Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
I agree
Lyman 358429
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
The mould arrived today. Sprue plate screw is " buggered " a little but other than that, the mould looks real good. Looks like it has a light coat of graphite spray on it.
Ben
The bullets drop from the mould at .360" They size out well to .3575"
Here is a sample, ready to load :
Ben
The bullets drop from the mould at .360" They size out well to .3575"
Here is a sample, ready to load :
Last edited:
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
That sprue plate screw isn't too bad. A little judicious tapping with a small hammer and a thin file will straighten that right out. A dab of cold blue (or not) and you’ll never know it was buggered.
Great mold, classic design.
Great mold, classic design.
Maven
Well-Known Member
I had a #359429 DC years ago, but couldn't get perfect fill out in the rear cavity even after routing a trough in sprue plate. Also, mine cast a bit smaller than I'd prefer for my Ruger BH. Had I known about "beagling" then, I might have kept it. Btw, following Lyman's recommendations about crimping over the first driving band didn't improve accuracy one bit. However, following Brian Pearce's recommendation to trim .357Mag. brass to 1.25" will definitely help in guns with shorter cylinders.
CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
Caveats up front, Ben.......
My version of the Lyman #358429 is a poetic one with three differing drive band lengths. Its as-cast weight is 163 grains in 92/6/2.
My usual load in my 1940s-vintage Colt OMT x 6" is that #358429 atop 3.5 grains of WW-231 sparked by WSP caps and put up in W-W unplated brass. These are pretty docile, I doubt they are going 800 FPS. They are quite accurate, though.
Older (1996) Winchester data shows 3.7-4.2 grains of 231 under a 158 grain lead bullet for standard pressures. With 38 Specials, platform age and type can run from the the sublime to the ridiculous--a 1950-made Chief's Special is a very different animal than a S&W Heavy-Duty N-frame from the 1930s. I have 5 357 Magnums in the safe and 2 38 Specials at present.
I have shot a lot of #358477 in 38 special with 4.0 x 231, too. I can hit well with my Model 642 DAO noisemaker to 15 yards with that load.
My version of the Lyman #358429 is a poetic one with three differing drive band lengths. Its as-cast weight is 163 grains in 92/6/2.
My usual load in my 1940s-vintage Colt OMT x 6" is that #358429 atop 3.5 grains of WW-231 sparked by WSP caps and put up in W-W unplated brass. These are pretty docile, I doubt they are going 800 FPS. They are quite accurate, though.
Older (1996) Winchester data shows 3.7-4.2 grains of 231 under a 158 grain lead bullet for standard pressures. With 38 Specials, platform age and type can run from the the sublime to the ridiculous--a 1950-made Chief's Special is a very different animal than a S&W Heavy-Duty N-frame from the 1930s. I have 5 357 Magnums in the safe and 2 38 Specials at present.
I have shot a lot of #358477 in 38 special with 4.0 x 231, too. I can hit well with my Model 642 DAO noisemaker to 15 yards with that load.
Wasalmonslayer
Well-Known Member
Looks like it casts a great bullet!
Are all the bands .360 or is the front one narrow?
Are all the bands .360 or is the front one narrow?
358156 hp
At large, whereabouts unknown.
I once lost a pin match using full diameter FDB 358429 over Titegroup in 357 mag cases in a 686. The throats fouled by the second reload and I couldn't seat my final reload. Even so, I pulled the sticky ones out and barely got beat as I cycled through the cylinder. My opponents last pin hit the ground just a mite before my last pin did. Yes, we were both having that kind of a relay. I overheated the revolver (darn Titegroup) and warped my nylon Hogue grips, plus Titegroup and the bullet lube I was using at the time conspired against me to foul the throats. Thirty seconds with a bore brush in the cylinder fixed everything. That was the last match using Titegroup, or Thompsons Blue Angel lube. The 686 got Hogue wooden grips to replace the nylon ones. Now I just powdercoat everything anyway.
Boys, I turned 81 today and did a little shooting anyway. This 358429 Keith at 173 grains over 7 grains Unique in a .357 case shoots well enough that it makes an old man look pretty good. I am out of 2400, running short of Unique and don't know what I'll try next. HS6 looks pretty good but takes Mag. primers to burn proper. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Rex
Rex
358156 hp
At large, whereabouts unknown.
Rex- consider HP38, which is the same as the current Winchester 231, or if you prefer Alliant Red Dot/Promo or Green Dot are often available. Hercos a bit slower than Unique, but I have often seen it as the only thing left on the shelf.
True story- a couple of component panics ago pistol powder was scarce, almost non-existent. I was in a local gun store on a Saturday trying to scrounge components when a couple of younger guys came in asking for Unique. The store owner told them that all he had left was a couple of lbs of Herco left. They ranted a bit about how unfair the world was and left in a huff. I scurried over after they left and bought the Herco. It was a pretty good day.
True story- a couple of component panics ago pistol powder was scarce, almost non-existent. I was in a local gun store on a Saturday trying to scrounge components when a couple of younger guys came in asking for Unique. The store owner told them that all he had left was a couple of lbs of Herco left. They ranted a bit about how unfair the world was and left in a huff. I scurried over after they left and bought the Herco. It was a pretty good day.
CWLONGSHOT
Well-Known Member
I made an interesting discovery with this bullet just last weekend. I have a marlin 1894 and I altered the action to allow this bullet use. When crimped in the crimp groove. I generally speaking to use this bullet, which I really like, needed to be crimped over the front driving band as described above. I've scoped this gun, because seeing the sights has become difficult. It now wears a two and three-quarter power TV view old-school Redfield. The scope fits the gun well, and although I'm opposed to optics on levers, I'm learning to live with it. What I discovered was those new "proper" seeded bullets would not shoot nearly as well as the bullets crimped over the front driving band. And it was really noticeable at 100 yards. At 50 yards both bullets shot very well. But the longer ones were a looser group of about an inch. Where the crimped over the driving band bullets, always punched a ragged hole. L at 100 yards the longer bullets shot about 3 1/2 to 4 inches where the bullet script over the driving band were sub 2 inches. Now there is other variables because they're not the same alloy and not the same powder. Oh they're both loaded with Bluedot but different lot numbers and vastly different years. I've had this rifle for 30 years and some of that ammo I was shooting with at least 20 to 25 years old ( All my handloads.) where the longer seated bullets were cast last year and loaded last year. So that very well could have something to do with it as well. I have no way of knowing. But one thing I did do was I loaded up a box of this bullet tripped over the driving band. And will test it next time I go to the range with this rifle.
Cw
Cw