casting worth the work & cash

[Brutz]

So as Im sure you can tell, i am new here. I have recently received all of my grandfathers' 40-60 year old reloading equipment. I did research and came across bullet casting. I was wondering if it is really worth the time, money, and effort. If it saves cash or just adds to my bills. I have a 300 win mag 40 sw and two shotguns, the list will only grow from this point on. If i am able to save $ I will cast for all my firearms. Any help, opinions, or insights will be useful. Thanks in advance.:Fire:

[Timberland]

Im new to casting, but like reloading if you do it to save money you are wasting your time. This like reloading is a hobby in itself, you have controll over every step of your shooting, and it breaks you free of having to buy ammo, creating self sufficency. That alone was worth it for me.

On money, all the lead I bought and molds/sizing dies, plus cheap heating equipment cost me less than 1000 store bought FMJ or even cast bullets(not complete rounds). Like everything your miliage may vary.

[supv26]

CAUTION!! The Surgeon General has determined that casting boolits is very habit forming! :Fire::-D

Try it once and you'll be hooked! And yes, it does save some money if you do a little research and hunting for lead. The other night I found a receipt for some cast boolits I purchased about 7 years ago. I bought 5,000 cast bullets for $141.50! They were 200 grain LR for .45ACP. I don't think you can buy that many for that price now.

[snaggdit]

I paid $40 for 500 9mm hard cast at Sheels 2 months ago before my backordered mold was shipped. The plated were $20 for 100. At those prices, I pay for a Lee 2 cavity mold after the first 100-200 boolits. That's with free lead. Even paying $20 for 5 gallon pails of WW my cost per boolit is 1/20 of bought. Of course you have your time as well, but I enjoy it so it isn't work. I have a 40 S&W I can now load for $2.60 a box of 50. With a XBOX gaming son who thinks emptying a clip in 3 seconds is fun, this makes taking him to the range affordable. The 300 Mag will probably need gas checks (~$25/1000) and a sizer (~$20) to crimp them on as well as harder boolits (search for alloys recipies and hardening techniques). That is a small increase, but still saving in the long run. Shotgun, I don't know. I don't load them. Do some folks cast their own shot? Seems like that would get boring... You could cast slugs, though.

All said, it ain't huge savings but it is a great addiction, I mean great hobby! Come on, all your friends are doing it...

[2muchstuf]

I was lucky. Had most of my "start-up" casting stuff gifted to me.
Added more and more at a cost for sure.
Not counting initual cost, I'm loading .45s and .357s for about $.05 to $.06 a round.

Did you price loaded ammo lately?
Last I saw .357 for was $45.00 / 100.(ball)
Didn't take me long to do the math.

It does cost some to get started....but with care, your stuff should last for just about ever.

Then you can give it to your grandkids and keep the tradition going.

2

[2muchstuf]

Oh almost forgot Brutz welcome to the madness.
I think you're find yourself HERE alot.
2

[ept000]

I cast and load for a few different calibers, but most of my efforts go into 9mm. Casting is definitely it's own hobby, but at the same time 100 9mm's run me between $3.00 and $3.50. After my local Wal Mart ran out, guys I shoot with are buying ammo at Big 5 for ........................





$30.00 per 100 for WWB!!!

[454PB]

Welcome to the forum!

Casting and swaging are sub categories in handloading. It takes a lot of dedication and patience to become proficient, and some money. If you're the kind of guy that fires 100 to 200 rounds per year, it's probably not for you.

However, getting involved CAN lead to more interest and shooting.....in other words it's addictive for some people. Don't let anybody tell you it saves money......it just lets you shoot more!

[mooman76]

If you watch what you get you can same money casting. Reloading doesn't save you much but think of this. The bullet is the most expensive part in the reloading proccess. If you can get your lead cheap or sometimes free or next to nothing you can save that expence and casting is one area where you can be creative and and cheap. A 2 or 3 dollar cast iron pot to melt lead and so on.

[technetium-99m]

People who like to shoot will never save money reloading or casting. They will only shoot more. :mrgreen:

If you shoot 100 or more rounds a month you can save money by using basic tools and rolling your own. Plus you will be completely independent, and no longer be out of luck when you can't find factory ammo for a given caliber.

GT

[45nut]

20 rounds of 300 WM is about $60.00+ now for "premium" ammo, which is about all you are likely to find anymore, handloaded ammo can provide you 100 rounds or more for that $60.00 or hundreds of cast rounds. Not to mention you won't be depending on the local walmart for those 20 rounds and have to wonder if it will shoot to the same POI as the last twenty that are not likely to be from the same lot#.

Depending on others vs being self sufficient and making your own ammo is going to be much more important as time goes on I believe. Everyone makes their own choices, what you do or don't do now may just make it possible/impossible to make more choices for yourself in the future.

[HeavyMetal]

For me it was never about"Saving Money". It wasn't about being self sufficent either, it was about making the best ammo I could!

I don't know if you can shoot cast in a 300, but that 40 you could sure improve and I found custom loads out of my shotguns helped my scores go up.

Last August I took my 28 gauge up to huntin land whre the inlaws hang out and hunt all the time. My First time on a sporting clays course and beat'm ( and thier awsome 12 gauge's ) by 6 birds!

When we talk reloading they listen! That makes it worth the effort!

[Buckshot]

..............For cost we'll figure this, rounded averages. Primers at $32/K = 3.2 cents each. Powder at $25/lb is .03 cents per GRAIN WEIGHT. Lead at $0.50/lb.

You're going to load a box of 357 Mag 158gr lead PB SWC's to moderate velocities. Fifty primers will be $1.60.

We'll use 7.0grs of Unique powder and at $0.03/gr it's $0.21 and 50 will be $1.05

With lead (WW) at $0.50/lb we get 44 of'em per pound or $0.113 each or 50 for $0.56.

Our 50 rounds cost $3.21 for 50 cartridges.

JUst checking at Midway for comparable ammo it's:

Black Hills Cowboy Action Ammunition 357 Magnum 158 Grain Lead Conical Nose Box of 50
Status: Available Currently 5 available at this price Our Price: $25.99

The above price is on sale at $3.00 off regular but we'll go with it. Our box of ho-made, tailored to OUR revolter, ammo saved us $22.78. One of the BEST things too is that the "STATUS AVAILABLE" doesn't bother us one bit. While some may say "OH CRAP" and then have to wait a week or 2 for more to come in, we just go out into our personal foundry and run off 10 boxes worth or so.

Off course someplace may have it cheaper but for our example it serves the purpose. That $22 maybe paid for your dies? Paid for the Lee mould? Load 5 boxes and that's $100 you've saved vs buying from Midway or the corner gunshop, Big 5, Wal-Mart or any number of other places. Of course you DID NOT literally put that money in your pocket, but represents what you KEPT IN YOUR POCKET vs the guy next to you on the pistol line.

If you're into math you can easily figure out at what point your components are all paid for, and all the ammo loaded after that point (until the components are gone) is for retail comparison .............FREE :-)

We ALL value our time, however we spend it. Some may consider sitting in front of the TV "Being" entertained as valuable. I don't see that myself. Now if you were splitting wood, building a hen house, pouring a patio, playing with your kids, mowing the lawn, or in some other way mentally or physically engaged I'd agree it was valuable time. The point being, if you are going to count your time involved in the process of casting your own lead boolits, then no it wouldn't make monetary sense.

................Buckshot

[carpetman]

I have cast since 1967 and have never bought a wheel weight. When I was being stationed out of Alaska I had a bunch of bullets cast. My assignment had been cut short and I left 2 years earlier than scheduled. I had a weight allowance on what I could ship. So I sold cast bullets to a gun shop and made enought to pay for what I had spent on equipment at the time. Not even considering that, I am money ahead from casting my own.

[jack19512]

If it saves cash or just adds to my bills.







In my honest opinion I would have to say yes to both.

[Bret4207]

It's a hobby, it's interesting, it's something most folks have no clue about, it's something to take your mind off world events and the daily grind, it isn't alcohol or a drug but it can be pleasurable, it isn't cheating on your wife but it sure can get you excited, it saves you money in some places but cost you in others but that money is spent of something with value-an investment, it frees you from the factory and the gun store, it's recycling, reducing and reusing, it fun, it's rewarding.

Now, you can go out and buy "hardcast" superduper commercial boolits or stick with jacketed factory loads and be perfectly happy for the rest of your life. You can stick with reading the gun comic books and talk with the guys about the latest superwhizzbangmagnumtactacticalelitesupergun or you can really learn what makes the guns tick. Your choice. For me, it's been a life long hobby and one of the few things I never tire of.

[cajun shooter]

You see the ads on tv that say time with my ____ and so on "PRICELESS". That's how I feel when I'm casting. It's a hobby with in a hobby and I'm glad that I do it. If you just reload you are at the mercy of the supply chain as we have just seen. Reloaders have a step up on the people who buy their ammo and casters have a step up on the reloaders. Would still cast if I didn't save a dime.

[JSH]

Brutz, welcome here.
Savings on reloading. That depends on ones daffy-nition. If you shoot a lot, you will save regardless of jacketed or cb's. If you fell into 40-60 years worth of reloading stuff it will save you a bunch on initial purchases. As long as it will take todays parts. Dies and so forth. Some of the older presses and dies leave somthing to be desired by waht is available today.
There looks to be some questons on the 300wm on above comments. Suprised me to be honest. I have come to the conclusion one can make anything shoot cb's with a bit of work. I will find out on the 300wm before the summer is over myself.
Be careful of what you might trade off from the "collection". You may be buying it back down the road.
jeff

[1Shirt]

Welcome! Been at it for about 50 years, and it is an addiction I can tell you! Lots of factors involved, but for me it is the satisfaction of being able to shoot more with what I have made. Cost is of course a consideration, but a lot of us started out on a shoestring with a single cav mold, and either a Lyman 310 tool, or a lee Loader, and a home made dipper, and a single rifle or handgun. Back then it was called kitchen table reloading, and if you turned out in an evening enough for the next days shooting, you considered yourself to be in tall whatever. Casting and reloading has become fairly soooofistacated, and with some of the equipment on the market, downright expensive if you go big and fast on what you buy. A great hobby, but suggest you start slow and work up. Lee products are a decent place to start. I agree that anything can be made to shoot cast if you are willing to work with acceptable realities of vol. Suggest however, that befor you go off the deep end expense wise, you get yourself the most recent Lyman reloading manual and read same. Then Re-Read it! Then find an experianced reloader and caster (probably via this forum near you), and see if you can spend some time with him casting, loading etc.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[clintsfolly]

i have shoot cast out of 300winmag (9pt 6pt both 3.5yrs bucks this year big for the inland)and NO!!! you will not save money just shoot more! but have fun doing it. Clint:castmine:

[Gunslinger]

I agree... to a certain extend.

If you buy a Dillon to load 9mm and .38 special and maybe one more caliber you sure have to shoot a lot before the machine has paid for itself... it probably takes years. But casting i think, is a big mony-saver no matter how you look at it, especially now where the ammo prices have sky rocketed. Here a box of 9's is between $12 and $14. Using cast boolits I load 50 9mm's for about 2$. Jacketed bullets are about $.15 a pop if you buy them for realoading yourself.

I really can't imagine casting being anything else than a money-saving adventure. Of course not taking time into consideration as it is a hobby. But for me none the less a hobby I started to save money. I guess I didn't count on it being so fun!!

I shoot at least 3 weapons once a week, and I also do a lotta talking on the range. So I really don't shoot THAT much more... but it feels great to know I can shoot 5 boxes of 9mm or .38 for the price of 1 bought.

[Boerrancher]

I do save a bit of money, but that is not the point as I see it. Here is my take on it, in the order of importance for me. My firearms shoot more accurately. Last winter I pulled a Mod 94 30-30 out of the safe that with factory loads and regular jacketed bullet reloads it wouldn't hit the paper half the time at 100 yds. Started casting for it and now with custom made boolits for it it shoots sub MOA groups at 100 yds, not bad for an old lever gun. Secondly, as long as I keep my stock of components up, I am never with out ammo. I can hunt for my food, and defend my home, property, and livestock, and not be held hostage by the laws of supply and demand. That alone is worth the money invested in casting and reloading tools, along with brass, primers and powder.

I will be testing cast in a 300 win mag this spring. I just finished casting up about 25 lbs of 220 gr 30 cal boolits. I already know I can push cast boolits at 2500 fps with out any problems. I figure if I can push that 220 gr cast at 2500 fps, I can safely hunt anything in North America, with no problems. Anything I can get over 2500 fps with out leading or accuracy issues is just icing on the cake.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[leadeye]

I got back into it after a 25 year hiatus. Things had changed but I still found savings shooting calibers like 44 mag and 45 lc. It is a lot of fun.:-D

[Gohon]

Since you asked about the casting end of reloading.................

Last night I cast 400 44 grain gas checked 22 caliber bullets. Cost to me was couple pounds of smelted wheel weights (free), about three hours of my time, and $12 worth of gas checks. Cost to purchase same bullets on line would have been $76. My savings was $64. Couple nights ago it was 400, 45 caliber 300 grain gas checked bullets. Out of pocket cost was $15 in gas checks with a savings of $105 if bought on line. So yes you can save a lot of dollars if you shoot a lot and since you already have all the equipment needed you're way ahead of the game. Most importantly is the satisfaction you get making your own loads that actually fit you particular gun.

[bbs70]

I recently got back into casting and reloading after a 15 year absence.
I shoot a .45 lc and 500 bullets cost me $42.
A box of 50 cartridges cost me $25.00.
I usually shoot 300 to 500 rounds everytime I go to the range, so I decided to get back into casting my own.
(Practice, practice,practice)

Save money?
Yes, it can save you money, but you will find yourself shooting more.
But isn't that the idea, to enjoy shooting.:-D

After shooting I don't have to feel bad for sending $42 of my hard earned money on bought bullets down range.
Instead I sent $10 of my cast boolits down range.

I don't have to wait for a gun show to stock up on bullets, I just go to the garage and cast up as many as I want, whenever I want.

[Wayne Smith]

Work? Work!!? If it's work, don't do it. We pursue hobbies for fun, for relaxation, for satisfaction of the need to see our accomplishments, or for distraction. If it is work for you it's definitely not worth it.

Brutz, you didn't tell us where you are, so we can't offer a local mentor. You probably need an experienced hand to look over what you have inherited, evaluate it in terms of usefulness, and teach you how to use it. Once you have your hands dirty and you are neck deep in boolits you will realize that either a) it's work or, b) you are as happy as a pig in sh*t and wonder why you didn't discover this years ago! At that point you will have answered your own question.

[felix]

Yeah, Wayne, you got that right. To sum it up, you can define work as something you are doing when you rather be doing something else but cannot because of timing. ... felix

[docone31]

I cast because I love molten metal. Just my way.
In terms of dollar and sense, my passion is old MilSurp junkers, all bolts, and getting them on paper. Casting is the only way I can do this. Factory loads are like throwing rocks without aiming. Once I have cast, lubed, sized, I have something that actually works. Casting also allows me to scrounge, make smoke, stink, play with metal, take liquid metal and make something tangible. Then I get to get inside my head and trouble shoot. That is probably the most interesting part.
I have already captured the outlay, and now it is all in the black, including some of my shots!
I get to relive history, and hold it into my hands.

[zxcvbob]

I'm saving so much money, I'm going broke :D

[Big Tom]

Here my math for reloading my 45/70 405 grain bullets, 50 grain Varget
Powder - 16 cents
Primer - 3 cents
Cast bullet bought - 26 cents
Bullet casted myself - 7 cents

Ammo bought - about $1.20 / round
Reloaded - about $0.45 / round
Reloaded & casted - about $0.26 / round

With 2-3 thousand rounds/year quite some savings. And I am lazy and buy the cleaned lead for $1/lbs.... and load the ammo mostly on the higher end of the pressure scale - cowboy loads with 1000 fps would get it down about another 12 cents/round.

But that is just the calculation for my wife to justify all the new equipment and the space I occupy - I mostly do it because it is really fun !!

Tom

[44mag1]

I enjoy casting and reloading and I dont try to calculate how much I save [or spend] cause its a hobby to me. Its not that hard to take a good rifle,buy jbullets, load and shoot good groups at 100yrds or more. But it takes more patience,skill,knowledge,and lots of reading this forum to do that with cast. This is the main reason I cast, for the challenge. 2nd reason is to be self sufficient from ammo makers and government [future] regulations. I hope you will enjoy it as much as the rest of us are.
P.S. try calculating how much it cost to hunt vs buying meat at the store

[OLPDon]

Can you save Money by Casting? That was one of the reason's I started Casting and you can save $$ by keeping it simple.
1 Buy only when you can't get it free or almost free.
2- Only Buy mould's that are most usfull for your needs . ie Hunting, Plinking, or paper punching.
3- Keep your Casting as simple as posible "No Bells or Whisles
3- And most important: Stay away from the Group Buy Forum.

As I had stated earler I started casting to save a Buck or Two and it gave me so much satifaction knowing I did it myself, much like tying your own fly's for Fly Fishing. But I digress.
I now have and I hate to say it! But,,,,, I have to confess over 100 moulds.
I think before I can say I have saved money I will have to have the life expectancy of Mathusala.
Oh least I forget to confess 2 RCBS bottom pours one for pure lead and one for aloy.
So I have not and can not save on casting. However if I had to do it over the answer is yes but only I would of started earlier in life. But now being retired going on 5yrs. I am never bored. I don't have a Rocking Chair so I saved some money there.


Hmmm saved money on not buying rocking chair, guess I will have to visit the GB forum.
Don

[BoolitBill]

I have reloaded for about 20 years and I saved a ton of money compared to the cost of factory ammo. In November I felt that our new president would make reloading more difficut to do with government rules and regulations so I started casting boolits. Yes I am saving money even more as I dont have to buy cast bullets, but the real bonus is that I am having a heck of a lot of fun casting. If you have inherited your grandfathers equiptment then you have lowered a lot of your start-up costs. Go for it! You will be glad you did. Start small, cast and load for just your 40sw, get the minimal amount of casting equiptment and you will be hooked too!

[RustyFN]

I am also still fairly new to casting but this is my experience. I spent around $250 for everything I would need to smelt wheel weights into ingots and then cast for my 45 auto. I get WW's for free from two local tire stores. I figure it would take 3,000 bullets to pay for my equipment after that the bullets are pretty much free, just a little time involved. Now that the bullets are free I can load 45 auto with 200 grain LSWC for $27 per 1,000 rounds. The best part is now I can load 9mm and 38 spcl for $27 per 1,000 just for the price of a mold and sizing die.
Rusty

[dromia]

I make a profit in pure pleasure everytime I cast, handload and shoot.

[Brutz]

WOW. Thanks for all the information. It useful and I believe I will give it a try. If I don't save money, I think I'll at least enjoy it. I love everything to do with guns. Thanks all! :castmine:

[Ole]

I'm pretty new to the hobby as well.

If you are a production minded individual (AKA: busy) and can't find the time to reload, you probably won't want to cast.

If you don't mind dinkering around the garage all afternoon loading up a few hundred rounds of some reloaded ammo, then you may want to consider it.

[Ole]

Another thing:

If you get a personal pride out of making stuff with your hands, then casting is one of those hobbies that fills that need/manly thing.

I'm 100% sure Tim the tool man Taylor was a caster. :D

[shooterg]

LAST CHANCE BEFORE YOU BECOME ADDICTED - Just box all the stuff up and send it to me, I promise to dispose of it properly ! hee hee

[arcticbreeze]

I have only been casting for about a year now. I have been a reloader for many. I started out with the intention of saving some cash but that has not happened. I believe you can save money but this has become a recreational hobby unto itself that I find as enjoyable and rewarding as shooting itself. Also I have learned more from the research on this site about what it takes to acquire accuracy than I believe I would have otherwise. There is also something to be said for being self reliant (somewhat). I have not shot a single J-word bullet in close to 9 or 10 months now. If you count the start up costs plus the extra costs I tell my significant other are needed, I have definitely spent as much as I would have just hand loading but I have shot more for that money. I also have to say it has increased my enjoyment unit per dollar value.

[mpmarty]

In about 1984 I began IPSC and USPSA competiton. A shooting buddy and I each shot upwards of five hundred rounds a week in practice plus a hundred or two in matches several times a month. We quickly paid off our purchases of Dillon 550 and a couple of casting pots. I got a SAECO and he a LEE. We cast together, loaded together and shot together. Without casting and reloading we couldn't have afforded the hobby, or would have had to give up our wives and families. He passed on in '97 and I moved out of town to a large rural location where I can shoot all I want right on my own property. A few years ago I started shooting in local high power matches, with a K31 of all things. I never got the accuracy with reloads that I got with the Swiss GP11 rounds and just quit using reloads in that rifle. Then I thought that perhaps a cast bullet might solve the accuracy problem. Well, I bought a LEE 170 gr gas check design and cast a few just to see what they were like. My dillon was set up for 45ACP with five grains of 700X and I just dumped into six primed cases and seated the gas checked tumble lubed bullets. Went outside and set up a target at 75 yards and with iron sights proceeded to put five in less than half an inch. WOW!! Then because I had six in the mag, I decided to see it the five grains of 700X would spin a half inch thick eight inch plate and fired my last round at the plate. The plate just sort of "jiggled" where it was and I thought considering only five grains of 700X at least I hit the plate. I then wondered exactly where I hit the plate as it wasn't painted or anything. I walked out to the plate and found a brand new HOLE clear through the steel with cratering on the front and tearout on the back. I couldn't believe it, but there it was. I now shoot nothing but cast in my K31, 7.62X51, 45/70, and soon as I decide which mold to order, my 7mm Remmy. You have no idea how great this hobby is until you get into it.

[rayg]

I think the simple answer is yes if you shoot alot it will pay for your equipment and save money. Worth the time, that's up to you to decide.

For me, my main interest in casting my own is that it's an educational and challenging experience and one that has provided me with an interesting and rewarding hobby that doesn't break the bank.

I found that just going to the range and shooting factory ammo was only one part of the shooting experience and I felt there should be more to it.
Reloading has provided that "more to it" for me

Also the hours spent reloading and the need to concentrate fully on it offers me a period of mind clearing relaxation and great pleasure.

Would I still do it if it didn't save me money, you bet I would, Ray

[Tom Herman]

I figure I spent a grand and a half last year tooling up to cast.
Since then, I figure I cast and loaded 3000+ .45 LC's, 2000 .44 SPL's, 1500 .455 Webleys, and a thousand .38 SPL's.
My most expensive round costs me 8.6 cents to reload... Figure out how much ammo costs, and how much I've spoent, and the whole setup has already paid for itself.
Plus, I can make what I WANT, when I want. And you can't buy non-leading .455 Webley's commercially at any price...
Welcome aboard, and good luck!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom




So as Im sure you can tell, i am new here. I have recently received all of my grandfathers' 40-60 year old reloading equipment. I did research and came across bullet casting. I was wondering if it is really worth the time, money, and effort. If it saves cash or just adds to my bills. I have a 300 win mag 40 sw and two shotguns, the list will only grow from this point on. If i am able to save $ I will cast for all my firearms. Any help, opinions, or insights will be useful. Thanks in advance.:Fire:

[94Doug]

I think all of the points made are good. I am going to add that not only do I consider this a hobby, it is relaxing and fun. It also ads another dimension to reloading, which I enjoy in itself. Now, not only can I vary items like powder, (weight/brand) primers, (brand/type) and cases, (type/trim, etc) now if I want to fool around with a .30 surplus rifle, I can try different boolit styles and weights, size them to different sizes, try different lubes... it's an experimenters dream!