Hellraiser79 4 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Hows it going everyone? With the cost of ammo, im starting to buy reloading equipment. Im looking for cheap bullets for the 50ae and 500 smith. Those are my two most expensive pistols to shoot. Any links from some reloaders? Ive managed to find the brass at a decent price, but not the bullets. Thanks in advance for any help! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigtwin 219 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Glad to see another person into reloading! Sorry you are getting into it at a tough time.....but it is a start! I have been reloading for five years or so and I still learn new things. As for the calibers you listed, I can't be of any help. I am very sure some other folks will chime in! Good luck and remember....reloading is one more hobby to the hobby of shooting......and can be addictive! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pjj342 632 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 (edited) If you cant find it in a lyman, rcbs, lee or hornady manual, do some online searches and see if you can come up with a starting point. Theres a site called www.loaddata.com Its $30 a month, and ill bet it has what you need. its a bit pricey, but theres always a tablet and paper at your disposal, as to only pay for it once. Edited October 16, 2013 by Boomsick42 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Those are both good candidates for hard cast. You'll probably want to find a source of high alloy lead and some gas checks. You could probably find a mold that would be heavy for 50 AE which would be OK for the smith too. I am sure both have caliber specfic forums which could be a good starting point to come up with a good load. Castboolits would be the best resource.Lyman's 49th has recipes for both, but not many. Lee 2nd offers only two 50 AE loads but has a lot more data for 500 S&W, so that might be the book to buy. I also like the pressure factor data it offers for calculating velocity and pressures for reduced loadings. (This allows you to find optimum charge weight in relation to alloy hardness.) Reloading pays by a lot. The more expensive the round is in the store, the wider the margin of savings. For general state of reloading. Obviously cost of components went up over the last few months, but I don't quite have a handle on how much. I can say that as of last fall, 12 ga slugs cost about 23 cents each, and birdshot was about 20. Primers went up significantly from about 3.60 per 100 to $3.99/100 Shotgun primers are now more like 4.99 instead of 3.40, so that's a big bump. single pound powders seem to have gone up about $1-3 per jar. So $18 powders are more like $19, 20 or 21 now. No clue about where projectiles will settle at, but I think they will take a lot longer to come down. Also it looks like the government is reluctant to sell off surplus now, so cheap pulled bullets may be a thing of the past. I think on the whole though it pays better at the bottom end than it did 15 years ago, because fast equipment is a lot cheaper for the entry point and better quality. Components used to be cheaper, but there was a presumption that you didn't reload if you valued your time much. Now, I think it would be a mistake to start with single stage. You could start just as easily with a classic cast turret setup as the cost of a rock chucker and have a much more versatile and efficient system. For higher volume reloading, especially pistol and .223, The loadmaster is a very good setup. You won't be dissapointed with any of the $1200 rigs, but you can load good ammo at about the same speed for ~$350. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rhodes1968 1,638 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 /Agree w/ GunFun on pistol cals Components, in particular specific brands, are a real headache right now as you have found. One has to be a bit flexible of late. My rate of fire at the range has dropped so much that if I have 80rds of rifle to reload afterwards its a busy day so single stage doesnt bother me too much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
getitat 609 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Hello Can't help you on your hand-cannon loads, but I've been acquiring a buttload of mostly once-fired 7.62x39 brass for my AR-39's and 556R lately. Really tightens up the groups when you can meddle with the loads. -I find that hand loading is somewhat therapeutic. I realize that going out and poppin' a cap in some public "official" is a no-no when they piss me off more than usual but loading up a few hundred rounds of high-velocity ammo really soothes my soul. -guido in Houston 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
magsite20 1,664 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 from the Penn Bullets website I bought a bunch of 44s from them I've been happy with. .50 Caliber 325 Grain Truncated Cone Bevel Base Standard Sizing - .501 250 500 $55.00 $105.00 About Our Prices ... This bullet is our first offering for the .500 S&W. The Truncated Cone profile and balanced drive bands provide superior accuracy and devastating performance. Since the 500 has the capability to drive this weight bullet to over 2000 fps., I cast this bullet from our famous Casull Alloy featuring the 21+ Bhn and 2% silver base alloy added to give you a truly top notch performer. The molded in crimp groove will allow you to place the heavy roll or Redding profile crimp necessary to keep the bullet from movement during heavy recoil. With the proper powder choices this bullet can also be used in the .50 Action Express. Velocity rated to 2100 fps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hellraiser79 4 Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks for the help, so far I bought a lee classic turret, 3 reloading books, a very cheap shotshell reloader "loadall2". Lyman tumbler, Im just buying a little at a time until after the holidays. Next is a 1500 charge master from rcbs. I have about 300 once fired 50ae rounds that ive shot, and maybe 80 to 100 500 mag rounds. I plan on reloading 556, 308, 3006, 380, 9mm, 40, 45, 357, and 44 to. I thought about casting 500 mag bullets, but you cant do 50ae since its gas operated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Hello Can't help you on your hand-cannon loads, but I've been acquiring a buttload of mostly once-fired 7.62x39 brass for my AR-39's and 556R lately. Really tightens up the groups when you can meddle with the loads. -I find that hand loading is somewhat therapeutic. I realize that going out and poppin' a cap in some public "official" is a no-no when they piss me off more than usual but loading up a few hundred rounds of high-velocity ammo really soothes my soul. -guido in Houston That's lucky. I almost never see russian rifle brass that is boxer primed. I'd be a lot more interested in AK rifles if I did. I have Lee "160 grain" (155 is more like it) the mold for it, and it drops beautiful bullets.I would recommend it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
getitat 609 Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 That's lucky. I almost never see russian rifle brass that is boxer primed. I'd be a lot more interested in AK rifles if I did. I have Lee "160 grain" (155 is more like it) the mold for it, and it drops beautiful bullets.I would recommend it. It can be found on GunBroker, generally for between $.20 and $.30 a round, depending on what level of cleaning/depriiming etc. and what quantity you're purchasing. Some of it is crimped, as well, which is also a consideration. But, if you can get 5-6 reloads out of it, it's still pretty economical. I load .308 lead for serious loads, standard 123 gr. FMJ Hornady for range use. No significant difference in accuracy, despite the mill or so diameter difference. JMHO.... -Guido in Houston Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Remek 771 Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Reading this thread got me going again. I am going to start reloading my rifles and handguns. So far, all I do is shotguns, and dad funds that activity. Thanks for the thread! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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