Business Spotlight: Bullet Mechanics

Meister Bullet & Ammunition Co. knows how to make a bang – though its story nearly ended as a dud.

Current owner Bill Scrivner reloaded the bullet-casting manufacturer in 2007, shortly after its second owner had shut down to pursue other interests. At the time, Meister Bullet was operating in Oologah, Okla., having survived an ownership change and 2003 move from its founding state Arizona, where Bill Ohligs built the business in the target ammunition niche.

Today, Meister casts mainly pistol bullets and a few rifle rounds. Contrary to its name, Meister no longer loads the castings to produce live ammunition. Scrivner says when the company moved from Oklahoma to Missouri, he decided to stop reloading bullets due to licensing fees and regulations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Scrivner, the sole production employee, produces 56 types of bullets primarily using three of his six casting machines. Working generally five days a week, Scrivner says he churns out 100,000 bullets weekly at his small shop on his Ozark property.

His largest customers are Columbia-based gun and ammo supplier Midway USA, which accounts for 40 percent of Meister’s business, and individuals who compete in Cowboy Action Shooting events. Participants, called cowboy shooters, dress in traditional cowboy garb and use period firearms and ammunition to compete in a series of events testing speed and accuracy.

Jim Bandy, a Meister-sponsored cowboy shooter who goes by the name “Diamond Jim Bandy,” says he uses Meister bullets for their accuracy and consistency. “I’ve shot all the bullets out there. I like their bullet because it’s a great product and not just because they sponsor me,” says Bandy, a retired banker who lives in Las Vegas. “If they didn’t sponsor me, I’d still shoot their bullets.”

Bandy says he looks for consistency in the mechanics of bullets – their weight, size and lubricant – because it improves his accuracy.

Another upside to Meister’s products, Bandy says, is a sealer spray designed to minimize lead exposure, which occurs when shooters pack their own ammunition. Bandy’s wife Libby, who also shoots, found she had a high lead count after a routine physical. Bandy says after a year of using Meister bullets, her lead count decreased by more than half.

Lead to ‘luber’
Before the lead can be cast into bullets, Scrivner melts down lead blocks in automatic casting machines that produce between 2,000 and 3,500 bullets per hour, depending on the bullet type. After the bullets are cast, he places them on a cooling table where they also are checked for imperfections and put back into the casting machines, if necessary. From the cooling table, Scrivner sends bullets through the “luber,” a machine that sizes the bullets to exact measurements and covers them with a wax lubricant to minimize the remains left in the barrel. After bullets are coated with a sealing spray, Scrivner weighs and packages them for sale.

Founder Ohligs – under whom Scrivner learned the trade – created his own method for casting highly customized bullets for a specific barrel. The process, known as slugging the barrel, includes driving a lead cylinder down the barrel of a gun to get the exact layout and measurements. With that information, a bullet can be cast as accurately as possible for use in a specific gun.

“It’s a very well designed product, and there’s nobody else out there who’s got one,” Scrivner says.

The most popular bullets – a .38 caliber, 105-grain – sells for $38 per box of 500, while the second most popular type – a .45 caliber, 200-grain – sells for $51 per box of 500, according to its 2011 price catalog.

The trade
Ohligs, a competitive target shooter, started Meister in 1984 in Phoenix, after learning the art of casting bullets in order to satisfy his desire for consistent, high-quality ammunition. When Ohligs retired in 2001, he sold the company to Bill and Judy Casey, and that’s when Scrivner entered the picture.

During the Caseys’ six-year ownership, Scrivner served as production manager for five years and still stayed connected with the marksman Ohligs.

“He was an old German and things had to be precise as far as he was concerned,” Scrivner says. “I was told he didn’t care for people. He was a very reclusive guy, but he took a liking to me and taught me more than I’ll ever learn on my own. It was a real opportunity to learn.”

In recent years, the increasing price of lead has narrowed the company’s profit margins, Scrivner says. When he was first learning the craft in Arizona, lead cost 71 cents per pound. Now at $1.65 per pound, Meister spends $6,600 roughly every three weeks for lead alone. Scrivner’s wife Pat, who handles administrative tasks, declined to disclose company revenues.

The current presidential administration also has Scrivner and others in the firearm industry on edge.

“Everybody that is in the gun or bullet industry is holding their breath to see what happens.” Scrivner says, noting concern that changing policies and regulation could harm firearm and ammunition companies. “I’m just going to (operate) until I get told that I can’t anymore.”