CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Much of this assumes you're casting in bulk and only a few different bullets. I shoot commercial cast bullets in calibers (nominal) .309, .312, .358, .376, .401, .412, .427, .430, .452, .458, .476 and .501, with multiple variations of each. With some, such as the .430 and .452 varieties, there may be over a dozen variations. That's a lot of molds, a lot of equipment, a lot of supplies and a lot of work. With commercial bullets, if I want to try something, I buy a box and try them. I have yet to have a bullet I wanted to try that I couldn't buy.
Big difference there. I'm saving a lot of dollars on ammo. It costs me $7-$8/50rds of .44Spl, .44Mag or .45Colt, versus $30-$40 on the cheapest factory ammo. I spend an hour on my Dillons and I can shoot all day long. With casting bullets, there's a lot of work involved to save only pennies. I spend ten minutes online and I have bullets in a few days. It might be worth it to some folks to do all that to save $5 an hour, $10 or even $20, especially if they enjoy the process. Not to me.In any case if your time is valuable to you just buy loaded ammo, shoot, pack up and leave. Someone will come up behind you and pick up your brass and lead, you won’t be alone either. There are more folks that do just that, than not.
Exactly!Reloading using store bought cast lead projectiles, I find I'm saving 40¢ per round, or a 66% reduction in cost. Over the next 6 weeks, I'll save enough money to cover the entire cost of the reloading equipment I bought. All for about 6 hours worth of my time. I find that to be an acceptable trade-off. Admittedly, I don't find the task of reloading ammo in my garage nearly as distasteful as that of digging in the dirt at the range.
Very good comparison.It's not unlike the idea that there are some jobs some people won't do, no matter how much it pays. (And that job is different for everyone. For example, I teach high school, but many folks wouldn't do it for a million dollars. I wouldn't be a police officer for a million dollars, but I know people who love the job...etc. etc.)