Economics of high volume shooting and reloading

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Jbird45

Jbird45

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I have been reloading for my .45 Colt and starting on my .45-70 Govt.

I used to think a box of 500 cast bullets for $55 was a good deal, until I realized how fast I can burn a box of 500. Now sending a bullet down range without something to catch it seems like a complete waste. At $80 a box for 250 cast .45-70 bullets, and considering I like to shoot 30-50 a week, well, it's getting to expensive and my wife is getting mad.

I have been thinking about getting into casting my own bullets, but lead isn't that easy to find in bulk, although I do have 2 undisclosed locations I can go dig for fired bullets. Not sure though if copper jacketed bullets can be recycled?

I also enjoy shooting steel plates, as they seem to last forever with low velocity cast bullets like .45 Colt and .45-70. The only bad thing is the steel pulverizes the bullets on impact. I really don't feel like digging for little chunks of lead and sifting like I'm look for gold.

Does anyone have an economical system for high volume shooting? I have been debating asking my father in law if I can build a sand trap to help capture bullets and fragments. I was going to make a big sand horseshoe with a sand bottom, so bullets can only enter but not leave. Kind of like the big ranges do.

But then we get to the targets. I have found steel to be the most economical, but I feel intact bullets would be easier to dig out. I suppose I could use paper plate targets with a sharpie dot on them, but I would have to figure out some sort of frame to hold them that won't get beat up too quickly.

I know there has to be some high volume shooters out there. What do you do? I realize there will always be an expense, but I would like to be as economical as possible. Thanks!
 
If you have a place that you can build a bullet catcher is one options, A berm would be another. I know were 90% of mine are at but I'm not going to take the time to dig them out.

For high volume pistol bullets I shoot either MBC or plated. For rifle I normally shoot a match grade bullet so so savings there.
 
You can make a target stand from that green plastic safety fence, with a wood or metal pole in each side. Use clips to hold targets.

I like using paper plates to, but prefer the Chinese menus.
 
Like said above, if you can build a catch or burm is so that. You can melt down jacketed bullets, but better to do them all together since there normally closer to pure lead. The jackets float to the top were you can skim them out.

Since your just shooting paper/steal you can shoot lighter bullets, this will save money if you buy and get more bullets if you cast.

I think you should learn to cast, then how to powder coat.
 
If you can find tire shops that will sell you used wheel weights that is ideal. The problem is, that's getting harder to find.

Some other thoughts:

Jbird45 said:
At $80 a box for 250 cast .45-70 bullets, and considering I like to shoot 30-50 a week, well, it's getting to expensive and my wife is getting mad.
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That's too much money.
Missouri Bullets has 200 cast bullets for $38 and some change (300 grain). I'd recommend doing some shopping around if you're going to continue to purchase bullets.


Jbird45 said:
I do have 2 undisclosed locations I can go dig for fired bullets. Not sure though if copper jacketed bullets can be recycled?
Click to expand...

They certainly can. I've done it quite a bit.
If it's a hollow point, you don't have to do anything but throw them in your smelting pot. The lead will melt out and you skim the copper jackets off the top with the rest of the slag.
If they are FMJs, take a hammer and give them a whack before putting them in the pot. It will flatten the bullet out some and pierce the jacket, allowing the molten lead to run out.


Shooting 30-50 .45-70 rounds a week is going to cost some money no matter how you do it, but you can cut it down for sure, especially if you have a couple of reliable sources where you can mine berms.
 
People have used recycled tire mulch (Available from Home Depot as landscape mulch) and filled 55 gallon metal/poly cans to trap bullets and so far, trapped all pistol caliber bullets and rifle bullets intact (With almost 100% weight retention) all the way up to .308/.30-06/.338

Same stuff is used in indoor ranges as backstop.

 
Probably not helpful in the least.....but primary reason I shoot so much 9mm & own so many different 9mm is other than rimfire it's cheapest thing I buy @ ~6¢ per projectile. Fiocchi primer, Win231/HP-38, & ACME 115gr coated = cheapest, non-exposed lead I can make. with shipping, tax, hazmat, whatever figured in around 11¢ per round. Around $130 & a few hrs handle pulling for a 30 cal full of 9mm - I can live with that.

But, on my range if I wanted to capture lead it would mean removing the steel targets. Yeah, could easily catch spatter underneath, but that's a lot of tiny little bits & pieces and you'd maybe get 2/3 at most. But if you can weld it wouldn't be too huge a project or crazy $$$ to build a smallish steel bullet trap from hardened steel. Put some hooks or eye bolts on top & you can just pluck it out of berm with a tractor bucket.
 
I have a large trap at home but I too enjoy shooting steel, so I get most of my lead at a different range after a rain, as it’s easy to pick them from the surface of the berm. For non steel shooting, I am almost done with the one in the link above.

If you have to buy your lead your Likely better off Just buying bullets ready to go.

I get all my lead for free, so it was worth the time investment getting everything else going. The cheapest I have done were 230 grain 45 ACP at $18/1000 rounds.

Powder and primers cost a bit more these days and I coat them now but still load my pistol rounds for around $30/1000.

This is my setup so it’s not a lot of work. Doing several of the operations concurrently, reduces the time I have to spend making bullets.

 
CMV said:
Probably not helpful in the least.....but primary reason I shoot so much 9mm & own so many different 9mm is other than rimfire it's cheapest thing I buy @ ~6¢ per projectile. Fiocchi primer, Win231/HP-38, & ACME 115gr coated = cheapest, non-exposed lead I can make. with shipping, tax, hazmat, whatever figured in around 11¢ per round. Around $130 & a few hrs handle pulling for a 30 cal full of 9mm - I can live with that.

But, on my range if I wanted to capture lead it would mean removing the steel targets. Yeah, could easily catch spatter underneath, but that's a lot of tiny little bits & pieces and you'd maybe get 2/3 at most. But if you can weld it wouldn't be too huge a project or crazy $$$ to build a smallish steel bullet trap from hardened steel. Put some hooks or eye bolts on top & you can just pluck it out of berm with a tractor bucket.
Click to expand...

I have a 9, but factory ammo is so cheap I never invested in the dies and equipment to reload it. That being said when people panic buy it's usually the first thing to go around here. That and 5.56.

I like my .45-70 and .45 Colt because I am a history buff and I also feel like I can shoot a decent volume from them without them wearing out barrels like my other guns (.22-250, .264 win mag).

I guess I essentially I was trying to make my bullets similar to brass, where you can recycle then time and time again, but I think I will have to slow down in the practice and find a cheaper s. Because mining, melting, molding, lubing, and sizing are going to burn a bunch of time I could be shooting. I have been buying bulk bullets from my local fleet farm but I may need to find a cheaper source, and I will look into the Missouri bullet company as stated above. All my bullets have been from SNS casting.
 
You would be surprised how much range scrap you can find in a shooting area outside of the berm. All it takes is scraping the top of the soil with a garden trowel into small piles. Use a piece of wire gutter guard to sift the piles. When its too wet or the ground is too hard picking cast bullets or even jacketed ones off the edge of the berm is cake.
 
I have a 15"x15" steel bullet trap, it works great for paper targets, just hang them off the mouth. It likes to spit small lead fragments, although it catches probably 90% of the lead shot into it, the rest splashes back in the form of sand size lead fragments.
Lead is cheap, start with your local recyclers and beware of zinc. Ask for pure lead or known alloys not containing zinc. Wheel weights, if you can find them, are a great source of near perfect lead alloy. Beware as they have started making weights out of zinc or steel.
 
I don't cast, so no help there....

However, many years ago I opened a private checking account to have a small amount deposited with every paycheck. It's my "reloading fund". All reloading purchases come out of it. The better half knows about it, so what I use it for isn't her concern.

After a few years I got enough reloading equipment and basic supplies that it now builds up faster than I can use it.
Occasionally it builds up enough to purchase unloading equipment. :)
 
I didn't realize used wheel weights were a commodity. I'll look at work and see how much we have. Usually the guy that buys our scrap just takes them "yeah, I can get rid of those for ya". Anything particular that's better or worse? May be able to hook someone up if they're nearby.
 
I cast for just about everything I shoot, from .22 Hornet to 45-70, both rifle and pistol. I have bought lead and gotten a lot for free. When I am casting, I feel like I am turning pennies into nickels and dimes. It doesn’t take many bullets to pay for a mold. I cast about 1000 in an hour with a 6 cavity mold and a bottom pour pot. 500-600 with molds that have fewer cavities, but more than one! 45-70 bullets for BPCR are about 150/hr with a single cavity mold. You will need to add time to size/lube or coat the bullets also.

If you buy lead for $1/lb, you can get 46 150gr bullets, so about 2 cants each, or make 29 240gr bullets, so about 3 cents each. The 340gr 45-70 bulls would be about a nickel each. 55gr bullets are 127 per lb so less than a penny each.

If If you use gas checked bullets, that adds .02-.03 per bullet. I use gas checks for most rifle bullets and some pistol bullets.
 
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