How many do you cast.....

[41mag]

I am pretty sure I am going to stick with what is working in my 454. That said, I have been pouring up batches of around a hundred or so and stashing them away in small cartons.

I was wandering that those who are only casting say one or two boolits for a particular firearm, do you pour till your arms are tired then call it quits with several hundred to a thousand or do you pour smaller batches of 100 or so to use as needed?

I am using the Lee 6 banger, so pouring several hundred is only hampered by the fact I have to refill my pot and wait for it to come up to temp. Even with preheating, it still takes a bit of time, and it don't take that mold long pouring 300gr boolits to empty it. I was just figuring that since I am pouring a batch of them every month or so. I might as well pour up a major pile, and be done with it for the year.

Thoughts, suggestions?

[shooter93]

I've always poured bullets when I find the time, often in the winter when my work is slow or the times I'm not working weekends. My procedure for years has been is I start the pot melting and keep filling till it's full....20 lbs. Then I cast one pot full of whatever bullet I want every night this way. That's not too much time or effort really and over a winter you'd be suprised at amount of bullets you have. My casting areas is heated though so weather doesn't matter.

[x101airborne]

I like to pour small batches. When I load 100 or 200, I will cast, size and lube another batch. Gives me something to do and keeps me interested in a hobby. Casting several hundred or even thousands is too much like work for me.

[buyobuyo]

I cast for however long it takes to heat everything up, empty the pot, and refill it twice. I was casting yesterday morning and did a pot and a half of 45s, then refilled and did half a pot of 9mm. Then my arm started cramping up (first time it's happened), so 2-3 hours maybe my limit. I usually end up with a few hundred this way which is good because my reject rate is fairly high (I maybe too picky).

I only have one mold for each gun. 125gr 9mm, 200gr 45, 160gr 38/357, 160gr 30-30, and 160gr 308/30-06. I'll be adding a 50cal mold for my ML once I get some testing done with the boolits members were kind enough to send me.

[Love Life]

The folgers coffe can is my standard. Once I get a coffee can full of the boolit I prefer then I move on to the next one. I don't cast them all at one time, but I usually do a pot at a time.

[Mike W1]

I got so far ahead on bullets for my .45 I haven't cast them in several years! Probably have around 30K or better of them. Now that I'm feeding a 9mm too that's what I do, generally around 500 at a time and I'll likely finish the winter with about 10K of them which ought to last me a few years. Well its gets me out of Mama's way and I can heat my little casting area!

[mooman76]

I used to do large batches and cast for about 4 hours or so. Now it's just smaller batches (about an hour or so) because I have piles of boolits not being used. If I know I need more or am casting for a friend I'll do more.

[olafhardt]

Oh, I will cast about a double handful out of my little 4lb Lee pot My pot is small and my needs are few, annd my attention span is short. Works for me.

[Beau Cassidy]

I try to cast in at least 4 hour or more sessions. I add ingots to the pot as I go. The ingots come from the same lot of 100 lb. alloy. I prefer to cast at least 1K, usually more. If ladle casting you can cut that production in about half.

[ku4hx]

Generally 25-27 pounds per session; no idea why that amount but It's about all my back can stand now days. But once everything is heated up and going I hate to stop.

Number of boolits depends on the weight: 850 to 1,400 or so. Here in the sunny South I'm limited to comfortable garage work bench casting only during the cold months. So when I cast, I cast a fair amount. So far this Winter about 75 pounds and that may be all.

[sqlbullet]

If I am going to fire up the pot I like to cast at least a thousand. Especially with a six cavity mold. When I run a two cavity I run two at a time and try to do at least 500 of each.

[btroj]

I cast when I get a chance so I tend to stock up. I generally run a pot full of a single bullet at a time. Sometimes 2 pots of same bullet.

For large volume use bullets I like to keep 1K or more on hand. For low use bullets I may cast a few hundred every so often.

Nothing irritates me more than needing a bullet and not having them on hand.

[imashooter2]

I run Lee 6 bangers for my high volume "go to" handgun boolits. I'll cast them on a 40 second cycle for about 500 an hour and I'll generally cast for about 2 hours before I get tired enough to stop. I'll do that over the winter and put up summer stores unlubed in .50 cal. cans and 2 gallon plastic buckets. I load these as cast and film lubed, so it is no problem to lube up 500 at a time the night before I want to load.

The lower volume stuff, I'll cast year round on an as needed basis and store in boxes sized and lubed. The length of the session varies quite a bit on these as 100 for the .30/30 will last me a lot longer than 100 for the .44 Mag...

[dragonrider]

I cast as needed, seldom more than 60 at a time for rifle calibers. For handgun calibers I will cast 250 to 300 at a time.

[kbstenberg]

On my pistol casting I will go through a pot which will last me for a couple of years. On my rifle I like to cast 4-500 at a time, So after I visually inspect an then separate the good ones are weighd an separated into groups. So in the end I will end up with 2-300 usable bullets

[cbunt1]

It depends on my alloy availability. I tend to cast two 20# pots of a particular boolit, then move on. And I take it in spells.

Of course some of my friends have caught on to the cast boolit thing, and I'm taking more and more orders for specific boolits. When I get an order, I tend to cast at least double the order, since the delivery process on match night ends up being "hey, that's a good idea, got any more?"

Looking over at the coffee cans right now, I have about 1000 .45's, about 1500 9mm's and about 500 each of a couple different .38's that we shoot in IDPA.

[30yrcaster]

I used to set a goal of how many bullets I needed for a year or even 2 years ie. 100 a week x 52 weeks. I'd then cast a full pot worth from my ProMelt every day until I got there. No waiting for the pot to re-melt. Everything would be set up. Usually after a couple weeks of that, I'd clean everything up and put things away.

Couple years ago I needed BPCR bullets so I casted 4 hrs a day until I had 1500. It's slower with a 1 cavity mold and slower shooting them, unlike pistol shooting.

Recently needed a batch of 1400 pistol bullets so I used a new Lee 6 banger and did it all in under 3 hours. I noticed towards the end I was getting some finned bullets. Getting older and my wrists were getting tired out and wasn't holding the mold closed tight enough.

3 hrs may be my limit unless using Cabintree locking handles.

[telebasher]

The folgers coffe can is my standard. Once I get a coffee can full of the boolit I prefer then I move on to the next one. I don't cast them all at one time, but I usually do a pot at a time.

I too, cast to fill coffee cans with boolits. But when I started casting 22 cal for my Hornets a coffee can full is not going to happen. I've been using the small rectangular decorative tin boxes with lids. You can buy them really cheap after the holiday season is over. They come in several sizes and the lids won't crack and decay like the plastic lids for the coffee cans. I find them at Wally World and Alco here, but I've seen them alot of places where Christmas/holiday items are s old. There is a lot of difference in coffee can full 429421's and a can full of 225438's LOL !

[Boolseye]

I cast in 1 or 2 hour sessions. Depending on the boolit that's anywhere between 100-250 boolits.
I have several 6-bangers and a few 2-bangers. I will usually run two two-bangers or one 6-banger.
If I'm feeling energetic I'll run a 6 and a 2 at the same time. Casting is fun, so I never stress about it.

[Love Life]

I only shoot a couple boolit designs. For the 38/357 I crank out 358429's with a 6 cav. I have a 2 cav for lyman 358377 and Lee 358-125-RF. When I cast the 2 cavity moulds I just swap them out and crank out about 500 of each. I get all my casting done in the winter due to the holiday schedule. A coffee can full of each boolit keeps me shooting for a while.

Now the 9mm is pain. My go to boolit is the RCBS 115 gr RN, but seeing how it is only a 2 cav it takes a few sessions to fill a coffee can, but I shoot that boolit less. I just shoot the 9mm to maintain proficiency. They are glocks and therefore boringly accurate and reliable.

Now the 38/357 are my fun guns.

[Jailer]

Usually a couple hours at a time. Number of boolits depends on what mold I'm using. Could be a couple hundred to near 6 or 7 hundred.

Lately nothing until my tennis elbow heals.....:(

[canyon-ghost]

I ladle cast with two cavity molds, it takes 3-4 hours, an afternoon. I generally get 300 or so usuable bullets (I weigh mine). At most, I pour 5-600 in one afternoon.

[Keith Sacane]

I like to work in large batches. I'll cast 500-1000 of each bullet at a time, and then I'll size them all. My leisure time is limited, so I like to have a lot ready.

[41mag]

Well like some of you, I take my time as I get it. That was another of ther reasons I am just now getting into casting. It was so much easier in years past to simply grab the box of bullets off the shelf in the caliber I needed or wanted to hunt with, dial up the load, pour in the powder and seat them and out the door in around an hour. It seemed to never fail, when I got ready for hunting season I rarely had more then a dozen rounds for anything in particular, ready to shoot.

I have already run into this a couple of times with the cast as well. Shooting them up while working up a load, then get invited to come out on a Saturday for hogs and not have anything loaded up or ready to load. So have one full box which have been lubed/sized with GC's, lubed a second time and made ready to load. Three boxes which are ready to go through the lube/sizing/ process. Each box holds around 150 of the big 300's so I figure I am in good shape for a while. I was planning on loading up several boxes fo them this weekend but there again time has gone and no loaded rounds.

I have read where some like to give their boolits at least a couple of weeks for the hardness to settle before sizing and such. This is what I feel is biting at me. The ones I have ready were poured up close to a month ago so should be fine, the ones I poured up this past week still have a ways to go, and the ones I am HOPING to get poured up this week will hopefully simply need to be for inventory.

I am using the Lee 4/20 pot and my plan is to run two full loads through it and what ever comes of it is what I will stash away. I have this particular mold down pretty good in my reject rate is only about 10 per hundred or more, and usually those will shoot but I simply feel I have to have something to cull, or I throw them into the pile for the 45 Colt.

[white eagle]

I cast in smaller amounts
that way I can cast more often and keep the mold
casting process interesting
if I cast a lot of one then I loose sight of the mold and forget the excitement that it brought

[rockrat]

I have a CD player (Boom box) in my shop. I cast until the end of the CD, about 90 minutes. Thats about all my arms want.

[Harter66]

Every set seems to be different for me . I used to have 2 days a month to smelt,cast,load and sometimes even go shoot. Now w/my granddaughters ,2/4, living w/us I'm lucky to get a couple of hrs a month w/o worry about a lil'one under foot.

So I guess I used to do around 4-600 at a setting now days I'm lucky to get 150 of anything cast or loaded.

[MikeS]

Lately I've been recasting some of my earlier attempts at casting. At the time I thought they were ok, but now when I look at them I wonder what I was thinking! Actually I think I've just gotten better, so the boolits I cast tend to come out better these days. I see no reason to hang on to 500 or more boolits that by my current standards are just marginal when I can very easily throw them back in the pot and recast them. As learning is a continual thing, I wonder if I'll be doing this again next year?

[6.5 mike]

I try to cast twice when I'm off the boat, thursday morning & one other. Use 2 moulds & run about 100 of each. That evening I'll take them in & weight sort if I'm working up a load. The other run is to catch up any I need with these moulds & generally any other boolits I might be getting low on.

One nice thing about working like I do, the boolits get set for 3 weeks by the time I'm on the boat. When I do a BHN test, I'll cast some, check the hardness the next day, then re-test when I get back. Found that 10 of most any boolit will fit in a pill bottle, using 10 boolits, check 5 make a note of hardness, stick it in the bottle. Check the other 5 when I get back. I use my lee 125 rf mould, nice flat base & nose, works very well with my cabintree tester.

[Sonnypie]

I usually cast until I'm tired, the back aches and spasms, or I run out of a certain alloy.
Craziest day was 28.6 pounds of 230 grain 45ACP boolits. Just got in a zone and kept going... It was nuts!
The 6 cav Lee just kept me going in utter amazement.

Even with the single cav Lyman 30 caliber, I will amass 200-300 at a session.

Then I stockpile them in coffee containers for later lubing or loading sessions. I call them boolit shaped ingots.
***************************

Saturday I perfected my gas check production. I added aimed air to send the disks down a pipe to a collection can.
Then when cup forming, again the air stream to send the completed GC's to a catch can.
Probably sped up both operations by 3 fold.
By calculation, 432 checks from 24" of material.
By reality more likely around 400-415 do to drops, flops, and errors.
But a bunch of checks in a few hours.

I have 150 checked, racked, and dipped boolits calling me back to the shop to continue after an otherwise very distracting weekend. They need cut, sized, cleaned, and stored.

I think I need to get off my duff.... :coffeecom

[MakeMineA10mm]

As you can see by going through what's already been posted here in this thread, most of your answer depends on the relationship between the size of the pot, and the type and # of cavities in your mould.

Iron, 1-cav moulds will slow you down, as will a small pot. Thus, the two work together, but only to a degree. The problem with a steel mould, and a HP pin, is that they take awhile to heat, and must be run hot, so often, a small pot will run out of alloy, just as the mould is wanting to work good. Here is where the process will help --> In this case, I'd return the rejects as the mould is heating up pretty regularly to the pot, so it never gets very low.

I run mostly 6-cavity aluminum moulds now, though I still have quite a few iron moulds. After many years with a 10-20 lb. pot, I bought a Ballisti-Cast casting machine, which has a >100lb. pot on it. After running this as a business for 18 months or so, I learned that the huge pot took out one big variable in my casting --> alloy temperature and head pressure. The big pot stayed balance in temperature and head pressure a lot longer. We also rigged up a capture box for the sprues and used an aluminum scoop to return the hot sprues to the pot frequently. I don't think that pot ever had less than 75 lbs. of alloy in it.

Thus, when I returned to hand-casting, I decided that it was a good investment to get the 90-lb pot from Magma. That thing is AWESOME. I don't worry about how much lead I have in the pot anymore. As long as it's over 30-35 lbs., the head pressure is consistent enough to work well with my speedy casting tempo. How long I last now totally depends on how good I feel and how much time I have. Size of moulds, how long they take to get up to temp, and the capacity of the pot are no limitations for me anymore.

The big pot is the best recommendation I can make for anyone. It's well worth the investment, especially if time and lower frustration levels are important for you.

So, how many do I cast? Generally, I cast for a few hours to all day. If it's just a couple-three hours, I'll get around 1500 keepers, and if it's all-day, I've hand-cast up to 2500 (which is about all my arms and butt can take - I have to get up, clean, organize alloy, re-stock alloy, or do SOMETHING to move into a different position several times throughout the day, which cuts into boolit-making time, but let's me stay there and keep the pot hot until my arms/butt recovers for more sitting behind the pot...)

[casterofboolits]

I cast for myself and a couple friends, so I try to cast a couple thousand of the boolits we use the most. Especially 9mm. H&G six cavity moulds are great. I cast using an H&G #275 09-125-SWCBB and a #309 09-125-TCPB at the same time. both are six cavity.

The younger one is burning up some 9mm and I am going to teach him to smelt and beg for wheel weights!!!

[Dale53]

I have a lot of different bullet moulds (upwards of seventy or so).

I have a couple of RCBS electric pots that hold 22# of alloy.

I typically cast a pot full (21# of finished bullets) before I stop. That is about 700-800 200gr SWC in .45 and considerably more in .32's.

I mostly use multicavity moulds. I used to cast continuous (was a part time commercial caster "back in the day"). Now, one or two potfuls at a time is all I can handle with ease.

I still VERY MUCH enjoy casting...

Dale53

[Link23]

i cast for about 2 or 3 hour sessions, it dont bother me at all, i have a lee 10lb pot, and 2 bangers, every time i open up my mold and drop out 2 beautiful boolits i just think of how much money i save!

Link23

[41mag]

i every time i open up my mold and drop out 2 beautiful boolits i just think of how much money i save!
Link23

Yep I think the same thing, but almost all of my molds are 6 holers......

I figured when I started out that I might as well go for broke, well I'm trying to stay in lead, and trying not to go broke. LOL

[prs]

From coin toss till half time I can drop a 3# coffee can of 454PRS boolits which is ponderously more heavy than when filled with coffee. 357 Snakebite Greasewagon boolits are just as numerous in that time frame, but less bulky and less heavy, as are 40 S&W TL175s. No rush, just a good steady pace; no need to make work out of fun.

prs

[Love Life]

I just spent a little over an hour casting RCBS-115-RN. Have to stock up for the weekend because my wife is coming shooting and her glock is very hungry!! Dang 2 hole RCBS moulds.

[Ickisrulz]

I cast when I need to. Usually do 1 hour per day for several days in a row until I meet my loading needs or run out of metal. Then I oil my molds, pack up my stuff and clean my casting area.

[Shiloh]

I have coffee cans and industrial washer soap containers.

When full, thats enough. Around 700 9mm or so.
LEE six bangers drop a lot of boolits very fast when you get a rhythm going.

Shiloh

[stubshaft]

I usually cast larger calibers and use a 20lb Lee as Primary with the 10 pounder preheating alloy (460gr to 580gr boolits take alot of alloy). That being said I usually cast with at least 2 two cavity molds (sometimes three if they are taking a long time to cool down) and cast about 500 - 600 from each mold. Once I get "in the zone" it is hard to stop until my back starts to really ache.

[Cadillo]

All my moulds are 4 cavity. I cast outside and thus have a little time spent setting up, so I always try to cast around 1500, as measured by weight. None of my moulds will go that far in a session without some maintenance, so I cast until the mould needs some help, and then switch to another clean and lubed mould. I usually wind up with two, and often three styles of bullets cast in one session, and then clean the moulds the following day, but I do hose them down with Rem-Oil once I've stopped casting so as to prevent rusting or other(brass)overnight.

And, Yes, it takes me several hours to cast that many.

[MikeS]

I've been remelting even more boolits lately. Along with one's I cast when first learning, and so are no longer up to my standards now, I also melt down any boolits I have from moulds I no longer have. This may sound silly, but other than boolits already loaded, I don't want to have boolits around from a mould I no longer have, because I don't want to start using them, and decide I like them, and thinking that I should have kept the mould. As an example, I have a couple of moulds I'm thinking of selling, a 4 cavity 452460 and a 6 cavity NEI #228, as they're the only 45 cal boolits I have that have more than one lube groove, and since going to a Star sizer it's just easier if all boolits have the same number of lube grooves. If I sell them I have about 500 of each boolit cast, they will get melted down, and the lube in them will be flux, so I'll have self fluxing lead, sort of like rosin core solder! :)

[jonk]

Depends. For general use, I'll run one 10 lb. pot full, probably 2 or 3 calibers, meaning around 50-100 bullets of each depending on weight. Easily segregated, for instance .30 cal, .45, and 6.5mm. That way when one mold starts getting too hot I can move on to another then return to the original. Or maybe all one caliber, different bullet designs so no segregation is needed, I can do that while lubing.

I'll do the same with a 6 banger but will drain the pot into the one mold in one session.

For my .58 Enfield or other black powder single cavity jobs, which I don't shoot too often, perhaps 50 at a time, as that's all I'll shoot in any given year.

[lbaize3]

I guess I am a glutton for punishment. I will sit and cast for a whole day if I need boolits. Today I melted four big cast iron pots of monotype, adding lead and tin to bring it down to linotype. I now have enough ingots to make a huge batch of 30, 38, 40, 44, and 45 caliber boolits. I suspect it will take several days to get all I need cast.

I just used up my supply of Lee 155 grain 30 cal GC FN boolits in some 30-30 loads. 25 grains of BL-C(2) pushes that load very well in my Uberti rolling block. So I need a bunch more for the rest of my 30-30 brass and for my 30-06 lever rifle (1895).

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
When I was younger I would do 4 pots (Lyman 10lbs. I think).
Last few years I only 2 pots. 1 day +7MM's, 1 Day= 38's, 1 day=44's. Then do cycle again. Have so many 45's for my black powder I may not ever cast for it again.
Christmas Vacation from school teaching is casting season, start sizing & lubing season once school starts again , on Saturday after Jujitsu practice. So by spring when it is not too cold it's shooting season. That lasts till Hunting season.:bigsmyl2::Fire::Fire:

[MOshooter]

I like to go through a 20# pot in a casting session.

[Inkman]

After work. 500 to 800 .45s with a Lee 6 cavity mold and 20# pot.

That's plenty before i get tired and put everything away.

Al

[Rhino]

If i fire up the pot, I commit to sereval hours of casting with 6 cav lee molds, or MP 4 cav molds, normally can knock off 1000-1500 boolits, but have TV or radio on, listening to the cricket or footy helps the time slide by.

I have a casting sessions more often than required, and now have a huge supply of cast, sized & lubed boolits stored, means I don't have to panic when the comp season kicks in.