I'm kind of PO'd and I am not even casting yet...

[Land_Owner]

...why are bent copper cups, gas caps, stamped by the BILLIONS, as expensive as three part (cup, anvil, explosive) - engineered primers???

That makes NO SENSE.

Sure, there was a "shortage" or hoarding (really) of primers recently and the price shot from ~$17/1000 to ~$34/1000 [DOUBLED].   

But GAS CAPS?  COME ON MAN!  There is no shortage of copper (is there?)!  And stamping out BILLIONS of copper gas caps isn't ROCKET SCIENCE (is it?)!!!  Are they being horded too?  Someone (or many) out there in Retail Sales Land robbing us blind (well not me yet as I am still on the fence - but PO'd about the price of such a seemingly simple item).

Can someone help me understand?  Maybe I am just being THICK...

[qajaq59]

Go over to the cast bullet forum and talk to Blammer. He can do a lot better on the price then the stores. I just got 30 caliber GCs for $17 per 1000. You can also buy a tool and make your own.
Qajaq59

[Nobade]

+1 on that! There's no need to pay Hornady's stupid prices for gas checks when you can buy better quality for half the price from Gatorcheck. Get signed up on the Cast Boolits group buy page and get them from there.

Another thing to do is what I have done, learn the loading tricks so about 80% of my shooting is done without gas checks. It saves quite a bit of money when you shoot as much as my family does.

[qajaq59]

Land_Owner, I pretty sure you are going to be casting for a 30-30 so you might want to research the Lyman #311041 mold. That is a really good GC cast bullet when paired with IMR 3031 powder. It'll certainly kill a hog if you whack him behind the ear.

Qajaq59

[Land_Owner]

Thanks guys for helping a fellow caster wanna-be.  I am thinking 380 ACP, 357 Mag, 45 ACP, 45 LC, 223, 30-30, and 270.  Yep, that about covers all of my current calibers.  With 800# of lead on hand and picking up wheel weights as I go, I am still on the casting fence looking over this "new to me" hobby and deciding where to jump in.  The gas checks at $34/1000 were a "reality check" of unsuitable proportion.  I don;t even know whether I will need them...or not.  but I am checking under all of the rocks just to be sure.  GC the 30-30 is a good way to go as well as the 270 at 2550 fps.

[zoner]

FWIW....I'm shooting my m94 32 Special with the RCBS 170 gr FP plain base bullet with 4759, 1600fps, deadly accurate,minimal recoil. With the tang peep sight this load will do anything i need to do at the ranges i'd shoot at game with this gun and iron sights( 100-125 yds). I am having no leading issues at this velocity....Mike

[Reverend Recoil]

No gas checks are needed with paper patched bullets.

[mdi]

I guess it's jes supply and demand. I read somewhere that he same company makes gas checks for both Lyman and Hornady (could be wrong though). I cast and shot a LOT of boolits before I started using gas checks. Of course the velocities were in accordance with the boolit size and alloy. I had some really soft wadcutters that couldn't go much more than 800 fps or so in my .38 Spec.

[SHOOTALL]

Land_owner , I don't buy gas checks but i do buy copper . Anytime a war is on it goes high. We can't get a firm price on copper pipe and fittings that is more than a day old . The electricans are telling me the same thing. I seldom use gas checks . I even shoot 30-30 with out them .

[retmech]

Stick with the plain base bullets in the handgun calibers and you will do just fine.  If you want to approach jacketed velocities in rifles you will need them but if you stay in the 1400-1600fps range you can do just fine without them.

[bagdadjoe]

Very simple...once they find we'll pay the inflated price, why sell 'em for less?  Just like gas. I have to whole heartedly agree....why do they cost more than.....a penney?  Must be easier and cheaper than making a laminate coin???

Look at the price of .22 ammo....geez.  I fortunately stocked on .22's back during the first "panic" at less than $10 a brick. Might have to do it again before they go to $5 a box.

[qajaq59]

The only good thing that is coming from the manufacturers jacking the prices out of sight is now there are several people developing tools so we can make our own. They were pretty basc tools when they first came out. But every so often someone thinks of a better and quicker tool to make them. I think eventually very few guys will be buying the GCs at all.  If we can cast bullets I'm sure making the checks will eventually be just as easy.

[yukondog]

Like Land_Owner I'v been on the fence too long and ready to try my hand at casting, I think I'm going to go the make my own gas check route, I hear that makeing them is pretty simple. I'm shure that I'll have 1000 questions. Not wanting to hijack this thread I'll start a new one.

[jlchucker]

I shoot cast bullets in everything I own except for my 7mm-08.  I haven't bought a 7mm mold and sizers yet but probably will.  The other rifles that I cast for I may as well not even bother with jacketed bullets any more these days.  Cast works just as well out of 30-30, 35 Remington, 44 magnum, 357, and 45-70 in the woods that I hunt in.  I agree that gaschecks are out of sight pricewise.  The next time I order some it will most likely be from Blammer.  By the way--I've got plain-base style molds for each of my rifles as well, and wouldn't hesitate to hunt game with plainbase cast bullets.  After all, the scarcity of bison herds by the million is largely due to plainbase cast bullets.  Get out your rifle, work up an accurate cast bullet load, and stick with it.  Don't worry about needing lots of velocity.  Cast bullets at moderate velocities (1500-1600 FPS range) can penetrate a whole lot more stuff than gunmag writers would have you believe. Your choice, Landowner.  Buy a box of Hornaday checks for 35 or 40 bucks, or buy a plainbase mold from Lee, cast up some 158 gr plainbase bullets for your 357, and go out and whack down a deer  . Or, order some checks at a reasonable price from Blammer, get a Lee 150 or 170 gr mold for your 30-30, and go whack down a deer with that.  You'll never give Hornaday or Lyman another thought for gaschecks.   

[qajaq59]

I have boxes of jacketed bullets out in the shop that I've had for 4-5 years now. But I go thru at least a 100 pounds of lead just for my 30-30 cast bullets every year. They're easy to cast, fun to shoot, and cheap as dirt. At the club I belong to now most everyone shoots them. But at the range where we used to live, people looked at them on the bench and shook their heads. That is, until they saw the target.

With a little fussing they'll shoot as good as the jacketed ones. And if you can't drop game with them, you're aiming at the wrong spot.

[Land_Owner]

Shooting in the wrong place?  You mean we're not supposed to shoot at those little dingle berries?

[Larry Gibson]

Land owner

The cost of the GC, even at $33/1000, isn't all that bad considering the cost of jacketed bullets.  Most of us who shoot lots of cast bullets have learned to use PB cast bullets where practical and then don't mind the GC'd bullets for the high end loads.  While I still buy and use lots of commercial GCs I also make my own for .22, .30, .31, 8mm and .35.  I mostly use .014 aluminum flashing in 4"x50" rolls I get from Ace Hardware for $20 - $25.  I can make 10,500 GC from that roll in .30/.31/8mm.  With the tools I have I can sit in my easy chair and make 400 - 500 per evening while watching TV with the wife.  Not counting my time or the cost of the tools the GCs I make cost me about $2 - $2.50 per thousand.  Some use beer cans, etc. but I've found that material to be too thin for my uses.  I can live with that cost and use a lot of those GCs. 

Now I can buy brass .015 shim stock for $30 per 6"x100" rolls or copper .015 shim stock for $70 and make GCs every bit as good as Hornady's.  However, I only get 1600 GCs per roll.  Do the math and see what those GCs cost   So factory GCs aren't such a bad deal. 

Larry Gibson

[qajaq59]

Shooting in the wrong place?  You mean we're not supposed to shoot at those little dingle berries?

Nope, you only shoot 'em there if you're going to keep 'em as a pet, and you want them to be passive. LOL

BTW, I got those Gator gas checks from Blammer.They look good, they fit good, and they were half the price vs Midway.

[lee1954]

I now shoot more loads  at a slower speed  - less powder,, and save some GC  --  I can get to about 1350  FPS in a 30 cal.  Although 1000 is safe It can be pushed a little.... 
   I realy  like the Gateor Idea,,  just haven't got My Dollars together at the right place...  If there was a .30 cal group buy here I'd be in......

  Then there some calabers that shoot plain bullets better....  .38 spl. and 32-20

But all in all  Gas prices are way out of line -but I still drive  -- because I don't want to walk all that way  ..

I shoot paper targets  a lot,,,, so this may not help with what  other want out of cast bullets..

[45-70.gov]

i seldom bother with  gas checks

my  357  180g mold has 3 pb  and one gc  cavities

most of the gc go back in the pot

the  280g  44 mag  molds.....never  use the  gc mold either

the  cheapest  gas check  is  NO GAS CHECK

[Dezynco]

Hey I just thought of a good use for a penny!  Beat it out flat and stamp a couple of gas checks from it!  Talking about cheap!  I bet you could bet 4-6 gas checks from one!  LOL!

I once saw a comedian who said that instead of pennys, we should get little mints.  That way we won't have a jar full of them sitting around and everyone would have fresh breath!

[qajaq59]

Hey I just thought of a good use for a penny!  Beat it out flat and stamp a couple of gas checks from it!  Talking about cheap!  I bet you could bet 4-6 gas checks from one!  LOL!

That would likely work, except that some screaming liberal in DC would put you in jail for defacing money. LOL