To cast or not to cast

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I've been reloading for a couple of years now and have progressed to the point where I am interested in casting bullets. I have my doubts about whether I should pursue it or not. My main reason would be the economy of casting my own bullets but surely we know that economy is directly proportional to the cost of materials. I don't count the cost of equipment personally. (I'd probably just blow it on a nice bottle of Scotch and some steaks anyway!) If I can't save a good amount over plated bullets I would just as soon use those if it weren't for these pesky panic situations that cause components to evaporate.

So, how are those of you who cast getting your lead? The more I look at wheel weights the more I realize that they are increasingly zinc or iron. The scrap dealers are probably going to scalp me and I have no other real sources of lead that I know of.

I suppose I'm really asking for unconventional sources of lead that is suitable for casting bullets. I'm located in Houston, Texas so if there is anyone local that can shine a light on some lead for me I would appreciate it. I've thought about trying to trade a bunch of worn out brass and old primers plus some aluminum for lead at a scrap yard but those guys seem like snakes to me. Pretty sure I'd come out of a lopsided trade.
 
I began casting right before I joined this forum. My first post was the casting machine I built in '05. Getting lead was not the problem but how to make them efficiently.

I have had the best results with cold beer and "kids" 21 or older that work at small tire shops.

The bearms at local gun ranges after matches have been looking pretty good lately though.
 
Spot lead is about ninety cents a pound now. You can generally get wheel weights, whatever from your scrapyard for between 60-85 cents a pound.
 
Okay my math using 1000 124gr bullets is nearly 18# of lead for ~$16 @ spot. Not bad figuring that the last box of Berry's was about $70.

Wish I could go back in time. I worked at a tire shop for years during high school. We had wheel weights everywhere. I remember loading boxes into the trucks of whoever asked for them.

I have noticed quite a bit of lead and copper on the ground where I shoot at steel. Not sure if the range(annual dues club) uses that or not.
 
You can find 1 pound wheel weight ingots on castboolits.gunloads.com from members sometimes. If you mine the berms, you're gonna need to alloy the stuff - jacketed bullets tend to be dead soft lead, not good for most cast bullet use.
I love casting, do it often. Right now I am experimenting with a hard alloy in 7.62x39mm that seems to be working quite well.
 
Yep the lead is going to be your #1 priority for sure. If you can find one of the independent tire shops as mentioned a nice incentive might be a couple dozen fresh kolache's or some ice cold brew. I'm in the H-town area as well and have purchased most of what I have through folks on the forums. My initial month or so search for something reliable only turned up about half a bucket of WW's and I quickly found out I was in a cast rich area and way behind the retired folks who already had their source ironed out. After driving around town burning up high dollar gas I figured out I was coming out cheaper to buy online and have it dropped at the front door.

One little tip, if your are buying a quantity(multiple 60'ish pound boxes), or having regular shipments delivered, give your postal worker a little heads up. Sometimes I have had to haul my 2 wheeler down to the PO to pick up a "heavy" package and it was more trouble than I really wanted to go through. I simply left a note on the box that I expected heavy packages and most times had no issues with it sitting on the front step when it arrived. I also threw in a gift card to one of the local eating joints to show my appreciation after she delivered close to 1K in a 2 month stretch.

Most of what I acquired has been the large isotope cores. I was getting them from a member over on Castboolits for $65 per medium flat rate with 2 cores. They weigh in at around 32# each, and the alloy needed nothing added in to pour great bullets for just about everything I shoot. Sadly though he left this world early this year, and has been greatly missed for sure. Every once in a while they still pop up from one or more members but the price has increased, mostly due to their travel expense or simply the commodity price. Still with the increase I don't see where getting a known alloy that needs nothing, it is overly cost prohibitive.

If you pick any up off e-bay be sure to look at the past buyers feedback and make sure your getting what your paying for. Nowadays it seems that some are simply smelting everything that melts down and this might lend itself to getting some zinc loaded lead which is useless for pouring bullets.

Also the recovered bullets gained form backstop mining is great for general shooting, just don't try and run it hard. It might need a little tin added in to get a good fill out but in general it will do 80% of the most loaded handgun calibers in target type loads. Fit is the key. If you find a good source and DO need to harden it up using some chilled shot can get you good results depending on the antimony content. As for the tin, most simply use 95-5 solder that you can pick up at the hardware store. A little goes a long way so you don't have to invest a small fortune in pure.

Hope this helps.
 
I have done quite well at the local scrap yard regarding lead. Most of it has been pure or nearly pure lead for about $.65 per pound. I have bought my high antimony lead and solder from individuals on the cast boolits website. With what I have from various sources, I can make any alloy I desire. And, you can't beat the price.

Don
 
Also if you mine the range berms try to get a equal amount of cast Boolits to mix with your jacked bullets. I have done this before and it works fine. Another thing I would do is sell the copper jackets to the scrap yards they bought it as #2 copper at $2.30 a pound. Saving it is part of smelting the used bullets. You just don't want to store it where kids might play in it.
Flip
 
I'll start looking into my sources. I know a few people at tire shops that might help but it is a national chain. May be difficult.

I found a guide that I downloaded about a year ago when I first got interested in casting. Life happened and I never got around to it. It looks very detailed. It is called:

From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners by Glen E. Fryxell and Robert L. Applegate, Foreword by John Taffin

It is a PDF and can be found here: http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_textonly2.pdf
 
Check at the Plumbers Supply houses around Houston. They sell pure lead ingots at pretty good prices. It comes in a five ingot string weighing in at 25 lbs. Really good lead.
 
Seafab Metals in Casa Grande, AZ, certified bullet metal. Good people. We buy it occasionally in the 62 pound pig, and a buddy re-smelts to 1 pound ingots.
 
Call Lead Products Co. near downtown Houston - 713-224-9546. They sell an alloy that is 92% lead, 6% antimony, and 2% tin for about $2.00 a pound. This is the same alloy used by Friendswood Bullet Company for their commercial cast bullets.
 
I like the Lead Products Co. info. I travel to that area once or twice a month picking up other materials. I may swing by there to see what they've got. $2.00/# is acceptable to me for ready to cast lead. It will get me started anyway. I can accumulate the scrap as I find it for a decent price.
 
Casting my own bullets brings the not so expensive down to the outright cheap. The last 23500 bullets I have cast cost me no more than $0.03 each, that is $30.00/K and includes lube and as close as I can figure electricity.
 
I tried some cast bullet I bought, and the residue left behind by the lube drove me batty. For that reason alone I am sticking to plated lead bullets to be cheap.

I kind of think that if reloading is a hobby on top of shooting, casting is a hobby on top of reloading. I'm kind of maxed out for time AND expense. However, I would like to learn how to do it, in case I ever really need to.
 
It is definitely another hobby in itself. I have been casting for years and enjoy it. I use mostly wheel weights. At one point the printers quit using lead and there was printers lead available for a while cheap. My son has an auto store, and he keeps me in wheel weights. No charge. I have a friend who makes bullet lube from bees wax and some other things. Since I keep bees, I trade him some wax for lube. With both lube and lead coming at me no charge, I can shoot pretty inexpensively. Casting for 45, 44, and 357.

Yea there is fuel, and tools to consider. You will want a sizer too. Time and a place to do it. I cast outdoors on the patio so the smoke and stink goes away in the breeze.

I have at times bought some tin from a supplier for correcting some soft metals I had.

You will have to consider it. It has certainly been worthwhile for me.
 
I've been shooting wheel weights for 40 plus years.Lately wheel weights are getting hard to get because of demand.To streach my wheel weight supply(about 60 lbs of clean fluxed ingots ),I've been mixing it 50/50 with clean fluxed spent pistol range bullet lead.If kept at about 750 FPS for the .38's,800 FPS for the .45 auto,and 1000 Fps with the .44 mag,the tumbled lubed bullets shoot very well with little or no leading. hdbiker
 
If it weren't for centerfire rifle, I wouldn't have started casting. There's very little savings going on with pistol bullets unless you get free or really cheap lead.
 
There's very little savings going on with pistol bullets unless you get free or really cheap lead.
Click to expand...

Well that depends on just what your loading for, and the availability of what you want to shoot.

Loading for things like the 41 mag, 45 Colt, and 454, where most folks only have one possibly two bullets that your even interested in, much less have on the shelves when you decide to order, is a BIG factor in why I started.

With casting, I control the supply, and of course the demand as well, so things usually work out great. Cost to me is a factor but I see it like putting gas in the truck or fuel in the tractor, I will pay what I have to in order to get where I am going, or to get what I need to get done, done. I don't have to like it though. Paying $35 per box of 100 bullets whether cast or not is just about cost prohibitive unless it is something REALLY special that I really have a need to use, and the .257 115gr Partitions are about the only thing I can really justify.

While I have enough jacketed bullets sitting on the shelf after some 30 years of slowly buying here and there on the cheap, I will probably not ever run through most of what I have. I am still pouring my own simply due to the fact it is interesting, and I get to play with different bullets I have never messed with before. Not to mention working with the different alloys in order to fine tune the wonderful HP's I am pouring as well.

Then again I don't just go out and shoot hundreds of rounds a week or even a month anymore. I am hunting with most of my revolvers, and working up cast loads to fit the needs. I only have maybe 4 rifle bullet molds, and just broke one of them in this past weekend. If it shoots as well as what I have heard it should, well I will be off on another tangent.
 
have cast the .457 RB for my ROA but my time is more valuable ..ordered 2K RB for $195 delivered to my door ...still got the lead, pot & molds & 650# of lead if things get worse
 
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