Bullet use now that we reload

[peterk1234]

Everyone warns you that you will not save money because you will shoot more. This post is for those that are researching about reloading for cost savings. Since I am new to the reloading game, I can compare to when I was buying bullets only a few months ago.

We shoot 22, 9mm and 38sp/357. My wife and I used to shoot mostly 22lr because were shooting at least once per week. Then we would take out the 9mm and go through 50 rounds. Then we added a 357 mag to our collection and would only shoot 20 or so rounds because the damn things are so expensive.

Fast forward to today, the reloading era. Warm up with a 150 rounds or so of 22lr. Cheap to buy and fun to shoot. Then shoot 100 rounds of 38sp, mix in 20 or 30 rounds of 357, just for kicks. Then take out the 9mm. 150 to 200 rounds are no problem. This is usually on a Saturday. Then Sunday rolls around and the chances are pretty high that we will do it all over again.

So are we saving money? Hell no we are not. But we are having a whole lot more fun. My biggest problem is keeping up with our ammo demand. So if you are reading this and researching cost savings, forget about it. Then there is the other half of this story, the stock piling of bullets, brass and powder. Then there are the additional stockpiles because you want to try different bullets, powders and brass. Oh, and don't bother with buying powder in 1lb increments. I just figured that one out. Just bite the bullet for the 8lb jugs.

Pete

 

[wankerjake]

I haven't saved a dime either. I guess we're doing it right

 

[dgod]

Pete, PM me your E-Mail. I'll send you an Excel sheet to compute costs/savings.

Dan

 

[Blue68f100]

I quit shooting 22LR since I can shoot CF for near the same price.

The only savings is that you shoot more for the same investment (components). You may or may not if you add in all of your presses and tools.

 

[hdwhit]

peterk1234 wrote:
Everyone warns you that you will not save money because you will shoot more.

That does seem to be the experience for most people.

But, even you don't end up shooting more, the savings from "rolling your own" is trivial and if you consider the value of your time, you're probably paying for the privilidge of reloading.

 

[Walkalong]

forget about it

You heard it here first.

 

[brewer12345]

Lots of other reasons for reloading, of course. I think I don't lose money reloading and I probably earn $5 an hour tax free reloading. I understand more and more about ballistics, how firearms work, and why different things do or don't work. I enjoy the learning process of reloading. There is some satisfaction for me in knowing how to do a lot of this and to whack critters with bullets or shotshells that I made. Frankly, the last part of it is long term quite important to me: it is a way to insulate myself from periodic ammo shortages.

 

[wankerjake]

Pete, PM me your E-Mail. I'll send you an Excel sheet to compute costs/savings.

Dan

Man, nothing gets by you

 

[Cannibul]

I cast my own bullets and can shoot 9mm .38 SPL for the cost of .22 LR.

 

[brewer12345]

I cast my own bullets and can shoot 9mm .38 SPL for the cost of .22 LR.

I have read detailed explanations of how to cast lead bullets and it all seems pretty straight forward for the sort of stuff I would be interested in (38/357, 44, 35 Rem). What always stops me is the inherent risk of being up-close and personal with a bunch of molten lead. I can state with confidence that I can reasonably expect to avoid burning myself, since I don't set myself on fire doing 10 gallon batches of homebrew. However, the whole issue of lead exposure that builds up in one's body over time is an issue for me. Thoughts? How do you make sure you are not slowly poisoning yourself while casting?

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I have read detailed explanations of how to cast lead bullets and it all seems pretty straight forward for the sort of stuff I would be interested in (38/357, 44, 35 Rem). What always stops me is the inherent risk of being up-close and personal with a bunch of molten lead. I can state with confidence that I can reasonably expect to avoid burning myself, since I don't set myself on fire doing 10 gallon batches of homebrew. However, the whole issue of lead exposure that builds up in one's body over time is an issue for me. Thoughts? How do you make sure you are not slowly poisoning yourself while casting?

Ventilation

 

[dgod]

SAFETY, I cast several calibers, I mix my own lead to get the hardness I desire. Gloves, safety glasses, plenty of circulating fresh air. I use a 10# pot with spout at the bottom to pour lead into the molds, then drop the bullets into water to rapid cool them (I believe it makes them harder).

Wheel weights is a great way to start, be sure to add Antimony to clean the Lead before you start to mold bullets. I place the bullet mold on top of the pot when I plug it it, that way they both heat up at the same pace, it causes the poured bullets to be better sooner. SO SLOW.

Using free wheel weights, occasional #2 Ingots from Midway, causes the resulting bullets to be very cost effective.

Biggest investment is your time, but the feeling of accomplishment is pretty dang good.

Imagine the cost of reloading (Assuming you have brass on hand), for the cost of the Powder & Primers. The bullets cost you only some time. You could determine cost of the lead bullets if you prorate the Mold cost.... But how many could you get out of the mold? So it would be difficult to determine cost of lead bullets.

Dan

 

[FROGO207]

^^^^^Yeah Do it outdoors, keep the temperature low enough that the lead does not evaporate, and keep all water/moisture away from the molten lead to avoid a visit from the tinsel fairy. That and washing your hands after working with the stuff goes a long way to stop lead exposure.

 

[Hondo 60]

So are we saving money? Hell no we are not. But we are having a whole lot more fun.

I get to do a LOT more shooting just because I reload.
But to me, another obvious benefit is accuracy.

Take my 223 for instance.
Factory ammo - 20 or 30 rounds leaves a 4-5" hole in the target.
My ammo? Leaves a 2" hole.
Same goes for all the calibers I reload.

 

[1MoreFord]

Back in my heyday of competing I was running through ~25k a year. Yeah I saved a bunch of money. That was a low round count for real competitors but I made it to an IPSC A class card that way and would have gone further except I lost my pistol range to an airport. It was about about like a car payment for the days.

 

[USSR]

...the whole issue of lead exposure that builds up in one's body over time is an issue for me. Thoughts? How do you make sure you are not slowly poisoning yourself while casting?

Easy. Don't eat or pick your nose while casting. You have to understand that at the temperature you are casting at, lead doesn't oxidize and become airborne, so you are not going to inhale lead. The only way you can get it into your system is thru an orifice. Wash your hand when you are done casting and you will be fine. Since the bullet is the most expensive component in reloading, this is where the savings is. My handgun reloads are cheaper than I can buy .22 rimfire for.

Don

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, cast outdoors and/or with good ventilation, glove up for protection from heat and lead dross exposure, don't put your equipment or your fingers in your ears, nose, or mouth, and wash up good afterwards. People have been casting properly for years without lead buildup in their blood.

 

[Bartojc]

My problem isn't so much keeping up, it's finding someone to shoot with. Out of my shooting friend group I am the only one that reloads. When we go shooting they end up metering their shooting based on their ammo supply and cost. I can shoot at least twice as much as they can for the same cost so I always seem to have plenty of ammo.

So it's all true. No cost savings, but lots more shooting, or better ammo for the cost.

-Jeff

 

[Reeferman]

That saying you won't save because you will shoot more doesn't make sense. I paid for my press and my tools in short order because of what I load for. I would not be able to afford to shoot 357 and 44 magnum as much as I do. Plus all the other benifits of accuracy and what has been said.

 

[mdi]

Fortunately I haven't even thought about factory vs. reloads cost in 30 years. I had been gainfully employed in a good paying job for quite a while. Even when I started it wasn't for money reason, it was out of curiosity (as I dumped the empties out of my .38 revolver; "I wonder if I could reuse these?"). I enjoy all the aspects of reloading and don't count costs. I wonder how many fishermen wonder how much the cost of that salmon is when he catches it vs how much it costs in the market?

 

[Cannibul]

It's pretty much been covered how to avoid lead poisoning. Don't eat it or lick it.

I helped out in a lure making business for a while. The owner who did stupid things like eating and drinking without washing his hands, used a bench grinder with a wire wheel to clean up castings, and was always wiping his eyes and touching his face ended up with a almost lethal lead blood level. Meanwhile mine was fine.

I cast, coat, and reload lead bullets almost every day, it's my therapy. Every six months I request a lead test along with all the other stuff they test me for. It's always been fine. I cast in the garage with a fan going to keep me cool and it also provides ventilation. I have the garage doors open if I'm casting. I also sort buckets of wheel weights and smelt them down. I also smelt lots of pure lead. For my use in my pistols I use a 50/50 mix of wheel weights and pure lead with 2% tin added. I either powder coat or use Hi-Tek. Never had a problem with leading even with full house .357 mag, 44 Mag or 10mm.

Anyone in my area that's interested in learning more can contact me and I'll invite ya out to the house for a lesson.

You can get a quality 4 cavity mold for $75 for most pistol calibers. It's really easy to produce 500-800 bullets in an hour with these molds. They pay for themselves really quick.

 

[buck460XVR]

I cast my own bullets and can shoot 9mm .38 SPL for the cost of .22 LR.

I was at my LGS yesterday and actually saw bulk factory 9mm 50 round boxes of ammo for less than what they were asking for some .22LR they had sitting next to it. At $.17 a round, I don't know if I'd even bother to cast and reload my own. That said, I reload for not only getting to shoot more for my monies, but the satisfaction of making my own ammo and being able to tailor my ammo to my guns and shooting preferences.

As for casting your own, one needs an appropriate place to do it and if the desire is to save money, a good source of free/inexpensive lead. Used to be lead was free to most of us for the asking, but between the reduced use of lead for wheelweights, flashing and plumbing use and the increase in demand from reloaders, for someone new to the game, they have to stand in line or buy at the going rate. Good friend of mine casts his own and always bragged to me about his "free" lead. One rainy Saturday I went with him on his rounds to various garages for wheel weights. Several cases of beer(to give to the garage employees), coupla gallons of gas and 6 hours later he was rewarded by about 10 lbs of "free" lead. At that time I was buying it from the local scrap yard for $1 a pound. Don't know what it cost now, I gave up casting for lack of time and interest. For folks that enjoy casting for the same reasons I enjoy reloading, cost is not the main priority. Folks thinking about getting into casting need to think about this along with initial equipment investment and what their time is worth. No different than getting into reloading. When I first got into reloading primers were less than 2 cents apiece and powder was under $15 a pound. Even good jacked .44 bullets were only a dime apiece. Most all of that has since doubled. I still have some of the 44 bullets, but don't consider their old price valid as to what it costs to reload .44 mag. I think about what it would cost me to replace those bullets at today's prices. Knowing that prices are always going up, I buy bulk when I find a good price and stock up, instead of waiting till I need components. Powder, primers and projectiles will not go bad in the time I have left. Still have about 50# of lead .45 caliber bullets I recovered from a shooting berm on the local military base 40 years ago. Maybe my boys will take up casting when I'm gone, dunno.

For the OP, it is apparent to me, the joy is not in saving monies, but the increase in opportunity to enjoy the sport he loves, all the more. Priceless.

 

[Jack B.]

SHOOT , SHOOT , SHOOT. Forget the money angle. Although I save a lot. Once you have been reloading for years you start saving. If you shoot a lot of large calibers. Not so much the small stuff.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree you don't save money but you do shoot a lot director the same costs.

Where you really save is on cartridges like the 45 Colt and 45-70. A box of 45 Colt will run you ~$50 where as you can load them for a few pennies more than loading .38 Special ammo. At current component prices I can load a box of 250gr LRN 45 Colt ammo for only $8.75 which us a far cry from $50.

I save even more on 45-70 ammo and can customize the ammo for a Trapdoor rifle too.

 

[hdwhit]

I got into reloading in the mid-1970's because of 1) age, and 2) cost. I was shooting .30 M1 Carbine and because Ruger had a Blackhawk pistol chambered for it, it was considered a "pistol cartridge" and couldn't be sold to anyone under 21. But, you didn't have to be 21 to buy brass, bullets, primers or powder, so reloading was a way of buying what the man at the hardware store couldn't sell me. At the time, it was cheaper to reload. The brass was about 3 cents each, bullets about 6 cents, primers a penny and 15 grains of IMR 4227 was about 2 cents, so a round cost 12 to 13 cents while new ammunition cost about 25 cents.

.30 M1 Carbine was a dull cartridge to reload since there were only two jacketed bullets for it and four powders, all of which gave essentially the same performance. It was like having eight different ways to make ice cream, all vanilla.

When I bought my Ruger Mini-14, the data was mostly based on the AR-15, so reloading opened up the opportunity to develop a load best suited to the shorter barrel of the Mini-14 and the terrain and game of the Ozarks. Since then, I have approached reloading as an opportunity to craft quality ammunition optimally suited to the environment where I intend to use it. In recent years the landscape for reloading has changed and in many cases there are no significant cost savings, but the desire to craft ammunition optimally suited to the environment remains.