Round Ball Prices

[xbowman]

My stock of .490 round balls is almost out and since I haven't driven to my rifle supply shop for several months, I got there yesterday. I started to pickup some Speer boxes and looked at the price, $17.95 for 100. I put them down and walked out the door.
I think I do a lot of shooting and at that price I will have to re-think what I will do in the near future.
I hope this doesn't read as being cheap, but gee wizz things are getting bad.

 

[mazo kid]

I think you should cast your own....a Lee mold (or any other brand), a Coleman stove or hot plate and a large iron ladle or small cast pot should get you in business. That and a trip to the salvage yard for some soft lead. You will have your investment paid for with 2-300 round balls cast.

 

[catman]

In the Cain's catalog they have some of theirs for around $7 bucks per 100 that they cast themselves. I haven't checked to see what the shipping would be.
Yes Hornady's are getting very pricy as of lately, if you can find them in my area, all of the shelves are bare.

 

[texcl]

I was thinking about casting some and trying to sell them in my local shop for half the rate, but that's alot of work for $5 profit.

 

[Little Wattsy]

My stock of .490 round balls is almost out and since I haven't driven to my rifle supply shop for several months, I got there yesterday. I started to pickup some Speer boxes and looked at the price, $17.95 for 100. I put them down and walked out the door.
I think I do a lot of shooting and at that price I will have to re-think what I will do in the near future.
I hope this doesn't read as being cheap, but gee wizz things are getting bad.

Yah I believe its about 2.5 lbs to the 100 RB's for lead...Multiply that by what $1 to $3 a lb. Should be ably to pour your own for under $7.00 a 100 at most....I KNOW that you have to much time on your hands anyway :grin:

 

[nchawkeye]

I haven't bought store bought balls for over 20 years and have never had to pay for lead...

I just bought a couple of Rapine bag molds and a ladel and use the Coleman and an old soup can for the lead...

 

[roundball]

Try Eddie May in Georgia...big lead round ball producer...goes up and sells at Friendship every year, and I think sells to Dixie...Birddog6 put me on to him...best prices for cast lead balls I've seen...I use his .395s & .600s.
And remember, he can ship as much weight to you in a USPS Flat Rate carton that he can fit in there for $10 bucks.

Eddie May Round Balls
159 Ridley Rd.
Chatsworth, GA 30705
706-581-8225

 

[ryoung14]

With the way things are going in this country, I think we'd all be wise to buy RB molds for the calibers we shoot the most and to stockpile some lead as well. I prefer swaged balls and still have a good stock from when they were much cheaper. But, I agree, the gunshop prices for Hornady and Speer swaged balls are out of line and, with more regulations and restrictions, will only get worse.

I recently bought four RB molds to cover the calibers I didn't have molds for: Low cost Lee aluminum molds for the small game calibers and the .58 and an expensive Lyman mold for the .54. Next step is to find a good source of pure lead. Got the rest of the stuff.
Bob

 

[jbwilliams3]

with the amount of lead that is recycled from doctors' and roofers, etc. I think we could all consistently get our fair share and not exhaust the supply. i'm gonna go look up molds

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FWIW I paid $7-8/100 for 45s from Eddie when lead was north of $1.50 per pound. My 62s were $14/100.

Curious if they're cheaper now that lead is south of $0.50/pound ...

 

[howdydoit]

i wonder myself. went into one of the local shops here and hornady .490/s were 13.oo/100. Im going to start making my own again just need to finds some lead.

 

[jtmattison]

I am now at the point where my roundballs are free. I cast my own and all the equipment to do so has more than paid for itself. I also have free lead so I'm always coming out ahead.

I have only bought 2 boxes of commercially made roundballs since I started shooting muzzleloaders.

I highly recommend to anyone who plans on shooting a lot to cast their own.

HD

 

[ravenousfishing]

Midsouth has Hornady .490 balls for 10.36/100 for those of us who dont have the time or are too lazy or whatever. Shipping really isn't that bad when you combine items on the order.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hey Guys,
The idea of launching seventeen cents ( .17 cents) into the air and never seeing it again, rubs me the wrong way.
Purchase a mold once, with some means of melting your lead, and you will never look back.
Sell only a few hundred balls, and you got most of your money back.
Look around, there is always some lead available, at a fair price.
Then .17 cents drops to .02 cents.....that I can live with......almost.
"CHEAP" Old Ford

 

[Irish13]

I have modern molds from Lee and Lyman and cast my own, I ordered two bag molds from Rapine over 4 weeks ago and I have never received my molds and when I call the same number I did to order them I get an answering machine. Just wondering if any one knows there status? Thank ye Kindly!

Irish13

 

[texcl]

It really isn't much of an initial expense to get into casting if you buy a cheapo Lee furnace and mould, I still have my 1st mould ever, made by Lee, it's well over 15 years old and still makes a perfect projectile. Only reason I don't have the original furnace is it disapeared during a move.

 

[Old Charlie]

Someone posted a link on here to a site that gave lead and other medal prices for the last twenty-four hours , thirty days and so on. My computer crashed and I no longer have it. If any of you do would you please post it.
Old Charlie

 

[Claude Mathis]

Someone posted a link on here to a site that gave lead and other medal prices for the last twenty-four hours , thirty days and so on. My computer crashed and I no longer have it. If any of you do would you please post it.
Old Charlie

Is this it?
http://www.kitcometals.com/charts/lead_historical_large.html

 

[Old Charlie]

Yep, That is it.
Thanks Claude