Why shoot cast bullets ? Besides being inexpensive,fun, easy on the barrel, satisfying to make, great penetrators, more different styles available than jacketed, easier to clean up after, I don't know why ? Then again, why not !

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jeff

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Bullet weight and diameter are constant, velocity is always a diminishing variable. I like the hunt to be over after the shot.

Don't forget higher velocities grain for grain vs. jacketed while still maintaining safe pressure levels.

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Jack
Petaluma, CA

Stranger,
* * * * *  Touche', but of course ...... !

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jeff

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Bullet weight and diameter are constant, velocity is always a diminishing variable. I like the hunt to be over after the shot.

Cast n Blast,
I have been casting bullets for about 50 years,and I have'nt saved a dime. I did shoot a heck of a lot more then if I had stuck with jacketed bullets.
I cast bullets for the same reason that I handload ammunition. It's a challenge;an oppertunity to get more involved in my favorite sport.
And don't be afraid to hunt Whitetails with cast bullets. This past Fall,I flattened a buck at 50 yards,with a Shoulder shot! I ate both shoulder roasts,Too.
Frank

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Frank

Kragman71,
* * * * * * * Greetings, sir ! I have been been casting for only a little over 10 years myself. Hope I can make it another 40 to match your record .

You hit the nail on the head when you stated you wanted to get more involved in your handloading by casting your own bullets. Nothing is more satisfying than getting a bunch of dirty, nasty old WW (or other choice of alloy) and turning it into nice, shiney, well filled out bullets. And then to have those bullets reloaded by yourself and see them chew up the X-ring, or pulverize a rock, or drop a game animal, hoo boy!, we're talking poetry in motion.

It feels good to be self sufficient and tap into our roots as riflemen, and do as our forefathers did. If only there was a way to make primers.....

Take care Kragman71, your a man after my own heart.

* * * * * * * * * * * * Jeff

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Bullet weight and diameter are constant, velocity is always a diminishing variable. I like the hunt to be over after the shot.

I have a flintlock, for real primitive "reloading." No primers required!

Now if I could just make my own powder.

Where do you buy saltpeter?

I guess casting my own lead would be first though.

So far I buy cast bullets.
I would like to design  some hard-to-get molds (in .410), like wadcutters, etc.: stuff I don't see around much, in weights I like.

Some day I'll get some Beartooth, but their .41 Rem is heavier than I need right now (just plinkin' lately).

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If there's one thing I'm sure about, it's MY opinions!

cast-n-blast,
Besides all the above mentioned reasons I started casting because in the late 70's there were NO factory made cast bullets available for the .45 Colt.
And darn near anything else either.
Tons of .45 ACP bullets, mostly the 230 gr RN, or the Saeco 200 LN SWC. *But for the .45 Colt, virtually nothing. *
I wanted to shoot two basic loads. *One a factory equivelent load, and two a Keith bullet load. *So, I bought moulds. *Some used, some new. *And I cooked my own.
Wheel weights mostly, but ocassionally other alloys. *
The great part about it is that I can cast and size my bullets to correctly match the chamber throat dimentions of my revolvers. *
Even with the good cast bullets on the market today, this is sometimes hard to do.
When I move West again I think I will set up and start casting my bullets again.

Casting your own bullets is one way to get more deeply into the shooting hobby because it gives you a greater degree of control over the final product and it certainly gives a sense of satisfaction and pride knowing that you did it yourself.

Doing away with primers and going the blackpowder flintlock route is an even greater expression of the hobbyist's art. It brings you back to another, bygone era along with all its challenges and rewards.

For some of us who want to really get back to basics nothing quite beats the thrill and sense of accomplishment that goes along with mining your own lead. Studying the geology, staking a claim, sinking a shaft, following a vein, smelting and refining the ore...

I know it takes a little doing to get started, but hey, it's an activity that can bring the whole family together and isn't that what it's really all about?

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Jack
Petaluma, CA

Hi, Elrod:
   Old Walt at NEI has a 195 grain .411 wadcutter.
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/frame.html

   Watch ebay, etc. for a Lyman 199 gr. 41026 or a 220 gr. 41027 HB wadcutter mould. H&G had a 175 gr. #255 WC as well. All three are no long made.

Bye
Jack

Thanks, Jack!

I bookmarked his site and will definitely get back to him.
Just sent for some 220gr from Midway, got some BlueDot, then started papers on a .32 mag Vaquero on the way home!
Sheesh, who said reloading was cheaper?

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If there's one thing I'm sure about, it's MY opinions!

Hi, Elrod:
   From what I understand old Walt has a several month backlog and keeps threatening to retire tomorrow. It might pay to get your foot in the door sooner rather than later.

Bye
Jack

Gotcha!

Thanks again, I'll get on it right away.

.41 mag is an orphan, but it's a good'n.

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If there's one thing I'm sure about, it's MY opinions!

You people are talking about the ultimate challenge of using a flintlock. I felt my life would not be complete until I owned and became proficient with a flinter. Two years of agony later I found a sucker and traded it for a TC Cherokee.
Do you know why the pictures of mountain men with flintlocks always have two horses?
The second horse carries all the equipment that it takes to keep a flinter shooting.

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Remember, half the people you know are below average.

As they used to say on Monty Python, "And now for something completely different."

A number of arguments in favor of cast bullets have been made so far in this thread that are hard to dispute. The sense of personal accomplishment in taking game or a match win with bullets you personally created is quite satisfying. As several have mused, probably only surpassed by the muzzleloading hunter or the archer who makes his own bow and arrows. I would also agree that cast loads are generally easier on the firearms as well. Moreso in rifles than handguns but I do agree it is there.

All that said I would disagree with several points made in support of cast bullets. Please don't think my comments are in any way disparaging to anyone or their opinions. I'd just like to add my own personal beliefs to the mix so that anyone contemplating casting or extensive cast bullet use understands both sides of the story. I think my own experiences in casting have shown that for many shooters jacketed loads are superior to cast.

I do not believe there is a significant cost savings in using cast versus jacketed in most cartridges.To get above average accuracy, consistency in same, and minimal barrel leading requires very high quality cast bullets purchased from outfits like Beartooth or careful, time consuming home casting. In either case you will be paying indirectly for the time it takes to create quality cast bullets. Time is the most precious commodity there is. If you don't have enough to dedicate for everything casting requires then all the actual per bullet "savings" are meaningless. The commercial caster is faced with similar problems of time and the related expenses. Those are of course passed on to the consumer. This is significant and in the long run will pretty much equal or possibly exceed the cost of bulk jacketed and plated bullets. I did a cost comparison years ago of my own home cast .45-caliber Keiths versus jacketed bullets procurred from a leading mail order outfit. If I excluded my time the cost savings was great. But when the time used to gather raw materials, alloy and cast ingots, actually cast the bullets, and then "lubrisize" them was factored-in at even a minimum wage per hour basis the savings quickly disappeared. I don't know how valuable your time is but I believe mine to be much more so than the going Federal minimum wage, so just from this standpoint alone I haven't melted a pot of alloy in a very long time. We can then add the cost of specialized equipment, lubes, and alloy components and I believe you can see that quality casting isn't as cheap as it first appears.

A second point I would disagree with is performance of cast bullets compared with jacketed. I do not think that there is any improvement when using cast. This may sound like heresy but only to those accustomed to comparing "apples to oranges." An example would be something like "My 325-grain, 21 BHN .45 Colts blew through my last three deer like they were made of butter. My old .44 Magnum with 180-grain Sierras never did that!" Well Duh!, they shouldn't and couldn't on their best day. But compare that cast .45 ammo to similarly loaded 300-grain FA, *XTP or FMJ rounds and you have no difference at all. When really big or dangerous game is hunted the same applies. In fact excepting visiting American sportsmen with a penchant for big bore lever actions and revolvers I don't think there are more than a handful of hunters in Alaska, Asia, or Africa that would consider cast bullet loads in any cartridge for dangerous game if jacketed rounds were available. No less a heavyweight cast bullet notable than Ross Seyfried has doubts about using such loads to "fight wars" with Cape Buffalo. Let's face it, hard alloys are nothing new at all. (What is in the shooting world?) Yet the professional hunters of Africa and bear guides in Alaska I've read about almost never use anything but jacketed regardless of cartridge, nor have they for generations. If their heavy lead loads did the job better they would have kept them. But almost to a man every single one switched to jacketed cartridges like the .338-calibers and up. I think that's significant from a pure performance standpoint.

I hope no one takes offense from my opinions as there is none intended. I simply believe that from performance and cost standpoints quality cast bullets are not superior to similar jacketed or plated bullets.

Bill Lester,
I agree with you,100%!
That's why I noted that I never saved a dime by casting bullets. If I were to figure my time into the cost of shooting,I would never cast bullets or handload ammunition.
The good news is that most of this "work" is enjoyable for me.
It's the same deal for hunting.I enjoy eating venison. I also like most kinds of meat,but nothing that I ever ate is any better then prime beef,and I can buy it a lot cheaper then it costs me to bag my own venison. The good news is that I enjoy all that sweat and strain,that is called "Hunting".
Whenever I hear someone complain that hand loading or hunting is too much work,and they are thinking about quitting,I answer:"there's no money in it,so if you don't get any enjoyment from it,don't do it".
Maybe I'm a cousin to the folks who wear sackcloth and flog themselves with a whip.
Frank

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Frank