I stopped at the local Scrap Metal yard today and asked if they had any pure lead. The guy pointed to a mountain of aluminum and said "I think it's over there".
After a brief look around I found about 22 pounds of lead sheet which I bought for about 55 cents a pound.
A long time ago, I bought some Lee ball casting blocks for making .440 and .495 dia balls. These are Aluminum molds with the handles attached and I think I paid about $19 for each of them.
Anyway, the way I figure it, if I cast 11 pounds of .440 balls I'll have about 595 of them and 11 pounds of .495 balls will be about 425 of them.
That will make the cost of balls for my .45 about 1.0 cent a shot and the .50 caliber will be about 1.4 cents a shot.
Cheap at twice the price!
Putting it in real world terms, if I shoot my usual 30 shots at the shooting range the bullets for the .45 caliber will cost about 30 cents. If I'm shooting the .50 caliber gun, the cost of the balls will set me back about .45 cents.
At current prices, you can't even get a candy bar for 45 cents.
Patched Round Balls! Ya Got To Love Um. ::
Those of you who don't own any casting equipment might want to consider buying some.
At the current price of .440 lead balls, 595 of them will cost you about $60. For the .495 dia balls 425 of them will cost you about $52.
Not only will casting your own pay for itself, it's a enjoyable way to expand your knowledge and appreciate the history of Muzzleloading. ::
After a brief look around I found about 22 pounds of lead sheet which I bought for about 55 cents a pound.
A long time ago, I bought some Lee ball casting blocks for making .440 and .495 dia balls. These are Aluminum molds with the handles attached and I think I paid about $19 for each of them.
Anyway, the way I figure it, if I cast 11 pounds of .440 balls I'll have about 595 of them and 11 pounds of .495 balls will be about 425 of them.
That will make the cost of balls for my .45 about 1.0 cent a shot and the .50 caliber will be about 1.4 cents a shot.
Cheap at twice the price!
Putting it in real world terms, if I shoot my usual 30 shots at the shooting range the bullets for the .45 caliber will cost about 30 cents. If I'm shooting the .50 caliber gun, the cost of the balls will set me back about .45 cents.
At current prices, you can't even get a candy bar for 45 cents.
Patched Round Balls! Ya Got To Love Um. ::
Those of you who don't own any casting equipment might want to consider buying some.
At the current price of .440 lead balls, 595 of them will cost you about $60. For the .495 dia balls 425 of them will cost you about $52.
Not only will casting your own pay for itself, it's a enjoyable way to expand your knowledge and appreciate the history of Muzzleloading. ::