Women Boolit Casters

[GregLaROCHE]

This forum and hobby is obviously dominated by men. There must be some women who enjoy this hobby. My hat is off to all those gals. Are there any that are willing to come forward? Maybe someone would like to start a poll.

[Patrick L]

Ah, you've just described my SECOND wife!

But don't tell my first (and current, 28 years last month)...

Actually, I have noticed over the years that the few women I have encountered at the range always seem to be a wife/girlfriend in tow. But, last year I returned to our indoor Bullseye league after a 20 year hiatus. I was very pleased to see about half a dozen women shooting the league. And with only 1 exception, they are not wives of other shooters. They are independent, YOUNG, and there because they are genuinely interested in shooting. I think we need a lot more of this. Our sport has been dominated by old white men for far too long. In addition to making it boring, it really doesn't do much to ensure the futureof our sport. We need to diversify.

The absolute best is when I see a family together on the range. That really gives me hope.

Sorry I sort of went off on a tangent...

[lightman]

I personally don't know any Women that cast. And out of my shooting buddies only 4 of them cast.

[MrWolf]

Think Mary might have a comment :lol:

[Land Owner]

Hush your mouth. They'll hear and take over. You'll never find another WW in an intersection afterward.

[ioon44]

I don't know any women bullet casters but there is a lot of women who shoot the IDPA & USPSA matches in my area.

[Froogal]

Plenty of women involved in cowboy action shooting, including my wife, and they all seem to enjoy it just as much as the men. My wife does not do any reloading or casting, but she could learn just as easily as I did. She DOES do quilting, knitting, etc., and I am certain that I can NOT do any of that stuff.

[Starsizer]

Very few men who shoot cast their own bullets.

[dverna]

I saw a photo (maybe here) of a very pretty woman at a casting pot with absolutely no PPE. I gave the poster crap over it. Cannot recall who it was.

A scar, and a bet most of us have them, maybe macho for a guy...not so much for most ladies.

My fiancé does not cast (likely never will) and does not reload yet. I will start her off with 5.56 rounds for her new Howa. I will not trust her to run the Dillons until she has a year or so of loading on the Co-Ax.

[dannyd]

I think it would be awesome if Ladies cast bullets. My wife of 41 years would never cast bullets, but I think I would leave her for a woman that casted and reloaded. :D

[curioushooter]

Two brief things.

1) many women are highly avoidant of "outing" themselves as female on internet forums dominated by men, particularly in hobbies dominated by men. This is mainly because of massive unwanted petitioning. Most women into things like restoring cars/tractors, hunting, watch repair, chess, shooting, computer programming, casting, gaming, etc. have long experience pretending they are male basically and/or rebuffing a tsunami of overtures. In things like tennis, bicycling, archery, leatherworking, dancing...were the interest between the sexes is fairly equitable...this dynamic is far reduced, and I think one of the reasons why these communities are generally more civil and welcoming. Women dominated areas like knitting, sewing, Jane Austen revival events, etc. do not generally have this problem either since women rarely proposition men. They are, in my observation, welcoming.

2) My wife, and I suspect many others, has some interest in casting, and she is more likely to simply use my ID than create their own. A given handle on an internet forum is not guarantee that it is only one individual behind it.

Though I do not believe my wife has ever hoisted one of my molds and gone through a single pour she cast some muzzleloader roundballs for my father in law when she was a teenager and has been involved in basically every other related matter from smelting scrap lead to driving pickups of wheelweights and roofing lead around (particularly when I was vagabond caster) to cleaning molds to lubricating bullets. Truly, the act of casting is just a small part of the overall process, and among the least important in the end. I consider her a "bullet caster" in a way, sort of like a Gunga Din of bullet casting. Doesn't carry the mold, but a better man, er...woman...than I.

[Dapaki]

I cast with a lady caster, she drives the shooting stuff at home, her hubby is a fan but he is more into racing.

[country gent]

My wife didnt cast and I really didnt want her around the molten metals. Not saying she couldnt do it. She did take care of a lot of the case prep for me though. We both competed in NRA high Power rifle, some handgun matches. She was a strong competitor. (Was abut to make master when she was taken from us).

I have known lady shooters, reloaders but few who actually cast bullets. One lady did cast tin soldiers and nick knacks for craft sales. At work we had several ladies that ran solder stations and such so it can be done

[curioushooter]

I would add one thing about female bullet casters...they should take even more precaution around lead since basically women are smaller and lower exposure limits and because they bear young. Pregnant women might be better off simply not casting (after asking my wife this is why she stopped...she cast before we were married and hasn't since).

Casting if done properly is pretty safe, but I've literally never found another bullet caster who does it properly. I was a hazwaste hauler in my career and am pretty well versed in the issues. I've seen a lot of overheated pots (and I've done it myself). And a lot of "expert bullet casting" advice tends towards getting the alloy on the hot side since it DOES make things work better usually. If you bullets are frosting with any antimonial alloy then you are getting close to overheating or are overheated. This is the single biggest cause of lead exposure along with sloppy work habits. Lee's pots in particular are prone to overheating. They claim to be "thermostatically controlled" but the sensor is not in the alloy...it's on the outside or somewhere that gives false readings, especially if there is a draft of any kind, which there SHOULD BE. A good thermometer is a necessity for consistently good casting as well as safety.

I am beginning to think a fume hood is a necessity if you cast indoors. I've always been a shadetree caster. And when I was a hazwaste hauler I was regularly tested for lead among other heavy metals (cadmium is the one they are most concerned with, or at least were back then) and never reached the limit of detectability let alone exposure with any of them. Kitchen type hoods (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-42000-Series-36-in-Under-Cabinet-Range-Hood-with-Light-in-Stainless-Steel-423604/202830605) are about $60-100 and with some rudimentary carpentry can be rigged up. I would do it if I were casting indoors.

[kevin c]

Shooters and reloaders, yes, but women are outnumbered in my club about twenty to one. No casters that I know of. There are even fewer men casting, than women shooting.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

There are several regular members here, who are Ladies, and are boolit casters.

[mattw]

May daughter is learning the casting and reloading side of shooting. Her OCD favorite part is powder coating, she takes a little longer at it because the bullets are all lined up like perfect soldiers in formation on the cookie sheets. She is going to be good at all of it sooner or later, only 17 at this point.

[onelight]

I personally don't know any Women that cast. And out of my shooting buddies only 4 of them cast.

I don't either , man or woman . This forum is the only casting communication I have with any one.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Women casting whats not to like about that , they do things as well as most and better then some , I wear gloves for smelting and glasses long pants and long sleeves no face mask or other ppe , stay out of smoke keep heat to temp dont lick your fingers keep work area clean clean up after , Have known women who reloaded and that is good , and the above about a lot of males who shoot or load do not cast , casting is and has been a small segment of reloaders , wished more would get into it , wished more people became a little less reliant on factories producing the finished product . To mattw congratulations on a fine young women , keep up the good work .

[mattw]

I have been trying to get her to sign up here... she is a great shot, good learner and politically astute young person. She is not sure that a board full of old guys that know way more than she does would be a good fit for her... :)

[Bazoo]

I for one am still a whippersnapper.

I don't know anyone else that casts except members here.

[heebs]

Well I will take the plunge. I am female, have been casting bullets for do I dare say 30+ years, and have started making shot as well. Started out collecting wheel weights from the local tire shops. A case of ice cold beer on the last Friday of the month gets a person a lot of wheel weights. Always impressed the guys in the back. Pretty sure that shop went through a lot more weights than a normal shop. My obsession started as a way to shoot a lot more on a lot less money. Plus my bullseye scores went up. Then got into USPSA and shot more lead. Got married, slowed some on shooting, but now hubby and I have gotten into trap and skeet. Plus still handgun stuff. Now making shot as I am not going to pay $42 for a bag of shot. We reclaim lead from the range, sweeten it up a little, and make shot. I would hate to think of the amount of lead that has been put downrange by the family over the years. I do all the casting, sizing and reloading. It was my hobby before we got married, and he has just let my continue on, he gets the best part. Ammo loaded and a partner ready to go shoot. Being on forums, it is easier to have a generic name, so people don't judge you.

[tankgunner59]

My wife doesn't cast or reload at all. She is interested in my reloading to the point of making sure I have cast and loaded enough to keep her shooting. (She's not concerned about me having any to shoot. lol ) However, she does help me retrieve brass at the ranges. As a matter of fact, when we go to shoot the first thing she does is start looking for brass to collect. But I know of no women including my wife, who have interest in casting or reloading.

[Wisest.fool]

My wife picks the colors for my powdercoated bullets does that count? (and yes i have pink bullets now)

[FLINTNFIRE]

Heck pink purple and a mixture of colors 10 year old daughter helps decide , sometimes she loads primer tubes

[tazman]

My gun club has 1300+ members many of whom are women. I don't know of any other boolit caster among them.
Many shoot cast but they purchase the boolits.
They are not surprised when they see me shooting cast but are surprised when I tell them I make my own.

[MrWolf]

Good for you heebs.

[lightman]

Well I will take the plunge. I am female, have been casting bullets for do I dare say 30+ years, and have started making shot as well. Started out collecting wheel weights from the local tire shops. A case of ice cold beer on the last Friday of the month gets a person a lot of wheel weights. Always impressed the guys in the back. Pretty sure that shop went through a lot more weights than a normal shop. My obsession started as a way to shoot a lot more on a lot less money. Plus my bullseye scores went up. Then got into USPSA and shot more lead. Got married, slowed some on shooting, but now hubby and I have gotten into trap and skeet. Plus still handgun stuff. Now making shot as I am not going to pay $42 for a bag of shot. We reclaim lead from the range, sweeten it up a little, and make shot. I would hate to think of the amount of lead that has been put downrange by the family over the years. I do all the casting, sizing and reloading. It was my hobby before we got married, and he has just let my continue on, he gets the best part. Ammo loaded and a partner ready to go shoot. Being on forums, it is easier to have a generic name, so people don't judge you.

Its good to hear from a Lady caster. I suspect there are more Women on here than we know about, for all of the reasons stated. I sincerely hope that no one on here has ever been offensive to any of them. Its a pretty good group of guys, all in all!

[wrench]

A big +1 on the generic name, can't beat 'wrench' for anonymity. About the only time I have 'come out', is when I buy/sell with someone. They see my real name and 'Huh????', a female?? Sort of like a unicorn I think, LOL. I don't know how I got that 'boolit lady' thing under my screen name, but I don't think anyone notices it.
I love to shoot, cast, and reload.
I know quite a few women that shoot, but no one else that reloads let alone casts.
Heebs, we have to get coffee one of these days, after we are allowed out again!

[robg]

my wife started me casting .i think she likes me out of her way .

[FLINTNFIRE]

Well I am not sure why anyone would act any different to what sex someone is but then I do work with some strange people so I guess it could be a issue , I know the first woman they hired at work there was a lot of backstabbing , my thought is you can do the job who should care and everyone does deserve to be treated with respect , congratulations to both you ladies from minnesota .
I have met a few people who professed to cast , I have found cast in the berms at the range but so many find it easier to buy bullets either cast or jacketed , I did know a benchrest shooter who made bullets , him and his wife both , sadly both have passed and no idea what happened to his swaging stuff .

[Joby]

My bride casts a bit. It just happens to be silver. A big difference in price from wheel weights. She also spends a lot of time behind a mixed gas torch melting glass. And is pretty good at putting cast 45’s down range.