Fair Prices for Boolits?

[squirrellnuttz]

Hey Guys,

I'm a new caster, just getting into it. I've casted up a bunch of .45 195 gr. and 124 gr. 9mm bullets for a buddy.We're in the load testing phase of things. However, others have expressed interest in buying some of my surplus production. I have been using wheelweights as a source material, and of course these cost me to get,as does lube, equipment etc. so my question to you fellas is....how much is a fair price to sell them for by the hundred or so?Of course only first quality boolits would go out the door.

I mean, I'm not gonna get rich off this for sure, but paying for some of my equipment and supplies by casting some extras would be good. Just unsure of fair prices.
Any input would be appreciated.

[JesseCJC]

Wouldn't be worth your time in my opinion. I would instead offer them up as barter for brass, powder primers or what have you.

Cast 9mm by the 1k is about 35-40 with all the work done. Unless you are on some high volume machine I highly doubt you will recoup anything.

[Hickory]

I use to cast for a guy who was to old to do it himself,
he could reload and shoot with no problem.

What he'd do is bring over the lead and I'd cast the
boolits for him and he'd pay me half of the going rate for cast boolits.

Sad to say he is not with us any longer, but thats how we did it.

[Bass Ackward]

Selling cast is not very productive unless it is the only work you can get. They never want to pay for your time. And I wouldn't either.

Had a guy once bragging to me how clean his guns were. That spoke volumes. If you have excess production, then plain and simple, you aren't shooting enough.

[LAH]

You should get $72-76/1000 for the 45's. The nines $45-55/1000 depending on how good a salesman you are. These are machine cast prices.

Hand cast bullets can run from 10 cents to whatever you can get. Hope this helps........Creeker

[Edubya]

I have given a few to my friends but when someone ask what I'd charge them for cast boolits, I tell them $.50 apiece. That usually gets a shocked look. If you consider your time and effort, plus the education through studying and experience that makes your boolits what they are, then you should value every single pill that you have. Don't ever sell yourself cheaply or no one else will respect you or your time.
EW

[cbrick]

I am constantly being asked to cast for people. What I tell them is if I charged what my time, work, alloy etc. is worth the price would be very unfair to you. If I charged a price that would be fair to you it would be very unfair to me. It's a no win situation.

Because of this I never sell boolits but often do give some away if someone wants to try a particular boolit or just try shooting cast.

BTW squirrellnuttz, your avatar is very interesting. I've never seen a squirrel with a rack of antlers like that.

Rick

[Wayne Smith]

For a very good friend - 3 to 4 times the ww's it took to make the boolits. But if he's that good a friend I'd teach him to make his own! Thus creating competition for the wws.

[RobS]

I don't cast for others very often either. I do cast for an older gentlemen has he is nolonger able to cast his own and has purchased me a mold or two in the past. No big deal as he only shoots around 250-300 bullets a year. I also cast for a few close friends and I ask them for a bucket of WW's and we are set........I usually will cast around 500 to 1000 bullets for them per bucket. I feel that is fair enough. Again I only cast for a few close friends every once in a while so it's not very time consuming on my end.

[deltaenterprizes]

Selling cast boolits requires a Typye 06 FFL, you are looking for trouble.

[xr650]

Selling cast boolits requires a Typye 06 FFL, you are looking for trouble.

In Canada?

[deerslayer]

Selling cast boolits requires a Typye 06 FFL, you are looking for trouble.

Really, I did not know that i was going to try to advertise and sell a few. I am laid off and was gonna try to make a littyle cash. thanks for the heads up don't need to be in trouble.

[thenaaks]

not certain, but i think i've read on here the class 6 ffl is only $30. not too much out of pocket.

[squirrellnuttz]

I am constantly being asked to cast for people. What I tell them is if I charged what my time, work, alloy etc. is worth the price would be very unfair to you. If I charged a price that would be fair to you it would be very unfair to me. It's a no win situation.

Because of this I never sell boolits but often do give some away if someone wants to try a particular boolit or just try shooting cast.

BTW squirrellnuttz, your avatar is very interesting. I've never seen a squirrel with a rack of antlers like that.

Rick

Thanks for the replies, guys. This is just for a few friends, not advertising or anything. Probably not a great amount of boolits. I think I may do the trade for components or lead thing, and I will generally end up giving them away, if I know myself at all. That's what ends up happening with the flies I tie, anyway.

I see the point made here about the no win situation. I work a seasonal job, things are a bit slow, figured I'd try and at least put a small dent in the supplies bill.


BTW, that's a Canadian Moose Squirrel mount! Happily lives on my wall, the victim of boot leather, a moose grunt and a .416!

[MtGun44]

A friend has asked me to cast a few for him. I had him buy 50 lbs of clean wwt metal ingots
and am going to cast for him. I figure 25 boolits/lb in .45 LC 285gr. Again, he won't
be using more than about 3-500/yr no big deal from 6 hole Lee group buy mold. Alloy should last
for a couple years or so. Old friend, shot with him on Friday nights for about 25 yrs. Doing a
favor.

[M4Sherman]

I was thinking about the same thing with my run-over to help pay for the materials. My time is dang cheap so it doesn't bother me if all I make per bullet would be enough to cover the cost of my personal stash. And is it just me of does the FFl thing sound fishy since alot of people cast fishing weights and sell them without any issue.

[chris in va]

FWIW, here's the letter I got back from the ATF on the subject of 'transfering' projectiles.

This correspondence is in response to your inquiry emailed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), on December 17, 2009. In your email, you request to know what you are required to do before transferring privately made “cast lead bullets” to a friend.

From the information you have provided there are no federal laws regulating the transfer of “lead bullets” between individuals.

We trust this correspondence has been responsive to your inquiry. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact your local ATF Industry Operations Office. A list of ATF Office telephone numbers can be found at http://www.atf.gov/contact/field.htm.

Regards,

Firearms Enforcement Branch, ATF

Now I did not state I was selling them, so I'm sure the letter received would have been to a different tune.

And is it just me of does the FFl thing sound fishy since alot of people cast fishing weights and sell them without any issue.

Fishing weights are not projectiles used in firearms.

[lwknight]

its all about the money when asnything concerns government and law.
The liscensing is all about getting tax revenue.
They don't care squat about anyone casting for friends if there is no exchange of compensation.
No one can ever prove what fringe benifits can be derived from friendship.
Like leaving leftover lead or sirloin steaks behind.

In other words : " THATS SOME MORE OF YER BIDNESS BATF!"

[Adam10mm]

And is it just me of does the FFl thing sound fishy since alot of people cast fishing weights and sell them without any issue.

Well, a guy I know in TN just got arrested yesterday by the ATF and FBI for manufacturing ammunition without a license, tax evasion, and a few other things. What did he do? Cast bullets and loaded ammo for sale without an FFL or paying FET on ammunition. Bye-bye.

Now to the OP. To make money casting bullets you need business basics. In your situation it seems you haven't given thought to liability. I don't care if they say they are your friend, if something happens to them, you will go from being a friend to being a defendant in court of law quicker than you can say "holy cow". I've seen it happen plenty. Liability is no joke these days. Now under oath you will be asked all manner of questions as well as if this is a business venture, you are license, insured, etc of course you have to answer no to the above which will paint your picture real well for the jury. There is no ill intent on your part, but intent is not the line in the sands of liability. You will have to figure out a price that you are comfortable with. There is no magic answer and no one here can give an accurate assessment.

I don't know Canada laws regarding casting bullets for sale but in America an FFL is needed, among other things. You're on your own there.

[sleeper1428]

I have traded cast boolits for gunsmithing services and it has worked out pretty well for both parties. As someone mentioned, one would find it difficult to charge enough to cover not only your raw materials costs but more importantly, the time involved with hand casting, sizing and lubing boxes of 500 boolits. I explained this to the gunsmith who was interested in having me cast him some boolits in a couple of different calibers and he quickly understood the problem. So we just decided that when I needed some gunsmithing done we'd agree to a set number of boolits that I'd cast in exchange for the work I needed done. Overall it's worked out fairly well with the trading rate varying between $35 to $50 per 500 boolits, depending on the caliber and weight of boolit. This trading of services also has the advantage that there's no 'paper trail' that the Feds could follow if they wanted to crack down on the sale of cast boolits by an individual without a license to allow such sales.

sleeper1428