For those of you still balancing on the fence, here's my story:
Back in 1964 I started casting for a badly worn out 1915-dated British .303 Enfield rifle I got from Sears for $15. I couldn't find any cheap 0.312” plinkers for it, so I priced a Lyman mould and handles. Man, talk about sticker shock, they cost as much as my rifle! So I located some tag ends of 0.5” x 1.5” x 3” extruded aluminum bar stock and used a 5/16” drill to make the cavities, attached a sprue plate and some old tongs to it, and that was my first mould. I started casting my own 150 grain plinkers using wheel weights and scrap solder. I punched spent primers out with an ice pick, pressed in new ones with a wooden block, loaded them with black powder, lubed the boolits with water pump grease, and had at it. I have never looked back.
I do own several Lyman moulds now, and even more Lee moulds, but I still make my own moulds for boolit sizes that are not available.
One thing most casters discover sooner or later is that casting and reloading your own ammo does not save any money. None - - - absolutely and unequivocally NONE! However, many boolit casters do shoot ten, twenty, or even more, times as much as those who buy factory ammo. That's a LOT of shooting for comparatively little! If it is your dream to shoot 50 rounds of rifle or 100 rounds of pistol ammo every day seven days a week, you can do it. If you've got the “itch” but not the “scratch”, no problem, just simply cast and load your own.
I started casting to be able to shoot, I didn't have hardly any money back 46 years ago and it was either cast or don't shoot. Period. It wasn't until 1980 when I got my first M1 Garand that I started buying jacketed bullets, although the Garand and M1A both do fine with cast. So does the little M1 Carbine. Until 1984 I did all my reloading with a friend's equipment, but that year I got a Springfield M1A National Match rifle and to feed it I invested in a Lee Challenger starter kit, and it is still going strong after 26 years. So you can consider any initial outlay for tools and equipment as a long term investment in your future happiness, and even your security since billionaire Howard Hughes once sagely observed: “He who has the tools rules.” Also, it is my opinion that there is no such thing as too many tools, especially when it comes to casting and reloading.
Have fun! :cbpour: :bigsmyl2:
rl805