The best way to start is to cast balls or conicals for your muzzle loader. All you need is a pot, ladle, and some pure lead. You do not need anything else to get started. Just melt your lead on the kitchen stove(If you are allowed), and pour some bullets. If you do not like the way it looks, just put it back in the pot and pour another one. No sizing, no lubing, nothing else necessary, just shoot. If you shoot alot of ML, then yes you can save money. But it is just like anything else, how serious will you get. I agree with the other fellow about the castboolits site, you can get alot of information there. However I suggest to keep it simple to start.

A Lee melting pot is not very expensive, and will probably last a lifetime if taken care of. I also like the small Lyman pot. I have 6 different pots, for different types of lead.

One last tip. A very easy way to test your quality of bulet is 1. Simply look it over. 2. Make sure your mold is good and hot. 3. weigh your bullets, throw the ones back in if they are not the same weight(give or take a little). For mold prep just follow the instructions. Just pick out one that you like the looks of. I suggest you stay with Lyman or RCBS. I would stay away from the Lee's. And remember you need to order handles. Tom.