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Bullet Casting Pro's and Con's

15K views 76 replies 20 participants last post by  76Highboy 
#1 ·
Today I went to MidwayUSA and priced out the components needed to begin casting lead bullets. This list included everything from the Lee Pro 4 20lb furnace to the mold handles, and of course two sets of molds. One for .357, and the other for .44. The total comes to approx. $240.00.

The question is this. I currently have about 400lbs of lead in my garage, maybe more. Next month I should get about 100lbs more. Is it worth me getting into casting, or should I sell the lead, and take the $240.00 and invest in production bullets.

For several years I was sending lead to a relative and he was casting it and sending half of it back, and keeping the other half. It was a joint effort and we both benefited. He has plenty of ammo now so has no need to cast it, and I am sitting on a heap of bullets, but sooner or later they will be gone.

My thoughts: I know I will need to restock sooner or later, but overall would it be best to buy production, or bite the bullet now and buy the equipment and begin casting. I just want to be certain before I drop the cash. I will shoot guns until I die, so in my mind I am justifying the purchase. I just want to be sure.

So, is it worth the investment? I am looking for pro's and con's.

Thanks guys.
 
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#77 ·
I believe I saw a thread recently that the last lead smelter in the US has closed. I had a feeling that lead would a little difficult to come by eventually so I accumulated about a ton and a half. About 50% wheel weights and 50% pure lead. Now I need to sell some since it's a little more than a life-time supply for me. I use a 40 lb gas fired pot to cast. I eventually decided that it was not very effective to cast for modern rifle loads. I only cast for pistol and black powder rifle loads as well a musket balls and round balls for the ML guns.
Very interesting.
 
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