Starting a bullet casting business, any advice?

[PalmettoShooter]

I'm in the process of starting a cast bullet business and I'm looking for a little advice. First off I've been hand casting for years and I'm well read on the legal requirements of starting a bullet business. I'm applying for my FFL, have commercial casting equipment, and am finishing the final touches on some specialty molds (hush hush on that for now). In the meanwhile I have a commercial business contact that is interested in purchasing traditional cast bullets.

My question is what is the best way to drum up extra sales while I'm starting out? I was planning to spread word locally, have a website to do online sales, and offer discount sales through various forums, in particular group buys. Any advice for someone starting out commercially?

Thanks everybody, and of course CB members will always get a discount once it's up and running!

Joel

[WILCO]

Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies:

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Business.../dp/1118311833

[PalmettoShooter]

Hey WILCO, thanks for your input. I was looking for something a little more specific to reloaders, I have basic business/marketing experience. I guess I'm more trying to figure out what's the best way to find new customers with this specific type of product among reloaders.

[dragon813gt]

Don't forget you have to pay ITAR.

[dudel]

How to make a small fortune in the boolit making business?

Start with a large one.

Run a careful and detailed analysis of your business plan. Be brutally honest. Have it reviewed by someone who can ask hard questions,

If you still want to do it, best of luck.

[starmac]

This is just a suggestion and would require some research to see if it would be viable.
The powder coating bullets is seemingly taking off. Some custom molds where you could produce bullets without the lube grooves just might give you a niche in a new market.
I know I would like to try some in several calibers and designs before I would have a custom molds built.
If they don't work, we could fall back on Waksupi for some cheap lube grooves.

[JeffinNZ]

1) Don't cast everything hard. Most commercial casters do to for shipping purposes but super hard bullets are not what everyone wants or needs.
2) Don't try and cover too many calibers. Better to focus on the main stream and offer various sizing options. IE: for .30cal offer sizing in .309/.310/.311 and sample packs of a mix.
3) Stock pile all the lead you can afford/find before the greenies convince EPA to ban it.

[detox]

Become a Cast Boolit forum sponsor, have a verygood user friendly website that is fast, have lots of good concentric moulds on hand, blue prints of your moulds cavities would be very helpful, offer different lubes, different alloys, ladle or bottom pour method, fast shipping......................

Montanabulletworks offers ladle cast bullets that weigh within .5 grain of each other.

[williamwaco]

1) Don't cast everything hard. Most commercial casters do to for shipping purposes but super hard bullets are not what everyone wants or needs.
2) Don't try and cover too many calibers. Better to focus on the main stream and offer various sizing options. IE: for .30cal offer sizing in .309/.310/.311 and sample packs of a mix.
3) Stock pile all the lead you can afford/find before the greenies convince EPA to ban it.

DITTO.

That is exactly why I will not buy commercial bullets.

[starmac]

I think, and I could be wrong, but commercial casters cast hard for more than just shipping damage. I think they are playing to a big crowd, and cast hard to minimize leading when the bullets are a hair under what would be what we strive for.

[detox]

I think, and I could be wrong, but commercial casters cast hard for more than just shipping damage. I think they are playing to a big crowd, and cast hard to minimize leading when the bullets are a hair under what would be what we strive for.

Hard cast melts at lower temperature than softer 20/1 lead tin alloy and will lead barrel worse if it is slightly under size. Softer alloys form to barrel best when fired, but are more easily damaged in shipment.

I have seen a couple commercial casters go out of business in the last few years.

[John Boy]

Softer alloys form to barrel best when fired, but are more easily damaged in shipment.

Not an issue ... retail casters use Styrofoam trays in boxes for 1:20 & 1:30 alloy bullets

[KYCaster]

It's really simple.....

Do a break even analysis....be brutally honest....don't leave out any expense.

Set your retail price at the break even point and your wholesale price 20% lower.

Work four days a week, 16 hours a day making boolits and on Fri., Sat. and Sun., work every gun show within driving distance.

You'll soon be selling everything you can haul. (BTW...buy a bigger truck)

When you've built up your customer base to the point you think you have a loyal following, raise your prices to where you can make a decent income by only working a 90 hour week.

Watch your sales tank when your loyal customers jump ship to the new caster who is undercutting your price.

Works every time...

Jerry

[williamwaco]

It's really simple.....

Do a break even analysis....be brutally honest....don't leave out any expense.

Set your retail price at the break even point and your wholesale price 20% lower.

Work four days a week, 16 hours a day making boolits and on Fri., Sat. and Sun., work every gun show within driving distance.

You'll soon be selling everything you can haul. (BTW...buy a bigger truck)

When you've built up your customer base to the point you think you have a loyal following, raise your prices to where you can make a decent income by only working a 90 hour week.

Watch your sales tank when your loyal customers jump ship to the new caster who is undercutting your price.

Works every time...

Jerry

Sounds like someone who knows what he is talking about.

[carbine86]

Shoot me an email with a pdf file of a flyer for your buisness ill post it up at my range. If a bunch of members here do the same you could probably build up a pretty good customer base. Then let your products speak for themselves and your customers will build your customer base even more

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

My question is what is the best way to drum up extra sales while I'm starting out? I was planning to spread word locally, have a website to do online sales, and offer discount sales through various forums, in particular group buys. Any advice for someone starting out commercially?

I suspect you'll sell very few boolits on a cast bullet forum. But if you're gonna cast and lube pistol boolits to a similar hardness that the majority of casters here cast them at and use a quality lube that isn't hard commercial lube. Then I have an idea for you...

FREE SAMPLES.
I suspect many of us castboolit forum members are members of a sportsman club with a pistol league and/or know other pistol shooters who reload, but don't cast. Use us as salesman for your cast bullets by providing free samples. Personally I won't pedal any hard cast, and I suspect most here wouldn't either, that's why I specified the details above.

There you go, that's my advice to your specific question. It ain't gonna be free, but that's how Big Business drums up new sales. I'll take a dozen sample packs (of at least 50 each) of various styles and calibers...I'll make sure they get into the hands of reloaders who don't cast.
Good luck,
Jon

[MT Gianni]

From another board, here is an online source of cast bullet sellers.

Alpha Bravo Bullets

Affordable Brass and Bullets

Badman Bullets

Beanie's Bullets

Bear Creek Bullets

Beartooth Bullets

Berry's Mfg.

Bootheel Bullets

The Bullet Barn Mfg. Co.

The Bullet Works

BULLETWORKS.COM

Bullets Direct

Carolina Cast Bullets

Cast Bullets Direct

Cast Performance (Grizzly Cartridge)

CB Bullets

Chey-Cast Bullets

Coyote Cast Bullets

Colorado Bullet Company

Dardas Cast Bullets

Dry Creek Bullet Works

Falcon Bullets

Friendswood Bullet Company

Heavy Metal Bullets

Hotshot Bullets

Hunters Supply Cast Bullets

Indiana Bullet Co.

Lead Head Bullets

Magnus Bullets

Mastercast Bullet Co.

Matt's Bullets

Meister Bullets

Mid Atlantic Bullets

Missouri Bullet Company

Mitchell Custom Guns & Bulletworks LLC

Montana Bullet Works

Moulton Lead

Moyers Cast Bullets

Northstar Bullets

Oregon Trail Bullet Company (Laser Cast)

Penn Bullets

Precision Bullets

Reloads N' More

Sinclair International

Slash K Hardcast Bullets

SNS Cast Bullets

Straight Shooters Cast Bullets

Quality Cast

Rim Rock Bullets

Tascosa Cartridge Co.

Tru Cast Bullets

Western Bullet Co

X-Treme Bullets

Z Cast Bulletz


Find out what you can do that is different than what these folks do.

[starmac]

I talked to a guy not long ago, that has a cast bullet business with enough customers to keep him a month or more behind, so you just need to find the right customers.
There is a guy here that cast mostly pistol bullets. He is retired and does it basically part time. He also loads most of them and sells loaded ammo, but I've bought boolits from him too. He seems to do alright for a part time business.

[TES]

The guy that marked up his bullets past the point of the "buyers market" and went BR. Go back to doing what works......save your money and then buy automated equipment. 90 hours turns into 9. If you are crazy enough to double your production again by saving and re-automating then your work goes to 40 hours and your profits go to heaven. Not to mention you can improve one or two people lives by providing them a job.

[deltaenterprizes]

You can get good exposure at gun shows, but be prepared for some out of the box questions!
Make up boxes of 100, people will take a chance on a couple of dollars to try a new vendor.
Look for any commercial reloaders in your area and check out pistol matches.
I was a commercial caster for 12 years and it was a lot of fun until the bottom fell out when Clinton got in office.

DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!!!!!!!!