Getting Started?

[Blue Duck]

How much would it cost to get started casting for one caliber?   Starting from scratch and trying to keep the cost down, whats  realistic?

[mdi]

You should get enough equipment to make good cast bullets for under $100.00. My bottom line set-up was a 2 qt. stainless steel pot (swiped from mama). A Coleman stove I already had (when I was little, I made sinkers on the kitchen stove, but some will recommend casting outside). I bought a Lee mold, 2 cavity, for my .44s and a Lee dipper, and I already had a "mold mallet" (plastic head hammer). I used sawdust for flux, stirring with a paint stick. I got a slotted spoon from the kitchen when mama wasn't looking, but a Dollar Store is a good supply for casting/smelting tools. Aluminum muffin pans are good for ingot molds. I used alox for tumble lube but I bought a Lee size die soon after (that comes with alox). This was my basic starter set. I had access to wheel weights and scrap lead for free.
With this set, I made several hundred .44 caliber bullets for my .44 Magnums. One difficulty (?) is temperature control with a Coleman stove, but that just takes a little practice. I soon went to a Lee Pro 4 20 lb. bottom pour.
 
Part of your starter kit should be a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook (I believe the 3rd Edition is better for beginners, but the 4th will do). Be patient and practice, practice, practice. You can just dump the bad bullets back into the pot, so practice...

[Blue Duck]

Thanks mdi, I appreciate your input.

[bilmac]

I started with about the same thing as MDI. But I started pre Lee molds so my Lyman mold was a pretty major expense for a broke college kid. The stuff MDI  bought probably cost around $30.

If you are doing rifle bullets a bullet mold and dipper will probably keep you happy for quite awhile. If you are casting for a pistol I would suggest a 6 cavity Lee mold and a Lee production pot. Sizing dies are kind of optional. Tumble lube bullets are designed to be shot without sizing which saves you a lot of time. I shoot a lot of non tumble lube bullets unsized. I have a lubri-sizer, but I have gone back to a melting pan and a homemade cake cutter for some of my high volume pistol bullets.

[Land_Owner]

I "sat on the fence" for a long time, reading, reading, reading, and asking questions.  I was tentative at first until others on GBO encouraged me to take the plunge.  When I was ready, after being given 1,000 pounds of free lead, I purchased a steel pot (out of date propane tank half) for $25, 3-pound "V" shaped ingot moulds $25/4, was given a gift of a propane turkey cooker (~$30 new), purchased 25-pounds of propane for $40 (enough for ~250-pounds of ingots), begged the tire shops for wheel weights (mostly free), and set about making ingots.  Investment of $90 out of pocket to make ingots of BHN ~12-14 and "dirty" pedegree of components (50-50 WW and lead).

In the meantime, from a GBO Reloading and Equipment Classified Ad (Member) I purchased a single cavity mould with handles (~$20), a double cavity mould with handles (~$25), and asked for Christmas gifts of other moulds and equipment (daughter and SIL gave me a 120V RCBS Pro Melt 20-pound pot >$250 new).

The first ingots were "so beautiful" and so ugly that only their creator could be proud thereof, but I in fact was proud of them!  The first bullets were warped, distorted, unfilled moulds, and EASILY remelted until the mould and spru plate was correctly heated.

I pan lubed the first bullets to a personal dissatisfaction with the method that I purchased an RCBS Lube-A-Matic II (~$150), bullet punches (~$10/ea caliber and bullet nose shape), and sizing dies (~$25/ea diameter), for now upwards of 5 calibers and never looked back.

As all hobbies, this is one that satisfies, significantly bests the purchase of jacketed bullets (which have their place), encourages more shooting with greater flexibility of components, is on "my demand" rather than what is on the shelf for retail sale, and with reused components undercuts the cost of factor bullets by a factor of 10 or more, especially now that any factory ammo one can find is very pricy.

[twoshooter]

What caliber are you starting with?  Lee molds work fine for starters, and will permanently unless you are into high volume or match shooting, but there are some bore sizes that are just easier to cast for.  I find personally that the larger the bore, and a mid weight bullet for that bore size is the easiest to get right from the start.