22 caliber lead Boolits

[dverna]

Define "worth".

Numbers based on current costs for 2000 bullets:

Cost of 92-2-6 alloy from Rotometals $4/lb. 2000 60 gr bullets - $70
Cost of gas checks - $60
Total cost of $130

Cost of Hornady 55 gr SP's - $230
https://www.armorally.com/shop/horna...r-spire-point/

Add in cost of one decent mold and a sizer and top punch. If you are lucky, you get a mold that works in your gun. If not, another hunk of change to try for a different one. Maybe you need a larger sizer???

Do you value your time? If casting, sizing and sorting/inspecting are "fun" it does not matter.

If time matters to you, figure about 200 bullets/hour after casting, inspecting. sizing and applying GCs.

You will have a boring time with jacketed bullets. You should get a 2 MOA load in one or two range sessions. The bullets will perform like commercial loads at 3000 fps. If you are lucky, you might even get to 1 MOA if you want to spend a bit more time with load development.

Cast bullets are typically less boring. You might need a different alloy, sizing die, or lube, and then find a velocity that gives acceptable accuracy. Plan on that velocity being under 2500 fps.

Time matters to me but not to most people on this forum. I value my time at $15/hr. I do not get my jollies from making bullets. What matters to you? No right or wrong answer but know yourself.

Accuracy is important to me. Cast bullets will not match the accuracy of jacketed bullets. What is acceptable to you?

How much will you shoot? If it is 1000 rounds a year, cast bullets will save you $50/year. Is it worth it to you to spend 5 hours to save $50 after investing in over $100 in a mold and sizing dies.

BTW, when I "worked the numbers" years ago, I bought 6000 of the Hornady bullets for $420 delivered. IMO they are still a bargain at $665. It would take me 30 hours to produce 6000 bullets. That is more "fun" than I can stand.

People will pile on about their "free" or cheap alloy. No such thing. Alloy has a value. The Casting gods will not curse you if you sell good alloy to buy better bullets.

A lot of folks start into this hobby and give it up. They realize their time is not worth the effort. IMO .22 cal is the worst. YMMV.

Many folks here are successful in meeting their needs with cast .22's. Give serious thought to what you want to accomplish and how dedicated you are to the job. Lastly, there is not much downside. You might lose $50 on a mold and $20 on a sizer if you decide it is not for you. The most important factor IMO is how much time you have, and how much fun you will be get out of the journey.

$70 is decent meal out for two. Go for it if you are on the fence. There is value in learning.

[quilbilly]

I have three 22 molds, two of them Lee molds. My Hornet likes the old style Lee soup can mold as does my Contender 222 but my single shot and bolt rifles prefer the new style. Since I have many hundreds of jacketed 22's, I reserve those for a semi-auto which doesn't function well at velocities below 2450 fps. Casting is easy when you run your lead pot hot. I never really liked the Lee 6 hole 22 mold because it rarely gave more than 4 good boolits plus 2 culls. The third mold is a 4 cavity making 56 gr. boolits which takes little time to produce 4 good ones every time. My alloy is not as hard as most use. That NOE mold produces boolits that are unbelievably accurate in the bolt rifle and an MV of 1900 fps.

[Tripplebeards]

I wouldn’t mind trying to find a hollow point mold. I feel like I’m up for the challenge. Definitely would want to find one with a gas check so I could run soft alloy in powder coat.

[pworley1]

The 225415 has worked best for me.

[dtknowles]

Define "worth".

Numbers based on current costs for 2000 bullets:

Cost of 92-2-6 alloy from Rotometals $4/lb. 2000 60 gr bullets - $70
Cost of gas checks - $60
Total cost of $130

Cost of Hornady 55 gr SP's - $230

$70 is decent meal out for two. Go for it if you are on the fence. There is value in learning.

Your math does not work for me, but the money does not matter to me either. I could cast them from Linotype for less than $2 a pound. I rarely pay Rotometals type prices for my lead. I got an 8 pound bar of babbit at the scrap yard for 8 dollars along with a bunch of lead wheel weights recently and I said 8 dollars but really I traded some scrap aluminum, copper and steel for what I brought home. I rarely use gas checks and would not pay 3 cents a piece for them.

But like I said it is not about the money. I don't cast and reload to save money. I do it for, I don't know, maybe bragging rights or knowledge or fun or whatever. If I want to impress someone with my .22 Hornet I shoot Hornady Factory 35 gr. V-max. My Ruger #3 loves that ammo, I am ashamed to admit it but even using those bullets in my handloads the factory ammo is more accurate. It shoots under an inch at 100 yards and is stepping out at around 3000 fps. The day I tested it, I went back to the store and bought all they had on the shelf. I have not reloaded any of that brass so maybe that is what makes it better than my handloads, I have been loading a mixed bag of old brass, I do sort the brass but I have 5 different headstamps.

I don't know how I would value my time reloading. My employer pays me more than $80 and hour plus benefits but of course I have to pay taxes on that. I actually don't work for the money, the money and benefits are nice but I have a pension and medicare and could collect full social security. I work because the work has meaning and I like a lot of the people I work with.

I have a buddy who has more reloading equipment, brass, bullets and whatever for reloading and has not loaded a round of ammo for probably a decade. I was at his new place shooting the other day and I noticed he does not have any of his reloading equipment set up. I asked about his mill and his lathe, turns out they are in the barn rusting. I asked to borrow his mini bench top lathe. It took him some digging to find it. I asked about a vice that was sitting in some tall grass, he gave it to me. He has ammo cans full of 44 mag, 9mm and 45 auto that he loaded a long time ago. We shot his old model 44 Ruger blackhawk that day along with other guns. He hit the steel gong at 100 yards, off-hand with his first shot. That is all sort beside the point.

Everyone has their own reasons for what they do or don't do and it seems money is only the driver for some of them.

I understand that for most people money will always have to be considered. I consider the money too, I don't want to waste money or things but I do what I want to do.

Tim

Actually, I have not shot the hornet since that day when I tested that Hornady ammo. There seems to be no point in shooting it anymore. It is set up and working and I have a bunch of ammo on the shelf.

[35 Rem]

I bought one of the Lee Bator 22 molds and cast up a hundred or so. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out as I was expecting poor fillout with such a tiny bullet. This was probably 2 years ago and I still haven't loaded any. I just can't get excited to do all the work of casting a bullet, spending money on an expensive gas check, plus an expensive primer, then all the time spent loading the ammo to turn a 22 centerfire into something less than a 22 Magnum rimfire. I guess I'm too much of a 22 centerfire purist at heart. For me, those cartridges thrive on speed and they die if you throttle back to 2,000 ft/sec. You have no mass and no speed and again all that is left is 22 Mag performance at best at probably just as much cost.

[dverna]

Like I said Tim

Define worth. Money, performance, pleasure, learning experience, bragging rights?

The OP needs to decide what matters to him. I value money and performance but that is not important to everyone.

I would never cast another bullet or reload another cartridge or shell if I was not saving enough to make it worth my time. Most folks here think differently. Nothing wrong with that, but it is not necessarily the right answer for everyone

I took a class with Evil Roy. He put it elegantly. “Some people shoot Cowboy action to dress up, some people dress up to shoot Cowboy action”. The right answer is what works for the person.

[dtknowles]

Like I said Tim

Define worth. Money, performance, pleasure, learning experience, bragging rights?

The OP needs to decide what matters to him. I value money and performance but that is not important to everyone.

I would never cast another bullet or reload another cartridge or shell if I was not saving enough to make it worth my time. Most folks here think differently. Nothing wrong with that, but it is not necessarily the right answer for everyone

I took a class with Evil Roy. He put it elegantly. “Some people shoot Cowboy action to dress up, some people dress up to shoot Cowboy action”. The right answer is what works for the person.