$1,000 bullet mold!

[w30wcf]

WInchester .50-110 Express 300 gr. Hollow point
Item 280086581823

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280086581823&rd=1&rd=1

w30wcf

[44woody]

the man that bid that much money for a mould and the guy that paid $67.00 for a 1 lb chunk of lead because the n was backwards in the name lyman should start a club and call it I'm A IDIOT CLUB for doing something so stupid :castmine: 44Woody

[RayinNH]

A little spendy for me...Ray

[madcaster]

I was watching one Winchester Paper Patch mould and it finally sold at $1200.00,so there's more than one idiot,and NO,I was NOT the buyer!

[Lloyd Smale]

for that much money id pay someone to cast them for me!

[rmb721]

Please show some sympathy.

Being that stupid has to be painful.

[trk]

Please show some sympathy.

Being that stupid has to be painful.


Ya gotta be tough if you're stupid!

[C1PNR]

Ya gotta be tough if you're stupid!
Actually, I think the quote goes something like "Life is tough, and it's really tough if you're stupid."

Maybe a quote of Sgt. John M. Stryker from "Sands of Iwo Jima?"

[Bent Ramrod]

AND $6.95 for shipping, don't forget. Never give a sucker an even break. Insurance on this suddenly-valuable item is probably extra, too.

I guess this bidding war puts the kibosh on the idea that something has to be as issued from the factory (and as close to factory-new as possible) to be a "real collector's item." I've got a pretty down-at-heels specimen of the same type mould in .32 WCF, and am tempted to send it out for an aftermarket chrome plating job (but really well done) and see what it fetches.

I guess that homemade hollow point attachment was a not uncommon owner modification. I have an Ideal .32WCF tool with the mould on the end that somebody hollow pointed. The pin is long gone, of course, but the hole remains. I've seen at least one other mutilated in this way, and heard about a couple more.

[X-man]

What the heck was that guy smoking? A bubba'd mould with a handmade hollowpoint insert? How many custom moulds could he have bought for that price???

[45nut]

I see this as similar to a "lottery win" for the seller, kind of unlikely something in that condition would be expected to draw a $1000.00 bid. The $6.95 shipping was there to start the auction.
It would seem the bidder was determined to win..........

[Sundogg1911]

I always laugh when I get outbid by someone paying more than new prices for molds on ebay. I had a guy bidding on a Chronograph that I was selling. when the bids reached about 50% more than I paid new I emailed the guy. I was afraid that He thought He was bidding on something else. He emailed me back that the guy that was bidding against Him always got the things that He really wanted, and He was going to win this auction at any cost. I got over 300 bucks for a hundred fifty dollar pro-chrono! It was great! :-)

[w30wcf]

There is a good reason that someone would bid as high as $1,000 for an original Winchester mold in the rarest of calibers. No doubt, the winning bidder owns a Model 1886 WInchester chambered in .50 Express (.50-110).

That particular rifle, in the rarest of chamberings, in excellent condition, is worth in the vicinity of $20,000. The addition of the mold will make it that much more valuable.

w30wcf

[Duckiller]

The seller did say it was very collectable

[R.M.]

Yup, you have to remember there was another idiot bidding against him, that didn't get the mold. :confused:

[Gunload Master]

Darn! I got outbid at $998.34 !

You know the seller of that is jumping out of his seat.

[birdhunters]

Well most of those damn fools that bid on jip-bay wouldn't know the value of a good useable mold from shine-ola. They are too stupid to look up the price of a new one in a catalog. Lord help them if someone suggests that it may be vintage or rare. Let the bid war begin

[Bullshop]

OH BOY this may break a few hearts but I have that mold. It was given to me by a fella that had the 1886 delux 50/110 express he had inherited and emeadiatly sold so had no use for the worthless mold.
With this info it has just moved up a notch or two in ranking of value on my list. My list is nearing 200 now. Hard to keep track in my head without growing a new addition to my frontal lobe.
BIC/BS

[John Taylor]

There is a good reason that someone would bid as high as $1,000 for an original Winchester mold in the rarest of calibers. No doubt, the winning bidder owns a Model 1886 WInchester chambered in .50 Express (.50-110).

That particular rifle, in the rarest of chamberings, in excellent condition, is worth in the vicinity of $20,000. The addition of the mold will make it that much more valuable.

w30wcf

Buyer beware, there are lots of fake 50 EX 86's out there. I get calls all the time to convert an 86 to 50 caliber. I do the work but I don't do the markings. There are a few things that need to be done inside the action to get that big cartridge to go into the mag and then feed. They are fun to shoot.

[DLCTEX]

I promptly showed that sale to my wife as I'm always telling her that the molds I buy are a bargain. See, I don't pay near that for my molds. What will these be worth after I'm gone? Prices have definately gone up in the past year. Dale

[cropcirclewalker]

I thought I was lucky when I scored a 311467 a few months ago for $29 and change.

That seller is one lucky one.

[Bent Ramrod]

What Dale says is true, and something strange, since the membership have noted on another thread that there isn't a similar increase in activity going on in the world as far as actual boolit casting is concerned.

I guess this is just a new species of the same kind of people who collect guns they never shoot, musical instruments they never play and first editions they never read. I can't wait for the start of the finger-wagging exhortations that our moulds should never actually be used to cast with because the slightest scratch or lead splash would reduce their "collector value."

[drinks]

BR;
You would not be referring to the closet queen idiots who have destroyed the used firearm market with their absolutely ridiculous prices for any old piece of junk that could have shot something , some time in the past?
An arm is a tool, nothing more or less , and it's real value is in it's ulility.
Why cannot people collect stamps or dead butterflies or some such other useless things and leave real tools along? ;<

[leftiye]

I got a Lyman 457406 HP today for about $50. Never seen one before. much rather have this one, even if at the same price.

[Uncle R.]

BR;
You would not be referring to the closet queen idiots who have destroyed the used firearm market with their absolutely ridiculous prices for any old piece of junk that could have shot something , some time in the past?
An arm is a tool, nothing more or less , and it's real value is in it's ulility.
Why cannot people collect stamps or dead butterflies or some such other useless things and leave real tools along? ;<


Sorry - but I can't agree. The old ones are great because they're old. Not every early Springfield or Sharps was used to thin the great buffalo herds - but they might have been. Not every old Remington roller was clutched in the sweaty hands of a frontiersman who fought desperately to keep his hair and his life - but some of them might have been. Not every nineteenth century Winchester contributed to those heavily laden meat poles pictured in the deer camp photographs of yesteryear - but it's possible that the one you're holding DID.
I can't look at the old single-shots that grace my wall without wondering what stories they'd tell if they could talk. That history - or even the potential for history - gives the old ones a romantic appeal far beyond their current utility as tools. And if there's a PROVEN connection to some historic fight or personage the value goes through the roof - and understandably so.
To each his own - but I value the old ones beyond their worth as tools and I can certainly understand why others would too.
:drinks:
Uncle R.

[dakotashooter2]

The seller did say it was very collectable

Saying so doesn't necessarily make it true. Given the modifications to this mold it's collector status still wouldn't justify such a price. But then the value of an item IS what someone is willing to pay for it even if they are a moron and over pay.

[Beau Cassidy]

The guy that bought the mold must have deep pockets. I have seen his winning bids before. Outrageous.

[leftiye]

That's my problem on ebay, I just don't have enough money! Thank your stars that you can determine the value of the stuff you're looking at in the real world before bidding. Things like hundred year old pocket watches don't afford you that opportunity, and those (idiots) just love proving how little they value their money. Must all drive Porsches.

[marks40x]

As Ron White says you can't fix stupid. I don't complain when I get more than I think I should when I sell something on ebay. But I sure shake my head when a guy pays more than new price for something. Haven't got them yet but I bought 2 RCBS and a Lyman mold and RCBS handles for $87.00 shipped off ebay.

[w30wcf]

Bullshop,
Nice to hear that you have that mold. I see that there is another one of these molds listed on EBAY. The hollow point pin is missing. Bidding started at $100.
http://cgi.ebay.com/BULLET-MOLD-WINCHESTER-EXPRESS-50-CALIBER_W0QQitemZ150098525154QQihZ005QQcategoryZ71 118QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150098525154

Uncle R.
I agree with you.

dakotashooter2,
The .50-110 Winchester Express mold was a hollow point mold and came that way from Winchester.

No doubt, very few of these molds made, probably not more than the number of
.50-110 Express Rifles produced.

w30wcf

[Bullshop]

I guess I spoke too soon. The mold I have is not by Winchester, but is an Ideal. The boolit looked to be very much the same. My mold is not HP but solid nose. It has about the BC of a round ball because its about as wide as it is long. In pure lead it will drop a 300gn boolit, but I cant remember the exact diameter. In WW alloy they drop 280/285gn. In the straight cases I guess you could stack a couple if wanted. I see no indication as to cartridge marked on the mold but I always assumed it was for the 50/95 in the 76 Win.
I sent some of these to Mike Ventorino for an article he was working on about the 50 cal Rem roller pistols. This was through a mutual friend but I never heard from Mike about it.
If anyone has a need to try some of these odd shapped round balls give a holler and we will dig it out.
BIC/BS

[w30wcf]

Bullshop,

I'm thinking what you have is mold #518144. It is shown in an old Ideal catalog at 285 grains. Indications are that it was intended as a light weight bullet for the .50-70 Gov't. It could be used, as you indicated in the other .50 Cal's as well....
.50-95 & .50-110.


w30wcf

[Bullshop]

It dont get used much cuz like I said it aint much better than a round ball.
It was given to me some time back when this fella got it with a delux mod 1886 Win 50/110 express. Cant remember if it just said 50 express or 50/110 express but I know it said express. He was feelin perty good about getting $1,000.00 for his grampas old gun so he just gave me the mold. I didnt feel right about taking it for free so I traded him a double hand full of boolits for a 45 acp. Should I start feelin guilty again?
BIC/BS

[qajaq59]

There's obviously one hell of a market for 'em.

[w30wcf]

Bullshop,

I checked some of my older Ideal reference material and in their July 1898 catalog
this is what is printed for mold #518144 / 285 grs.:

"This is a special grooved bullet made for short range, gallery or armory practice. It is made a little above Gov't. size, but used in those rifles. Has met with great favor among the New York militia for short range or gallery practice."

Possibly the reason that hey made it oversized was so that it could be used with great satisfaction in fired cases with no resizing necessary.

There is no loading data for this bullet in the .50-70 but in a section titled SHORT RANGE, GALLERY OR ARMORY PRACTICE, in part it is printed:

"The U.S. Marine Corps. officials at Washington tested our special .45-210 gr. bullet (457127) for short range work, after which they gave us orders for a quantity of the Ideal Armory molds for that bullet which are now being used in the Service."

"If using black powders, select the fine grade which is quicker. They work well for charges from 5 to 15 grains, according to the size of the bore and the distance to be shot. The airspace between the bullet and and powder is unfilled and very good work is ordinarily secured from this ammunition."

They also mentioned using a little soft cotton wad pressed lightly on the powder for best results.

Interesting history.
w30wcf

w30wcf

[dakotashooter2]

This is the earliest mold with iron handles. The cavity is perfect. The hollow pointer is aftermarket but well made. This bullet was used with a 50/90 and a 50/110. A very collectible mold.


Maybe modification was the wrong word but an "aftermarket" pin no matter how well done is likely to lessen the collectors value a significant amount.

[w30wcf]

dakotashooter2,

Thank you for the correction, I missed that part.

w30wcf

[Bullshop]

I will just have to dig out that mold and cast a boolit and set it next to a 50 cal RB and post a pic. You will see what I mean it looks like a grooved RB.
I just never thought of it as a gallery loading. But hay when I think of gallery loads I dont think 50/70 eather. Guess choices back then were a bit more slim than now.
BIC/BS
BTW Thanks for the history, I realy love learning this kind of stuff.