Im new to this form but not new to the shooting sports. I’m reaching the point where I’m going to have to consider retirement. Only problem is that I’m just not wired to sit and do nothing. I used to cast my own bullets years ago and enjoyed it. I’m giving some serious thought to starting a business that I can ramp up for a few years before I finally hang up my track shoes in the corporate world. Of course there’s no way to cast bullets manually...just not enough hours in the day to cast any significant number of bullets by hand. My estimate of the capital outlay to get started is around $100,000 which will be no problem. I’m going to go with the automated equipment manufactured by Magma Engineering. Here’s the rub...and where I need some help. These machines are set up to run eight molds on a carousel. That’s $800 for one caliber and bullet profile. I’m going to start out offering 20 different bullets. The obvious choices are:
357 / 358
148 grain wad cutter
158 grain SWC Keith Type
.44
240 grain SWC Keith Type
200 Grain Round Nose / Flat Point
45 ACP
200 grain SWC Bevel Base (Saeco #68)
45 Colt
255 grain SWC Keith Type
That’s six choices. What I would like to know is what other calibers and profiles are most popular, particularly black powder rifle bullets, that you feel would sell well. Thank in advance for your help.