Howdy
Frankly, I only cast bullets for my Black Powder cartridges. This is because they are cast from a special mold from very soft lead and only a couple of casters cast them commercially. So I cast my own.
But for regular hard cast Smokeless bullets I am perfectly happy to pay somebody else to do the dirty work. Casting can be dirty, sweaty work. I can usually buy my Smokeless bullets locally, so I don't have to pay for shipping, so I just let somebody else do the work, I am happy to pay him for his efforts.
All my molds are Lee aluminum six cavity molds. I cast two different 45 caliber bullets and one 44 caliber bullet. I have a mold for a 358 bullet, but I have not needed it yet.
If you are going to cast in quantity, get a bottom pour pot. At least twenty pounds. I have a Lee Pot, the one that has a little shelf underneath that I rest the mold on and slide it under the spigot. Just like a bartender filling a row of glasses all at once. It is the only way to cast if you need to cast a lot of bullets. Forget a ladle, that is fine for a few rifle bullets, buy usually for pistols you want to cast a lot of bullets.
After casting I size all my bullets in a Star lubrasizer and lube them with SPG. I used to use a RCBS machine, but it was a pain to size lots of bullets, so I spent the money on the Star. Lots of money, but well worth it.
I am getting tired of my Lee pot though. The spigot drips continually. That is a feature of the Lee pots. You can mess with it, but it always starts dripping again. Next year I may spring for a Lyman pot. Again, more money, but you get what you pay for.
I usually only cast one weekend in the fall. I cast all my bullets for the upcoming Cowboy season, usually around 2000 or so in all for all three calibers. Once I get going, I enjoy it, but it is a pain because I have to completely rearrange my basement for casting. Perhaps if I didn't have to do that I would enjoy it more and do it more often.
Here are some photos.
Here is my lubrasizer setup.