Cast bullets- Are they worth it?

[Mikej]

Mike ,
One of these days I'll have to put it all together about how I really have saved a lot of money by reloading. From my $30.00 a month days in the military reloading 30-06 range brass in the barracks with a Lyman 310 nutcracker, to where I am now. It has been quite a trip.

I'm on the same "Trip"! Where I believe I AM saving money. Most of my materials were purchased during the good days between 2012 and 2017, I'd say. I have been making some buys in the last few months to make sure I'll have components for some time.

 

[Catfishmoon]

It's just another rabbit hole to explore in this wonderful hobby!

I agree with that comment... Lots of good information regarding cast bullets in this thread.
Something I did not see mentioned is the exceptional ability of "hard" cast lead bullets to penetrate, making them often used in ammo designed for protection against bears. That same concern is why they also make a good choice in a defensive round if a person uses a smaller caliber like .380 acp that is not noted for reliable expansion of hollow points. Many hard cast lead bullets will penetrate completely thru a large adult male in winter clothing even from a shorter barrel.

 

[ageingstudent]

I agree with that comment... Lots of good information regarding cast bullets in this thread.
Something I did not see mentioned is the exceptional ability of "hard" cast lead bullets to penetrate, making them often used in ammo designed for protection against bears. That same concern is why they also make a good choice in a defensive round if a person uses a smaller caliber like .380 acp that is not noted for reliable expansion of hollow points. Many hard cast lead bullets will penetrate completely thru a large adult male in winter clothing even from a shorter barrel.

I'd also point out that with a good powder coating one can use a softer alloy and get some deformation at those lower velocities without leading. I've been experimenting with how far down the scale I can go. I have to cast small batches of slightly softer alloys. I haven't had as much time to devote to it lately as I would like.

 

[CLT65]

I decided to try and beat the cost of copper gas checks, (aprox. $35.00k) for my cast bullets, (which I cast out of my old SCUBA weghts) and bought a gas check cutter. $100.00

The good old gas-check cutter - I almost went down that rabbit hole a few years back. There's that do-it-yourself instinct in me that really, really wanted to make my own gas checks from free aluminum scrap that I could get from work. But the logic side of my brain fought back. The math just didn't pencil out, no way it would ever be worth it unless I really enjoyed the process and had lots of extra time to waste.

Logic won out, and I'm glad it did. I don't need more hobbies, but less. I don't think I've cast any bullets in nearly a year, and am tempted to start selling off some molds and gear. When it stops being enjoyable, it's no longer worth it.

 

[Capn Jack]

What do you do when, the ammo cabinet is full, the bullet boxes are full, cases are all sized and there's no place to shot?

Pellet guns? (Several), AirSoft? (Yup), Other than the occasional sea gull trying to mussel in when I feed the crows, but now after having had a few plastic B-Bs bounced off of them, they take off when they see me.
I think I'll go out and finish taping that barrel I'm working on.

 

[ageingstudent]

What do you do when, the ammo cabinet is full, the bullet boxes are full, cases are all sized and there's no place to shot?

Pellet guns? (Several), AirSoft? (Yup), Other than the occasional sea gull trying to mussel in when I feed the crows, but now after having had a few plastic B-Bs bounced off of them, they take off when they see me.
I think I'll go out and finish taping that barrel I'm working on.

There's always fishing . Just ask the Caveman haha.

 

[Capn Jack]

I only fish when the Humpys are running. They're dumber than I am, so I can catch them, but only a couple for the wife as I don't eat fish. My things are crab and prawns, but it's too cold tho take the boat out. The project now is making a breachblock for a kid sized muzzel loader.

 

[P7M13]

Argh,
Pulled out the RCBS casting furnace to pour some .266 for my 6.5 Swede. It's been a coon's age since I last did this.
Thermometer seems busted. The pot thermostat was set at 700°F, the thermometer was reading 900°.
I got the mold to a nice temperature, and the lead temp seemed right, but the flow never made it to the ribbon, just a drip-drip-drip, which of course shows as "melt too cold" in the castings. They all looked like shizzle. I turned up the temp to see if the flow improved, but then the bottom stopper never sealed and it was always dripping.
Since I don't think I've ever cleaned this pot (got it used), I dumped out the lead (~10 lbs worth) and there was funky slag crusted to the bottom. Cannot imagine what -- Tungsten (W) ?
I'll clean it up, get a new pot thermometer, and try it again. Also, cannot find my ceramic blanket to cover the pot for when I'm warming the mold.
The wife got me a new Lee casting furnace a few years ago. Dunno why I'm too stubborn to unbox and use it.
All in all, a frustrating evening.

 

[RVTECH]

I'm on the same "Trip"! Where I believe I AM saving money. Most of my materials were purchased during the good days between 2012 and 2017

Ditto this!

I have been stocked up fairly well for the last several years and only buy on occasion now when I 'feel' l may need something.

With regard to saving money I never got into reloading to 'save' money, but as an extension of my interest in guns, hunting and shooting however we reloaders DO save money in a small way by not driving around looking for ammo - like I remember many complaining about during past shortages.

Ok, don't start in with 'online purchasing' , as yes that can offset the traveling around issue but during times of shortages online retailers were short as well.

Regardless reloading allows me to create better than factory ammo, loading's that are simply NOT factory made, and all while in the quite confines of my home.

 

[nammac]

Reloading time is Zen time, everything else gets blocked out. It's good to be single focused, actually mentally relaxing.

 

[RVTECH]

Reloading time is Zen time

DItto X 3!

 

[gmerkt]

The good old gas-check cutter - I almost went down that rabbit hole a few years back. There's that do-it-yourself instinct in me that really, really wanted to make my own gas checks from free aluminum scrap that I could get from work. But the logic side of my brain fought back. The math just didn't pencil out, no way it would ever be worth it unless I really enjoyed the process and had lots of extra time to waste.

I've been thinking, beer can aluminum is pretty soft. Can't you get one of those circular punches for leather work in a suitable size and stamp them out with that? Then put the disk between the bullet base and the punch and push. Might work.

 

[gmerkt]

Pulled out the RCBS casting furnace to pour some .266 for my 6.5 Swede. It's been a coon's age since I last did this.
Thermometer seems busted. The pot thermostat was set at 700°F, the thermometer was reading 900°.
I got the mold to a nice temperature, and the lead temp seemed right, but the flow never made it to the ribbon, just a drip-drip-drip, which of course shows as "melt too cold" in the castings. They all looked like shizzle. I turned up the temp to see if the flow improved, but then the bottom stopper never sealed and it was always dripping.
Since I don't think I've ever cleaned this pot (got it used), I dumped out the lead (~10 lbs worth) and there was funky slag crusted to the bottom. Cannot imagine what -- Tungsten (W) ?
I'll clean it up, get a new pot thermometer, and try it again. Also, cannot find my ceramic blanket to cover the pot for when I'm warming the mold.
The wife got me a new Lee casting furnace a few years ago. Dunno why I'm too stubborn to unbox and use it.
All in all, a frustrating evening.

Casting bullets guarantees a lot of fussing and fiddling around, even when things go mostly right.

Saving money casting bullets is an elusive concept these days if you have to buy anything. Including lead. Molds cost a fortune, if you use a real sizing tool, sizing dies and top punches are ridiculous in price. Even the Lee push-through sizers, you need one per diameter, they add up and you have a whole lot of red, round containers left over. I'm thinking you really need to do a lot of shooting to offset the cost of this activity. Ability to cast obscure bullets is the exception.

When I downsized a few years ago, I let go of all my casting stuff except a basic iron pot and dipper that I kept. I had a Lee furnace, it worked okay but the valve was, as you observe, fiddly at times. If I do any of it again, I will simply use the Coleman stove, the iron pot and the dipper. I've actually considered casting some .45-70 bullets. But I ordered some online instead. As seldom as I fire .45-70, that makes the most sense.

 

[gmerkt]

Other than the occasional sea gull trying to mussel in when I feed the crows,

Seagulls can use handouts, too. When I feed the crows, I make sure I take enough stuff along to offset seagull theft.

 

[ageingstudent]

Argh,
Pulled out the RCBS casting furnace to pour some .266 for my 6.5 Swede. It's been a coon's age since I last did this.
Thermometer seems busted. The pot thermostat was set at 700°F, the thermometer was reading 900°.
I got the mold to a nice temperature, and the lead temp seemed right, but the flow never made it to the ribbon, just a drip-drip-drip, which of course shows as "melt too cold" in the castings. They all looked like shizzle. I turned up the temp to see if the flow improved, but then the bottom stopper never sealed and it was always dripping.
Since I don't think I've ever cleaned this pot (got it used), I dumped out the lead (~10 lbs worth) and there was funky slag crusted to the bottom. Cannot imagine what -- Tungsten (W) ?
I'll clean it up, get a new pot thermometer, and try it again. Also, cannot find my ceramic blanket to cover the pot for when I'm warming the mold.
The wife got me a new Lee casting furnace a few years ago. Dunno why I'm too stubborn to unbox and use it.
All in all, a frustrating evening.

Is the Lee furnace a 420 model?

 

[P7M13]

Is the Lee furnace a 420 model?

Dunno. All I know is it's the 10lb-er, not the 20.
I'll look at it when I get home.
My RCBS is a 20 pounder.

 

[ageingstudent]

@P7M13 420 is a 20 lb pot. As @gmerkt said the valve can be a bit fiddly but it works quite well actually. I give the valve a little extra attention keeping it clean so mine rarely leaks. I would guess the 10lb pot has a similar valve. I don't even use a thermometer anymore, I can just watch the alloy and how it behaves.

 

[JRuby]

I am just getting into shooting lead bullets out of a rifle. I have shot a lot out of pistols. The magic number for lead out of a handgun was to keep it under 1000fps. Prevents or reduces leading. Now the rifle has gas checked bullets .002 diameter over the bore. I am not quite sure how to shoot these lead bullets. Any guidance would be appreciated. Can I use lead bullets for fire forming cases?

 

[Mikej]

Regardless reloading allows me to create better than factory ammo, loading's that are simply NOT factory made, and all while in the quite confines of my home.

Personally, I can not say that I make better than factory ammo. Maaa-bee, if I shot a lot more? And chrono'd everything, with every caliber. And kept meticulous notes of carefully worked up loads....? My brain doesn't work that way though. The boost to my psyche from the process of the reloading game is my drug. Seeing a great-for-me 3 shot group is the HEAD rush.

A lot healthier than cocaine too!

 

[solv3nt]

I'm on the same "Trip"!

Potland strikes again.