Cast boolits and reloading

[Crawdaddy]

I have finally gotten my reloading room the way I want it and have spent the last 8 or 9 months casting my own boolits (bullets) and working up loads for every rifle pistol and shotgun I have.

Sometimes I could get a certain bullet weight to shoot right so I would go up or or down in weight.

I built a pretty good stock pile of ammo for each gun.

I did it for a few reasons.

Ammo and components got scarce there for a while
It is a lot cheaper than factory rounds
It is good plinking ammo
The bigger bullets are great for hunting.

Does anyone else cast and spend a lot of time at the range?

How much ammo do you keep around? Stock piles or just what you need for the next hunt or trip to the range?

Here are some pics.

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[Crawdaddy]

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[Predator]

I am highly contemplating expanding my reloading into casting bullets. Unfortunately, there are a lot of components I need to acquire before undertaking that venture.

[Karl.Luhr]

One thought that I remember reading a long time ago was that loaded ammo has a very long life. The author stated that powder and primers are far more likely to have problems if left just sitting on the shelf. So his idea was to do as you have, stock up components then load up the ammo and use it from your stockpile. Besides it is fun to do when you can't get to the range for actual shooting. The only downside is if you are someone that is a handloader. I am a reloader, not a handloader. A handloader taylors each bullet to a certain rifle, has the bullet adjusted to sit a couple of thousands off the lands. The handloader has also matched the powder to the rifle by trying multiple powders at various charge levels. I reload mainly my 30-06 ammo using Win760/H414 powder at 52 grains behind a Nosler 165BT bullet set off by a Federal primer. Handloaders have told me that I could gain fps by changing my powder to XXXX or YYYY. I don't care about the extra fps my load is light and at the bottom of the recommended range, my important it shoots well in all my rifles. I can't remember my 45acp reload stats except it was Unique powder until I was talked into buying 8# of Herco. The only variable is whether I am loading 230gr Hornady JFP or 230gr Hard Cast Lead FP.

Karl

[Hunting Man]

Many years ago, I reloaded shotgun shells but never got into rifles. Now a heck of a lot older I have a desire to do some reloading. I think, the 250-3000 would be fun to experiment with. I know cost is pretty steep to get started but with retirement a few years away maybe reloading would fill some time lags. I bought a cedar chest to store my current ammo and I aquire ammo based on firearm purchases and when I can find sales. Seems ammo has doubled in cost in just the last couple of years.

[Predator]

factory ammo has a little bit more than doubled since I reloaded in the early "80s". reloading components also have significantly increased to the point I have been told many have gotten out of it. I have costed out components for .45 acp and can still reasonable reload for far less that buying over the counter factory loads. and if I am successful in finding a source for lead, I will save much more casting my own bullets.