Why?

[rocketattack]

Why do you guys's, ladies too, cast or swage your own? Is it because you can control the quality better then mass production. Is it cost effective? Is it that you can design your own? Please enlighten me. I myself reload my own rounds and enjoy shooting what I assemble. I enjoy assembling with such precision.

[Beagle333]

Is it because you can control the quality better then mass production.

As far as lead bullets, yes. I think I can make a better lead bullet than is commercially available by mass production. I can make it with a specific alloy to the use... to make it more functional, and I can apply different lubes for different applications (speeds and pressures). I can't compete with an XTP, of course, but that's a different animal.
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Is it cost effective?

Oh definitely. My .357 bullets cost me 2.6 cents each, and that is after I have to buy my lead online at $1.15/lb.

(Now, if you get crazy collecting custom molds, it isn't as cost effective, until you own the mold for a while... and you quit buying every new one that comes out, like some people. )
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Is it that you can design your own?

That is for sure! I love that I can make about two dozen or more different bullets just for my .357, using various pins, settings and mold blocks, and as far as designing my own... I do have some Lyman and Ideal molds that weren't originally designed as hollow points, I have custom pins for my NOE hollow points that aren't available off the shelf, and I modified the design on one Accurate Mold when I ordered it.

[m&p45acp10+1]

For me it for the cost effectiveness first. The second, and great part is I can make as good, or better than most of the comercial offerings myself, at a fraction of the cost. Most comercial cast bullets tend to be too hard, and slightly under sized. They tend to lead up a bore something fierce.

I do enjoy casting, and reloading my own. It is a hobby in, and of itself.

[David Bachelder]

It saves me money. I found all of my lead in my Dads garage (long story). About 600 pounds or so. I bought the pot and the molds, I pretty much cast all of my pistol rounds now. I get the alloy the way I want it and start pouring. Next thing you know you have a few hundred of them.

[Mike / Tx]

Well you know, it has somewhat become another extension of a very overzealous hobby I got started in way back in my youth.

It's something I SHOULD have started doing in my teens, but put off until a couple of years ago, and I'm making up time as fast as I can.

Like mentioned with only a mold or two in your favorite calibers, and some sort of stash of alloy, you can generate plenty of bullets to shoot year round for a LOT less than if you were buying them. Not to mention situations just like what we have been going through where the shelves are bare.

As for being able to produce as good a bullet as I could buy, well once upon a time I would have probably argued that pretty hard, but now that I have been down the road to no recovery, I am on the other side of the fence. As to making the XTP or better, well if I wanted it in a jacketed version I would simply get with a fellow I came to know who is selling modified swedging kits, and gather up some of that brass I started saving just for that, and go to it.

As for my home brew HP's holding a candle to them, well, I'm working on that. I don't feel a bit ashamed about the performance I am getting either.

[Rangefinder]

Without even going into performance levels, it's awfully tough to beat paying $0.04 a pop for every handgun I own. Rifles are a few pennies more. For performance? I'm not sure I have the kind of time to sit here and explain the vast differences in what you can achieve with casting. They are many.

[snuffy]

rocketattack, WARNING if you decide to get into it, it's addictive! The casting, that is. If you love to experiment, then you'll be addicted in short order.

Yes you can do better than buying commercial cast bullets. They don't have the time to sort or do excessive quality control like a home caster can.

As for your next question, expense, you can get set up for one caliber for around 150 bucks with a lee 4-20 bottom pour, a lee mold, lee sizer with lube, and a few extras. (that's IF you have about 30 pounds of suitable lead). Right now, everything shooting related is hard to find. The same goes for reloading and casting. It might take 6 months to put it all together.

[rocketattack]

I have been reloading for three years now on .270, .380., 10mm. I am wanting to start up a custom bullet manufacturing company. It would make solid lead and jacketed bullets at any weight using any legal metal material (No depleted uranium). It will start small with one or two sizes of caliber.

[PawPaw]

Originally Posted by Rangefinder

Without even going into performance levels, it's awfully tough to beat paying $0.04 a pop for every handgun I own. Rifles are a few pennies more. For performance?

^^What he said^^. I figure that I'm paying about a nickel a pop for handgun ammo, about seven cents a pop for .45-70, and about a dime a pop for .30-30, only because I put a gas-check on my .30-30 ammo. So, I'm punching out good, serviceable, rifle ammo for $2.00 for a box of 20. I haven't fired a jacketed bullet through my .44 magnum, or my .45-70 in many, many years. It's too easy to make the bullets, lube them, then assemble the ammo.

[GP100man]

I have very little to add to the above posts .

Except , it takes up more of my time that I could otherwise be gettin into other troubles .

& I can quit anytime I want ,I just don`t want to !!!!

[A pause for the COZ]

For me it was a money issue, at 1st.
Buying cast is about 1/2 the cost of bulk jacketed.
Casting your own is at least 1/2 of the commercial cast bullet price. When you buy your lead.

Thing I found after I started casting. Most commercial cast bullets are just way to dang hard.
There is just no real need for a PB LRN .358 bullet to be 21 to 23bn. ( IMOP)
They only make them that hard to facilitate shipping.

I like mine about 12-15bn. Even with my Cast rifle loads.

Another plus for me... I have 500 pounds of lead under the bench.
Bullet supply is not a issue. I can make any caliber I want, when I want it.

[mikld]

I don't have the slightest idea what my bullets cost. It's a hobby and I don't count pennies. I cast for my .38/357, 9mm, .44 Spec./Mag., 45 ACP and soon .30 cal rifles. I cast because I like to and I enjoy 99% of my casting time (I don't like waiting for the lead to melt). Besides custom projectiles, I have learned a lot about all my firearms.

For me, taking some dirty, greasy, scrap lead and cleaning it up and mixing to get the hardness I want, then casting the lead into molds and finishing the boolit to a custom fit for each gun I own, is the most satisfying aspect of home made ammo, bar none...

[FrankenMauser]

A) I like to.
B) It saves me money. (Theoretically...)
C) I get to use bullets that are not available commercially.
D) I can fine-tune the bullets, just like any other part of a handload.
E) I get a lot of satisfaction from not being reliant upon commercial availability.
F) I can produce bullets sized in diameters that are not available commercially, or are prohibitively expensive to have custom made.


Just a note on that 'saving money' part...
Right now, I'm still upside down in my equipment. If you figure the equipment cost into my 'cost per bullet', it will take a long time to recoup the expense. However, I'm much more comfortable paying for a mold and some alloy for bullets I can tweak to my liking, than I am handing over a bunch of money for poorly-sized and excessively hard bullets being cranked out of 6 different molds in an automated machine. But, of course... the equipment doesn't actually depreciate much, unless it's broken. There's always decent value in it on the used market.

The swaged .430/.432 bullets, though... I've already made my money back on those. Comparable commercial bullets are $0.30 to $0.54 each (and Swift A-Frames come in at $1.08 apiece ). I make mine for 3 cents to 5 cents apiece.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

It's the pride of making something. I have complete control in whether the cast meets my standards or ends up back in the pot. Having not to listen to another's opinion or answer to their input is a perk of casting. Unlike my everyday job.

When I first started casting I had a radio in the garage I would listen too. After a few casting sessions. I found it better not to play the radio as I enjoyed the solitude and quietness more just being by myself. I found it interesting figuring out for myself how to go about casting correctly. These days its all second nature to me now. But I still like the solitude casting provides. As far as the money saved. That has never been a real issue for me to justify my needing to cast. I just enjoy casting. That's all.

[wncchester]

"Why?"

Why not?

Does it matter what others do and why they may or may not do it? Seems the question we have to ask ourselves is if WE want to do it. I've been casting for more than 45 years and I couldn't care less what anyone else does.

[9ballbilly]

FWIW I'm chomping at the bit to start casting myself. I already reload and can't wait to include making my own bullets. The cost savings is great, but I mainly want to do it for self-satisfaction. Dang, I think I'm addicted and I haven't even started yet!

[Whisper 300]

Not sure I saw this line of reasoning in prior postings, so, along with all the other reasons to which I agree, my additional thought is to have a skill set and equipment that will allow me to continue to shoot if/when the government or political upheaval or plain old economics will not allow me to purchase bullets.

I may not need to cast NOW but what does the future hold?
500 # of lead and my casting equipment does not take up very much space in my barn and one day it could be a real source of barter.
Lead could be as good as gold or a side of beef.
Just sayin'.

Gary

[Unclenick]

Rocketattack,

I think Frankenmauser hit a big one in number 5. Bullet fit is often key. For example, most guns will shoot OK with the industry standard 0.001" over nominal groove diameter bullet, but a .45 Colt revolver with chambers wide enough for either .451" or .454" bullets will often shoot much better with bullets near to .454". A .44 revolver I have with 0.0025" over groove throat diameters shooting 0.002" over groove diameter bullets is the most accurate cast bullet shooter I have.

If you are going to get into the cast bullet business, take a look at how Beartooth bullets makes several sized diameters available to order for each. Their bullets are very hard, partly to accommodate the variety, but if you size them correctly they don't lead. Most people size very hard cast bullets too small.

[skizzums]

soooo much cheaper......

[Unclenick]

Note: I moved the alloy price questions into their own thread, as they were OT.

[Boomer58cal]

Is it that you can design your own?

It's not cheap but you can definitely have custom molds made. Here's my 900 grain bullet for my .62 caplock. Pic at link http://TheFiringLine.com/forums/atta...0&d=1361936719
Left to Right...... .44 mag for scale, .619 900 gn. 440 gn(R.E.A.L. bullet).575, 150 gn. .308, 53 gn. .223 V-max
The mold cost about $200 12 or 13 years ago.

Boomer