Time to Start Casting Lead?

[D.B. Cooper]

I've been buying cast lead projectiles from Missouri Bullets for about 3 years now. Good prices, good service, good performance; they've been great. No complaints. At one time, I researched casting my own projectiles, but I decided that it was far more practical to just buy from Missouri Bullet.

Times have changed. (The HELL YOU SAY?) They're now running a 12 week back order. No surprise. They have also eliminated a lot of products, including my favorite 200 grn LRNFP .430 projectile. (The only current .430 offering is a 240 grn SWC--Not that big of a deal; maybe I should just shut up, buy them, and wait my turn.) The same projectile at Hunter's Supply is literally 5x the cost. (No, I'm not exaggerating: $57/500 at MO Bullet; $60/100 at Hunter's Supply-no surprise they have them in stock.)

But I wonder is it time to set up to cast my own projectiles? The ability to be free of supply chain disruption and limited product availability is now probably worth my time and effort. On the other hand, am I too late to the game? Not a lot of stock left on some of that stuff and where would I buy lead? (I don't have time off from my job to scour local tire ships for wheel lead-especially since most have gone to magnesium now.) Properly venting my workspace will be difficult, but I have P100 particulate filtered masks. The cost savings is so minimal so as to be irrelevant. (Casting might even cost more than buying, but that's not why I would be doing it.)

Of course, the other end of this discussion is how long until my powder and primers run out and then I'm done reloading anyway which means no need to cast lead.

 

[FROGO207]

When I get into a new caliber I secure the means to mold usable bullets and develop loads soon after. Then should supply disruptions happen I still can reload and shoot as needed. All part of self reliance. Being where you are OP it would seem even more important.

 

[Alex Clayton]

I used to do it a good long while back. The part to be careful of is fluxing the mix to clean it. That smoke is to avoid. Some ventilation at that point. The big problem is of course all the supplies are just as hard to get now as the finished product since we have another panic going on. If you want to do it you can get a Lee pot, Lee molds. Need a sizer and luber. Now the lead and alloy, again it's as hard to find as the finished product. By the time you buy the stuff to cast, and find some alloy, you would have to cast a good while to pay for it.
This panic like all the ones before will end. When it does lay in supplies when they come back. If you decide you want to cast try to find a local place to buy alloy if possible. It's sadly just a bad time to try to get into something like this.

 

[LNK]

I've been buying cast lead projectiles from Missouri Bullets for about 3 years now. Good prices, good service, good performance; they've been great. No complaints. At one time, I researched casting my own projectiles, but I decided that it was far more practical to just buy from Missouri Bullet.

Times have changed. (The HELL YOU SAY?) They're now running a 12 week back order. No surprise. They have also eliminated a lot of products, including my favorite 200 grn LRNFP .430 projectile. (The only current .430 offering is a 240 grn SWC--Not that big of a deal; maybe I should just shut up, buy them, and wait my turn.) The same projectile at Hunter's Supply is literally 5x the cost. (No, I'm not exaggerating: $57/500 at MO Bullet; $60/100 at Hunter's Supply-no surprise they have them in stock.)

But I wonder is it time to set up to cast my own projectiles? The ability to be free of supply chain disruption and limited product availability is now probably worth my time and effort. On the other hand, am I too late to the game? Not a lot of stock left on some of that stuff and where would I buy lead? (I don't have time off from my job to scour local tire ships for wheel lead-especially since most have gone to magnesium now.) Properly venting my workspace will be difficult, but I have P100 particulate filtered masks. The cost savings is so minimal so as to be irrelevant. (Casting might even cost more than buying, but that's not why I would be doing it.)

Of course, the other end of this discussion is how long until my powder and primers run out and then I'm done reloading anyway which means no need to cast lead.

A lee mold is $20 ish. Lee push through sizing die about the same. Alloy while getting scarce, can be found. I heard from a small bird that keels on old sailboats have quite a large chunk of soft lead in them. The bird may be lying . Are you near the coast? Bet you might find an old decrepit sail boat, maybe even free for the hauling. Good luck DB

 

[kcofohio]

Keep an eye and ear out for sources of lead and alloys. I ran across free dirty lead that finished out to be about 250 lbs. My grandson works at a tire shop and had him bring me buckets of wheel weights, that came to about 200 lbs. of lead alloy after cleaning up. Paid him 75 cents a pound after clean up.

Watch Rotometal.com for their super hard alloy. Earlier this year they had it for just under $20 a 5 lb. ingot, with free shipping for $100+ order.

I watch ebay for Britannia ingots, about 92% tin.

There are a couple people over at castboolits.com that sell lead and range recovered lead ingots.

Or if cost isn't a big concern, Missouri Bullets offers Lyman's #2 alloy at $2.18/lb. + shipping;
https://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=92&category=12&secondary=&keywords=

 

[WeekendReloader]

A lot of the stuff you need to start casting is on backorder now. If you are only doing it to get through the shortage, I say just order more bullets on backorder. Then take the money you would have spent on casting tools and supplies and make another bullet order for your own safety stock.

If, on the other hand, you are interested in the hobby aspects of casting, go for it! No time like the present to get started. I enjoy casting as a part of the hobby. Having 100 lbs of lead on the shelf gives you flexibility to cast whatever bullet you need.

I like to keep a lot of stock of components and raw material and less stock of loaded ammo. Lead on the shelf can make any caliber bullets, whenever you need them. When I setup the casting pot, I usually pick a day when I can spend at least 4 or 5 hours casting and replenish my stock of a few different bullet profiles. I usually only cast for a day in the fall and maybe another in the spring.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

But I wonder is it time to set up to cast my own projectiles? The ability to be free of supply chain disruption and limited product availability is now probably worth my time and effort.

---
I run the same cause-effect analysis every time it looks like there might be a "run" on some commodity. The end result in the case of casting, for me, has been, "But then I'm dependent on more difficult to assess supply chain: Pb/Sb/Sn (Lead/Antimony/Tin)." Some clever politicians and profiteers have figured that out and various regulatory agencies have been squeezing domestic lead production out of business. That's not strictly political, it's how the markets are being manipulated for control over the essential resources of a modern society (computing & other electronics, steel-making, press molding, foundries... a HUGE swath of production requires those same materials).
To quote Robin Williams, "Reality. What a concept."

Of course, the other end of this discussion is how long until my powder and primers run out and then I'm done reloading anyway which means no need to cast lead.

---
Yup, and then you can get setup to make your own FFg/FFFg/FFFFg and start figuring out where you can source flints, like the rest of us.

Not to worry, though. I'm sure some clever profiteers and control freaks will figure out how to regulate ball mills, drying pans, screens, potassium nitrate - which is already regulated by CFR Title 21 - charcoal and sulfur. They always do...

 

[Howland937]

I work at an automotive repair shop that does some tires. We have a couple 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights that I've thought about snatching since they're just sitting there. Not sure I'd ever use them but someone may need them.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I work at an automotive repair shop that does some tires. We have a couple 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights that I've thought about snatching since they're just sitting there. Not sure I'd ever use them but someone may need them.

Grab them and sort them. Half will probably be zinc and no good for casting. Take the zinc ones back to the shop for recycling.

 

[lightman]

I don't think you are too late to the party. It sounds like you have given this a lot of thought. The key item will be finding a suitable alloy source that is dependable and affordable. While the tooling is mostly going to be back ordered you can still find stuff. But lead is getting harder and harder to find. Used molds and sizers and even lead ingots pop up for sale on the Cast Boolits site fairly often. Even with foundry prices for lead you can eventually pay for your equipment. Another advantage is that shortages won't effect your shooting as much. You make a good point about powder and primers.

To some of us its a fun and enjoyable hobby. I have a heavy steel work bench in my shop that is big enough for me and 2 buddies to cast on. We cast enough in the late Winter and early Spring to carry us through the year. I wired that wall of the shop so that there are enough circuits to carry 3 casting pots, 3 hot plates, a fan and a radio. We visit, talk guns, loads, current events, ect and the time passes rather quickly. So it works out well. We mentioned that we should have went in together on a casting machine years ago!

If you were near me I would invite you over and help you get off to a good start. If If If............. Good Luck to ya!

 

[lightman]

I work at an automotive repair shop that does some tires. We have a couple 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights that I've thought about snatching since they're just sitting there. Not sure I'd ever use them but someone may need them.

Like WeekEndReloader said, grab them. Its like money in the bank!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Grab them and sort them. Half will probably be zinc and no good for casting. Take the zinc ones back to the shop for recycling.

---
If he can get a hot enough pot, and some purified aluminum, magnesium, and copper, he can make Zamac.

 

[Phantom 309]

https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/rmr...llet-cores-approximately-12-brinnel-hardness/

FWIW, RMR sells lead from reject bullet cores at about 12 BHN for $1.62/lb for the 24 lb. quantity, with a bit of a price break for larger amounts. This cost doesn't factor in the THR discount. I'm a fairly new member and I hear Jake is a good guy so I didn't pester anybody for the discount code just yet but I recently ordered a bit of this to get my feet wet in casting. I already have a Lee mold that I picked up to make hot glue bullets powered by primer only (learned about those from @Obturation on here) and have slowly been gathering the rest of the goodies to cast.

In my case I'm more interested in the process of casting than a cost savings. I truly enjoy brass prep and all other aspects of reloading and I suspect casting will be the same.

 

[kcofohio]

I found around these parts, about 50% lead, 40% steel, and 10% zinc and some composite material.

 

[WeekendReloader]

I bought some of the RMR lead last month, but haven't had a chance to melt any of it yet. I'm planning to use some of the 'spaghetti' lead scrap pieces to weight some homemade basswood fishing lures this winter.

 

[kcofohio]

https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/rmr...llet-cores-approximately-12-brinnel-hardness/

FWIW, RMR sells lead from reject bullet cores at about 12 BHN for $1.62/lb for the 24 lb. quantity, with a bit of a price break for larger amounts. This cost doesn't factor in the THR discount. I'm a fairly new member and I hear Jake is a good guy so I didn't pester anybody for the discount code just yet but I recently ordered a bit of this to get my feet wet in casting. I already have a Lee mold that I picked up to make hot glue bullets powered by primer only (learned about those from @Obturation on here) and have slowly been gathering the rest of the goodies to cast.

In my case I'm more interested in the process of casting than a cost savings. I truly enjoy brass prep and all other aspects of reloading and I suspect casting will be the same.

The description says 2.5-3% antimony. There isn't any mention of tin. I would ask to know if tin is present.
Still, that is a good price.

 

[Howland937]

---
If he can get a hot enough pot, and some purified aluminum, magnesium, and copper, he can make Zamac.

Chances are, I won't be making anything but a mess and an unhappy mama that thinks I already spend too much time on my "hobby". I'll see if my boss cares if I take them, and try to help out anyone nearby who's more needy than I.

 

[mstreddy]

OP, if you are looking into casting, I'll recommend the Cast Boolits site. There is a ton of information on the hobby, and the Buy-Sell-Trade forum is very active. Lead pops up frequently for sale on there and the going rate is around the $1.30 - 1.50 per pound. Used molds and casting equipment are also very active as well and you can likely find what you need for not too much $$.

 

[CraigC]

I wouldn't do anything because of the current shortages. This is all temporary.

 

[WestKentucky]

I started a thread VERY similar a few days ago. I’m taking the plunge. Academy has the 4lb Lee melter on sale right now, but I want a slightly larger pot. I estimate my bullet size average to be roughly 120gr so that means that if I can use roughly 1/2 of the depth of the pot to dip lead then I would get about 120 bullets made before I had to stop and melt more lead. A bigger pot seems sensible, because at 200 gr you would realistically get like 70 bullets made before you were down to not being able to dip again. With a 2 cavity mold that wouldn’t take long. With a 6 cavity mold it REALLY wouldn’t take long.

 

[AJC1]

If I remember correctly you live in Alaska where casting could provide other useful capabilities. Sinkers, jigs downriggers and other fun stuff.

 

[glockgod]

I cast my own bullets years ago using borrowed equipment. Have slowly accumulated enough stuff to start again. My reasons are to expand the enjoyment I get from handloading.

 

[FROGO207]

Howland937 if you find a caster that needs lead you might be able to trade the lead for a reasonable amount of cast bullets in return. This makes your effort more worth your while.

 

[Howland937]

Howland937 if you find a caster that needs lead you might be able to trade the lead for a reasonable amount of cast bullets in return. This makes your effort more worth your while.

That thought had occurred to me also. It's a mixture of all sorts of weights. I'd really have no clue how to tell lead from zinc but I'd be willing to learn.

 

[mstreddy]

Howland, go to the cast boolits site. There are a few threads on telling lead and zinc apart. A method I used, was with diagonal cutters. Lead will be cut, zinc will not. Of course steel is magnetic. A lot of zinc stick on weights, though not all, will be marked with the Zn, some of the clip on WW may or may not be.