Why Casting Will Never Die: Simple Math

[Punisher422]

I am relatively new to casting (just around 6 months), but I am already casting buckshot, slugs, roundballs, and now I have delved into the world of casting for pistols. I am now casting 240 grain round nose bullets for my .44 mag Smith and Wesson 629. I am young (23) compared to many of you that frequent this forum, and ever since I started casting I have always wondered if it would die out over time. I now am pretty sure that casting will always be around.

I did the numbers after casting and loading my first batch of .44 mag. I don't count the price of the bullet mold (I figure eventually the price will even out to well below 1 cent a boolit) and cast with free wheelweights, which as most of you know are getting harder to find. The price for primer and powder equal out to 10 cents a round (rounding way up on price for the powder). Doing a little bit more math, that equals approximately $10 for 100 rounds of .44 mag. The going price for .44 mag target rounds at Walmart is $32 for fifty. The price of FMJ target 9mm rounds is $24 for 100 rounds. I'm now shooting my .44 for under half the price of the cheap 9mm rounds.

I've also been told by more than one person that no matter what I did, if I shoot lead bullets I'm going to get a lot of leading in my barrel. I now giggle to myself when I look down my barrel after shooting and find it cleaner than when I shoot jacketed. Thanks to all of you for getting me started on this addicting, money saving hobby.

[mold maker]

Glad to have ya in the casting fraternity. You do realize that the money you save, will only partly pay, for the added rounds you shoot. Tee Hee

[Punisher422]

I'm still waiting for the saving to start, but in reality I have WAY more equipment than I started with, and I also do a lot more shooting.

[Longwood]

In the last couple of days I fired 150 rounds through my 45-70 and at least a hundred 45 Long Colts.
Buffalo Arms rips people for as much as $1.85 each for the 45-70 rounds. That figures out to $277.50 for the 45-70's alone.
I figure I could buy a new press or a couple of new molds every week or a new rifle every month with the difference.
People that say I don't save money, don't shoot very much.

[Springfield]

If I didn't cast there is no way my wife and I could shoot twice a month at cowboy shoots,and I wouldn't be able to shoot Blackpowder classes at all. With the kids starting to shoot it would just get worse, instead of better with casting my own.

[Gswain]

Im in this boat with you as well, im 25. Even being that i live in Kalifornia, and end up having to buy lead, it saves SO much money. I can buy 1K of 45 200 GR for about 100, or I can cast them myself for under 30. Personally I find it kinda relaxing, and sure am glad I found this forum. Oddly enough, me casting makes my GF look forward to going shooting more :)

[mooman76]

I was saving money big when I first started. RB's and casting for BP guns over a stove. I mean how many RB moulds do you need? Then I started CF pistol and rifle after that. Every time I turn around there's a mould I just gotta have. I still save money but my savings are tied up in investments.

[Canuck Bob]

I'm squeaking up on 60 but have young girls at home still. Without casting and reloading I might be able to shoot a bit. With casting I'm able to shoot regularly and the reloading and casting is almost as much fun as shooting.

Also with casting and a decent powder and primer stash a guy can weather shortages and escalating costs. It seems that j bullets are often out of stock up here with no factory production date planned for quite awhile.

[Jailer]

Yup, more shootin with the money saved is what I'm finding. I shot my first IDPA match yesterday with my cast boolits. When I was sharing my tales of casting and the math involved, jaws about dropped on the ground when I told them how much I could load a thousand rounds for. :grin:

[truckmsl]

I love it when I'm at the range with several full ammo cans of varoius calibers and someone shooting factory ammo makes a comment like "boy, you must be rich". I just laugh and say "yep, I invested heavily in lead and it has really paid off".

[1874Sharps]

Punisher442,

Wahoo, and welcome ideed! You are very right about the savings. If it were not for casting and handloading, many of us would only be able to do a fraction of the shooting that is otherwise possible. Sure, there is an upfront cost for equipment, but when you look at it as a life long investment in a sport that you will participate in for many years to come, it is very economical. For me, and for many others in the shooting community economy is but one of the reasons I reload. It goes to a much deeper level and is related to my quest to be self-reliant.

[rintinglen]

An absolute + on the reduced cost per round concept. My 45-70 Marlin would rust away if all I could get was 32.00 bucks a box factory stuff. I figure every mold I have pays for itself by the time I cast a thousand boolits. 32 S&W Long for 52 cents a peice, or for 7? Provided you count reloading as entertainment and relaxation, there is no other way to fly. I can have hours of fun tinkering with my various projects. If you value your time, then, even at minimum wage it becomes less of a bargain, but the relaxation and serenity is rewarding, so if you call it lead therapy, then I figure I am saving a hundred bucks an hour on counselling.

[Longwood]

A for instance.
A couple of weeks ago, my friends 16 year old teenage son asked me if he could shoot my 45-70. If I was buying factory ammo I probably would have let him shoot it four or five times. Instead, because I cast the bullets, used surplus powder and the Russian primers, I handed him a box of fifty and said "Have fun". At first, he complained about the recoil but I gave him some pointers and he - and his dad - emptied the box. His dad nearly had to beg to get a try.
I saw him this morning and he is still stoked. :bigsmyl2:

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

"Longwood" nailed it !!!

I will always be shooting, no matter what it costs.
I am a bit of a cheapskate and back in the old days,
before I reloaded or cast my own, if i was shooting with
friends, they better bring there own or be ready to pay $$$

But now, I bring a coffee can full of 44 Mag (my fav caliber) to the range
and I will happily share with anyone and everyone...On me.
Jon

[milprileb]

I am catching up on using this gear but I am 63 and I started salting away casting gear when I was 23 and my father had a gun shop. I was in military for 30 yrs and just sent him my casting gear orders and he bought them for me at dealer cost and stored them for me.

I retired 10yrs ago from military and had everything all wired to cast and its been a good investment for my shooting future. On this (maybe nothing but this), I was "Visionary"

On cost, with Tula primers at $17 per 1000 bought in bulk, I load 9mm with cast bullets at 3 cents a shot and 45acp for 5 cents a shot. My brass is free.. picked that up over the last 30 yrs and have a huge stock pile of it.

Yup... shoot more for less money : that is what casting has done for me and is doing for me and will be doing for me. The Math is Wonderful !!!!

[Centaur 1]

I have been extremely fortunate because up to now all my lead has been free. The bulk of my casting is for the .380, 9mm and .38 spcl; and the two molds that I use the most are the ranch dog 100gr rf and the Lee 105 gr swc. With all 3 calibers I get 2000 rounds per pound of powder, so it only cost about $10/1000 for powder and I've been paying $31/1000 for primers. That's cheaper than buying bulk Federal Automatch .22 lr ammo at Walmart.

[nvbirdman]

I started casting in 1973. I just started shooting more, but still I was saving money, but every time I got close to breaking even I would buy another mould.
I'm close to breaking even now, but my melting pot died, and I am probably going to buy an RCBS. My 150th birthday will be in 2093, maybe I will break even by then.

[429421Cowboy]

Well i'm not casting...yet. I'm only 18 and for a cowboy my age money is a tough thing to come by. I went half on a press and gear with my twin brother and now we're reloading for our .44's for around 15 cents a round. I haven't penciled out rifle costs but at 35 bucks a box for 7mm mag ammo i either don't shoot or i load my own. And being under 21 we also can't buy pistol ammo, reloading relieves this problem also. I also love the fact that i can do so many things on different power levels with the same boolit as well as loading a few bullets too. (Sorry if using the copper clads makes me a punk kid... then i'm a punk kid). Love the forum, I'm learning so much and trying to add intell'gent re-marks from time to time.

[Shiloh]

Other than sweat equity, my boolits are the very least of my expenses. Leaves money for primers, powder. Bulk components used to be very cheap. Numerous surplus powders and bullets from Bartlett, bulk brass and bullets from other Shot Gun News Vendors.

Not so any more. I looked at older purchases from vendors. I had paid as little as $34 for 1000 bulk 9mm from Midway. They are now close to $120!! Pulldown bullets and match brass were next to nothing from Bartlett, and seemed like an endless inexhaustible supply. Plus, he had a dozen different powders. Gone forever.
Casting is the way to go. What's old is new again.

Shiloh

[white eagle]

in the days of computer games and video gaming
it nice to see young fellas into things that get them outside
glad to see ya here

[Wayne Smith]

WOW! I'm excited seeing so many young names and faces here.

A little perspective on this discussion. I do and have done woodwork most of my adult life as a hobby. I used to tell LOML that I ought to have a new tool for each project I did, and it frequently worked out that way because of need. I am now 58 and the last three major projects were done with no additional tools, and the next one will be the same. Unless you are a tool junkie, and to some degree I am, there comes a point where you have all you need to do what you want. Then all you buy is the disposable supplies.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
It isn´t just the savings.. It is the freedom I have to shoot odd calibers (44-77) and unusual boolit weights for the caliber (280+ in 41 mag). Then there is the options in hardness & multimix in a single projectile. Hollow point it or hollow base it (still working on these).. But the versitility of casting if the real influence for me.
Mike in Peru

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Well i'm not casting...yet. I'm only 18 and for a cowboy my age money is a tough thing to come by. I went half on a press and gear with my twin brother and now we're reloading for our .44's for around 15 cents a round. I haven't penciled out rifle costs but at 35 bucks a box for 7mm mag ammo i either don't shoot or i load my own. And being under 21 we also can't buy pistol ammo, reloading relieves this problem also. I also love the fact that i can do so many things on different power levels with the same boolit as well as loading a few bullets too. (Sorry if using the copper clads makes me a punk kid... then i'm a punk kid). Love the forum, I'm learning so much and trying to add intell'gent re-marks from time to time.

Welcome aboard.
you're no Punk.
we've all shot j-words, and many of us still do...now and again.
When I joined this forum...it was at least 6 months before I cast my first boolit.
Read on and learn, it will only pay off in the end.
Jon

[dverna]

I started to cast out of necessity. Too poor to buy bullets. I remember long sessions with the H&G 10 cavity and the piles of bullets it would produce. My only other mold 35 years ago was a 190 gr .311 for the .308 Winchester I had.

I have not cast in 30 years as I was fortunate enough to become less poor.

I have added to my casting equipment in the last few years as "opportunities" presented themselves. There may come a day when being self-sufficient will be necessary. Also, as I near retirement, I may want to use my "free time" more constructively than many of the geezers I know.

I have a "Shooting 401k plan" so I can continue to shoot in my old age. I shoot about 25,000 rounds a year and purchase ammo and/or components for 40,000 rounds. In ten years, I will have enough "stuff" to shoot for many years.

Lead is one of the most important (and for shot gun shells) one of the most expensive parts of a reload. It stores easily, takes up little room, is not "controlled" by the government, and continues to increase in value. It can be turned into bullets and/or bartered for other things.

The ability to cast makes sense economically and practically if you wish to shoot long term. We must plan for the worst economical and regulatory future.

Don

[prs]

Another surprisingly large savings over time can be lube. Now Lee LLA is sort of a horse of another color as it is relatively cheap and can be effective for many loads; but I am talking about traditional lube and doubly so if you venture into the Darkside and shoot real gunpowder. Triple so if you shoot BP with PRS boolits or similar hug lube groove boolits. Home made lube such as Emmert's or Felix's can save you quite a bit of coin.

prs

[Longwood]

Other than sweat equity, my boolits are the very least of my expenses. Leaves money for primers, powder. Bulk components used to be very cheap. Numerous surplus powders and bullets from Bartlett, bulk brass and bullets from other Shot Gun News Vendors.

Not so any more. I looked at older purchases from vendors. I had paid as little as $34 for 1000 bulk 9mm from Midway. They are now close to $120!! Pulldown bullets and match brass were next to nothing from Bartlett, and seemed like an endless inexhaustible supply. Plus, he had a dozen different powders. Gone forever.
Casting is the way to go. What's old is new again.

Shiloh

Ahhh,, the good ol days.
I was not that long ago.
Then,,, everybody went STUPID, NUTS, CRAZY, FREEKED OUT or whatever you want to call it, and started hoarding which jacked the prices totally out of sight.
No one to blame but ourselves. I just hope that someday soon, people will come to their senses - or have three tons of components each - and knock off the hoarding.

[cbrick]

Unless you are a tool junkie, and to some degree I am, there comes a point where you have all you need to do what you want. Then all you buy is the disposable supplies.

he he he, no need to worry about that with molds. There is only one good excuse for buying another mold . . . Just don't have one of these yet. There are thousands of molds and variations, can't live long enough to get all that I NEED! :mrgreen:

Rick

[thompsonm1a1]

with the high cost of factory ammo these days you have no choice but to reload if you do any amount of shooting at all. i cast for all of the common calibres and my cost is very low. up here in canada ammo is so expensive, but wheelweights are plentyful so you can stay at the range a little bit longer to have fun.

[CJR]

I agree that CB casting will not die out, though many politicians will try to make it die out. What I do suspect will happen is that high-priced jacketed bullets will not sell at the quantities necessary to sustain bullet manufacturers. So I expect some jacketed bullet manufacturers will go out of business because of the high prices of lead and copper and the lack of sales. Even if lead disappears, there are other options available to make usable bullets. Recently, I noticed my latest Sinclair catalog is now listing CB equipment. Feature that, a company primarily devoted to competition shooters, i.e. jacketed bullet users, now offering CB equipment. The winds are slowly changing. It's always nice to be able to reload your own ammo. Especially when the Government abruptly stops ammo sales to insure every "public safety". Yeah right, just like in New Orleans when the police confiscated weapons in the interest of "public safety". It took the NRA 's Court challenge, based on our Bill of Rights, to get the weapons back from illegal seizures.

Best regards,

CJR

[MtGun44]

429421Cowboy,

good to hear from you. I was in a similar situation when I started reloading. Shooting even
surplus 7x57 ammo was prohibitive on $0.75/hour - the only job in rural FLA, at a chicken
farm. After college and a good job, finally got to afford some more equipment, but still
love shooting, reloading and casting. Of course, I started in 1966, so that would buy
3 gallons of gas per hour and almost two BK Whoppers (39 cents each) per hour. Still,
not much.

Starting young, you will learn so much here that took me years to find reading, and much
much more that I only learned here. Good boolit choice, too!

Welcome, and glad to meet you.

Bill

[fredj338]

I will probabley always cast for my magnums, regardless of alloy cost, but for service caliber plinking, the cost of alloy will determine whether it's financially beneficial. At much more than $2/#, I can buy bullets commercially cast & have them delivered.

[BulletFactory]

Remmington UMC .40 cal, 250 count = $ 84.95=tax !!!

That's why casting will never die.

[Longwood]

429421
3 gallons of gas per hour and almost two BK Whoppers (39 cents each) per hour. Still,
not much.

Bill

I couldn't afford the Whoppers Bill.
I ate the McDonald burgers and Taco Bell taco's. 19 cents, 25 cents.
I still eat at Taco bell now and then. McDonald's, not on a bet.

[squirrelnuttz]

Casting is saving me money.If I say it enough times, it may one day come true. After I cast a pile more boolits, slugs, and buckshot, that is. Ammo prices here are retarded. We did import nearly everything from the States.Now we are seeing far more European reloading supplies than before.
The U.S. is not letting the quantities of components/ammo through on a timely/consistent basis, or so I hear when ever I ask why a given store does not have this/that, or when it's expected.

I'd like to be as immune to that horse pucky as possible in the future. So I took up casting to assure my own supply of boolits, and to enable more shooting on the same dollar.I'm a youngster too,29, wife, couple of kids.Gotta do it on budget or not do it at all.Thankfully the Chief Finance Officer/She Who Must Be Obeyed is a sport, she's not complaining.Yet.I'll be buying her co-operation with a new .22.


I got a "deal" on winchester white box .45 ACP 230gr. FMJ the other day at $30 +tax.Nearly $5 off sticker price per box, .Ridiculous? Yes, but I needed brass and could not find any within 100 Km. Rem. FMJ component bullets are nearly $30/100.Sad.That's why my new to me H+G mould made nearly 40lbs of .45 boolits today I probably would have difficulty feeding a .45 if I did not reload and cast.I haven't even received my new pistola yet, we've got a postal strike on.

[Jailer]

I got a "deal" on winchester white box .45 ACP 230gr. FMJ the other day at $30 +tax.Nearly $5 off sticker price per box, .Ridiculous? Yes, but I needed brass and could not find any within 100 Km. Rem. FMJ component bullets are nearly $30/100.Sad.That's why my new to me H+G mould made nearly 40lbs of .45 boolits today I probably would have difficulty feeding a .45 if I did not reload and cast.I haven't even received my new pistola yet, we've got a postal strike on.

They're $35/box here in the states.

[squirrelnuttz]

Well,I guess that makes me a cheapskate, and that was indeed a "deal".$35 for 50, we can do better!A 250 pack of UMC .45 FMJ was $150+ GST too.I got a price match.

[MtGun44]

Not saying I ever ate more than one Whopper, never liked them. Just as a reference price
for the young kids that think a Whopper always cost $3.99 or whatever they are now. They
have trouble imagining that they were 39 cents, ever. Happen to remember the Whopper
price because it was painted on the sign at BK. Have zero memory what a Big Mac was in
those days, no sign.

Bill

[TonyM]

I don't cast... nor do I plan to start. That being said, even BUYING cast ammo from the vendors and other users on this site, it still cheaper than anything else out there, and I've yet to wind up with a bad product, dealing with multiple people.

It's nice to be able to specify the details of the bullets you buy...and actually get to talk to the guy that's making you're boolits... which is a huge bonus when doing load development for a particular cartridge... especially if you have a strange one... You're not stuck with what's on the shelf at the store...

Lots of invaluable information on this site... and even for us that don't cast, there is still a wealth of information, and plenty of people to help..

Thanks again to you casters for making it easier on the wallet to hit the range more often...

[mroliver77]

I really do save money even though I have a small fortune invested in equipment. If I was to take my time and sell all of my stuff I think it would come close to even. I shop diligently for components and will work up a new load if necessary to take advantage of components bought cheap at a "fire" sale. I will not tell what my .44 loads cost me. ;)
Jay

[shotstring]

I'm retired and on a fixed income now, so the high cost of shooting without the savings from reloading and casting would force me to hang my guns up except for special occasions.

I have one more year to go before I can move to our home in the wild, which is already in place and waiting for my wife and I. From there I can shoot all I wish from my front deck into a berm created to catch all the lead. From there, it is just scoop it up and recover - then cast it up and start all over again. My lead supply will last me my entire lifetime that way, and the only cost of shooting will be a bit of powder, a few primers and replacing cases on occasion.

Without casting, none of that would be possible, and I would be without shooting - one of simple joys of life.

[Blammer]

TonyM, that is a different perspective most of us don't even think about. Glad you could get your need met by the good vendor sponsor's here on the forum.

[supersonic]

I am relatively new to casting (just around 6 months), but I am already casting buckshot, slugs, roundballs, and now I have delved into the world of casting for pistols. I am now casting 240 grain round nose bullets for my .44 mag Smith and Wesson 629. I am young (23) compared to many of you that frequent this forum, and ever since I started casting I have always wondered if it would die out over time. I now am pretty sure that casting will always be around.

I did the numbers after casting and loading my first batch of .44 mag. I don't count the price of the bullet mold (I figure eventually the price will even out to well below 1 cent a boolit) and cast with free wheelweights, which as most of you know are getting harder to find. The price for primer and powder equal out to 10 cents a round (rounding way up on price for the powder). Doing a little bit more math, that equals approximately $10 for 100 rounds of .44 mag. The going price for .44 mag target rounds at Walmart is $32 for fifty. The price of FMJ target 9mm rounds is $24 for 100 rounds. I'm now shooting my .44 for under half the price of the cheap 9mm rounds.

I've also been told by more than one person that no matter what I did, if I shoot lead bullets I'm going to get a lot of leading in my barrel. I now giggle to myself when I look down my barrel after shooting and find it cleaner than when I shoot jacketed. Thanks to all of you for getting me started on this addicting, money saving hobby.

Good post. It's good to know that my bbl's won't be as dirty as I thought.

[Punisher422]

I'm going to dive into casting and loading for 9mm this coming week. I'm expecting to run into leading and attempting to problem solve with it when I start shooting them due to what I've read about 9mm being a pain. And I was surprised that I got NO leading with my .44 right off of the bat. However, it's going to save me money on my target loads and is going to be a great and interesting challenge. Mold's in the mail and going to buy dies and primers tonight!