth.

I too cast when I get bored.

[Kraschenbirn]

Ain't gonna bother to do an exact count but total is somewhere well in excess of 12K...and that doesn't count loaded ammo!! Normally, I like to keep, as least 400-500 for each of the long-guns and 1K for boolits used in multiple loadings i.e. .308/.30-06) and 750-1000 each for .357/.38, 9mm, .44Mag/Spl, and .45ACP.

Bill

[cwlongshot]

Yup a few here too. (This is just what’s bottled and was still adding to the shelf.

257448

CW

[Winger Ed.]

Its enough that I have to keep counter weights on the other side of the garage.

[alamogunr]

I have no idea. I do know that my inventory of H&G 68's is way down. Can't be more than 100-150. I'm not going to load any more .45ACP until I cast up a couple of thousand. I've got 2 of Miha's brass clones and the first aluminum H&G68 aluminum 6 cavity. Did I mention that this is my favorite .45 Auto boolit?

The aluminum mold was slightly out of round and for some reason I didn't use it beyond a test run. Don't remember how it shot. I'm going to cast several this time and keep the aluminum mold boolits separate. Hope I can shoot well enough to see if there is a difference.

[lightman]

I'm another that has no idea. Between the load ammo, the bullets that are lubed and the unlubed bullets, I have no clue. It would be easier to say how many jugs full.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

No idea! With 120 boolit moulds and 78 loading dies sets. I guess in the many thousands. :Fire:

I took a photograph of my shelves, didn't come out real clear, but the negative weighed 3 pounds!:kidding:

[metricmonkeywrench]

Not many, I keeps chooting dem up faster than I can cast them. It doesn’t help that we had a mild winter keeping me from some quality casting time

[poppy42]

Are we talking just Boolets? Or Boolets and loaded ammo? Either way a lot don’t know how many. Not like I’m gonna count em all. A lot but not enough lol. That reminds me If it don’t rain tomorrow, I gotta cast some more Boolets! No garage so all my casten is done outside and weather dependent. I’ve tried, on several occasions, to get my wife to hold an umbrella over me and my lead pot so I can cast when it’s raining. Unfortunately I can’t repeat her response on this open, family friendly forum!!:grin:

[TjB101]

Wow, some pretty healthy quantities shown here. I only have a few thousand stored up in each 9, 45 and 357.

[6bg6ga]

Lets all give a precise inventory so they can come the street and pick them up or propose a tax on your inventory.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Not that many. They tend to get shot up pretty quickly.

[Sig556r]

If you can still count 'em, you're running low...

[bikerbeans]

No clue, but everything from 32 cal round balls up to 10 ga fullbore slugs. Total weight of casting efforts, both loaded and loose, would be several hundred pounds.

BB

[ACC]

I like to keep 500 rounds of .357 Mag on hand. 1000 rounds of .38 special. 2000 rounds of 9mm. And 500 rounds of 7.62X39. Just in case the Zombies find me.

BTW the nurse who drew my blood yesterday. I really think she's a vampire. The smile on her face worried me.

ACC

[DonMountain]

I really enjoy looking at the pictures of everyone's shelving full of cast lead projectiles all lined up in plastic bottles. I don't have a good pictures of all of mine, but in a similar arrangement. My thought was, I wondered how many of you have experienced a structural failure of those shelves from all of that bullet weight? Keep the pictures coming as I am looking at adding some shelving.

[RydForLyf]

A few

https://i.imgur.com/u84jI8R.jpg

You had to eat a lot of Costco nuts to get all of those jars. I like the gold tops, so for me it's chocolate coated almonds. This hobby gets expensive, in more ways than one. He He

[dverna]

At least 25k...maybe over 30k. As a hoarder, if supply drops to less than 10k, I get antsy. Have never been under 10k since about 2004. More importantly, alloy inventory will make well over another 100k.

It helps to be a shooter instead of an experimenter and to shoot cast in pistol calibers only. I have the bulk of my inventory in one style for each pistol caliber...9mm, .38/.357, .40, and .45 ACP. Plan to add one more in .38/.357.

I am a “good enough” kind of guy. I will not have the perfect cast bullet/load for each gun, but I have no need for it either. KISS

[jimb16]

I cast for 18 different calibers and have at least 3 molds per caliber with at least 1 3#coffee can of bullets for each mold. I'll be darned if I want to do the math! Plus I make my own shot in #s 9, 7.5 and 6. And I normally keep at least 80 plus pounds of each. My poor little head is hurting just thinking about it!

[fredj338]

I rarely have the time to actually build any inventory above 1000. Though that is good for a couple months shooting in one caliber.

[bedbugbilly]

. . . . . enough to get the job done. I agree 6bg6ga . . . . before long, we'll be taxed on the amount of tax we have to pay.

[JimB..]

Today it seems that I have too many, but one day I fear that it’ll seem too few.

[kevin c]

I don't know. I judge my inventory of the one boolit I shoot by two methods: volume and weight. Volume is by the bucket or crate full, and weight is the pounds of alloy used up making a batch.

Either way, I'm OK for the moment. OK, however, is not the same as satisfied. Like dverna, I don't ever sit easy with the idea that my supply is running low, so casting is on the agenda. Additionally, I promised a friend to coat his casts for him. He's been waiting patiently for me to cast, coat and bake my own so that he is in the que and moving towards a finished product ;^).

[ole_270]

Don't have a clue how many, but I added 43 pounds of 38-250 for the 38-55 and 10 of 45-200 for the 1911 the last couple days.

[Jack Stanley]

Barely enough for next week ........... I better get busy .

Jack

[bobthenailer]

a SWAG 30K +

[TSA222]

I got a few. started casting and loading. Back when money sick was still a guppy bullseye was $1.98 a pound

[TSA222]

I hate spell check

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Last week, I finished loading a bunch of 41 mag ammo, that I had cast for. Most of the boolits were cast in the last year. But as I was reorganizing the storage area, I found some that I cast in 2011 from a Saeco 411 four cav. mold, the batch was labeled 015. I started casting in 2010, so that jar of boolits were from my 15th casting session. They looked real good for a newbie, they were lubed with NRA 50/50, which you could tell it had aged some and were stuck together,,,I'm glad they were in a sealed jar, so no dust :) They loaded up just fine.

[TSA222]

Last count. About six thousand 38 specials, four thousand 357 mag. And about 2,500 44 mag.

[TheGrimReaper]

I do not count them I just cast what I need and go from there. Oh I need to get more casting done. Just to think of it.
Me too.
Just cast till I fill my designated container

[ak_milsurp]

I don't have exact numbers.. But, several thousand for sure!

Sent from my LM-V350 using Tapatalk

[stubshaft]

At least 7,000+

[tdoor4570]

started to count mine but ran out of fingers and toes so I quit

[savage308]

A few

https://i.imgur.com/u84jI8R.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/igmRorV.jpg more than him

[fa38]

Not enough. I did not cast very much last year, so only 3 or 4 thousand but did add over 700 hundred today. NOE 55 gr FN MX3.
257601 257602

[mjwcaster]

Virtually none.
And no loaded ammo.
Low on primers, good on powder.

I didn’t cast much last year and the wife bought a few guns for herself.
She quickly shot up my ammo stash, which was already low.

So I have a lot of work to do this year.
I’ve gotten the garage cleaned out enough to get to my reloading/casting bench.
Now I just need to finish getting my molds back into shape (cleaned, sprue plate straightened, finish leementing) and get casting.

I have been sorting brass, I will have plenty to reload.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FLINTNFIRE]

Ammo cans loaded and thats not 30 cal cans 50 cal and up , cast not loaded but coated well coffee cans is storage , and 9mm 40 44 45 and then some rifle calibers , figured what I cast one day and coated the next in 9mm that was weighed and then I kept adding to it and went back and weeded oxidized bullets out of other calibers and coated what was shiny , keep adding to it if things ever go south and there is no electric it is already cast and coated for the proverbial rainy day , stash of ingots is just that , dig range scrap and use that as lead sources for free or cheap are drying up . I too cast when urge hits and that seems to be often , same with loading , what a hobby I like it and then I can shoot when every one else is screaming shortage.

[TCLouis]

Unlike some have entioned, I typically try to cast 24 # in a casting session.

Has never been an issue til I ran two batches like this in one afternoon in molds that were "new" to me.
358156 I had a more immediate use for so cast ad GC/lubed within a week or so.
359429 I tried to size several weeks later and due the difficulty of running tit through the sizing die decided that it had really age hardened.
Ran a couple and stopped to examine them. Lube grooves really small and smeared.
Hmmm . . . Got out the mike and LI, they are .368. Started to second guess my alloy and if that was the issue and then remembered the 358156s were ok and cast same day, same alloy.
Set the 358429 back to be retuned to Lyman and essentially only remember on occasions where I don't have time to mess with it.
Have offered the beautiful .368 SWC boolits several times and had no takers.

It just kills me to melt down such beautiful boolits.

Oh well enough whinining

[whisler]

After reading some of these numbers and looking at these pictures, all I can do is hang my head in shame.

[44Blam]

Well, the other day I thought - I want to shoot 44 MAG at the combat shoot this month... So, I cast about 20# of lead and got about 600 new ones. Today, I looked in the shop and it turns out I've got at least 500 ready to load...

I also started looking around and it looks like I need more 45's... For the 1895. :D

[ioon44]

About 230 less than yesterday.

[lightman]

Am in the process of updating the cast bullet inventory since May 2012 for all the calibers in the safes .
With more to go, the count is 12,877 :awesome:

An unknowing person reading these pages would think we are hoarders! :drinks:

[FLINTNFIRE]

We are hoarders of brass powder primers lead molds reloading equipment and other gun stuff

[Dapaki]

Enough.... :Fire:

[goryshaw]

No accurate idea, I just know that per casting session I generally empty a 20 lb Lee furnace 3 times, usually alternating between 2-3 molds. I do have 50-60 lbs of RCBS 45-270 SAA ready, along with 20+ lbs each of two different Lee 45-70 designs and another 20+ RCBS 32-98 SWC. I don't know what I need to load next, I will need to look over my cases to see what I have empty, I'm thinking a batch of 358421 and 314299 are needed.

[nueces5]

I think I never get many boolits together
the shots before they accumulate
:grin:

[charlie b]

You guys must shoot a lot more than I do. :)

I mostly shoot my two bolt rifles, about 100 rounds per week. I rarely have mote than 100 cast and ready to load.

My pistols each have about 1000 loaded rounds in storage. I shoot them at most once a month.

[6bg6ga]

If it hits the fan whatever we have simply won't be enough. Labeling ourselves as a prep-per or stating an amount of ammunition simply allows us to be a target.

[LenH]

Never really give it much thought, but it is never enough.

[mozeppa]

250,000 in 12 calibers , all in 100 .50 cal army cans.

97% powder coated.

[skeet1]

I don't need to many. I just load them, shoot them, dig them back up and cast them again.

Ken

[DHDeal]

I read a couple pages of this thread and I'm in the middle it seems. I box mine in the MTM clear green bullet boxes and figure I have about 48 of those boxes in the bullet cabinet. That is just handgun. My BPCR bullets are in MTM 44/45 caliber 100 round boxes and I don't really know how many of those I have waiting.

An accurate count would be a bunch of lead....

[Wheelguns 1961]

Just added another 1,500 or so this morning

[RydForLyf]

Never enough, but it is weighed, not counted. Maybe around 150 pounds.

[LAH]

I have no idea and I am not going to count them. Got to be several thousand easily.

Easily.........Now that's a modest statement.