Whats going on with .50 cal. ammo prices. I just went to the “cheaper that dirt†website and a box of 150 belted ammo was $699.00! The same ammo was $199.99 a month ago.

I am building a .50 bmg as a project, and now I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford to shoot it!

Buck,

Supply and Demand sir.
Our Gov't demands most all of the supply. That war thing.

Leaving the rest of us to "fight" over the rest.
The result. 5 6 or 700 dollars for a can of 50 BMG. that hardly anyone wanted just a few years ago.

muck

prices have ZERO to do with the war, and 100% to do with talon going out of buissnes...

quote:

Originally posted by goneballistic:
The cure for .50 BMG ammo prices.

Noooooooooo! I just gave mine away yesterday, no lie. Traded to a Hornady lock and load. and promptly made 100 bullets. 60 M2AP to fire form and 20 A-max and 10 each Lapua and Barnes. I also moved from Oneshot spray lube to imperial die wax. Between the press and the new lube things went very well.

yep time to learn how to reload!!
got components?

quote:

I just gave mine away yesterday, no lie.

Too bad, I didn't know it was available, I would have made some sort of offer. I would like to have a smaller press to seat projectiles at the range, when working up loads, like under a topper in the back of a my truck.

I have no 1rst hand experience with the Lee press, but I know there are several issues, mostly from erratic Q.C. I just had someone email me, he couldn't get his MG/P/U brass sized down enough to chamber, using the Lee setup. I told him he should machine .025" from the bottom of his sizer die. I read about this occasional issue with the Lee FL sizer die some time ago. Also Collins, I see you've found out that the One Shot, convenient though it may be, is not suitable for FL sizing .50 BMG.

My point though, was I really don't even think about centerfire ammo prices, including .50 BMG. I only load what I shoot. Period.

When I see components for any caliber I shoot go on sale, I try to buy 3 times what I need, then set the rest aside. Many times I end up shooting from component stock that I've had laying around for more than a score of years. Buying in bulk, or at least quantity, when availability is good and prices are low, is an extremely good investment. Almost as good an investment for a shooter as a reloading setup.

Enjoy your new press!

I gave it to a friend so he can start loading. I'd rather convert a non-loader than preach to the choir I really like Lee products. I know many who will sell them down the river quickly, but I've owned a lot of Lee and never had a problem. I always check them first. If they've got it, I'll buy it. Other than that, I give a strong "second" to everything you wrote.

quote:

Originally posted by Collins:
I gave it to a friend so he can start loading. I'd rather convert a non-loader than preach to the choir I really like Lee products. I know many who will sell them down the river quickly, but I've owned a lot of Lee and never had a problem. I always check them first. If they've got it, I'll buy it. Other than that, I give a strong "second" to everything you wrote.

Well,
I don't want to come off as running down Lee equipment. Most of the possible issues I heard about with the Classic Cast setup were minor, such as the wooden ball on the end of the handle coming off, or the sizing die needing to be shortened up a little, as I described in my prior post. Nothing that I've heard about would stop me from buying the Lee setup, or recommending it. In fact, the runout of .50 BMG ammo loaded with the Lee setup is reputed to be very small.

I use a few of their dies. Just compare the price of the Lee carbide sizer die set in .500 S&W, to those of the other manufacturers. They work great, too!

I've just bought another Lee die set, this one for my latest fun caliber, .50 Beowulf. Lee seems to be the only game in town for an off the shelf Beowulf die set. If not, it's a safe bet that the Lee is the least expensive. There is higher quality equipment than Lee, but I will agree, Lee is the best value, most if not all of the time.


BTW, this AA .50 Beowulf die set is also made by Lee. Besides $17, the only difference that I can see from the set that I bought is that it has Alexander Arms on the label, and it comes with some load data, data which can also be had here.