Who still sells cast bullets?

christos808

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Niagara Region
With DRG Cast Bullets is closing its doors, is there anyone in Canada still making and selling cast lead bullets? I've been reloading a lot of 45 Colt and 38 special and I really prefer lead over jacketed or plated. But my stash of bullets has run out and I can't find any store that sells them, unless I pay exorbitant shipping fees (I know, lead is heavy). Besides X Reload, who right now only have three boxes of 45 Colt in stock, with a shipping cost of $77, I know a couple of places out west, but the shipping would be even worse. Where can one find cast bullets anymore? I'm willing to drive pretty much anywhere in Southern Ontario to get them.
 
I’m not far from Maitland, ON. and Rick from R&R bullets did fine castings at very competitive prices.

He had retired years ago due to health issues, but if he has since indeed come out of retirement and you are local, definitely check him out.

Good lad.
 
Budget shooter supply
Yeah, I’ve ordered some stuff from there before. In fact I bought my very first reloading press and most of my original gear from Henry. The problem is that he, like most of the other names mentioned here, is in BC, and when you order 80 to 100 pounds of lead from Ontario, the shipping costs are insane. That’s why I’d prefer a local place where I can pick up the bullets in person. Until now I mostly bought from Lawry Shooting Sports, which carried the DRG brand, but now DRG is out of business.
 
Prairie Projectiles in AB, Kurt is a really good guy to deal with. In fact, now that I think about it, I'll be out his way in a couple weeks, I should place an order and pick up to save on shipping.
 
I loved Jet Bullets but had to go finding a source for soft cast lead which is highly recommended for antique firearms like my .44 Russian S&W. I found nice gentleman on this site who cast a bunch of moly coated for me. What I do miss is the 240 gr. HP bullets that Jet provided. If you carry a pistol for wilderness use, like me, the idea of that heavy hollow point lead slug is very appealing.
 
Probably not the answer you're looking for but have you considered casting your own? There is a bit of startup cost involved (probably $300-400) but once you have the equipment your cost drops to just the price of casting alloy and some lube unless you are going to add gas checks and there are cheap ways of getting them as well.

Basically you need a casting pot (I recommend the LEE – PRO 4-20 LEAD MELTER), a mould for each bullet you want to cast (about $125 with handles), a size die for each bullet diameter you want ($35) and some bullet lube. I strongly recommend getting Lee 6 cavity dies if they have a design that suits you as they are priced well and last a long time if you take care of them (I have never worn one out). Even though they are more money than the two cavity moulds they dramatically speed up casting production.

With even the cheapest commercially cast bullets now running at about $100/1000 you only have to cast 3000-4000 bullets to recoup your initial cash outlay. After that the price drops to whatever you pay for casting alloy ($1-3/pound).

I know people say say they don't have the time for casting but yesterday using two 6 cavity moulds I cast up 1000 38 wadcutters in 1 1/2 hours. So by the time I was done one of the moulds was paid for in that single casting session. I am sure that most people can spare a a few hours per month to guarantee they have a steady supply of bullets.

The nice thing is that you are no longer dependent on commercial casters staying business to ensure your stock of bullets. I'm not knocking the commercial casters and, in fact, I've used DRG and R&R bullets over the years and they were fine but as you've seen from the above posts, for varying reasons their supply can be tenuous.
 
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