No, there is no firearms license to cast bullets. You may need a local business license, that's up to you.
Yes there is and it's called the Type 06 FFL manufacturer of ammunition for firearms other than destructive devices. Ammunition is defined by the GCA of 1968 as inclusive of components. Read the link in this thread that links to my post in another thread that spells out the federal law in plain English. Casting and selling bullets is manufacturing ammunition components and you need a 06 or 07 FFL
period.
My advice from a guy who used to cast bullets commercially (myself) is get your equipment, supplies, and logistics squared away. Cry once, do it right, or don't do it at all.
You will need a casting machine. Hand casting will not cut it, even for specialty bullets. I was hand casting making 8,000 bullets one day and sizing them the next. My weekly output was about 28-30,000 bullets. I was a longshot from keeping up with demand. I got so far behind I got out of it.
You will need a sizing machine. Sizing even with Star sizers isn't fast enough and I could size about 1200 bullets per hour myself. Ballisticast makes a good one.
You need a reliable lead source. You will need to figure out if you are going to buy foundry alloy at $2-3 per pound or hit the scrap yards, X-ray machine companies, etc to source lead, tin, antimony, and mix your alloy yourself. Consistency is probably better in foundry alloy than scrap yard mixes.
You need secure boxes. Shipping in the USPS flat rate boxes isn't enough. You need Tyvek envelopes and small 4x4x4 boxes to put bullets in the FRBs. Put the bullets in the Tyvek envelopes, then put the envelope in the 4x4x4 boxes then put the boxes in the flat rate box (FRB). Now super glue the box shut. Then use the clear tape with string inside to seal the edges. Do not skimp on packaging. Boxes will get damaged, especially when the gorillas toss around 65lb boxes of bullets. If they open up in transit, kiss your bullets good bye. Insure your shipments.
Put a flat rate shipping cost up to X amount of bullets/caliber. Include postage and insurance in your figure. Also factor in the small boxes, envelopes, tape, hot glue, etc. Toss a few dollars on top of it for your time. Shipping charges are a way to make extra profit. It doesn't have to be much, say $15 or $17.50 for up to 3,000 bullets per box.
Don't piss around with small orders. They aren't worth your time. Minimum order is 500 bullets. Price beaks are up to you. I don't do them for any quantity. It takes the same amount of time
per bullet to make 500 or 5,000. Your costs are per unit, you sell bullets, price and factor per bullet, then run the math for the quantity.
Figure your target market. Are you going to sell locally, online, dealers only? If you make to sell just and only at gun shows, no FFL is required. That will eliminate the need for the FFL and the ITAR saving you a few thousand dollars a year. If you hit the shows on the weekends and just work the shows, you can probably get away with hand casting for a while.
You can figure out whether to do everything yourself or hire some people to do the little things like packing and shipping, mixing the alloy, getting the stuff from the scrap yards. If you do it all yourself, it's a PITA.
Good luck if you go this route. You won't get rich, but you can generate some extra money every month doing it.
