Using Already Made Cast Boolits

[xvigauge]

Does anyone here order and purchase cast boolits form a bullet maker instead of casting your own? I may be way off base here, but it seems to me that it would be an easier and less expensive way to go. There are lots of bullet makers, mostly one man operations, on the net that sell most any type of cast boolit one would want. I say if one has the place to make them, the tools and the supplies, then go for it. It seems like a great hobby. I may even get into casting my own boolits someday, but for now, I am just getting into reloading with cast boolits for my center fire rifles after 50 years of reloading jacketed bullets. So for now, buying them ready made is a lot less expensive and more convenient for me. I also live in an apartment and just don't have a place to cast lead.
xvigauge

[454PB]

I normally don't buy cast boolits, but the few times that I have, I had no major complaints. The most important factor is to know what diameter will work, which is done by slugging the barrel. Sizing a commercially cast boolit down is easily done, but making them bigger is not.

That said, you can get into basic casting for one caliber for somewhere around $125, so money is not a major obstacle. If your life style will not allow casting, there's lots of good commercially cast boolits available.

[kryogen]

kind of defeats the purpose, plus you have to buy bigger and size, or be absolutely sure that they are the proper size. Commercial casters usually do not sell all mold shapes, depends what you want.

[tazman]

The practicality of casting your own depends on how much you shoot/reload and how much your lead supplies cost. As was previously stated, you can get started with a minimal kit relatively cheaply.
Most purchased cast boolits cost 6-7 cents a piece plus shipping. If you can get your lead for $1 a pound or less your boolits will cost about 2 cents apiece or less. Saving 5 cents a shot adds up quickly if you shoot much.
I shoot about 200 rounds or so a week. It didn't take long to pay for my casting equipment.

[leebuilder]

The first boolit is the most expencive.
i buy .375 boolits from Bullet Barn never shoot them enough to get a mould they work very well and you cant beat the price.

[TXGunNut]

It depends on what you're trying to do. I tried to buy cast boolits for a black powder cartridge rifle awhile back, up until then I'd been happily buying cast and swaged boolits for quite some time. I couldn't buy a decent boolit for that rifle so I invested in a casting setup. Still haven't gotten that rifle to work but have had many successful cast boolits projects since then. Casting doesn't require a lot of room initially but it's nice to have a good work area and storage space for equipment and supplies.

[dh2]

if it was only to cast 9mm or ones that common I would most likely not cast my own, the advantages of casting my self are more for rifles I like a boolit for my 444Marlin a soft 20 to 1 with a gas check 250 gr HP sized .432. not hard for me to cast but where would I buy such a thing? my rifle likes them and most commercial cast bullets in 44 cal. are sized .430 leaving a lot of lead in my barrel. It may be just me I like to have control of every thing start to finish, May be that is why I have a rifle setting on the work bench that is just pieces been setting there for two years now.

[shooter93]

I use both. I cast a fair amount and I do at times buy them. Sometimes work is so busy....not lately though, lol.....that I buy them or if I'm going to be shooting an extreme amount and don't have the time I'll buy them. I also use jacketed bullets in rifles quite a bit.

[gloob]

I buy most of my pistol bullets, yeah. It's simple math. If I buy 500 180 grains, that's 13 lbs of lead. At 40 dollars, that's 3.00 a lb.

Lead alloy in similar quantities goes for 2.00/lb on fleabay. The markup seems reasonable to me.

If I got cheaper/free-er lead alloy, or if I were a higher volume shooter, I would probably cast more. As it is, I cast pistol bullets mostly when my bullets shoot better. And I like being able to melt down commercial bullets that don't work and damaged pulldowns.

[bdecker9]

I can run my 9mm for 2$ a box/ 50. Buying bullets easily puts it at least 8$. Bigger bullets cost way more and figure in the trigger pulls and it gets exponentially out of control for my wallet any way. Buy cast bullets, maybe from someone on here for a test ... wow

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Does anyone here order and purchase cast boolits form a bullet maker instead of casting your own? I may be way off base here, but it seems to me that it would be an easier and less expensive way to go. There are lots of bullet makers, mostly one man operations, on the net that sell most any type of cast boolit one would want. I say if one has the place to make them, the tools and the supplies, then go for it. It seems like a great hobby. I may even get into casting my own boolits someday, but for now, I am just getting into reloading with cast boolits for my center fire rifles after 50 years of reloading jacketed bullets. So for now, buying them ready made is a lot less expensive and more convenient for me. I also live in an apartment and just don't have a place to cast lead.
xvigauge

This is a great question, the answer is that casting is a whole entire hobby onto itself. It takes some time and some room...if you have both, it's a great companion to a person's reloading and shooting hobbies.

I bought (and traded for) thousands of cast boolits from Glenhills cast bullets before I started casting 5 years ago. He doesn't live that far from me, many times we'd meet at a gunshow for a large boolit order. He offered a great product at a great price...plus he was also looking for something that I had to offer in a trade.

[opos]

I don't cast...the lung doctor has absolutely forbidden it because of my physical condition...I shoot outdoors most of the time and if indoors I shoot with a mask on...I have enough serious issues to keep me from casting but that keeps me buying cast...I buy from Missouri Bullet Co or locally from a local caster...Missouri has a new "high tech" coating that is supposed to be the really hot deal and I'm going there soon with a sample order...I wish I could have started to cast and have it be a part of my hobby but I just do the "next right thing" for me. Got no complaints with precast...I do load fairly light in the handgun calibers I shoot and buy the softer lead projectiles (The "cowboy series" at Missouri is a 12 hardness and I really like it).

[Blackwater]

The OP has his point of view, and there ARE some pretty darn good cast bullets out there IF your gun is the right size for them. However, he's in REAL deep doo doo messin' around with cast, 'cause if he does it very long, and keeps reading and getting informed here, he's darn near sure to become a caster. When a guy can get the kind of results I know some of us are getting, and can't get that with bought bullets .... well, it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out that there's more to casting than JUST saving $$$. But boys, let's be gentle with him. Let's ease him into it so it's not too big a shock to the system. So very much to learn. If we make him anxious, it might scare him off if things don't go right his first time, and that'd be a dang shame. Sounds like a nice guy. He just needs a little educating, and if he hangs around here very long, he'll get just that.

[jonp]

I've bought cast from several companies like Missouri and Hunters Supply. It's how I got interested in casting my own and lead me to this board. It is a good way to try out a design or weight before buying a mold. The downside is that the manu's seem to think all boolits need to be 18 BHN and small to work but they have to please everyone so a middle ground needs to be met I guess

[jonp]

The practicality of casting your own depends on how much you shoot/reload and how much your lead supplies cost. As was previously stated, you can get started with a minimal kit relatively cheaply.
Most purchased cast boolits cost 6-7 cents a piece plus shipping. If you can get your lead for $1 a pound or less your boolits will cost about 2 cents apiece or less. Saving 5 cents a shot adds up quickly if you shoot much.
I shoot about 200 rounds or so a week. It didn't take long to pay for my casting equipment.

Me too on the 200 a week. BTW: I tried the 358145 WC every way from sunday. Different alloys, lubes, sizing, powder and charge and could not quite get the leading to go away from the beginning of the rifling. Switched to a 358140 SWC over 3gr of Promo and POOF! Very, very little leading. Funny how that happens and from what I've read its the first SW 15 that would not shoot a WC

[JWFilips]

When I first started shooting pistol a friend he introduced me to Hard Cast bullet shooting & that started the addiction. I did order many thousand of these hard BHN18 pills from a few great suppliers such as Carl at CB Bullets Jerry at Carolina Cast Bullets and also Penn Bullets.
These folks are all Great people to deal with I still have quite an inventory. However once I became a member here I realized the proper way to shoot cast "Boolits" was soft and fat And everything in my pistol shooting improved! Some of the folks above could give me fat but not soft... I do know Jerry could give me both so he stayed on my vender / suppliers list for the bullets I had no moulds for.

But Now I have started shooting my old Marlin 336's with cast I'm making good use of those fat n'hard bullets I thought I would never use again....great when it all works out

[rockrat]

The lighter 38's, I have started just buying, as the time involved just doesn't justify casting/sizing. It takes just as much time to do the lighter boolits as the heavier ones. Over 158gr, I cast my own, as the price climbs pretty quickly on bought boolits. Bought some 160gr 45's to try. Mainly because Lee doesn't make the 160gr rnfp in a 6 cav. I can do 38's for about $4.00 box using bought boolits. If I cast my own, probably around $3.00 a box, maybe a bit less. More like a 38+p.

[Cd662]

I think it really depends on your goals. I've done some casting as supplemental stuff but most of my bullets are commercially purchased. You have to hunt around. Some places want to charge kind of insane prices. I understand people need to keep the lights on, but I personally won't pay the same price for lead as I would for a copper plated or a jacketed bullet. There are some places that have really affordable and high quality cast bullets. For plinking and casual application, you don't need all perfect bullets.

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Nothing wrong with buying cast boolits from someone else. I did that for years. But while casting your own is a lot of work, that's part of the fun. It's like growing a garden or hunting. It's the whole process that is the hobby (for me at least). If I actually had to pay for lead, I might rethink things. But I have never paid a penny for boolit casting lead. Also, living in an apartment would be an excellent reason to buy pre-poured and simply reload. Regardless of the route you take just be responsible in your actions and do what you like.

[Bob Busetti]

The last 2 times I bought cast bullets were from an estate sales. Couldn't pass up them up at give away prices.