Of your many moulds..............................

F

freebullet

Guest
MP 359640, MP 358429, MP 359395, MP 452185, MP 452200, MP 454423, MP 454270-SAA - do we see a trend here?

Don


Same boat different numbers. Have a few noe pb & 1 am I would not part with. Few Lee's I'm partial to, but no body would pay for.
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I only have 3 that I would keep. NOE 311-165 RD the old style small meplat, My first mold ever Mihec 503 copy Cramer HP, Mihec 432423 solid.
The oddest casting mold is one I just got from Ben. Its a 311467. 1 cavity will drop its bullet any time I open the mold. The second cavity the only way it easily gives up its bullet is if I open the mold IMEDIATELY after I cut the sprue. If I delay even 1 second I have to repetedly tap the mold

Use this treatment, it will work.
Better dull the point on those screws, if you don't they can shoot right out the bottom of the bullet and ruin the mould.

 
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JonB

Halcyon member
I am the type of guy where everything I own has a price. I have probably sold more molds than I currently own...that means I have bought more than two times as may molds as I currently own...Yeah, I do buy a lot of molds.

With that said, Itwould be tough for me to sell/giveaway the following molds, cause I'm not sure how I'd replace them?
6 cavity HM² 225-62
4 cavity Geo Hensley 38 Long nose WC
6 cavity RD TLC411-255 RF

I also have a 30 cal HM² mold, I haven't cast with it yet, but if it casts like the 225, I'd have to keep it too.
and also, I have a few older Lee 2 cavity pistol bullet molds (41 195gr SWC, 44 200gr RF, 45 TLTC 240gr), they cast a perfect size and near prefect round bullets...those would probably be tough to duplicate.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I've sold the ones I was willing to part with; now I'm down to my basic needs. My widow will have to dispose of the rest.
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
MiHecs. I did sell one, brass and too heavy for my old shoulder (429421 clone)... Hated to do it. The aluminum ones that I can handle - never. The H&G 68 - my very first mold - I will NEVER sell!
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
have to say... I started casting less than 10 yrs ago. and I have jumped in head first... I now have about 25-30 molds - all in less than 10 yrs! It is an obsession! I sell very few once I acquire them! A category I will no longer sell (did a cpl earlier) are the RD molds! Only exception is that I have a dbl of one mold and may sell the dup. But not sure...
 

Roger Allen

Active Member
I should have never sold my Lyman 457193 which is the 45-70 mold at 405 gr. It was undersized but I powder coated to diameter, can’t push too fast (trapdoor works) but it works so well. Should have never sold it. Hopefully I like Noe version of this mold w the larger nose but the Lyman worked so well. Why change?
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Ok guys, the moulds you wouldn't sell - sentimental value? Great shooters? Not easily replaced?
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
mine are because of a combination of things.
they cast nice, they size easily and take gas checks like a champ, and most of them just go through the whole process without giving me any grief.
many are 4 cavity molds.
the molds make a bunch of good bullets in a hurry.
the pistol bullets go through the bullet feeders and take lube in about 1 second, and they load in the cases and feed through their respective guns without a hitch.
they are accurate enough for target shooting, have enough meplat for hunting, and can be used for self defense if needed.
none of them require a fancy alloy and can handle a wide range of velocity's on top of different powders.
 

Intheshop

Banned
Only have about 20 moulds.The favorite is the one that's being used at the time?RCBS 95g 6mm is probably the nicest for dropping A+ bullets......but that's a complex equation because it's reflective of the calibre and 1/2 dz accuracy rigs here that utilize it,which gets devided by development time......Other standouts are cheap Lee's,but that also has to be examined with developed load time in.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
I don't have many moulds. But I would have to say that the oldest and best moulds I have are the ones I received as gifts from a special friend ( not mentioning any names ;) Ha Ha!).
I do have an old single cavity Ideal 358311 that I actually found on e-bay and only spent $25 Wasn't in bad shape, just needed a little TLC.
The bullets shot fine in my 357 Mags and excellent in my .38 Special but I had the hankering for a HP mould so I sent it to Buckshot and he worked wonders. Actually drilled a larger pin size then he usually does, from what he said. Onr pin is double side with two different tips and he also enclosed a blank pin which can be used to make it a Flat nose or I could make my own style if I liked. The one he like is still the one I use.
The 358311 is a pretty accurate bullet in my pistols but now that it is hollow pointed it has even improved it's accuracy.
With soft alloy it make a pretty big hole in stuff in my S&W Mod 15.

Ideal358311HP'ed.jpg
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I have an NOE 225-37 that could go away and a half dozen Lee doubles that can stay or go . I aquired most of those in the formative years and pick up one or more when I see the I got a shoe box full of them I been planning on heaving out the door posts . I then offer them , after I cast a few with them for size and defect , to new guys and the occasional struggling new guy .

There are a few that if a guy were willing to pay the near new price I'd let go as well but as of yet that isn't happening so I keep them list of great moulds that might moove along .

As for not for sale moulds ?
NOE
454424 copy 5C, 250 gr , drops .4535 , SWC runs great in at least 6 .
279-124 5C . Shoots better at full jacketed speeds than full jacketed does .
225-55 , 22-55 copy isn't going anywhere .

Lyman
The 458193 single would be last or go with the 45-70 which I don't see being for sale any time soon .
There's also a 25 cal 4 C that will hang around as long as there is a 25 to feed .

Mountain Moulds
453-350 is definitely a keeper as long as there is a heavy 45 @.451 around.

Lee
There's a 6C 358-158 that's a keeper along with the 452-255 . Not because of any special attraction to the Lee line but because it's just one of those bullets that I haven't made shoot poorly in anything yet .

I have a Cramer #45 , .311 , 150 , GC pointy 2C . 30-30 likes it , 308 is coming around .
I'll keep it too . I played the "gee that seems like a lot of money for such a weird looking mould " bit and the guy got all weird and says " $20 ? Is that too much ?" , " For $20 I can take a chance I guess " .
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I plan to keep my Ideal 360270. The one I have is the only one I've ever seen in person, or online. It looks like a hollowbase wadcutter at first glance, then you start noticing the differences, it was designed from the start as a hollowpoint wadcutter. This mould was only listed for about 7 years, from 1927 to 1935, plus a mystery reference in 1906. Named the "Manstopper" in factory literature, I really wish mine could talk. I would buy it steaks and drinks all night long to hear its story.
360270-5.jpg
 
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KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
Here is one I wouldn't want to sell. It's a Lyman 452374 that I did a Cramer HP job on. The bullets drop at about 210-212 grs. Casts as fast as an identical unaltered mold so no downside there, and saves about 10% on lead. Also feeds in any gun that will feed RNs.

45Cramer1.jpg45Cramer2.jpg
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
The more I use this one, the more I like it.
I guess I better hold on to this one.


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