" A Tale of 2 Moulds "

[Ben]

I've had an old Lyman 148 gr. version of the 358432 for some time.
I spotted a 160 gr. version on the internet ( 99.9 % new ) and bought it for $38.00

As most of us know Lyman quality control can be all over the place.
My new 160 gr. mould that arrived yesterday doesn't throw anything close to 160 grs.

With the same identical alloy, my older 148 gr. version throws at 147.6 grs. Close ! ! !

Oh well...........that's all part of buying moulds, right ? ? ?
Most likely won't have a single thing to do with bullet performance.

The good news is the bullets from my old mould and new mould both drop very round and at .3595". About perfect for my applications.

Here is the new mould :

Cast beautiful bullets ! !

My older version at 148 grs.

Again, with my alloy, I'm not getting a 160 gr. bullet ? ? ?

Considering some of the Lyman moulds that I've bought in the past , I'm pretty happy right now.

Ben

 

[RBHarter]

That looks nothing like my 358432 . Ok maybe a little but it's definitely different.

 

[Ben]

You ever weighed your 358432 ? ?

 

[RBHarter]

164 gr comes to mind but 161 is also there . I shoot a 50/50 WW - 1/20 for most of the pistols so my moulds run heavy. My 452-255 drops at 265 . The 358-158 drops at 162 . So pot alloy vs ww would be accurate at 164 .
It does drop nice and round . It is a single cavity also.

 

[Ben]

As to specs, Lyman molds in the past 50 years are " All over the place."

 

[9.3X62AL]

Lyman moulds are like luxury Duesenberg automobiles--no two are alike.

My late-70s-early 80s Lyman #358432 in WW metal runs 162 grains, in 92/6/2 is spot-on at 160 grains. .359"+ in either alloy.

 

[Ben]

Seems that when new cherries were cut that there were no stringent controls in place to insure uniformity.

Ben

 

[9.3X62AL]

That certainly seems to be the case, Ben. Poetic, to say the least.

The current mouldmaker sitch is reminiscent of the motor vehicle sitch in North America circa 1975. We had 4 big makers that got lazy, decadent, and unresponsive to customer needs on a number of fronts. Foreign makers--especially the Japanese--capitalized on the deep dissatisfaction flowing from this slothful attitude and seized a market share that Detroit will never retrieve. Same deal with moulds--most folks here aren't buying current Lyman or RCBS offerings in the numbers that we buy Accurate/NOE/Mtn. Molds. You aren't "rolling the bones" when you buy these latter makes. SAECO is still a good tool, too.

 

[Ben]

NOE and Accurate are now my " Go To " sources when I need a mould.

Ben

 

[Rick]

SAECO is the worst mold I've bought short of LEE and SAECO is also the title holder for far and away the worst customer service I've ever experienced from any company in any industry. Every RCBS mold I've ever bought was top notch plus should you need it they are the title holder for the best customer service in any company in any industry.

What drove the Japanese auto industry in the 70's sure wasn't their quality, quite the chinsy pieces they were. Honda didn't even build a car engine, the engine they put in their cars at the time were right out of their motor cycles. The Arabs pulled the plug on the oil and Detroit was building the ONLY cars Americans previously would buy, BIG with BIG V-8's. Over night gas mileage was king and everyone in Detroit were Aholes because they built V-8's.
.

 

[9.3X62AL]

OK Rick--I'm out.

 

[300BLK]

My 358432 drops closer to 156gr. I bought it used so don't know the vintage, but its not marked with the weight like Ben's older one.

 

[Will]

Ben what gun are you feeding those good looking bullets.

 

[Ben]

Will,

I have a dozen 38 / 357 Mag. revolvers.
That is a hard question for me to answer.

Ben

 

[Will]

I'm in the same boat. Just didn't know if one shot it really well.

 

[Ben]

I have a Colt Officer's Model Match that I'm very partial to.
May try it in that one first.

Ben

 

[9.3X62AL]

NICE. I have its older brother, an OMT from about 1949. I do have 100 ct of these bullets put up in Starline brass with 3.0 x 231, maybe I will empty them out through the OMT this coming week.

 

[300BLK]

OMM, VERY NICE! I'm partial to the V-spring Colts, and have several.

BTW, the heavier version of the 358432 over 7gr Herco in .357 cases seems to be an excellent load in my 4" S&W M19.