Realistic Expectations for Cast Boolits

I starting to cast bullets because of economics and I strive to learn and experiment till my loads are up to my standards. I inherited half of my loading equipment from my father. Been working with jacketed(condoms as y'all call them)bullets since the old age of 9. Watched my dad make tons of cast bullets for pistol and rifle, but was not allowed to touch at that age. Time went by and his knowledge got lost. My goals are to make cast bullets at least up to par with my jacketed loads. Or keep trying until they do. Spent 6 months on a load that gave me my avatar picture. All the while on the cheap. All low cost components and load data I could find. Plus, just trying to carry on a family tradition, let alone a national tradition.

G'Day
I cast boolits for a lot of reasons but the two main ones are Supply and Creation.
Supply: Here in Tasmania (home of the Devil) there are few shops and most only stock the popular components. When you go in and ask for some 35 rem stuff, well I don't because they'll never have it. Or .375, 45/70, 44mag,.303,25/20,32/20 the list goes on. So the best way to ensure continuity of supply is to supply yourself.
Creation: Casting Boolits is the only time we take a raw material and create something. When we relod we are only assembling parts, when we shoot we are destroying that assembled round. Unless your skillful enough to build stocks, etc casting is the way of producing things of awe and wonder.
As for cutting costs I'm just building a new rifle because I purchased a Mihec mold and didn't know what to use it in, so there wasn't much savings there!!! But the 30 Apache should be a casters dream.
Keep pouring them everone.
Juddy

I've only been reloading for 3-4 years and have only recently (the past 6 months) started casting my own for .357mag & 44mag. I originally started out reloading as an economical way of shooting more but it has become a source of enjoyment for me. Casting boolits has given me a greater appreciation for working up loads as well as the weapons I use.
I very rarely post anything to the forums but read voraciously and absorb as much info as possible. THANK YOU to everyone who posts and shares their knowledge so that others like myself can learn.

I learned the basics of reloading from my Dad.It all started with me at 6 or 7 operating the press handle resizing casesfor his hunting rifle.I have been adding to and practicing the skills learned there ever since.Casting was a natural next step, I am/ was very fortunate to have a very knowledgeable family friend get me hooked on casting.In the beginning it was largely about the economical production of handgun ammo, and it still is.However, as the few years since I began casting have gone by, I find myself casting for rifles, shotguns and pistols, and not just to do it on the cheap.I'm quite enjoying the process, and also like depending a little less on store bought bullets.To all those here who take the time to answer questions and impart the gobs of knowledge found here, a sincere thank you!

Realistic expectations for cast boolits? I don't know. I started casting today for the only caliber that really matters; 41 magnum. [smilie=1:

I've been handloading for almost two years now and decided that it was time to add a little more adventure into the mix. With time, I hope to what casting expectations are realistic.

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Originally Posted by KD0WSM

Realistic expectations for cast boolits? I don't know. I started casting today for the only caliber that really matters; 41 magnum. [smilie=1:

I've been handloading for almost two years now and decided that it was time to add a little more adventure into the mix. With time, I hope to what casting expectations are realistic.

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The 41 Mag.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...K/DSC02802.jpg

Bass Akward
How about the nitwits throwing beer cans in the pond.
Dusty Ed

Realistic expectations for cast boolits? My "standard" is to have my cast boolit reloads shoot at least as well and factory ammo. Initially I cast boolits for the cost savings; back in 1973 I received a Ruger Blackhawk as a high school graduation/going into the Army present, but the cost of factory ammo (even 38 specials) was daunting....I soon realized that my Uncle Sam would supply me with an unlimited supply of 38 special FMJ ammo for free and my Blackhawk was happy to be fed such a diet. But only when I bought reloading gear and was given a boolit mould that I really started to understand reloading and most importantly boolit casting. Back then I had many guns in obsolete calibers that I bought in nearly new condition for a song because ammo wasn't available: 577-450, 577 Snider, .310 Cadet, 8.15 Mauser, 8mm Kropatschek, 7.5 Swiss, 38 Colt Long, 56-50 Spencer, 41 Swiss, 43 Spanish, 11mm Mauser and a host of others....By casting boolits and learning to reform brass I was able to assemble a rather large collection of shooting vintage rifles cheaply (and as a kid I mean really cheaply). Fast forward 50 years and my expectations are the same: my cast boolit loads still beat factory ammo.

I wanted to expand the realm of my handloading and at the same time assure that I could always have boolits for my handguns. It's also a lot cheaper to cast them. A few hours a month gives me all I need.

I started casting toy solders as a boy with my grandfather. Still facinated by the silver stream. Love shooting, and with the price of reloading components and now most importantly shortages all the time. Casting boolits was the natural solution.
I like casting boolits, like sending them down range even more. I have encountered many challenges and failures, shot a least a hundred pounds of keyholes and fliers that never hit paper, but never gave up. I never expected match accuracy just good groupings, every once and a while i get a ragged hole from my cast boolits from a 90 plus year old gun and i am further intruged. I lurked here for many years, I could not join since i was on company computors. Lurked on many milsurp/rifle sites, honestly nothing compares to this site in my books, and I am game for freindly banter at the pull of a trigger. I can get on this site from my phone now so i can add and share now.
Thanks to all that shared and hope to help others any time i can.
Be well
Yours truly
Ralph Morash CD1, RCN(ret)

Well, I think my initial expectation was to save money. After 20-plus years, there has been some of that, but I think it's more of the idea of spending the same but spaced out in smaller amounts. That, and if you figure in the time involved, it's a 'potato, potahto' kind of thing. What I get most out of it is being able to cast exactly what I want, tailor it to my gun, and enjoy the entire process from locating lead to sending the boolits downrange. It's always a good conversation starter and tons of fun!!!

Thank you Ralph, awesome post.

I started casting in 1999 because I wanted to stockpile ammo for the impending y2k disaster that never materialized. I wanted to be able to always shoot no matter what was going on in the world. That's what got me into casting.

I think the savings is a wash. Started out in 1962, to be able to shoot more. Still am, but I think the savings is a wash. All the equipment and supplies would have bought a lot of ammo. The benefit, is definitely in the fun I've had along the way.
That in it's self, is very rewarding, but those little holes, close together, way down there, with my home made, is a matter of pride. I'm sure they would have never happened without casting an re-loading. That's over 52 years of fun, and a life time of self satisfaction.
I'd do it all again. Even the disappointments contributed to the overall enjoyment.

I also got into it in 98 or 99. When you have a wife that likes to run through 2 to 300 rounds at a time it was to save money and it did at first. lol Then as I collected more I was saving less but still like to do it. A LOT

My dad started me casting when I was 10. I never saw the need to buy bullets for the masses when mine did everything I need them and more. I hunt with cast boolits and compete with cast boolits. I expect mine to out perform factory stuff. I love taking my 91/30 and my Finish 24 to the range with CB loads.

Mainly I cast to prove a point about lead boolits as compared to factory of any caliber! I can meet or exceed factory lethality with any boolit I cast, for any caliber,but the real reason I started casting was because of my dad. He told me long ago that one day all the cheap ammo was going to go away, so I might ought to learn how to do my own! Gone are the days of $18 per thousand primers, 12# cans of 700X for $85, but the wheel weights he and I scraped together when we both had not two dimes to rub together, ("you know they are not going to be .10 cents forever"), are still around in back of the house! (Most of them, anyhow) All of the safety stuff,("get your head out of the pot and stand upwind, boy!!)and knowledge about lead melting, I learned from him. As I near retirement age,I'M the old guy now, passed it on to any of my kids and family that wanted to listen and learn.Cast boolits, the only way for me to be able to shoot then and now like I wanted to, is because I learned from him.RIP Baldy, I miss ya Pop!

I'd been hand loading for about 16 years when my wife bought me a mold( rcbs) for my 357 mag and a ladle.guy in my club showed me the basics ,what fun making boolits for free which shot better than the boolits I was buying .she really started something in me. now I cast for all my rifles.only use jkt bullets for hunting to be legal.

OK, here goes. I've been loading for 20 years, been building up casting equipment for the last couple of years. Haven't started casting yet, but I have a brand new Winchester Hi-Wall in 38-55 that will be shot with only lead. From everything I have managed to read and comprehend, a cast bullet will shoot just as good as a jacketed bullet, if not better. If I do my part in casting and loading, I will have a nice 500 yard rifle. as an added benefit I have 3 30-30's and can get the wife out shooting also.

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Originally Posted by NAVYENC

OK, here goes. I've been loading for 20 years, been building up casting equipment for the last couple of years. Haven't started casting yet, but I have a brand new Winchester Hi-Wall in 38-55 that will be shot with only lead. From everything I have managed to read and comprehend, a cast bullet will shoot just as good as a jacketed bullet, if not better. If I do my part in casting and loading, I will have a nice 500 yard rifle. as an added benefit I have 3 30-30's and can get the wife out shooting also.

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You have been reading fairy tales. A cast bullet will NEVER outperform a good jacketed bullet. You are heading down a long frustrating road with that perception in your head. A reasonable expectation is to double the groups you get with jacketed bullets.