The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Cast Bullets Price Point...Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I had someone ask me if I was interested in making them several hundred 500 grain .470" rifle bullets. I shot him a quote of 50-cents apiece, plus shipping out of wheel weights. Was I a bit high, or about right, or lowball? Rich Buff Killer | ||
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I did the math on my cast wheel weights "ww" and found to cast my Lyman 160GR 30 cal was about .002 per bullet. But I payed $10 for 150lbs and a estimated 20lbs wast. The next thing to figure is that will the rounds be loaded for him or just the bullets? After doing some math I figured it to be about 3 dollars for a box of 20 rounds for comparison of jackets you buy at hell....i mean wal-mart. Note to keep in mind, the WW weigh more then the Lyman #2 so my 160's really way about 170GR Be Safe and Best of Luck, James Here is a post I started about the cost. http://forums.accuratereloadin...=851104599#851104599 Disabled Vet(non-combat) - US Army NRA LIFE MEMBER Hunter, trapper, machinest, gamer, angler, and all around do it your selfer. Build my own CNC router from scratch. I installed the hight wrong. My hight moves but the rails blocks 3/4 of the hight..... | |||
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Depends on how you value your time and what gear you already have. Alloy cost should only be a cent or two a bullet. If you have to buy a mould, sizer, GCs, etc, those need to be figured in. I'd be satisfied with 15 cents a bullet for my labor after all the other costs were met. It is a good citizen's duty to love the country and hate the gubmint. | |||
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Without shipping at your price of 50 cents a bullet that would amount to $250 for say 500 bullets. I'd say you're tighter then a frogs ass and that's water proof.  | |||
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What's your time worth? I used to sell the occasional big bore .475 and .512" pistol bullets for $20/100. Then I figured out the labor I put into turning ww's into ingots, casting bullets, sorting out the good ones, lubing/checking them. I was figured I was making about minimum wage. I haven't sold cast bullets for many years, I have better things to do with my time, like cast bullets for myself. Figure out what your time is worth and how much time it takes you to make those bullets. If $.50 a pop is the point at which it is worth your time, then thats what you charge. If they guy doesn't want to spend that much, he is free to get his own mold, casting equipment, and put his time into the endevour. I can't seen subsidizing other folks shooting hobby by selling cast bullets with no real profit. But to each their own. __________________________________________________ The AR series of rounds, ridding the world of 7mm rem mags, one gun at a time. | |||
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Actually Rich I saw a similar bullet from one of the commercial casts at 50/$10 plus shipping. Depends on how much you get your ww's for. | |||
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well, WW here in SW Idaho are 20-25 cents a pound. Figure about 90% of the weight is alloy. A 500gr bullet runs 14 to the pound. There is diesel to go get WW, and propane to smelt them on a turkey cooker and dutch oven. Big bullets eat bullet lube, and even a Priority Box costs $$ plus a trip to the PO to mail them. The guy told me that they had paid 30-cents apiece four or five years ago when they bought the last batch, and that that guy had gone out of business. Add paying $150 for a good Brooks mould... I got $250 before I cast the first bullet in costs, minimum. Rich Buff Killer | |||
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If the fellow will give you that and feel satisfied, then go for it. | |||
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Yeah but you are not going to allocate all of that hardware to one job. It will not be used up or worn out by casting one lot of bullets. Either you will use it for other customers or for casting your own bullets or you can sell it. Using that logic you would have to add in the cost of your truck too and that would clearly be unreasonable. | |||
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sr, right church, wrong pew! This guy wanted .470 bullets, don't suppose you know anybody who has a rifle in that caliber...me either. This would be a mould, sizing die, and top punch, dedicated to a specific bullet. The propane is not recyclable either; it burns up. It is a specific cost to make these bullets, not something I make so I can just make a few more. Yes, the truck operation is tax deductible if the income from the bullets is. I am curious though, have you ever cast bullets for a rifle? If you use wheel weights you have to melt them, and make ingots. Then you have to melt them again to cast the bullets. come visit me some afternoon and I will let you make 200-300 bullets for my 375, 416, or 458 caliber rifles. I ahve extended this offer to everyone who talks about wanting to learn. They never come back for the second lesson. Rich Buff Killer | |||
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I would if you lived closer! Always up for learning something I may have over looked or something new! Best of luck with you. If I run acrost anyone who is looking for that bullet DIA I will send them your way  Disabled Vet(non-combat) - US Army NRA LIFE MEMBER Hunter, trapper, machinest, gamer, angler, and all around do it your selfer. Build my own CNC router from scratch. I installed the hight wrong. My hight moves but the rails blocks 3/4 of the hight..... | |||
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rich i know exactly how you feel everyone wants to shoot the finished product. they think casting is cool for about 10 minutes. then when you throw all their boolits back in the pot ,and say to them maybe now you are ready to cast some good ones. they lose interest real quick. and never start a new guy out smelting 500 lbs of ww's......... | |||
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talk to me, I picked up 2300lbs this morning for 25-cents a pound. My nephew wants to learn how to cast good bullets. He started the smelting end of it after lunch. Rich Buff Killer The nice thing about talking prices is: if you feel the outlay is too much $$$; don't buy it. | |||
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Yes I cast bullets for .40-65 and .45-70. A .470 bullet is no different except for the mold and sizer die and top punch if required. True .470 owners are not common but if he owns such a rifle and if the guy wants the bullets badly enough he can help pay for the start up costs for his bullets. Otherwise I would not touch the job, since the .470 mould would not have much use beyond that single customer. This is no different than any other manufacturing process. You have non-recurring costs and recurring costs. Cost Accounting 101. Is a license required to cast and sell bullets? Knowing the BATF 101. | |||
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SR, yes, I told him I would need front money to buy the Brooks mould, sizer die and top punch...I think he balked at that. There is a reason the fellow that was making them for 30-cents apiece went out of business. Rich Buff Killer | |||
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when i was doing small time business i really had to be persuaded to do a new mold. it was based on either i could use it personally and perhaps still sell enough to pay for the mold. or be able to sell enough initially to pay for the mold. lead ,lube and time involved. it was supposed to be part time and [kinda fun too] it turned into neither plus a pita. | |||
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Lamar, gotcha! For some reason, this guy was willing to pay a few dollars apiece for jacketed; but thought cast were simple and cheap to make. Oh, well!! Rich Buff Killer | |||
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Quite a few years back I was approached by a man wanting some 250 SWCs for his .44 Special. In short he wanted 3K... I quoted him a ridiculously low fee and he bit... Worst mistake I ever made. I got them cast, but that is a lot of repetition with a 4-cavity 429421 Lyman, a Lyman 45 sizer, etc. I can only say that ladle casting would be even worse... I very seldom cast for anyone else any more. Won't say I won't, just don't do it very often. And be very thankful you can still get wheel weights. Here in TX they have all but totally dried up. | |||
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yeah, got that! One of my best tire store chains went to the steel ones as of 01-01-09. That is the part that will be the makor problem, paying for the steel ones so I can throw them away! Perhaps the price will go down at the smelter for pure or alloy... Rich Buff Killer | |||
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Another long range anti gun plot...that seems to be working. Doing away with lead. They are going to have to make much larger wheel weights out of steel or iron to compensate for a smaller lead alloy one. Oh well..where's are next source of lead going to come from? | |||
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