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Posted: 12/20/2011 5:27:51 AM EDT
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Over the past few years, I have seen alot of threads on various forums, concerning the
fact that casting lead has become, or is becoming, or will become, or may become hard to find. I haven't really seen much talk about the future availability of commercially-cast bullets. Would anyone care to offer any insight? I know that non-toxic jacketed bullets are becoming somewhat more prevalent... |
I was cleaning up my old reloading data book and had line cards from several lead bullet manufacturers in SOCAL. I couldn't find any of them on the Google. 
The last time I bought lead, I got it from Graf and Sons. I am interested in hearing who is currently making lead bullets, too. It looks like Meister and Oregon Trail are still around. At a quick glance, it appears that the plated bullets I have been using are cheaper than lead. SASS rules require lead only, so that is the only thing I still load, the 158gr lrn or lfp in .38spl. |
| Missouri Bullet Company and Sutters Choice. MBC I buy direct as most do. Sutters Choice from MidwaybackorderUSA when desperate. Which isn't often and my fault forgetting that I'm out of MBC. MBC ships sameday. So if order is placed today, order arrives tomorrow. |
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Missouri Bullet Company and Sutters Choice. MBC I buy direct as most do. Sutters Choice from MidwaybackorderUSA when desperate. Which isn't often and my fault forgetting that I'm out of MBC. MBC ships sameday. So if order is placed today, order arrives tomorrow. They also are the cheapest I have found, and they aren't ridiculously hard. |
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I buy from Missouri Bullet Company (MBC) as mentioned above, but I buy the majority of my lead bullets from Mastercast Bullets out of Carbondale, IL. Mike @ Mastercast is good people and his prices are very reasonable. I've bought thousands of bullets from him and he is a pleasure to work with. My pocket book definitely agrees with his pricing.
With that being said, I've not heard of any of the commercial casters having issues getting lead. Yes their prices have gone up a little with the increase of lead prices, but still very reasonable. Shooting lead is the only way I can keep reloading costs down. My costs for 9mm Luger & .45 ACP is about $8.50/100. No way I can do that with plated and definitely not with FMJ. |
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I buy from Missouri Bullet Company (MBC) as mentioned above, but I buy the majority of my lead bullets from Mastercast Bullets out of Carbondale, IL. Mike @ Mastercast is good people and his prices are very reasonable. I've bought thousands of bullets from him and he is a pleasure to work with. My pocket book definitely agrees with his pricing. With that being said, I've not heard of any of the commercial casters having issues getting lead. Yes their prices have gone up a little with the increase of lead prices, but still very reasonable. Shooting lead is the only way I can keep reloading costs down. My costs for 9mm Luger & .45 ACP is about $8.50/100. No way I can do that with plated and definitely not with FMJ. +1 for Mike and Mastercast hes a nice guy and gets the product out quick. If there are issues he takes care of them ASAP. |
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I cast all my rifle and pistol bullet,good non zinc/steel WW's are getting harder to come by but some are still around. What I dont get for free on on the cheap I buy lead alloy at my local scrap yard for about 35 cents a lb. on average.
a couple more commercial bullet casters for the non caster. http://www.dardascastbullets.com/ http://gardnerscache.com/index.html http://www.meisterbullets.com/asccustompages/products.asp?cartID=&affID=&categoryid=22&navParent=0 http://www.hunters-supply.com/shop/index.php?cPath=25 http://www.mtbaldybullets.com/ http://www.beaniescastbullets.com/castbullets.html http://www.thebulletworks.net/Lead-Cast-Bullets-s/1.htm http://www.montanabulletworks.com/home.html There are many more |
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I've had good experiences with S&S Casting.
http://shop.snscasting.com/main.sc |
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I appreciate all the replies, but I think many of you have missed my question. I know there are plenty of commercial casters out there; I was wondering about their future viability, in terms of whether the raw material may dry up. No, their raw material will not dry up since they buy lead from foundries. Commercial casters will continue their business for the foreseeable future. |
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I appreciate all the replies, but I think many of you have missed my question. I know there are plenty of commercial casters out there; I was wondering about their future viability, in terms of whether the raw material may dry up. No, their raw material will not dry up since they buy lead from foundries. Commercial casters will continue their business for the foreseeable future. This!! They don't have to go to tire shops like we do. They go straight to the foundries and they're not going to dry up any time soon. |
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I appreciate all the replies, but I think many of you have missed my question. I know there are plenty of commercial casters out there; I was wondering about their future viability, in terms of whether the raw material may dry up. No, their raw material will not dry up since they buy lead from foundries. Commercial casters will continue their business for the foreseeable future. This!! They don't have to go to tire shops like we do. They go straight to the foundries and they're not going to dry up any time soon. And to add to this, you can see the price,price history, inventory, and inventory history in real time on the web. No indications of anything and lead price and availability is better in 2011 than in recent years when adjusted prices are considered. |
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Agree. It was great when I was a kid and could make downrigger cannon balls for the trouble of going around to the tire guys, but your time has to be worth something too.
I didn't care what I used for slingshots or black powder balls in those days. If it melted and I could cast it, it was either going hunting or fishing. If you find a lead source in your area, you can see what grades of scrap lead they can sell you. Sometimes the processed led saves lots of time since it doesn't need to be cleaned up or fussed with. You also don't pay for shipping this way. For the extra money, you can just alloy it up the way you want it and spend less time getting the lead mixed right and more time casting bullets. Once you know the hardness that works for your guns, you probably want to make bullets rather than play with correcting contaminated lead scrap. |
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