Cost of casting a 9mm rd

[Furious]

What is the cost, for those of you who cast, to cast a 124gr 9mm round?

 

[center442]

What is the cost, for those of you who cast, to cast a 124gr 9mm round?

Really hard to say. It depends on how you want to measure your costs:

1) Raw material - scrap lead, wheelweights, etc.
2) Equipment - furnace, mold blocks/handles, sizing dies, bullet lube, etc.
3) Electricity to heat the alloy
4) Your time

I've been casting for many years but I've never kept track of my total $$ outlay nor the amount of bullets I've cast, so I really can't give an accurate estimate. I will say that many of my handguns have seldom seen a factory round, and I've fired thousands and thousands of rounds over the years.

If I were to try to compute my cost per cartridge now I wouldn't even factor in the cost of my cast bullets. I figure the equipment has long since paid for itself and most of my scrap metal was purchased (or obtained for free) back in the 1980s. My dad and I once bought several hundred pounds of range scrap for about about $40, but those days are long gone. I'm still casting from some of that material.

I look at casting as a hobby by itself, so I don't put a $$ cost on my time. The real benefit is that I shoot a whole lot more for the same amount of money that I would have spent on factory ammo.

 

[gerrycaruso]

cost of 9mm bullet

1000 cast lead 9mm bullets is $71.00 shipped from the place I get them in Ma.I usually buy several thousand at a time and save $10.00 a thousand by picking them up. If you can cast,size and lube 1000 in a day and the lead is free, you saved $71.00. I can't put a value on your time but it might be better spent casting rifle bullets which are much more expensive.

 

[Fixxah]

I can cast a couple thousand .45 LRN or truncated 230gr. in half a day I think. It is worth it to me since I enjoy it and I can do as many as I choose to stock up say two .50 cal. ammo boxes full to be sized/lubed as I see fit. Unless you live next door to a gun shop you have to figure in time and gas as well. I just got tired of calling places and being told that there were no lead bullets for sale.

I can get WW by the bucket from a few places. It is not weekly unfotunately. If you shoot a lot look into getting started. If you don't like the process or spending your time in the dungeon then just buy 'em.