Balls?

[Charley Hart]

Ok. I have various sources for lead balls...Cabelas... James Country Mercantile (Liberty, MO) and just about any where I run across them! I need them more than ever as I have grabbed a 45lc conversion and loaded up a few 45s with round ball and they were great plinkers!

I would love to cast my own, but I already have 12 hobbies and the 13th just might get me in divorce court!

One question I have is has anyone found a place on-line to buy them in bulk for a decent discount?

Charley

 

[bibletotingunslinger]

I will keep an eye open, last good deal I got was at Gander Mountain as they were being bought out.
I got 50 cal balls for $1.99/100. I am still shooting them.

 

[marwat06]

National Bullet
Best price I am able to find online.

I have not ordered from them. I have be lucky to find deals at local shops, always deals right after hunting season.

 

[Zonie]

If a man has 12 hobbies, how can one more hurt?
Why, it might be almost invisable with the right explinations.

First off, that isn't an electric bottom pour lead furnace. It's a sophisticated Fondue heater with a semi-automatic dispenser. You put the bread under this area and just lift the handle. That's when the semi-automatic part gently coats the bread. :grin:

The thermometer? Well, it's always nice to have an extra thermometer around the house. See? it even goes up to 1000 degrees, so it will be very handy when the kitchen oven goes on the Fritz. We'll be able to tell the service man just how hot it got before it set fire to the cabinet.

The ladle? Well, that's for people who don't trust semi-automatic dispensers. They can gently spoon the Fondue if they choose to.

The 450 pounds of very heavy silver metal? With all of the hurricanes, these will come in very handy for holding down the house. You'll never have to worry again.

These blocks with the wooden handles? Why, those are special candy making molds. There really good for making hard candy for next Halloween. Ya!. Hard Candy! That's the ticket! We should save a bundle!! :grin:

 

[Charley Hart]

Sorry 12 is the limit.

Not sure I get your post, but thanks for the info.

Anyway just curious if anyone found a decent place to buy bulk on-line? Sounds like that is a NO!

 

[Zonie]

Well, if 12 hobbies is your absolute limit, I guess your stuck with whatever you can find.

If a person is going to use a lot of round balls of a known caliber, the idea of casting them is one to be considered.
The bare bottom cash outlay is to buy a ladle, a melting pot, some lead and a set of molds.

This will cost about $18 for the mold, $3 for a small old pan and $0,75 for a large spoon at a yard sale.
Lead can cost anywhere from $.50 to $2.50/pound depending on where you find it.

If your casting .454 diameter roundballs they weigh about 140 grains so there are 50 in a pound.
That results in a cost of $1.00 to $5.00 per hundred depending on the cost of the lead.

If we choose $3.00 / hundred that saves about $5.00 under the cost of factory made balls.
At that rate, after 400 shots, the equipment is paid for.

I will admit things like a thermometer and an electric pot are nice but, as with most hobbies, these things can come later.

 

[Charley Hart]

Good advice and I have considered casting my own, but I don't want to breath lead vapors. I know it is safe if done right, but to me just not worth it.

I guess my best bet is to find a local caster.

Thanks.

 

[bibletotingunslinger]

My wife divided my Pistol and my Rifle into two hobbies, I can't hold a straight face when she says

"Just exactly how many guns do you have?"

:redface:

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't think it would be healthy to put your nose over a lead pot, and inhale, but if you have a well ventilated room, or can pour lead outdoors, I can't see where you will have any problem. I have a good friend who has been a commercial bullet caster, casting in his den off the living room, and more recently, in his basement. He has cast millions of bullets and has suffered no ill effects. I did the casting for my father when I was a teenager, and I cast thousands of bullets for .45-70, .44, .357, .32-20, .30-06, and .62 Round ball. I have suffered no ill effects, save a scar on my hand when some lead splattered and dropped on the back of my hand. Man, does that stuff burn! I doubt that you are going to get into casting that much. Set up in your garage, with a window, or door open, and have at it. If you are still concerned, you can always have a blood test to see if your lead content is elevated. A good hood with an exhaust fan, a simple mask over your mouth and nose, and a good pair of glove so that you don't handle lead with your bare hands should be all the precautions you need.

 

[Slake]

I get that questions from my lovely bride from time to time...I qualify the guns..like if a certain gun came from a dear departed friend that's he's gun not mine technically and so the count goes into categoric confusion

 

[Bill Bryan]

At our monthly club shoots there are always people swaping. A couple of weeks ago a young man swaped several hundred 50 cal round balls for a pistol loading stand. I you have that many hobbies maybe a trade with someone in your area would work.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I tend to shy away from mail order commercial cast ball as I have found the quality to be rather poor. I'd rather spend a bit more for Hornady, Speer or Buffalo swaged ball, with fewer rejects. I've never understood why one can buy name brand swaged and lubricated pistol bullets in bulk for half the price of same brand round balls by the 100's but thus it is. Wish we could convince Hornady to offer round balls in 500 or 1000 packs but till then--- oh well.
With any mail order of lead the shipping cost adds considerably to the bottom line.

 

[Charley Hart]

Good point shipping would probably kill the deal. I stumbled into a partial box and an umarked box at a local bp store. Grabbed them up. Luckily the unmarked ones where .454 which is what I prefer.

I think I am just on mission to find as much as possible in case rumors of a lead increase is true. So far the prices are about the same.