Casting or reloading equipment?

[wolfe28]

So I've got some Christmas money left, and I'm trying to decide what I want to do. Currently, all the cast boolets that I shoot are those that I buy from someplace. I do all my reloading on a single stage press. So, should I get a turret press so I can reload faster and shoot more, or should I get the equipment to cast my own boolets and continue to use the single stage press? I don't have enough money to do both. I could get the casting pot and the new press, but I couldn't afford the other stuff to be really able to use either. Also, the budget won't allow for any big purchases for a while, so if I can't start using something right away because I don't have all the stuff (auto primer, sizing dies, etc), it will sit for a while.

Thoughts and suggestions?

D

[wingnut49b]

Depends if you like shooting or tinkering more... I thought I like shooting, but I seem to spend more hours casting and loading. I have learned lots though. That seems to be what makes me smile most.

[bbqncigars]

If you shoot a lot of one or two calibers, then a progressive would be a good move.

[wolfe28]

I like shooting. Reloading is what I do when I can't get to the range and have some time in the evening or on weekends. It also keeps me busy when I'm grumbling about the fact that I didn't get squat during hunting season. I like to reload, but that's because I like to see what I can do with my handloads. For me, it is all part of the shooting hobby, and I enjoy all of it.

D

[Walter Laich]

don't have two half-finished projects going....get one complete and then start working on the other

[geargnasher]

I can't stand beer, so don't listen to me!

Gear

[wolfe28]

I thought about a progressive, but it's just not where I want to put what money I do have. I reload 9mm, 357 mag and 45 in handguns, 22 hornet, 223, 308, 357 Remington Max and 45-70 in rifle, and 12 gauge, and I need to be as economical about it as possible (using powders that can work for multiple calibers and projectiles, etc.). Having a progressive that I can only use for part of that, or have to spend a bunch to convert from one caliber to another is not something I can afford. I've got friends that have progressives, and they really like them, it's just not something I can think about right now.

D

[K7addict]

I recently decided to invest in casting materials myself. I saw it as a way to shoot morr for less in the long term. I also like that I will gain personal satisfaction that I created something more than most guys I know and the fact that lead is easier to source online/locally than bullets/boolits. Just my .02 sir.

[462]

I still reload use single-stage, though there are two of them. Get the casting equipment.

[wolfe28]

I can't stand beer, so don't listen to me!

Gear

I'll listen, I just won't trust you.

D

[williamwaco]

I loaded for 20 years on a single stage press.
Still do for everything but .38 Special.
You can too.

Concentrate on dies and casting equipment until you have complete setup for everything you load.
Then start saving up for the turret.

BUT!

Buying a pot when you have no molds ? ? ? Not sure that makes a lot of sense.

One more thing. DO NOT waste your money on that Lee 10 pound pot. It is a toy.

Save up until you can buy a Lee two cavity mold, a Lee sizing kit, and the Lee 20 pound pot all at the same time.

Alternatively, buy the mold and sizing kit and a Lyman ladle ( NOT the Lee ladle ) look around the house for some kind of steel pot your wife will give you. If that doesn't fly ( and it probably will not ) take a trip to GoodWill or a garage sale and buy a used steel pot (NOT aluminum ), two quarts is large enough . Then find a used hot plate to heat it. Now for less than $60 you can cast for your first caliber. Adding calibers will be $40 for the mold and sizing kit.

Do NOT believe the hype about shooting Lee ( or any other ) bullets unsized. You will not be happy with the results.

[engineer401]

I can't stand beer, so don't listen to me!

Gear

I love beer and whiskey and Long Island ice teas..............

If you are already set up for complete reloading I would get the casting equipment and worry about the progressive or turret press later. There is a wealth of knowledge here from casters with decades of experience who can help you make casting a pleasure. When I began casting I thoroughly enjoyed it and went from there. One thing to note, I sold my single stage press when I purchased a progressive press some years ago. I found I shouldn't have sold it and bought another for decapping, bullet pulling, rifle resizing, primer pocket swaging, etc.

[ncbearman]

One more thing. DO NOT waste your money on that Lee 10 pound pot. It is a toy.

I disagree totally. I started very inexpensively with the 10 pound and learned quite well producing some great .45 HP's. Stay away from tumble lube moulds and Lee sizer. You will end up needing a 450 Lyman sizer or comparable somewhere along the line. Here is some of the first HP's I made from that 10# "toy"

Attachment 59503

[Fishman]

Yeah, "a toy". Really!? I still use mine for everything. Not awesome, but adequate. I would agree the 20 lb pot is a better choice.

I also shot thousands of unsized boolits over the years, including a lee tl 358 158 gr. That particar boolit shot well in everything I put it in and still does. Inexpensive casting gear can work very well.

[1bluehorse]

Do you have a source for lead, cheap? Do you WANT to cast, some seem to like it as much as reloading. I don't. Do you have a place to melt lead and cast, it does smoke and smell you know....I cast because with the price of bullets, lead or jacketed, I wouldn't be able to shoot near as much, like maybe a third as much..and I like shooting. I also like reloading. I endure casting.

[Pitchnit]

I was in the same place as you about this time last year. You can keep loading with the single stage as I was. I got set up for casting with a turkey fryer, steel pot, Lee 6 banger and sizing die. With the 6 banger I could make 2-3 weeks of 45 acp in a couple hours. The trouble is that once you make 1000 boolits you want to go shoot them up so you can cast some more. At that point you will have some incentive to save up for the turret press. So the real question would be-Do you reload to shoot or shoot to cast. I would set up for casting it is very gratifying. Oh, I like tequila, the good stuff, 100% agave. Regards-Pitchnit

[Any Cal.]

If you don't have a turret or progressive, it would be easier to keep up with the casting for your shooting habit.

I like the 6 cav molds, if you have a camp stove and can scrounge a steel pot, it won't take much to get into casting. The Lee pots DO speed things up, but are not a requirement. The sizing isn't necessarily a requirement either, I only have one sizer die for several different boolit sizes, and they worked fine before I got the sizer.

My reccomendation is to get started casting and pan lubing as cheaply as possible. If you have to buy the Lyman ladle, spend the extra few bucks and get a bottom pour pot. Pan lube w/ some homemade lube on a cake pan, i get about the same speed doing that or using a lubersizer. Don't size unless your cartridges won't chamber.

Once you have some boolits, reassess your situation. It may be that $125 will get you started w/ a .358 mold and a bottom pour pot, and you still have another $100 to go toward a used turret press or a couple more molds, or a used luber-sizer and a die or two, depending on your needs.

[nwellons]

I have found I like to cast as much as I like to reload and I love to reload. And to shoot. And to collect.

I use the smallest ($35) Lee single stage press (2 of them) and the 10# pot (with the lee ladle.) I started small and never saw the need to upgrade.

I reload and cast for .42 Russian Berdan, .43Egyptian, .45ACP, .44 Russian, 7.62Nagant, and .30 carbine. My son uses my equipment to reload .308.

The small presses work fine; if hard to work it just means more case lube needed. I only neck size the 2 largest calibers and full size the rest. I have to size the boolits for the .42 Russian, .45 ACP and .30 carbine only.

Of course, if you are one who shoots many hundreds of rounds per range trip like many target shooters, your needs would be different. It just depends on how much you shoot. I don't get to the range but about once every six weeks and take 5 or 6 different caliber guns with me each time. I like less shooting but more variety.

[Sasquatch-1]

Some one ask the right question. Do you have a source of lead? If so casting can be fun. I enjoy smelting the range scrap and then making the bullets and the cores I use for swaging. ALL of my casting stuff is Lee. I have a 35 year old 10lb bottom pour pot several single and double cavity molds. No 6 cavity molds. I do have a RCBS LAM but that adds $30 to $40 to each caliber you load for sizing dies and top punches.

The other question is how many primers do you have? A local gunshop just made an announcement that they may not be able to get primers for another 6 to 9 months. From their posting it seems all the primers are going to the production of loaded ammo. So it doesn't matter how many boolits you may have if you have nothing to make the powder go POP!

I would suggest you see what you can find in the primer supply and buy as many as you can afford at a REASONABLE price. If you can't find any primers then go back to buying casting stuff 'cause you gonna have a whole lot of extra time to cast in.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Get whatever it takes to make you completely independent of having to buy anything so you can shoot. If lead was outlawed, where do you get your boolits? Stock up on the basic components and equipment. It is better to have a single stage press than to have a turret press and no boolits to load.