Store Bought Bullets

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LAH

LAH

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People often wonder if those who cast ever purchase bullets. Well back when my casting didn't keep up with my shooting I had a friend in Radford to purchase bullets from for my 38 Special. These were run of the mill machine cast from 92-6-2 with hard lube. Not the best bullet but with 3.0 grains of Bullseye I could keep my old 6" Smith going. The bullet is a .358", 158 grain, RNFP.

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  • LAH
38-158-RNFP
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DSC02259 Rs

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38-158-RNFP
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DSC02258 Rs

  • LAH
38-158-RNFP
 
Yes... I often think fondly about the old days in Radford, the times we use to have a shooting and a casting, casting an a shooting, never a worry in the world. Then came them darn Dillon ammo plants. And with that retail sales of bullets in bulk. Sheesh, the times they are a changing. :evil:
 
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I've gone through periods of casting bullets and buying bullets depending on how much free time I had.

I updated my casting gear during the component shortages of the last 10 years to hedge my ability to even have projectiles to shoot. Also, I got moulds for wadcutter bullets in 44 and 45 caliber and have been enjoying shooting them. I have not seen a source for them from any mainstream bullet manufacturer.

So, these days, I both cast and buy
 
I had a judge in Dallas that casted bullets on the side back in the 70's when I was shooting was revolvers. I bought several 1000's through him over the years for my 357 Mag.
 
Charlie98 said:
I don't have time to take on another hobby... like casting. Besides, I really have no interest in it.
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I find many shooters like you Charlie who have no interest. Casting is a hobby as is shooting to most folk. And in this life there is only so much time for hobbies. Besides there are plenty of good bullets out there today.
 
LAH said:
I find many shooters like you Charlie who have no interest. Casting is a hobby as is shooting to most folk. And in this life there is only so much time for hobbies. Besides there are plenty of good bullets out there today.
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I'm not saying casting doesn't have it's merits, it especially does if you are shooting something that requires a custom sized bullet (think old lever action or single-shot.) For what I shoot I've never really been left wanting with commercial bullets, I've gone so far as to have ordered custom sized boolits from Montana Bullet Works, for example. No guesswork, just open the box and load.
 
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You're correct Charlie casting does have many merits such as the ones you speak of. And I could probably get by just fine with commercial bullets for 90% of my shooting.
 
The only benefit I see to casting is if you are shooting something really weird. Anything even remotely common is easy to find in bulk for decent price, with no sweat equity, and it doesn’t risk your health, not to mention cost of gear.

That comes from a guy who would love to do it, but I just can’t see it with prices and availability being what they are. It makes more sense to buy in super-bulk and stockpile than it does to horde lead or pay crazy prices for ingots. The days of good free lead are gone, and with it went the justification for casting at home. I only know 1 caster, and he does it for custom fishing baits more so than bullets. Even he will admit that the crazy prices for fishing baits isn’t bad in comparison to casting, but he keeps doing it to have a unique lure to catch those bait-smart bass.
 
It is often opined that for high volume shooters of cartridges such as 9mm that it isn't worth it to handload because you can buy inexpensive ammo. But I'm a high volume 9mm user that handloads because I have a requirement for ammo that isn't easy to buy off the shelf. With a progressive press I can make 400 rounds/hour and need at this point 1800-2000 rounds month. As it is I spend too much of my free time at the bench. If I were to cast 2000 bullets/month I literally wouldn't have time to shoot.

For those who shoot 1000+ rounds/month it is difficult to make the claim that they need to cast because they couldn't afford to shoot that much no doubt some will try.
 
There was recently a group buy MP mold that was an eight cavity 9mm. That wouldn't take all that long to cast 2000 bullets.

My largest mold is a four cavity and I can do around 500 bullets an hour with no problem.
 
thomas15 said:
Resize, lube and/or gas check....no?

Inspect finished bullet? Scrounge around for lead?
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After I’ve got my lead pot and my mold(s) up to temperature, and I get into a rhythm, I can cast a lot of bullets in an hour using 2, single or double cavity molds: I fill a mold and set it down while I’m filling the second mold. Then I set the second mold down because by that time the bullets in the first mold have cooled and hardened. So I then pick the first mold back up, knock the bullets out of it, refill it, and set it down. Repeat. It goes pretty fast that way.

Inspecting, sizing and lubing while sometimes installing gas checks, well, I just haven’t found the right “rhythm” yet, I guess. It takes a long time. And I find that part of casting bullets boring. That’s why, as much as I like using cast bullets in large bore revolvers, I buy them – sized and lubed, and sometimes with gas checks already installed.

I’m not even concerned with scrounging lead and lead alloys anymore. Back in my bullet casting days, I scrounged and/or bought enough to last me the rest of my life. Those ingots work real well for holding things down while the glue dries on my woodworking projects nowadays.:D
 
thomas15 said:
For those who shoot 1000+ rounds/month it is difficult to make the claim that they need to cast because they couldn't afford to shoot that much no doubt some will try.
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I'll agree.

My first go round with casting in the 1980s to 1990s was to save money. I had time and sources of free/low cost lead. As time went by, I went through a period of limited time for shooting, reloading and casting so I began shooting more and more purchased bullets. Also, I was shooting more high power rifle and purchased bullets, aka jacketed bullets, were more suited to my desired shooting activities.

As I already said, my more recent return was in part to keep my options open during periods of shortages. Today, I buy lead as I mostly cast bullets that are not as readily available (full wadcutters) as other shaped bullets.

I do my casting and prepping of bullets in the winter months when the weather limits participation in other activities that I do. A week or two worth of casting in the evenings spread out over a couple months generates enough cast bullets that I shoot.

No, I do not expect to save any money over purchased bullets and I do not shoot 1000-2000 rounds a month. I average probably 4000-5000 rounds a year spread out over handgun and rifle.

I do enjoy the change of pace casting provides.

I do not expect that everyone would want to get into casting.
 
When I was a kid my Dad was a handloader and he (we) cast our own bullets. One day my Dad came home from work to find me an my younger brother busy casting bullets for him, obviously without adult supervision. This was about 1967 so I was 9 my brother was 8 years old. I have all of his stuff and all I need is some lead. I friend has offered to give me for free 1500 pounds.

If I were going to jump in I would be coating with Hi-TEK and that would add even more time to the process. I think I would rather place an order with Bayou and be done with it.
 
I usually cast what I need. But when my casting shed with the window shaker running full tilt still tops out at 110°.
I'm hitting the gunshows and online.

I need to order more lead. I'm down to about 400#.
 
I cast for economics, not because I like casting, but because I like shooting. I never looked at it as a separate hobby, but the least desirable part of my shooting hobby.

For years I had lead free for the taking. Wheel weights off of big trucks. The shop at the trucking company I worked for saved them for me. When that company closed down the division I worked for I had a 55 gallon drum full of truck wheel weights. That was December of 1999. That lead along with odd and end scraps I picked up along the way lasted me until 2013.

About 2011 I found another source of not free, but cheap lead. Wheel weights from a tire shop near work. Started at $10 a bucket, went up to $30 a bucket, then back down to $20. At first it was mostly lead weights, with a few air valve stems and lug nuts mixed in. It got to where about 1/3 of the weights were zinc or steel, hence the price drop. The competition for the lead went away. That lead all went away when the shop was destroyed by a tornado in 2017. I probably have have some 400 pounds of lead left, depending on the amount of zinc in the pile I have not processed yet.

I get lead from my brother from time to time. He remodels houses and some of the older ones have window ballasts, flashing and water pipes that are lead. But it is drying up too. I save my lead now for hard to find bullets, like the 405 grain hollow base I shoot in my 45/70 Springfield and the 230 grain truncated cone I like in the 45 acp.

I can buy cast bullets now as cheap as I can cast if I need to buy the lead. I just bought 2000 124 grain .356 bullets for $0.06 a bullet.

Like was mentioned earlier, I do most of my making ingots and bullets in the winter time when other chores go away. Now i spend more time reloading. Which suits me just fine as I like making cartridges almost as much as I do emptying them!
 
I shoot over a 1000 rounds a month, sometimes 2000. I can cast a 1000 rounds in an hour using three 4 cavity moulds. This doesn't include set up & warm up. I normally cast for 5 hours after things are ready to go. Sizing an lubing will double the time.

To be fair I operated a bullet business for 12 years & learned most the tricks. So most the bullets I shoot now days I cast. Then there's loading time. Glad I'm retired.
 
Again, I agree that casting is not for everyone. It takes some time to cast bullets and not everyone has the necessary free time.

I just obtained a Colt National Match 1911 in 9x19. I've decided to try semi-wadcutter bullet with this new gun and appropriate semi-wadcutter bullets are pretty much obtainable only by purchasing a mould and making my own. (I won't say there is no commercial source available for these bullets, but, in my limited research, I've not found any).

I'm looking to get bullets that cut a cleaner hole than the typical round nose 9x19 ammunition. The 45 caliber semi-wadcutters do a nice job in a 45 caliber Gold Cup. If i works, I'll also try the semi-wadcuttes in my target 38 Super.

Casting bullets provide me with the opportunity to do these things.

As an aside, even though 9x19 ammunition can be found at reasonable prices, I still load my own. The ammunition is tailored to my guns. I find that I have issues with "off brand" headstamps and loading my own ammunition eliminates these problems. I cull suspect headstamp cases and when buying new, only buy cases that I know will be reliable.

I accumulate components throughout the year and spend a few evenings during the winter months loading 9x19 that will last me for at least the next year.

As I said before, casting does not float everyones boat.
 
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thomas15 said:
When I was a kid my Dad was a handloader and he (we) cast our own bullets. One day my Dad came home from work to find me an my younger brother busy casting bullets for him, obviously without adult supervision. This was about 1967 so I was 9 my brother was 8 years old. I have all of his stuff and all I need is some lead. I friend has offered to give me for free 1500 pounds.

If I were going to jump in I would be coating with Hi-TEK and that would add even more time to the process. I think I would rather place an order with Bayou and be done with it.
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The actual amount of time it takes to use Hi-Tek is about a minute. You can do other things while it dries and cooks.
 
Back in the 70's and early 80's a buddy and I used to cast out bullets. Back then we only shot 148gr wadcutters and we had 2 four cavity molds. Not a very professional set up, we had a gas stove and a huge cast iron pot. We could get all the wheel weights we wanted for free and that is what we cast. Straight wheel weights. Se sat around for several nights drinking beer and casting bullets. Then we would sit around several more nights and size and lube. Sizing was the worst part, but we were shooting cheap. A few years ago when I got back into shooting a lot, I looked into casting but lead is not as readily available. You actually have to buy it now!! If I was going to shoot only one weight like we did back in the day, it might make sense, but I shoot 5-6 different weights and style on a regular basis. I buy my coated .38 bullets from 5.5 cents per round to around 10 cents a round depending on weight and where I get them. Maybe if I had lots of free time and a good source for lead, it might make sense but for now I will just have to buy
 
thomas15 said:
It is often opined that for high volume shooters of cartridges such as 9mm that it isn't worth it to handload because you can buy inexpensive ammo. But I'm a high volume 9mm user that handloads because I have a requirement for ammo that isn't easy to buy off the shelf. With a progressive press I can make 400 rounds/hour and need at this point 1800-2000 rounds month. As it is I spend too much of my free time at the bench. If I were to cast 2000 bullets/month I literally wouldn't have time to shoot.

For those who shoot 1000+ rounds/month it is difficult to make the claim that they need to cast because they couldn't afford to shoot that much no doubt some will try.
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You need a faster press! And then you can go through the cycle I did. When I got back into loading a few years ago, I was using a single stage press I had left over from the 70's. I could kick out a 100 an hour but decided I needed faster. I got a Lee progressive and could get 200-300 an hour and started shooting more. So a Dillon 650 was my next cure and can get 500-600 an hour easily. but because of the faster press, I'm shooting more than ever.
 
I’m still shooting free lead in 2018, not from my stash, from current sources.

If you buy a good heavy 4 cavity mold you can throw down a ton of bullets non stop. I run non stop fast as I can. Cull the crappy ones as I size them.

For stuff like 9mm I tumble lube them and shoot them as cast. So I don’t handle them.

Before I had kids and I could leave the pot unattended. I’d plug it in and go take a shower and make coffee. Cast a couple hundred before breakfast and then go to work. Do that a couple days and then size for a couple days, then load for a couple days.
 
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