Favorite "small" 45 cal heavy mold.

CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I picked up a 454 Rossi 92R. I have a few heavy 45colt Moulds, so I think I'm pretty well set. But I wondered if there was something I might be missing that might be better.

I have; the Lee 452–300 RF,
RCBS 45–300 SWC & 270 saa,
Lyman 452651,
MP 454–304.
IMG_0058.jpeg I think this MP is a copy of the Seco number 454 but I'm not sure.
I also have the MP Ruger only 452–297 mold.

Do you have a favorite?
Can you recommend a different mold?

Cw
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I have a Mountain Mold 453-350 that I made up for the 45 Raptor . It is a masterful recreation of the 458-340 in a .453 dia with a nose stretch. It has a heavy base band , .100 with 2 equal length bands and grooves at .465 inside the case , no crimp groove , with a .455 nose , and .2 meplat . Plain base RNFP.
H322 got me 1900 fps MV in the 16" 95 Mauser, 1240 to start in the 16" M92' Rossi , and a sleepy 650 out of the 7.5" RBH .
Data generated by Michael Reamy aka Ranch Dog in his loading program for the Colts held pressures to 20kpsi and the 1240 was 10% below the max at 19.0 gr . Too much of a good thing there , oval holes 8" apart at 50 yd.

I have a box of commercial bullets Bear something. A 300 gr TC with 2 crimp grooves . The little bit of work I did with them gave me results I could work with for 200# whitetail or hogs inside 60 yrs with the potential for 4-6" groups at 100 with round holes and speeds under 1100 fps MV.

As mentioned somewhere else the 458-340 Lee sized .454 worked also but wasn't pursued far enough to call anything real results beyond round holes at 50 yd held under 1100 fps .

The 1-32 just isn't enough twist for anything with a meplat to stay on track coming down through transonic. Maybe with the 454 and checked bullets you can get fast enough to not have to worry about transonic upset until beyond 100 yd.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I think I have that Lee 340 gr mold. And yes, I'm not really worried about past 100 125 yards.

I had a really nice LBT 325 gr mold that was probably lent out and not replaced and I lost track of it
 
Bret4207

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
A "small 45 cal heavy".......Even if I had one I'm not sure I'd know it! I thought you meant something like a collar button type at first. Could you clarify a bit more for us mentally challenged types?
 
JonB

JonB

Halcyon member
small... ???
well, I have, and like the following:
HM² 455-200 RF
Accurate 45-200E TC
Lee 452-255 RF
.
I've had a few others, but since I sold them others, they obviously weren't a fave ;)
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Have exactly two 45 caliber molds for the BH. Used the RCBS 250 SWC PB for over twenty years till the purchase of MP's clone of the 270SAA with the three optional pins............solid, conic and penta points. The MP drops at .454 diameter, while the RCBS 250 will only do .452 diameter. They will do anything I 'll ever need.
 
J

JustJim

Well-Known Member
I used to have a Linebaugh 45 LC I referred to as my "pocket 45-70". Two of the most-accurate bullets were Lyman 457191 and 457122, sized down to fit the cylinder. The 191 was my favorite, it was a great long-range plinking bullet as well as hunting bullet. They also performed very well in a friend's Casull, loaded into 45 LC brass to fit the cylinder length.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
There are 45's that measure .452 (Small 45's)

There are 45's that measure .458 (Large 45's)

My "small" would include .452-.454 diameters.

Sorry to confound, guess I thought it would be obvious.
 
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RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I got right away but I have sizers in , .357 , .358 ,.360 that accommodate 380,9,38,357, and a 358 Win.
45s in GAP,ACP, S&W,Colts, Raptor and 45-70 and a set of 45 mag and 458 WM/Lott dies just in case .....
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Pretty easy really with a Lee type push thru sizer. And a collar button has lots of room for the lead to move so it would be even easier,
 
H

hornetguy

Active Member
I second the nomination for the Lee 452-255gr round/flat.... it works well in my Rossi lever gun.... it also worked well in my Blackhawk, and I'm about to find out how it works in my (new to me) Redhawk...
and they powder coat nicely....

PC 45 Lee 255.jpg
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Yup that 270 saa is a awesome mold for me too!!

Well MP struck again...

IMG_0205.jpeg
I placed my order Friday nite last week. Mold was on my door step noon today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

71977063338__D33964E5-466D-4263-8727-19F289654AC4.jpeg

I am working on seasoning. But was able to get about 20 good enough bullets for some pics.

IMG_0189.jpegIMG_0188.jpegIMG_0187.jpegIMG_0186.jpegIMG_0184.jpegRenderedImage.jpeg
 
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TXTad

TXTad

Active Member
hornetguy said:
I second the nomination for the Lee 452-255gr round/flat.... it works well in my Rossi lever gun.... it also worked well in my Blackhawk, and I'm about to find out how it works in my (new to me) Redhawk...
and they powder coat nicely....

View attachment 36555
Click to expand...
That's just a good, simple bullet. I haven't gotten one of those molds yet, but it's on my short list.
 
TXTad

TXTad

Active Member
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