Bullets on a tight budget

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Goneshoot'n

Goneshoot'n

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Iowa
Well I just got the last of the stuff I need to start reloading. I'm not necessarily new to it, I had a job reloading full time a few years ago, but this is my first time loading on my own equipment. Trouble is, I'm still a college student, and any money I have seems to be sucked away pretty quickly. Now I'm not complaining; I'm more than willing to pay for it, I was just wondering if anyone knew of a source for cheaper bullets? (I figure it's not a good idea to skimp out on powder or primers, and those are pretty cheap anyways. I've accumulated more brass than I can shoot.) Right now I've only got dies for 9mm, but that will soon be expanded. I have looked into casting, which I plan on getting into as soon as I can, but for right now I'm a little limited on what I can afford to do. Long story short, I'm more than happy to pay what it costs to reload and shoot, I'm just wondering if anyone has any good resources for budget bullets? Thanks!
 
I buy my lead from summersenterprisesllc.com . Had numerous orders, no complaints yet.
 
I would skip casting as now your talking more tools, cookers, more $$, etc. Rocky mountain reloading for 9mm bullets, berrys, extreme when on sale can be very good also. I looked into buying lead bullets and doing it myself and just too cheap to buy plated or fmj from RMR to mess with casting IMO. Midway has lee stuff on sale right now for good prices. If loading for 223rem depending on the twist midsouthshooters has good deals on bullets and if accuracy is the goal cant beat a 50/55gr Hornady Z max in bulk for the price of $55-500. Midway puts these on sale often. 9mm powder and primers you cant go wrong with sellier and bellot primers when on sale $20-1k and Hp38 for under $24 a pound.
 
Xtreme or RMR bullets. Xtreme will have 15-20% off site-wide sales at certain times (Black Friday, Memorial Day, etc). If you get on their email list, they send out daily sales of one or more calibers, usually 5-10% off. RMR has free shipping, and as a THR member you get 5% discount.
 
Another vote for castingmachine on castboolits.gunloads.com. I buy HiTek coated from him, and they're quite good.
 
I chose the "Cast My Own" route, if we should end up in the same condition we were in previously, where we could not get reloading items. I have quite a few cast bullets for several calibers on hand, as well as a couple hundred pounds of lead. I have several different molds, and 2 melting/pouring pots. I don't have to worry if we can't get components. Having Lots of Brass, several Bricks of Primers, 40ish pounds of powder.

I have received several samples from other members that allow me to evaluate them, if they workout for me, I try to get the mold (If I don't have it). Hollow Point molds are hard to find.

Others choose to buy components, that is their option. I hope it works out for them, as for me, I'm covered either way.

Good Luck
dg
 
I prefer Berry’s Bullets for my 9mm and 45 ACP. But I’ll buy in bulk about twice a year. I’ll hit all the major chain store sites and a few well known reloading sites and wait for the best deals...however I would suggest looking into the trading post here on this forum as I’ve just recently discovered it and it has some really good deals from our fellow members.. here is the link

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?forums/buy-sell-and-trade-reloading-components-and-gear.50/
 
dgod said:
I chose the "Cast My Own" route, if we should end up in the same condition we were in previously, where we could not get reloading items. I have quite a few cast bullets for several calibers on hand, as well as a couple hundred pounds of lead. I have several different molds, and 2 melting/pouring pots. I don't have to worry if we can't get components. Having Lots of Brass, several Bricks of Primers, 40ish pounds of powder.
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I do, too, and thought about making that recommendation. I've been casting so long, my equipment has paid for itself a long time ago. When I started, I could load a 50 round box of .45 Colts for about $2 a box.

But, the Achilles heel in casting is having a source of lead. It used to be readily available and free; that's no longer the case for me, with today's "War On Lead."
 
ohihunter2014 said:
killer on shipping though. :(
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That $14 is for 65 lbs.

From their site:
Flat Rate Priority Shipping
We offer USPS flat-rate shipping at the rate of $14.00 per 65 lbs., which works out to 2,000 bullets for all bullets weighing less than 240 grains. We also have 3,000-count bullet bundles for bullets weighing under 150 grains which ship for this same amount. Please note that we can only fit four bullet boxes into a shipping carton, so if you order is for more than five different bullets, they won't go into a single carton.
 
cp1969 said:
That $14 is for 65 lbs.

From their site:
Flat Rate Priority Shipping
We offer USPS flat-rate shipping at the rate of $14.00 per 65 lbs., which works out to 2,000 bullets for all bullets weighing less than 240 grains. We also have 3,000-count bullet bundles for bullets weighing under 150 grains which ship for this same amount. Please note that we can only fit four bullet boxes into a shipping carton, so if you order is for more than five different bullets, they won't go into a single carton.
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I was just putting myself in his shoes with money being tight i don't think he could order 2k at a time, at least i couldn't when i was in school. I tried to order 44mag and 45-70 the other day to try out but the shipping turned me away cause once i factored in shipping i could keep buying jacketed. Now if i could afford 2krds i would then be all over that. :)
 
I'm also a big fan of Rocky Mountain Bullets. My secondary source is Everglades Reloading.

I'd suggest that OP do what I do. Have a jar with the reloading gear. When they go shooting, put how much the supplies cost x2 in the jar. When the jar has enough to buy 1000 bullets place an order. When powder gets to 1/2 a jug buy more. Likewise on the primer supply. In other words, stash some money for supplies a little at a time and start building up a supply. It'll take some time but it'll be less painful when they place an order and in time they'll be building up a supply for the next crisis.
 
I was given some RMR 9mm bullets an i can say that i REALLY like them, especially for the cost. Once i get my progressive set up again, ill probably order a few thousand.
Ive shot quite a few MBCs and those are good as well.
 
The most cost-sensitive (either cheap/thrifty/broke or guys who shoot in such HUGE volumes that even small per-unit price differences add up to real money) guys in USPSA are increasingly shooting the coated bullets. Reduced lead exposure and filth re: cast/lubed bullets, and cheaper and requires slightly less powder-per-fps than plated or jacketed.
 
It all depends on how cheap you are trying to get. You can get quality FMJ bullets from RMR in 9mm for about 7.5 cents apiece shipped in lots of 1,000. You can get nice 124gr. FMJs from Everglades for just under 7 cents/per in lots of 3,750, if memory serves. It's hard to beat that without going bare lead. One way is the cheapest option which is to watch the clearance section at xtreme - they sell their thick-plated 9mm target hollowpoints in 115, 124 or 135 grain for 5.5 cents apiece shipped in lots of a thousand. They don't have any now, there are large lots of them available pretty frequently. I use all three, but have a stock of 25K xtremes for the bulk of my shooting. I like Acme for coated bullets, but don't know of a coated option as cheap as clearance-sale xtremes.
 
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One can get into the low 6-cents-per-bullet range for powder-coated 115's, or the upper 6's for 124's.
 
ray15 said:
It all depends on how cheap you are trying to get. You can get quality FMJ bullets from RMR in 9mm for about 7.5 cents apiece shipped in lots of 1,000. You can get nice 124gr. FMJs from Everglades for just under 7 cents/per in lots of 3,750, if memory serves. It's hard to beat that without going bare lead. One way is the cheapest option which is to watch the clearance section at xtreme - they sell their thick-plated 9mm target hollowpoints in 115, 124 or 135 grain for 5.5 cents apiece shipped in lots of a thousand. They don't have any now, there are large lots of them available pretty frequently. I use all three, but have a stock of 25K xtremes for the bulk of my shooting. I like Acme for coated bullets, but don't know of a coated option as cheap as clearance-sale xtremes.
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whats the difference between acme coated and Missouri hitek coated?
 
Learn how to cast as soon as possible. You can make up the price difference and pay for a 6 cavity mold with your first 500 +/- bullets.

Yes you need a pot and maybe a sizing die, but you can also start by tumble lubing (or powder coating) which costs almost nothing. Once you have your casting stuff, the cost of shooting any caliber handgun will be determined mostly by the weight of the bullet. A 230g 45ACP shot will cost 1.7 cents more than a 120g 9mm shot if you buy lead at $1/pound because 5g powder will cost a penny and a primer will cost about 3 cents.
 
So when I eventually get into casting, if all I'm reloading is light steel plink'n loads, how important is it to worry about the content of the lead? Could I just melt down a bunch of range scrap and call it good?
 
Goneshoot'n said:
So when I eventually get into casting, if all I'm reloading is light steel plink'n loads, how important is it to worry about the content of the lead? Could I just melt down a bunch of range scrap and call it good?
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In a word, yes.
 
If you are not shooting with lots of pressure of a MAG round then range scrap is GTG most times. If this turns out to be too soft then adding small amounts of Lead Free plumbers solder will help harden up the bullets. It is amazing the amount of soft lead .22 ammo shot at a range so range lead will be on the softish side when recovered.
 
Berrys or xtreme work very well. Especially if you catch them on sale. Noting better to shoot steel with than plated bullets also.
 
Welcome to THR,
lots of great people here.

By most accounts I did it wrong when I started reloading for pistol because I used lead bullets.
I hear stories about how much harder they were to load. To bad I didn't know before hand, because I never figured out they were supposed to be more difficult to load.:)

Having said that, FMJs are just a little easier to deal with.
Some guns like lead better than others, barrel fit is important.

Really happy with everything I have ordered from RMR (Rocky Mountain Reloading).
Their 9mm FMJs, both RN and FN shoot well, shipping is included in their price. (I like the FNs a bit better)
Maybe not the cheapest, but very reasonable and excellent quality.
 
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