Just a show of hands, how many make their own ammution?

Living and shooting in a small, rural community of 800 people in the 70’s, I either cast my own or didn’t shoot. We had a family business that required us to work every day but Sunday. In Utah everything closes. We only left town for emergencies or a rare vacation. I ordered my first muzzleloader from DGW in 1973, it was a flintlock Kentucky kit in .45 caliber, followed shortly after by another pistol kit of the same caliber. On one of my rare occasions to the city, I spent my hard earned hay hauling money on a Lyman .440 round ball mould. I would pester the local garage station for spent wheel weights (although not the best for muzzleloaders) and salvage old batteries I found at the dump ( not the best for my health). It wasn’t until I moved to the city to go to college that I actually saw factory made round balls you could buy. Since that time, I’ve expanded my shooting to include BP cartridge guns, many of which you can’t shoot unless you cast you own bullets (.577 Snider, Martini Henry, .43 Spanish.43 Mauser and .50/70 Sharps etc.). Besides that, to me it relaxing on a cold day when there nothing to do outside.

Yup.....40+ years

Cast my own RB. Always have. It's part of not being any more dependent than I have to be. When I was doing considerable magazine work, I got swaged RB's from the manufacturers because they were the most consistent I could get, and I weighed the ones used in testing. Sometimes now I cast bullets for the unmentionables.

Thinking of casting my own, never have before. I do have lots of lead in my garage but that's it. What equipment is necessary to begin with (beside molds) and, what casting equipment is preferred once you started casting on the cheap. Trying to get an idea what casting will cost as oppose to buying.

I have everything to start this winter (Time permitting) That said I have been dragging my feet on a lot of things this past year, so who knows if I will get started.

tenngun said:

I started casting at my kitchen stove. Lay down foil around and heat up a few pounds. With damp towels to drop on.
Since then I got el cheapo hot plate and cast off that.
I also have cast off a small fire, or in my braiser.
Just melt one or two pounds at a time
Lead melting furnace cast about a hundred dollars and you can melt I lot of of lead at once.
I like to cast but get bored after a a bit. So I cast a hundred ball or so at a time.
I’ve got Lee molds I can cast on all day, but I bought my first Callahan bag mold about 2012 and since then bought several and cast off them. You can only cast five or ten ball before you have to let it cool so you can hold it. It takes about an hour to run a hundred ball. And I cast at a little fire often for these in a braizer.
It’s pretty neat. I’m in jeans and a teeshirt beside my braizer. But for an hour or so I’m in the tall timber in a camp, or beside a trading post or fort. Just a mini ‘voo on a random day.

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tenngun said:

I started casting at my kitchen stove. Lay down foil around and heat up a few pounds. With damp towels to drop on.
Since then I got el cheapo hot plate and cast off that.
I also have cast off a small fire, or in my braiser.
Just melt one or two pounds at a time
Lead melting furnace cast about a hundred dollars and you can melt I lot of of lead at once.
I like to cast but get bored after a a bit. So I cast a hundred ball or so at a time.
I’ve got Lee molds I can cast on all day, but I bought my first Callahan bag mold about 2012 and since then bought several and cast off them. You can only cast five or ten ball before you have to let it cool so you can hold it. It takes about an hour to run a hundred ball. And I cast at a little fire often for these in a braizer.
It’s pretty neat. I’m in jeans and a teeshirt beside my braizer. But for an hour or so I’m in the tall timber in a camp, or beside a trading post or fort. Just a mini ‘voo on a random day.

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mooman76 said:

Over a fire would be more difficult but doable. The tricky part is consistency of heat. First plenty hot then by the time the lead melts fire starts to die out. You need to have coals ready to keep putting under the pot.

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Thanks for the info. I normally have a fire going all day on the weekends in the winter with a coffee pot on. I think I'll give it a try.

RSbilliard said:

Will you cast over a fire or on a stove? I've been wanting to start casting but I want to do it over a fire. Not sure if I would be making things harder for me.

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Year's ago a hunting friend of mine traded his .45 Kentucky off and gave me everything he cast along with his lee mold. Never got around to casting my own. Gonna try this winter over a fire, the old-timey way. I also plan to spend a few weekends camping on State land here in Michigan. Might turn it into my own mini "voo".

Old Hawkeye said:

Time is a precious commodity. I'd rather spend time shooting than inhaling lead fumes. Read a post here yesterday that said a certain RB could be bought for 14 cents each. If you made your own the lead cost was 8 cents. Amortize the cost of the casting equipment & you are saving nothing for the first few thousand rounds. Hardly worth it, IMHO. I understand that some enjoy that part of our passtime & am not criticizing those that do. It's just not for me.

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I cast at night when it’s too dark to shoot. Most of the 800 lbs. or so of pure lead I have I got for free.
The two electric Lee lead pots I got many years ago didn’t cost much and have paid for themselves many times over. ( I DID open up the bottom drain hole to a little larger size with a drill bit on both of them to get a better flow into the molds ).
I also punch out my own felt wads and cut my own patches and lube them.
Even bust out a few flint spalls once in a while from the local chert that is lying all around here on top of the ground, even in my yard in places ). No way am I going to spend money on things that are so cheap and easy to make myself. The money I save can then be spent on percussion caps and powder that I can’t make on my own.
BTW, I use English flints most of the time, because I have so many of them, but I like knowing how to make substitutes if the need arises.

chiller said:

Thinking of casting my own, never have before. I do have lots of lead in my garage but that's it. What equipment is necessary to begin with (beside molds) and, what casting equipment is preferred once you started casting on the cheap. Trying to get an idea what casting will cost as oppose to buying.

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I started with a cheap cast iron pot. Steel will work also, no aluminum. I made a ladle out of a metal spray can lid nailed to a handle. You can get most of what you need at a thrift store. You need a heat source, coleman stove, turkey frier or a hot plate. if it gets hot enough ect. I drop my castings on an old towel folded over sitting on a bench. You can start out pretty cheap.

I have always cast my own for my muzzle loaders and even make up paper cartridges for my Zouave. Doing it for about 40yrs now.

Many have mentioned the "equipment" needed to melt & cast lead projectiles, but NO ONE as mentioned anything about Safety! In fact, one poster says he does it standing next to his brasier in jeans & a T-shirt. 700 degree lead is a DANGEROUS substance & playing with it is not to be taken lightly. A full protective apron, welders gloves with high gauntlets, face shield & head cover should be worn when casting. Hot lead doesn't just burn the surface of your skin, it burns through your skin & into your muscle. A drop of water or sweat hitting molten lead will turn to instant steam & spew hot lead. A tiny drop of molten lead hitting your eye is a SERIOUS issue! Throwing together a pot, home made ladle & some damp towels & calling it casting equipment is a recipe for disaster. If you have or have seen someone burned with hot lead you will understand what I'm saying. Be SAFE everybody, so you can enjoy shooting that lead. Just my two cents.

I cast outside on a bench that I have behind my shed, with a small fan blowing over the pot and away from me. I have never been effected by the fumes regardless of what my family members claim. <G>

Thanks
OR

Well I’ve never got too much on in safety clothing, ran a lot of ball in t shirt and jeans. Ran ball by a camp fire in breech cloth and moccs on hot summer days back when I didn’t feel to self conscious to wear one.
But I only melt a couple of pounds at a time. In over forty years I have never splashed myself.
OSHA had yet to be invented when ML were in vogue

Sidney Smith said:

Juat wondering what the ratio of muzzleloader enthusiasts we have who make their own lead versus those who don't.

Ive been rolling my own since I got into the sport.

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started casting 35 yrs ago. way to save money, and get better connected to the sport

Never even thought about safety stuff.
Lots of stuff on the farm will kill you if you don't use your head.

I use an old electric hot-plate, or if it's too cold for it to work, a propane burner. For a lead pot I use an old stainless saucepan, and a dipper with a copper bowl to it, and leather wrapped iron handle. (homemade rig again.)
This type of set-up has worked forever. No expense at all, it you don't count the propane or electricity.
Yes, a camp-fire will work when burned down. That's the way we first did it.

I got into casting about 10 years ago. I mine the berms at my gun range for lead, and I have a friend who is always on the lookout for wheel weights.
I cast for both ml and cartridge guns.

Started in 1969. round ball for cap and ball revolvers and minie for Zouve. I now cast for .62 and .69 with .58 coming soon!
LBL

When casting I wear prescription glasses, and that’s it.
No gloves, or face shield. Do it outside or in a garage with the door open, sometimes with a fan on.
Occasionally get a painful little piece or two of lead spatter on my arm or the back of my hand, but it is no big deal. Just peel off the spatter, and drive on. Been doing it for over 50 years.
Had a big splatter/ small explosion a few years ago when a big brown flying bug flew into the top of the lead pot and it’s body juices cooked off. Lead spatter everywhere and on everything. Spent an hour cleaning it up. I now cover the top of the pot with a piece of thin sheet metal in bug season.
Eye protection of some sort is a must.

It’s not nuclear waste, or high- explosives, people.

as a little lad I made a ball mould from wet clay and tried it straight away. LOL!
I don't do that any more, but can still see it bubbling and spitting lead all over the place!