The "Best bullet moulds of all time" thread
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
fiver
Well-Known Member
round flat point.
just about every time you ask me about a revolver or lever gun boolit that'll be the answer.
okay and most pistol boolits and probably a few rifle boolits too.
it has a pretty good meplat on just about a 2R nose shape cut off about 1/4" ahead of where the curve starts.
just about every time you ask me about a revolver or lever gun boolit that'll be the answer.
okay and most pistol boolits and probably a few rifle boolits too.
it has a pretty good meplat on just about a 2R nose shape cut off about 1/4" ahead of where the curve starts.
My .30 cal. picks won't shoot in all .30 cal. rifles, but the SAECO # 301 and # 315 are both capable of turning in some impressive results in rifles that they fit in well. I've also had great results with the Lyman 31141 and the Lyman 311290 and Lyman 311284.
My 8 mm " Gold Standard " bullet is the 323471 sized to .325" Totally amazing out of my two 8 mm rifles.
My 8 mm " Gold Standard " bullet is the 323471 sized to .325" Totally amazing out of my two 8 mm rifles.
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9.3X62AL
Guest
I am looking on here as the thread lengthens, and learning that a number of casters/shooters whose views I respect are confirming some of my similar opinions on bullet design. I am also getting some eye-opening on other good moulds that need to arrive at my house--and sooner, rather than later. Like a SAECO 315, for example.
I would like to take this opportunity to add my small bit to this listing. A design type that I have become VERY impressed with is Lee's autopistol truncated cone line of handgun slugs. These little critters feed like water down a drainpipe, even in old-school 1911A1s not ramped and throated for castings or HP j-words. Seat them with .020"-.025" of front drive band exposed--give then a slight taper crimp--and you are in business. They are not "target" bullets per se, but in my Gold Cup the 230 TC shoots better than Lyman #452374 and right with #452460. 750 FPS or close to 900 (copying my carry rounds), these bullets SHOOT. My other 9mm and 40 S&W pistols are service-grade, and the Lee TCs shoot at least as well as the cast RN and #356402 copy-by-NEI in 9mm. In 40 S&W, the Lee 401-175 TC is the only bullet I have used. No need to look elsewhere.
I would like to take this opportunity to add my small bit to this listing. A design type that I have become VERY impressed with is Lee's autopistol truncated cone line of handgun slugs. These little critters feed like water down a drainpipe, even in old-school 1911A1s not ramped and throated for castings or HP j-words. Seat them with .020"-.025" of front drive band exposed--give then a slight taper crimp--and you are in business. They are not "target" bullets per se, but in my Gold Cup the 230 TC shoots better than Lyman #452374 and right with #452460. 750 FPS or close to 900 (copying my carry rounds), these bullets SHOOT. My other 9mm and 40 S&W pistols are service-grade, and the Lee TCs shoot at least as well as the cast RN and #356402 copy-by-NEI in 9mm. In 40 S&W, the Lee 401-175 TC is the only bullet I have used. No need to look elsewhere.
Ian
Notorious member
The Lee 401-175 TC is the only bullet I ever shot in the .40, it did well and I recall zero feeding issues, even when playing with the OAL some to work around an issue with fouling accumulation in the front of the chamber.
Same with the .45 bullet. It feeds in everything and shoots pretty well too.
The TC shape also has some terminal advantages from what I understand, and is very versatile and reliable as a defensive bullet.
I will continue to update the original post over time as information continues to be added, this is an ongoing project. The organization of the lists is still something I haven't fully sorted out, so bear with me and feel free to offer up suggestions of how to better present the information.
Same with the .45 bullet. It feeds in everything and shoots pretty well too.
The TC shape also has some terminal advantages from what I understand, and is very versatile and reliable as a defensive bullet.
I will continue to update the original post over time as information continues to be added, this is an ongoing project. The organization of the lists is still something I haven't fully sorted out, so bear with me and feel free to offer up suggestions of how to better present the information.
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9.3X62AL
Guest
I am late-to-the-party on the subject of round flat nose utility in revolver applications. I have liked and used them for leverguns since forever, but in wheelguns I have followed the Elmer Keith/Semi-Wadcutter Siren Song since I got deeply involved in revolver ammo refilling--circa 1976. That particular music was getting a lot of air time back then, and my response was "TURN IT UP!"
This trait was in full flower for some time. I got the first wake-up call in the mid-1980s via a "Handloader" reprint of one of Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" columns--"Reloading For The 32/20 WCF Revolver". Two data points got my attention in its text--1) the use of SR-4756 as the cure for the caliber's wheelgun ills--and it was--and 2) a passage in its text suggesting the use of shoulderless RN bullet designs in wayward 32/20 rollers due to their tendency to "self-center in the forcing cone and bore". Near-heresy in those Keith-dominated times, but it registered with me because it made (and makes) empirical sense.
Then along came Veral Smith, and what he might lack as a tax advisor he more than makes up for as a bullet designer. His LFN and WFN designs flat-out WORK in the game fields, and are variations on the round flat nose theme. The past 8-10 years have seen the few moulds I have purchased for revolvers gravitate toward round flat nose designs--and not just because they make good levergun/wheelgun combo caliber fodder. The bullets work well, and are good designs in their own right beyond their utility as one-kind-fits-all slugs for hyphenated WCF calibers and revolver magnums.
This trait was in full flower for some time. I got the first wake-up call in the mid-1980s via a "Handloader" reprint of one of Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" columns--"Reloading For The 32/20 WCF Revolver". Two data points got my attention in its text--1) the use of SR-4756 as the cure for the caliber's wheelgun ills--and it was--and 2) a passage in its text suggesting the use of shoulderless RN bullet designs in wayward 32/20 rollers due to their tendency to "self-center in the forcing cone and bore". Near-heresy in those Keith-dominated times, but it registered with me because it made (and makes) empirical sense.
Then along came Veral Smith, and what he might lack as a tax advisor he more than makes up for as a bullet designer. His LFN and WFN designs flat-out WORK in the game fields, and are variations on the round flat nose theme. The past 8-10 years have seen the few moulds I have purchased for revolvers gravitate toward round flat nose designs--and not just because they make good levergun/wheelgun combo caliber fodder. The bullets work well, and are good designs in their own right beyond their utility as one-kind-fits-all slugs for hyphenated WCF calibers and revolver magnums.
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9.3X62AL
Guest
Ian--would that the M-9 service cartridge have its FMJ RN bullet altered to TC form. If you are a Hatcher Scale enthusiast (I am), then you know that such a shape-shift takes Form Factor from 0.9 to 1.25. M-9 ballistics are excellent, but the RN FMJ is like putting speedbumps on the Autobahn. FMJ TC is fully approved by Hague Accords, though why that matters against maniacs that decapitate journalists is its own question. It's like re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic post-iceberg hit.
Ian
Notorious member
I have several poetic rants involving politicians making regulatory decisions involving subjects for which they have fewer than zero qualifications. Logic and Reason have historically played second fiddle to the other things that drive mankind.
Anyway, I can vouch for the TC shape being superior to RN designs when the task is penetrating thin steel with a cast bullet. Empty refrigerant kegs are a favorite target of our company "shooting team", and perforation is almost assured even at a slightly oblique angle with TC bullets, whereas RN or even jacketed "ball" profile bullets tend to glance off.
Anyway, I can vouch for the TC shape being superior to RN designs when the task is penetrating thin steel with a cast bullet. Empty refrigerant kegs are a favorite target of our company "shooting team", and perforation is almost assured even at a slightly oblique angle with TC bullets, whereas RN or even jacketed "ball" profile bullets tend to glance off.
L1A1Rocker
Active Member
38 MP hollow base wad-cutter
357/38 MP 359640 HP
44 MP 300gr multi crimp groove
45 ACP, the HG 68.
300 BLK ACE 230. (so far)
357/38 MP 359640 HP
44 MP 300gr multi crimp groove
45 ACP, the HG 68.
300 BLK ACE 230. (so far)
I own the MP 359640 HP, the MP 300 gr multi crimp HP, and an MP HG68. I als have an NOE version of the ACE 230.
Wise choices my man, wise choices.
L1A1Rocker
Active Member
Thanks. I'm still very new to casting. I did a LOT of studying and learning before really getting in to it. I followed a lot of good advise from "those that know". It was me getting into the 300 Blackout that got me into casting. After completing my build (yeah, only after) I realized how expensive those big sub-sonic pills were going to cost me. Yep, home casting didn't call me, it yelled at me.
Missionary
Well-Known Member
50-95 Winchester : Lyman 515 139 cast of 50-50 (ww-pure) drops at 353 grains from my mold. Propelled with near 80 gr 3F gives 1465 fps. Will group at 2.3 - 2 inches at 100 yards from a 1876 Chaparral 28" barrel #4xxx off cross sticks. Using 4755 to achieve the same velocity will group at 2.6 inches.
I am not a fan of light cast bullets. The original load used a 285 grain to achieve the Express velocity of 1530 fps. An old book "WRACO Headstamps" (1911) states Winchester used 3F and the 285 grain cast in the 50-95 to achieve the high velocity. But when compared to the 350 grain the penetration of the 285 at 100 yards and further does not stack up.
I am not a fan of light cast bullets. The original load used a 285 grain to achieve the Express velocity of 1530 fps. An old book "WRACO Headstamps" (1911) states Winchester used 3F and the 285 grain cast in the 50-95 to achieve the high velocity. But when compared to the 350 grain the penetration of the 285 at 100 yards and further does not stack up.
Missionary
Well-Known Member
Truncated Cone as I understand it.