Most Commercially viable cast bullet styles.

[Liberty'sSon]

Ok I realize this may open a huge can of worms, but with that's said he goes.
I'm looking to generate w list of the to 10 or 12 most commercially viable cast bullets for me to sell when my FFL and ITAR are finalized. My primary interest is for the IDPA and USPSA game, but I am open to CASS and other organizations. I realize everyone has their own favorites, but I'm hoping we can get to some type of consensus.
Thanks in advance for your input.

[Liberty'sSon]

With more thought, maybe I should instead ask. What would be the most popular caliber, weight, profiles. One that I know I would want is a 45ACP 200gr SWC. Maybe that will help simplify this post.

[jabo52521]

A 125gr round nose 9mm and a 150gr swc in 38/357 would be my selection.

[runfiverun]

round nose flat points will sell to the cowboy shooters.
I paid for 3 stars, 2 master casters, and a gobbly gook of molds just selling them boolits.
now to sell to the gamers of the bunch you have to sell the lightest ones available like
100-120 gr 38's and 160 gr 45's etc.

[bhn22]

Focus on the gun gamers. They burn more store bought bullets than anyone. The afore mentioned 200 gr 45 acp bullet is probably the highest selling commercial bullet out there. A decent 158 gr SWC is likely second. 9mm shooters would probably be third, but you'd want a couple of options there, 115 gr, 124 gr and perhaps a heavy 147 gr or so. Cowboy bullets, as mentioned above, and many of the local cowboy shooters seem to demand light for caliber bullets. A 250 gr Keith 44, and a decent hunting design 300 gr 44, plus similar offerings for 45 Colt shooters, in .452, but with a .454 option as well. And don't make them too hard! 22 bhn bullets need to be a perfect match to the guns dimensions to help prevent leading.

[Bigslug]

For autos, I would suggest RNFP's, as these will feed well in most guns and still have a suitable-for-defense-or-game meplat. My current favorite concept is that presented by Accurate Molds 35-125B, 40-165C, and 45-230F. These are nice because they have a slight wadcutter shoulder that makes figuring out seating depth a no-brainer for the less-accomplished reloaders.

A clone of the 200gr .45 caliber H&G 68 would keep the 1911 gamer crowd happy. A reputable 148gr .38 wadcutter should be in the mix for the same reason. You will want to keep a 230 grain .45 in the mix however, as it's a pretty established bit of Americana.

The cowboy shooters usually want something that LOOKS like a 1880's profile projectile (RNFP) that weighs as little as possible. Feed their .38's and .45's for sure, and their .44-40's and 38-.40's only if the local demand exists.

For revolvers. . .On the one hand, you'll never find a shortage of folks who want authentic Keith SWC's. Aside from the 358429, which requires knowledge of its special seating depth requirements in .357 cases, they're hard to argue with (the 158 and 160 grainers of similar profile are better for the mass-market). On the other hand, the sharp corners on the nose and shoulder of these boolits might not lend themselves to staying pretty when dumped into a box with 499 of their twin brothers, so following LBT's WFN profile might be a better choice. A 160gr. .358, a 250-ish grain .429, and a 250-275gr .45 will keep most of the non-gamers happy.

[Liberty'sSon]

Ok, now that I heve some feed back, let me list the molds that I have and see what you think. All of the molds are H&G or Ballisticast versions of H&G molds. All are beveled based versions.
331 9mm 125gr RN
332 40cal 175gr SWC this is the 40 cal version of H&G 68
801 38/357 160gr SWC
1401 38/357 160gr SWC this is just the Ballisticast number for the H&G 801. I'm still not sure why there are two sets of essentially the same mold. Perhaps there was damage to one set. I will check soon.
45 44mag 240gr SWC
68 45ACP 200gr SWC
987 45 LC 255gr RNFP

That's it for what I have, it appears to be a pretty good base to work from. The following are what I would like to add in the near future.
9mm. 147gr
Possibly a 160gr RN for 38super, or it seems some people are using this bullet from Bayou Bullets to create a really soft shooting 9mm round for IDPA, USPSA.
45 ACP 230gr RN
I also think a good niche would be a heavy 30 cal in the 240gr range cut to feed well in the AR platform would sell well for the 300Blackout. I will probably have this one and possibly some of the others cut without lube grooves to be used with the Hi-Tek coating.

That's pretty much what I've come up with so far. Thanks for your input thus far any future guidance is also appreciated.

[Forrest r]

A wc for the 38spl wouldn't hurt either.

[Liberty'sSon]

Ok now I have a new question. As I'm going through the molds I bought I'm running across several that have damage to the bevel portion of the Boolit base on the molds. Think that these could be rescued by machining the bevels out of the molds. It's probably another Chevy vs Ford argument, but what are your opinions on bevel base vs plain base molds?

[Doc_Stihl]

Bevel base load easier for production reloading but you pretty much need a star or magma style luber to lube and size them without a real mess.

[ACrowe25]

45: 200 swc, 230 RN

9mm: 124 gr RN

44: 240 gr swc

38: a 150ish wc?

That's just what I've been "involved" in. Good luck on your endeavors.

[Viper225]

What I shoot:

38 Special: 150 - 158 Round Nose, or a Round Nose Flat Point will work.
40 S&W Revolver: 180 Round Nose Flat Point 38-40 Cowboy Bullet w/Crimp Groove.
45 ACP Revolver: 230 Round Nose.
45 ACP 1911: 200 SWC H&G 68

For IDPA/ICORE/Steel, etc. when shooting a revolver where you do reloads on the clock SWC bullets do not work well at all. Semi Wadcutters make nice holes in paper, but when time matters a round nose is way quicker to complete a reload with.

On my 45acp I would probably just shoot 230 Round Nose in my 1911 and 625, but using 2 different bullets lets me run 2 completely different loads.

My S&W 610 would probably work with a TC bullet just fine, but I like the 38-40 Revolver bullets better.

Bob

[wv109323]

I don't think there is enough market for the non-grease groove bullets or bullets for the .300 Blackout to justify the costs.
I would anticipate the popularity of cast bullets sales would be:
.452 200gn. SWC
.358 158 Keith, SWC or RN
.452 230gn. RN
.356 125 RN or TC
.401 175-180gn. TC
.454 Whatever is popular with Cowboy shooters for 45 Colt RNFP
.430 240 SWC (even though I would prefer 200 gn.)
.358 125 gn. RN or TC
.459 350 or 500gn. RN for 45-70
.356 147 gn. RN
To gain more sales some of these bullets will need to be available in +.001 or .002 over nominal size.

[HNSB]

Imagine going to a market where everyone is selling apples. If you show up with a crate of apples, you're probably not going to make a killing.
Be the only guy with a crate of oranges, and you'll probably have a good day.

[MtGun44]

H&G 68 clone .452 diam
158 SWC for .38/.357 .358 diam
44 acl 240 SWC Keith style .431 diam
9mm TC 120 gr like Lee 356 120 TC - BUT IN .358 DIAM !!!

Bill

[Liberty'sSon]

Ok, little bump for this one as I just had my FFL interview and should be about 6weeks from startup. Thanks for all the input, it looks like I have a decent inventory of molds to start with, but from the input thus far I will probably try to add 3-4 mold sets ASAP after startup. For those that commented on it I DO intend to offer multiple sizes in each profile/caliber and will offer some softer alloys in the lower pressure rounds especially.
I would like to take this opportunity to see if there is anyone out there with any other suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[MtGun44]

Remember the 9mm TC design in .358 diam. This will be unique and will
work where most .355 and .356 commercial boolits hit sideways in 9mms.

Bill