Bullet molds

[Steamingspud]

Hey Guys.
I said bullet molds but actually, it's round ball molds I'm into. You know what I mean.
Massachusetts hates shooters, so I decided it might be a good idea to buy a mold and make my own ammunition. There are different brands of molds obviously, but the one I hear is good is Lee. Is that correct?
And I shoot .50 cal. I'll probably still be shooting .50 cal when I build my next rifle. Should I get a .495 or a .498 mold? I'm not sure if .498 will work, I'm not sure I've ever tried it. Would it be too big for the patch to fit with it?
Thanks everyone

[SCLoyalist]

Before I bought a mold, I'd think about buying a box  (or maybe just 50 ) each of .495 and .498 balls and try each, including which patch/lube worked best (i.e. tightest group).   Might even try 490 and 500 balls, too.  Then I'd buy a mold for the best ball diameter.

I have a wall full of Lee RB molds, calibers 36 to 527 RB.  They've given me good service over 25 years (although the very last mold, a .440 double cavity is finicky on closing and mating the two block halves together properly).   Cost for a single cavity mold is $20 or so, including the handles.   Lee molds typically produce an almost invisible sprue mark that isn't always easy to even see.

After Lee, my next choice would be Lyman - steel blocks versus Aluminum for Lee, cost around $50 for the blocks and another $35 or so for the handles, I think.   There are other mold makers, e.g. Rapine, that are probably 'better' than Lee, but also priced significantly higher.   

SCL

[Daryl]

I've had several .50's and all shot .495's very well.  I prefer Lyman moulds with normal sprues to the Lee and RCBS type with a tangent cuttoff.  Once the tangents are in the bag for a while, it's hard to find the sprue to make certain it's up.
If I had a round bottom grooved barrel, I'd probably go with a .498".
.490's have shot OK for pinking, but for serious shooting, it's .495's for me.

[northmn]

Were I to buy one 50 mold, which I did, it would be a 495.  They work good in about any barrel I have seen.  Some of the earlier production guns might have been a little tighter but a 495 can be used.  The old Douglas would sometimes do a little better with a 498, but really you would have to shoot off a bench to notice the difference.

DP