Do you cast?

[Denis S]

My question is for high volume pistol shooters. I posted this question here, rather than in the "reloading" section, because I'd like the response from those who play in the shooting sports.

Do you cast your own bullets? Many of you (like myself) reload, but how about casting? Is it worth the trouble, or do you find it that you are better off just buying bullets. I'm trying to decide if the savings I should realize in casting my own bullets would be worth the time I'd spend casting.

Thanks

 

[CrankyCrash]

I had considered casting. However, the shortage of lead where I am is not worth the effort or the expense.

I think China and India is buying up all the lead they can get their hands on.

Of course, the price of bullets is skyrocketing and they are getting very scarce as well. :banghead:

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

I've been casting 'boolits' for nearly 20 years but have only recently been refining my process to attain the most accurate 'bullets' possible.

-Steve

 

[jmorris]

I built an automated bullet caster (if you search you’ll find the post) that took care of the volume needed for competition shooting; however, I use them mostly for practice due to the “smoke” of lead vs. plated/jacketed.

 

[Denis S]

automated bullet caster

Now we're talking! The forum search feature is acting up now, but I'd love to see what it's all about. I suspect, it would be above and beyond my mechanical ability anyway

edited: found the link to magma engineering. Holy cow! that's what I need. except that it costs $11K.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

For plinkin boolits.. (Fine for IDPA, PINS, IPSC, practice, hunting and such)

I leave the office for my half hour to forty minute commute. Having already melted some lead into the pot the night before, I call home and tell my son to turn on the pot. Set the dial to just a shade past 8. Set my mold on top of the pot so it can preheat. It's just a Lyman bottom pour unit. By the time I get home, all is ready for me to pour for the next hour or so before dinner. With a four hole mold I can easily turn out about 200 bullets in just over an hour. I primarily do this on rainy days when I won't be out mowing the lawn after work. (In the great NorthWet, you'd imagine that I can build a pretty good stockpile of bullets.) Another evening I'll take an hour or two to lube/size said 200. Before I know it, I've got a few thousand bullets ready for loading. A progressive reloader takes care of them pronto.

So, reloading and casting does cut into shootin time if one had the privelage to be able to shoot every day, but most of us only shoot on the weekends. If shooting is an important part of your life, casting and reloading are very important parts of successful shooting pleasure.

Be warned though. As shooting is a time consuming, valuable, gratifying hobby, so is reloading. So is casting. We only have a certain amount of time left for other things. You might have to cut out the paintballing, airsofting, dragracing, girlfriend, wife, Or BOTH, 2nd job or something else to thoroughly enjoy every fascet of shooting..

Yeah! Now there's something you don't hear every day. "Sorry boss, I need to quit the job so I can shoot more." :banghead:

-Steve

 

[1911NM]

Time issue for me. Too many hobbies, too little time. If it wasn't for work and family, I would be casting in a heartbeat, but about all the extra time I can squeeze out of the above is spent in reloading or heading to pistol matches. So, Berrys plated, or whoever I catch on sale is my bullet of preference.

 

[lil ski]

Yeah! Now there's something you don't hear every day. "Sorry boss, I need to quit the job so I can shoot more."

I wish that would work with my wife too. Sry Dear I have to quit work so I can shoot more. Don't worry about the bills some-one will pay me to shoot.

 

[jmorris]

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=158478&highlight=bullet+caster is the thread that has the photos of the homemade auto caster.