Cast is the way to go!!

[qajaq59]

I've been reloading for many years, but I only started casting a few months back. And I have to say they can really be made to shoot accurately without too much trouble. Even the Lyman #311413, which was supposed to be horrid for accuracy, is shooting great in my .308. That's thanks to the loading tips I received in this forum. (By the way, there doesn't seem to be much info you might need that someone in here can't supply .)

I'm at the point where I'm not shooting any jackets in my rifles at all. And I'm not getting any leading, which may be more luck then wisdom. But either way it's great to be able to shoot all I want for very little money.

[Nate1778]

Your absolutely right, even ordering Berry's bullets can get expensive, $90 per K for some calibers I shoot. Casting takes a major chunk out of the cost per round I use. My only issue with it thus far is one of the ranges that is closest to my home is "lead free" which suck, so I will be using the one near my work more often. Its a no brainer in my mind.

[captaint]

Imagine that. A lead free shooting facility. Kinda like fat free ice cream. Not ice cream. Mike

[Three44s]

I ranch so I own a personal lead bank! (actually multiple lead banks)

Three 44s

[Shiloh]

There are to many knowledgeable folks on this forum to mention. Most are VERY generous in sharing the knowledge of years of experience. I am a better caster and my accuracy has improved from knowledge gained at this forum.

This is the best shooting forum I belong to.

Shiloh

[putteral]

BIG + 1 on What Shiloh just said!
:drinks:

[Treetop]

I've been reloading for many years, but I only started casting a few months back. And I have to say they can really be made to shoot accurately without too much trouble. Even the Lyman #311413, which was supposed to be horrid for accuracy, is shooting great in my .308. That's thanks to the loading tips I received in this forum. (By the way, there doesn't seem to be much info you might need that someone in here can't supply .)

I'm at the point where I'm not shooting any jackets in my rifles at all. And I'm not getting any leading, which may be more luck then wisdom. But either way it's great to be able to shoot all I want for very little money.

Plus one, gajag! I used to cast boolits out of necessity back in the 70s and 80s, when we were raising three daughters on my Machinist paycheck, because I couldn't afford J words back then. At that time, I considered it a necessary evil. Just "grunt work" I had to endure in order to shoot NRA High Power and IPSC matches monthly plus weekly practice sessions.

Recently (last winter), I rediscovered casting and now do it in preference to shooting j words! Fortunately I kept all of my smelting equipment, RCBS Pro Melt, and all of my molds, except for one (my Lyman 311359:confused:)

Ironically, now that the girls are grown and two of them put through college, along with some lucky investments, I can actually afford j words but I'm not interested in them any more!

Simply put, I'm addicted to casting and shooting only cast boolits, now.

[Shiloh]

I'm addicted to casting and shooting only cast boolits, now.

Cast is virtually all I shoot. Some Jacketed, but the vast majority is cast.

Shiloh

[wallenba]

My local is lead free too, I have to drive 1/2 hour away to shoot. Last time I visited the local shop it was pretty quite inside what with even factory ammo shortages. I would think they would invest in better ventilation if they want our biz. One excuse I got was that lead sticks to the plates and is hard to get off. Well what happens with a jacketed softpoint? Same. My bullets are Lyman #2 pretty hard, don't think they would stick as bad as the softpoint.

[Trader Vic]

I totally agree with everything that has been said about getting hooked on casting. I've been doing it for over a year now, I don't think I've used a jacketed bullet since I started. This is a great site, lots of great help from smart guys that have been doing this for a long time. My only regret is that I didn't start casting years ago! NRA PATRON LIFE MEMBER

[snaggdit]

I had been wanting to relaod for awhile, but the initial expense kept me from doing it. One day I met a guy who told me he used to reload but quit about 6 years ago and asked if I would be interested in his stuff. He said he wanted to sell it all as a package. We met and went through it and $200 later I had everything I needed for my rifles (and then some). Then I decided to load for my pistols, since they saw way more use. When I ordered my first box of jacketeds I just about had a heart attack. This wasn't going to save me money! Two months after beginning to reload I ordered some casting stuff. THEN I found this site and realized I could have saved myself some grief. I have learned more from this site than from all the books I read before finding it. I just love to cast, and knowing that 100 rounds in my 45 is only costing about $7 is pretty cool, too. I can spend an afternoon at the range with my son and know it is only costing me $30-$50. If I was buying the ammo it would be several hundred. Still working on finding accurate loads for my rifles, but getting there. Only one caliber left to cast for. My son's 25-06. Hopefully I will get to it by this fall.:)

[Rooster]

Preach it Reverend! Can I get an AMEN!?

[Ron.D]

Amen here. I can't remember the last jacketed bullet I sent downrange and if I ever go deer hunting in Saskatchewan, one of those shooters may get dusted off. The simple fact is, there isn't an animal on the face of the earth that can't be humanely taken with a cast boolit, out to 200 yrs. and in certain situations, beyond that. Darn, all those boxes of jacketed that I thought I'd need some day are dusty. Ron.D

[dukenukum]

I shoot cast, I hunt with cast, j words are just to much money as is factory ammo I even cast and load my own 12 bore slugs. :castmine:

[JDFuchs]

It took a while before I found out how to cast size and load worth wild rounds, but now im amazed at how well its going. Cheep. I can shoot often enough that I hit what I aim at most of the time now =) Takeing my led rounds form being a scatergun pattern to more reliable then I am was all form this sight!

[primerless]

I am just getting started in casting, what am I going to turn into? I have been reloading the J's for a while but have found casting for only a few day's to be exciting. I am looking forward to this new adventure of casting my own with the help of all here.

Thanks!!!!

[snaggdit]

I am just getting started in casting, what am I going to turn into?

Welcome! You can search the net and not find a bigger collection of enablers than us casting addicts here! Good luck on that saving money thing, too. We all just use that as an excuse as we buy more molds, sizers, lube, etc.

[inuhbad]

Welcome! You can search the net and not find a bigger collection of enablers than us casting addicts here! Good luck on that saving money thing, too. We all just use that as an excuse as we buy more molds, sizers, lube, etc.

HAHAHAHHAHA!!!! SO TRUE!!! :drinks:

I also just got started in the past ~10 months or so... AND I'M LOVING IT!!! :castmine:

I'm churning out TWO calibers quite nicely now, and I've got more Moulds on order!!!

This is one INCREDIBLY REWARDING HOBBY!!! :-D

[SciFiJim]

Still working on finding accurate loads for my rifles, but getting there.

A rifle that shoots accurately out of the box will put meat on the table, but this hobby is about more than just filling a need. Most of the casters here are incurable tinkerers. Paraphrasing a quote I saw recently (cause I can't find it now), "Casting is about taking an obsolete caliber rifle that most consider shot out and restoring it to useful life". It often takes a lot of tinkering to figure out something like that.

IMHO finding an accurate load for a rifle is more fun than going to the range to put a few in the X-ring and then going home.

[Rooster]

Yes, its the hunt not the kill that makes it such fun. It would be a tough choice between shooting and refilling 'em; as to which I enjoy more, it would be the one that I'm doing when asked. It is such a cheap therapy too. I think that qualifies as a win/win!

[dromia]

Yes its all true casting is best. :drinks:
Those newfangled condom jacketed boolits were jus a passing fad and were never going to catch on. :-D

Seriously though I believe the more you put into something the more you get out, jacketed is just too easy.

Shooting cast well requires us to understand our guns, the relaoding process, ammunition, its ballistics, internal, external and terminal in such depth as to make it far more interesting and rewarding than just buying and shooting ready made.

[Boondocker]

Snag I will be looking forward to your 25-06 experiments.