Is it worth it to cast bullets?

[Dave C.]

Beeser, You will be better off buying good quality bullets and spending the time saved on shooting matches and training.
When you are Distinguished and shooting 2600 and more then you will have time to cast boolits.

Dave C.

[ChipEckardt]

You can make a home made strainer and get free lead at a lot of ranges. Just ask permission and make sure you pile the dirt afterwards back up on the backstop.

chip

[rhill]

I save a little money, but it is mainly an extension of the shooting hobby. It is also nice to be self sufficient as possible and having a supply of boolits without depending on an outside source. When commercial boolits get scarce, I have plenty of home cast and can still keep shooting.

[beeser]

Beeser, You will be better off buying good quality bullets and spending the time saved on shooting matches and training.
When you are Distinguished and shooting 2600 and more then you will have time to cast boolits.

Dave C.

Just the advice I would expect from my friends over at the Bullseye-L Forum, and good advice too considering my current BE abilities. But the folks here made some good points about the benefits of casting your own bullets. I'm not a good enough shooter to realize most of those but considering that I have much of the equipment already it might be interesting to give casting a try. As mentioned before I have a Lee melter, some lead of unknown quality and an RCBS Lube-A-Matic. I realize that a mold is needed but what else without getting too carried away? The bullet that I would like is a .45 ACP, 185 grain SWC.

[Bullshop]

What is worth? Is one hour of time worth the same to the local burger flipper that it is to Donald Trump? All folks value their time differently. What is your hourly income? For many folks their time is worth more than what they can produce casting.
Say you can make 100 boolits in one hour and those boolits are worth $12.00. If your hourly wage is $25.00 maybe it wont seem worth it.
For some folks buying from a reputable source will always seem a better value for their time.
I can suggest a reputable source if you need one!

[Yodogsandman]

When guys are complaining about the cost of factory ammo, I feel kinda sheepish having to ask how much it costs. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha........

Can't find any? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.......

.22's? Who cares! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.......

OOOHH, my sides hurt now!

[Love Life]

I have my moulds and a big pile of lead, but when I can have 1,000 shiny 45 acp projectiles on my doorstep for less than $100 then that is what I do. I just don't have the time to cast and coat right now.

[beeser]

I have my moulds and a big pile of lead, but when I can have 1,000 shiny 45 acp projectiles on my doorstep for less than $100 then that is what I do. I just don't have the time to cast and coat right now.

This is what makes the most sense to me based on what I know now but having a lot of the casting equipment already it might at least be interesting to give it a try. I'm always like to learn something new.

[Beagle333]

It's worth it to me. It isn't cost efficient, the way I do it... but it is worth it.

[Gtek]

Hopefully not sounding like a Grouchy Ol', but why do WE need to convince you? If your chosen weapon shoots those too hard, probably does not fit right bullet to your satisfaction, buy them. If you do not feel you should "spend" the time making them, buy them. If you think they are cheaper in your situation, buy them. If it does nothing for you to melt, pour, load, shoot, please buy them. There are people that make an income from individuals like yourself, help them. Go ask the guy in the mirror what he wants/needs to do.

[Love Life]

This is what makes the most sense to me based on what I know now but having a lot of the casting equipment already it might at least be interesting to give it a try. I'm always like to learn something new.

I would give it a try if I were you and had the equipment. It is very fun and I find casting enjoyable.

While I do have time to cast 30 caliber rifle bullets right now, I just don't need that many. 100 at a time will do the trick.

For my pistol shooting, I just don't have the time to devote. Rest assured though, once I get the time that I will be a casting fool and probably cast up several thousand of my 3 favorite pistol boolits so I don't find myself in this predicament again.

[waco]

It's not about cost for me. I enjoy time at the casting and reloading bench. But yes, it is worth it to me. I can produce a much better product to fit my needs than I can buy.

[500MAG]

Money wise? No. Enjoyment wise? Absolutely!

[GhostHawk]

As far as what is needed to start, not a lot. Some means of melting the lead and getting it into a mold.
A mold, perhaps a sizer of some sort. (Lee push through are under 20$

A lot of molds do vary in size somewhat depending on alloy, temp, condition of the mold, etc.

For .45acp you want a mold a thousandths or 2 larger than the groove size (Determined normally by "slugging" the barrel, there is a sticky)

For .45acp you probably don't need gas checks. Get into high velocity rifle casting and you will want gas checks and a sizer to crimp them on. (Which also true's the bullet to round, and maybe brings it down a thousandth or 2 for size depending on the situation.

The question is, do you enjoy hand loading? Learning more about the process?
Spending time where you have your hand loading equipment set up?
Casting is just one more area with which to spend that time in that area.

I have recently added a small lee dipper pot so that I can cast in the same general area as I do the rest of my reloading.
It happens to be close to my computer, so I often put on a utube video or an old John Wayne movie while I am casting, sizing, lubing, resizing, full length sizing my cases, flaring necks, measuring powder, and setting boolits and crimping.

It is just more of the kind of stuff people like to do.

But if you don't like to do that, by all means don't bother.

Personally I get 37 .312 185gr boolits from a pound of range lead that I paid a few more than a dollar per pound for.
Add a gas check for 3 cents each and I have boolits at my cost around a nickle each. I don't count the power or time spent, that is IMO living off the interest.

Everyone has hobbies, things we like to do that probably cost us over time a small fortune. But if it is something we like to do, it is worth it.
Mine lets me shoot more, and gets me interested in shooting more often. That is something I really enjoy.
Knowing that I melted the lead, cast the boolit, added the gas check, sized, lubed, and loaded it into a clean cartridge over my choice of powder = priceless.

Your mileage may vary.

[dragon813gt]

No, it's not worth it. Now go buy your bullets. That means more lead for me.

[TXGunNut]

Worth it? Calculator would probably say "no" but I'm more interested in what my rifles and pistols have to say. My initial foray into casting was a $500 investment because I couldn't find suitable boolits for a $300 Sharps.

[claudesapp]

I'm still in my earning years, so on a per hour basis it is not worth it financially. I don't do it to save money, and I'm not saving money by buying all these danged moulds here, but the reason I do it is because I enjoy it. It is my downtime, put on some music, and enjoy a hobby I can take with me into all the years to come. I just came back in from the garage and loaded 50 rounds of 45 Colt, took me about 15 minutes, I'm relaxed and now I can wash up and spend some good time playing with my 6 year old. It is all part of living a good life to me, I'm not counting the pennies I'm counting the good time spent. It is also the core of some really good friendships I have made with other gun cranks like me.

[Lead Fred]

You cant buy the boolits I make, thats why I make them

[CENTEX BILL]

I find myself buying common size handgun bullets in bulk since the price is not that much more than doing it myself. Now when it comes to casting rifle bullets with gas checks, that is a different matter. There are few vendors that do rifle bullets in the weights and design that I like to shoot.

Essentially, buy the common sizes when you can at a reasonable cost and then concentrate on casting the unusual calibers where you can maximized your savings and expand your shooting experiences.

Centex Bill

[retread]

I have tried the "hard cast" and experienced leading. With my alloy, no leading. But he main thing for me is the simple fact that I love doing it.