How much do you cast/reload in a single session?

[BigAlofPa.]

I don't cast. But ill load what i shot after a session on the range. Could be 50-200 rounds.

[Rich/WIS]

Cast in large batches, easy with 5 and 6 cavity molds. Rifle usually 50-100 at a sitting in 50 round batches, pistol 200-300 at a time, although usually size, tumble and expand and take a break. Prime charge and seat later that day or the next day. Enjoy reloading and casting so like to spread fun out over several days.

[robg]

i tent to size and decap one day then trim expand and prime on another .then when ive got a good load worked out i might load up a couple of hundred rounds .i only use a single stage press so batchs make sense for me .

[dwtim]

My casting sessions are limited of by the amount of lead my pot holds safely--generally 12-15 pounds, depending on the shape of the ingots. In a full day session, I can fill the pot three times before it's too dark outside to continue. The amount of boolits cast depends on the caliber. (About half of the production by weight is sprue. I need to change my style.)

I do huge batches of fodder boolits using 4 or 6-gang molds only every once a while. Generally those are meant to be low quality practice rounds. Otherwise I just run the pot a few nights a week to (a couple of times during the year) and fill those smaller green boxes using a two-gang mold.

I used to load only when needed....maybe 50-100 rounds at a pop, the night before I went to the range. Now I batch everything (like robg), because I have a single stage press, and it makes sense to do it that way. That way, all I have to do is swap dies, drop power and grab some boolits. It's easy to do 200 rounds an hour with a single stage this way.

Now I have a dedicated ammo safe, so I load until there's no more room in the safe. I also bought a couple thousand cases a couple years ago, and tripled the amount of ammo cases on hand. (Back in 2018 I figured we were due for an Olde Fashioned American Consumer Hoard-fest. And of course, there's almost no pistol ammo or small primers to be found lately.) I never really counted the amount in my ammo safe--maybe it holds 2000 rounds are so?

[prs]

I guess I am the odd-ball as I keep adding lead to the pot as I cast. I gather the boolits off the towel, gather the sprues and toss them back in the pot and top off with ingots. I only run the pot down to empty it to clean it when it drips.

I usually run about 150 boolits at a sitting, my hands get tired easily so I move on to PCing them and when that is done, I cast another batch, PC, rinse and repeat until my hunny gets home or calls me in from the shop.

I break the rule; I drop the spru directly into the pot. I have learned to do so without any splash. A 20# pot (my 20# only really holds about 15#) drains quickly when running one or two 6 cavity molds of 200+ grains each. To keep the pace with those hungry molds I run a second 20# pot from which I ladel alloy into my working pot.

prs

[Conditor22]

I also return my sprues to the pot.

I flux with pine sawdust and wax creating a granular barrier that stop oxidation, keeps the heat in, stops the sprue from splashing and slows their re-entry into the pot.


I keep an eye on my PID and if the temperature drops to much, I take a quick break

[Divil]

Casting 100-300 bullets per session. Reloading usually around 100 rounds per session.

[Gunslinger1911]

AM44mag - you forgot PC/ sizing ! lol

Casting is my Sat / Sun morning calm time. Get up, get coffee, get ProMelt heating, surf the news to see if the world blew up when I was asleep. Cast for 2-3 hours, mostly MiHec 4 cav pistol boolets - feeding pot constantly.
Sometimes the dip pot for huge 500 Smith / 45/70 boolets if running low.

Reloading, may be 20-40 350 Legends for son in law; may be 50-100 500 Smith to put BIG holes in something; may be 100-200 45/70's for us to blow up stuff; may be 500+ 9mm / 45 ACP for training for SHTF (LOL).
Smaller batches on Lee turret; bigger batches on Dillon 500

I feel a major "zen" when casting; the flow of things (rotating moulds - (2-3 at a time), adding ingots , filling each mould as it likes (each mould has a "preference" as to how it wants to run; pressure v/s gravity, "sit time", how you dump the boolets, etc). I get in the moment - next thing you know, there are 50 + lbs of boolets to size.

PC'ing is as I feel like it - a few hundred at a time, why waste a hot oven !
Just getting started in PC - mostly for AR's that can't take lube.
lube/sizing or PC sizing is done in front of the laptop, watching some dumb movie or Netflix series - stuck on Agents of Marvel at the moment.

[robg]

When casting i drop sprues back in pot but i only flux before casting then don't flux till I've emptied the pot as I get less weight variation that way.

[mha]

I cast for maybe 2 hrs or so using double cavity molds. Seems like I go thru about 20 lbs or more, so maybe up to 1000 bullets at a time. Tend to switch calibers as I get a pile of one size built up.

I add sprues and ingots to keep the level up as I use a Lyman dipper for pouring. I try to knock the sprues into a RCBS cast pot, then when it is full I add the lead back into my LEE pot.

Not the best production method but it works. I am getting back into casting so I am easing back into it. Starting to look at 6 cavity molds for more production. Have about 900 lbs of linotype and a couple hundred of wheel weight and soft lead, so I should keep busy for a while.

I powder coat as well and have found that is a lot better than pan lubing or tumble lubing.

[Mal Paso]

I don't return sprues to the pot until I refill the pot. I like to sit low and see the spout so it's too much of a reach and it's a distraction. I usually make over 3 casts a minute. I run a 25 lb pot now and when I'm down to an inch of alloy I'm ready for a break.

About 800 boolits in a session unless I get serious.

[35 Rem]

I used to cast 1,000 at a time when I was selling bullets in college but now I tend to do more like 100 to 200 at most. My feet start to hurt and wrists too at about that point. It also depends a lot on whether it's a handgun or rifle bullet. I can't see firing up the pot for less than 100 though.

Reloading also depends on the cartridge. I may just load 10 rounds if it's a new rifle load. Most of my handgun loads are something I've used for years so I load more of them. It also depends on the time of year. If it's cooler outside I'll load more because I load in my garage and hate working in the Summer heat. I like to keep my favorite cast loads in big boxes with hundreds of rounds inside. Even with those I'll fill the box over several sessions where I load maybe 100 rounds at a time. I do it for fun and when I get tired I go do something else and start again another day.

[JCM45]

I usually cast about 300 bullets per session. Load 100 at a time with my Lee Classic Turret Press.

[tmanbuckhunter]

A good casting session of BPCR match bullets is about 200 for me in a 3 hour session. I usually load about 100 at a time.

[deltaenterprizes]

Not as much as I used to!
It depends on what boolits I want to cast whether I hand cast or use the Master Caster.
Hand casting I will do a couple hundred, Master Caster I will double that or more.
Reloading it depends on the caliber.
9mm couple hundred to 1000.
Rifle 100 at a time on the single stage loading for accuracy.

[Texas by God]

I cast bullets by rotating three 2- cavity molds in tandem. I usually quit after one Lee pot.
I've got the moulds laid out next to the pot; ready to cast- but it's just too dang hot presently!

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Bigbore5]

Casting depends on the bullet weight. I'll do alot more for the 38 than for the 500. Same for the loading. Usually 250-300 for the smaller rounds and 100-150 for the bigbores.
For the rifles I use a progressive and lots of 500.

[Soundguy]

I usually do multiple projectile types in one setting. Maybe a coffee can full of buckshot, then switch over to handgun bullets.. On those I like to cast at least 65- 75 of each type. That equates to a box of 50, plus some culls if needed, plus some test rounds. Spares just hit the jugs on the shelves for next loading session.

[414gates]

I prefer to make the bullets for one year in advance.

I wait until the weather turns cool, and the wind picks up a bit, then I set up the melting kit outside.

My last session was over a couple of days, I made all the big bore rifle bullets I planned to shoot for the year.

I need to get another session going soon, I signed up for competition handgun shooting again, and I have four calibers that will need bullets.

The Lee 6 cavity moulds speed up the whole process.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

This is one of those things where when you start you say to yourself "I'm going to cast a million bazillion boolits!". Then you get into it and it eventually starts to suck and a few hundred ends up being good enough.

But the real answer sometimes depends on what you're casting. Big single cav moulds for muzzle loading 50 boolits is a lot. A Lee 6 banger can crank out a lot of plinking boolits but the thing does get heavy after an hour or so.