Are You a Real Caster or Dabble at It ?

[JMax]

Dabbling since I started with my grand father in about 1960

[runfiverun]

you ain't thinking about a good way to cover the hole when you find it [it finds you] by grabbing the sprue, you just want something to cover the hole. [while your waving your hand around saying some terse 3-4 letter words]

[Half Dog]

Would that be an OSHA finding? Lol

[Mytmousemalibu]

Professional dabbler... But I enjoy it! I do as much as my wrecked back allows. I don't want it to become a chore. For my competition shooting, i just buy bullets in bulk. For play, cast is the way!

I did just get fresh off the mail wagon, a box with 4 brand new molds from NOE... Yup itching to pour some!

[Tazza]

I still think I'm a dabbler too. I only have an auto master caster, but i can do a fair amount in a day with that puppy. The slowest part is coating and sizing, i still size everything by hand My efforts to automate that step is still in development. When things look like they are working flawlessly, something pops up that means it's not 100% reliable. Tight enough to move correctly, but loose enough for things to drop reliably into the sizing die.

I cast for myself and sell to other members of my club, It helps pay for my shooting. Far from commercial quantities though. I'd love a commercial machine, i could save so much time.

I try and not handle lead with my bare hands, i use rubber gloves for moving ingots into the pot and pliers to pick up the hot bits. All done in an open sided covered area in the hopes to minimize my exposure to lead.

[carbine]

I usually cast up about 240 pounds of mines every other year and shoot about 100 pounds a year

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I feel I am somewhere in the middle of those two...Dabbling realist? Although, I've been told that many of my boolits look unreal...and there are some that'd say, I'm more of a quibbler, than a dabbler.

Seriously now, my boolits are real, therefore I am a real.

[runfiverun]

Would that be an OSHA finding? Lol

it was an ooosh alright.

[RogerDat]

I was thinking of going pro but after Doe Run it seemed pointless to pursue the dream....

[RP]

Well I do not wear gloves casting I use a scoop to put my spruce back in the mix and have a padded ramp I drop my castings on and they roll out of the way. Just another way I save money reloading by not spending it on gloves lol

[brassrat]

HF will get ya a pile of wool gloves, they work and are all for whatever hand ya want. I dabble

[Skunk1]

Been dabbling for years

[ReloaderFred]

I was thinking of going pro but after Doe Run it seemed pointless to pursue the dream....

Doe Run was a primary smelter, which means they produced lead from ore, while most of the lead used for casting bullets comes from secondary smelters, and those are all still in business. I've experienced no interruption in supply, other than not being able to procure lead wheel weights in any volume. The battery manufacturers are some of the biggest suppliers of lead to the casting community, especially on the commercial end. Lead is about the easiest commodity to recycle, and it's constantly being recycled, which is one of the reasons the supply hasn't diminished, despite what the doomsdayers would have you believe.

Don't let internet hype influence how you run your life......

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Hardcast416taylor]

I usually cast up about 240 pounds of mines every other year and shoot about 100 pounds a year

I didn`t know you could melt down mines safely to make boolets, personel or anti - tank? Robert

[Ola]

Am I the only one using BOTH cloves when casting?

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I wore through a pair of welding gloves, to the point of exposing the index finger and web between it and my thumb, I think that qualifies. it also hurts like heck! I only use them for smelting now, I go barehanded with the 4-20

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I think I am in-between, training to be proffesional

[foesgth]

I used to be a dabbler but then I got rid of the Lee pot and got an RCBS. Oh wait, that is a dribble, never mind.

[Light attack]

I've been dabbling since my Dad let me help cast for his Manhattan Arms 5 shot cap and ball revolver in the '50s. I have a few more than the single cavity Lyman now.

[hollywood63]

Well going into this I was thinking a real caster. But geesh guys I'm under the guys that pro dabblers When I cast its probably 2-3000 a crack then I coat and size. My plan is to cast what I have smelted every year. So far I have about 300 lbs to cast soooo I guess I'm a Jr. rookie dabbler