How much to cast boolits?

[fcvan]

Age old saying "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

The truth is, if you do what you love, it isn't working. I loved my work, and am enjoying being retired from it, but I do miss the friends I made while working. Reloading for me has and will always be enjoyable. I didn't enjoy it the last time the craziness caused the prices to get stooopid. So, I stocked up when the prices returned to normal. Then I loaded every case I had, and kept ordering supplies for times like these.

I do have some coffee cans of empties from earlier this year, winter is coming. Right now, yard work takes precedence. My favorite time to cast and load was always baseball season. Right now, I listen to baseball while whipping the yard into shape. This winter, I will likely find something else to listen to while I cast, load the empties, and cast some more. New to me rifle needs boolits to test extensively (code for shoot the heck out of it) and my handgun skills need tuning up.

The cost was always a consideration with regard to how much more I was saving over factory. Having a case of ammo that is not on a shelf anywhere to be found is priceless, having a bunch of ammo to train new shooters (nephew has a new pistol) is great to be able to share that time with family.

Sons in law are all shooters. 9mm is cheap to shoot in guns chambered for 40 S&W with drop in conversion barrels. Then, transition to shooting 40. I like to teach, they like to learn. Wife likes to teach as well, and she is better at getting some drills down with new shooters, and shoots very well with both hands.

Sometimes, it is just the Wife and I, time spent in the hills picking up brass from shooters who don't reload, and then shooting our own, which keeps the the shiny once fired brass separated from our own. (I still keep track of how many times reloaded, etc.)

I also enjoy going out with new shooters who (cough, cough) buy factory to shoot in their first new pistol. 'Put that away, save it' I say, and then let them go at it with my rounds. Once I explain that they could shoot more for less, they start scrounging for lead, picking up their own brass, and coming over to learn how to cast and load. Lots of 'teaching moments' evolve into a barbecue, and that's something you can't put a price upon.

[GregLaROCHE]

I would cast my own boolits, even if it cost the same as buying jacketed bullets. I just enjoy doing it!

[NyFirefighter357]

It's more than the savings, it's the ability of being able to make ammo when none is available!

[Hanzy4200]

I started out for about $50. Used a cast iron pot, old spoon $20 Lee mold $20 Lee sizer, and $10 bottle of tumble lube. Now 15+ calibers later, I'm guessing I probably have at least $4,000 in just equipment. And I'm a novice.

[fredj338]

Cost of equip, depends on what you want. I like a bottom pour pot, the Lee 20# works fine for like $70. If you like the Lee 158gr SWC design, then another $70 for a 6cav + handles. You can often shoot as cast, Alox lube, pretty cheap. For cost of a toaster oven & lee sizer, you can do coated for about $60. alloy is free, way ahead.

[reddog81]

Hi guys I searched but didn't find this. I am curious about how much does it cost to cast .38 cal 158gr bullets? I have free ww's so only cost is electricity and bullet lube. Was just wondering how much I am able to reload them for. Thanks upfront, Mac

The cost of electricity and lube is negligible. you can probably get 1,000 bullets for well under $1 in electricity. A $2.00 stick of lube will get you 1,000 bullets or more. Add those 2 amounts together and you're still under 1/3rd a penny. Of course it depends on your rate of casting (10 bullets per minute will cost twice as much as if you can drop 20 bullets per minute...). Does you mold have 1 lube groove or 2? Are you filling the lube grooves up 100%? Whats the size of the lube grooves? You could work out the cost if for those items if you want, but that'd be rather tedious.

Buying primers at $35/K vs $30/K will have a larger impact on you cost per round...

[AndyC]

It's more than the savings, it's the ability of being able to make ammo when none is available!

Ding-ding-ding.

Self-sufficiency is a wonderful thing - especially in these times.

[robg]

if you cast your only paying for powder and primers unless you need gas checks .free boolits easy cost saving especially for big boolits like 45-70.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

You will save BIG money...Big Money I say
I've put pencil to paper before, and it is almost is like someone is paying me to cast my own

[John Boy]

Dirt, calculate the cost per round and add the price for a Lee 158gr mold .... https://www.beartoothbullets.com/res...s/php/cost.htm

[Texas by God]

Due to gifts such as powder and primers and Lube from mentors, and free wheel weights from the tire shop, many times as a teenage reloader; my ammo that I loaded only cost me time- which I had plenty of! Now that I’m old; I shoot the dickens out of three rifle cartridges in particular that if I had to buy factory rounds for- a 50 round range session Each for all three would set me back around $200 or more.(30-40 Krag, 38-55 Win, and 44-40 Win).
My advice to a new reloader is to never turn down free components. You may not need them today; but they sit there not eating anything and some day you can use them or trade them.

[15meter]

Thanks everyone, Brewer 12345 got what I was asking for. I have been smelting lead wheel weights (no Zinc), I have been making cast bullets, and using a 450 Lyman lubrisizer. I thought someone would have put the pencil and calculator to it. No problem I was just thinking aloud.

Problem with asking for a hard number is the variable cost of components.

I paid less than 2-1/2 cents per primer less than a year ago, on gun broker they are going for 15 cents or more each today. Most locations are reporting you can't buy them locally or traditional online vendors. The scalpers have them on gun broker at inflated prices.

Pistol powders are almost as bad, double or triple the price from a year ago. Glad I ignored the buddies who said I was crazy when I started stocking up right after the last national election.

A year ago you could have come up with a semi accurate number, not today.

[fredj338]

Problem with asking for a hard number is the variable cost of components.

I paid less than 2-1/2 cents per primer less than a year ago, on gun broker they are going for 15 cents or more each today. Most locations are reporting you can't buy them locally or traditional online vendors. The scalpers have them on gun broker at inflated prices.

Pistol powders are almost as bad, double or triple the price from a year ago. Glad I ignored the buddies who said I was crazy when I started stocking up right after the last national election.

A year ago you could have come up with a semi accurate number, not today.

I have not seen that much jump in powder prices from last year, the supply line seems stable. Primers are always the issue for reloaders. They are used by manuf to make ammo, canister powders not so much. No one should be buying primers for $100-$150/1000 right now, you are just feeding the zoo animals. I shoot a lot, like9-10K rds of 9mm a year. I am still working with primers bought in 2010 that I paid about $25/1000 for OTD. When it settles down, prices wont drop back to $30/1000 but even at $35/1000, everyone should be a buyer. I keep 10K per size as my reserve. So I always have at least a years worth of primers. That will likely bump to 15K reserve. I see this lasting until at least this tome next year.

[white eagle]

Hi guys I searched but didn't find this. I am curious about how much does it cost to cast .38 cal 158gr bullets? I have free ww's so only cost is electricity and bullet lube. Was just wondering how much I am able to reload them for. Thanks upfront, Mac

Dirt
casting is not about saving money
it's about doing for yourself,independent from corporations and companies
build a better mouse trap so to speak
if I would add the money I have spent on casting I would certainly be buying boolits

[Kraschenbirn]

Like a quite a few members of this forum, for years I've maintained a reasonable inventory of components so it's difficult for me quote a price-per-round because some of my powder and primers were purchased 'in bulk' five or six years ago. Likewise, I've been reloading/casting for nearly 60 years and my reloading tools and molds have long ago paid for themselves. Running numbers off the top of my head, though, I'd say my .45s and .38s run about $.05-$.06 apiece and my .308s in the nieghborhood of $.12-$.18 each...depending upon whether my boolits are PB or GC and what powder I'm using.

Bill

[mto7464]

Ding-ding-ding.

Self-sufficiency is a wonderful thing - especially in these times.

Yup....all my idpa friends are crying for lack of bullets. Not me.

[Eddie17]

Sorry I didn’t read your question correctly.
Cast boolits cost me , time an electricity. I collect range scrap, lead is free, save for my time to collect.
Cost to to me as a hobby, a little time, an a little electricity.

[kenton]

I haven't done the measuring or math but if you are curious you could get something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec.../dp/B00009MDBU

Measure the number of KW/H you use for a casting session (gonna be a small number) and compare that you the price of electricity and take the electrical cost/number of boolits to find your answer.

Of course spending $40 to find out will cut into you savings.... My old roommate had one and it was fun to play with to find the power consumption of different things but I'm sure we never made back the cost of purchase in savings.

[Walter Laich]

I would certainly hope you can find a mentor to get you aimed in the right direction.

I learned back in 1958 with my Dad. It isn't rocket science, is fun for many of us and getting someone to show you a couple of times will add greatly to the fun side of this

[GregLaROCHE]

Many people say you don’t save money casting. You just shoot a lot more. I think they are right.