Ian
Notorious member
RBHarter said something on the Lyman mould thread that got me thinking about what are the time-proven designs and why doesn't someone just copy those as a foundation. If you were to start over from scratch with the basic, common calibers and typical guns so chambered, what would be your first picks? What are the "must haves" that you couldn't do without and why? If you were to recommend a general mould for a newbie with a typical example of a common gun, what would you recommend as a "most likely to succeed" design? If you were planning to start a new mould manufacturing company that focused on producing and inventorying a basic lineup of standard production moulds, what would that lineup look like? I threw just a few out there and will keep updating the list as we go.
Give a number, what it's used for, WHY it works well, particulars an imitator might need to know, things you'd change, etc.
.22 caliber (Hornet, .223 Remington, .222 Remington)
Lee C224-55-RF
RCBS 22-55
Lyman 225415 (.223/5.56)
Lyman 225438 (Hornet)
.24 caliber
Lyman 245496
.257 caliber
6.5mm
Lyman 266469 lapped out to .2685" for Swedish Mausers.
.270
RCBS 130 and 150
7mm
NOE 7mm, what's the number, Fiver?
RCBS 145 grain (7mm TCU and 7X30 Waters)
.30 caliber (.30 carbine, .30-30, .30-40, .308, .30-'06, 300 WM, .300 H&H, etc.)
For plinking/light varmint work: Lee 311-100-2R or Soup Can.
GC middleweight designs: Lyman 311041, provided the nose casts .300" even and the intermediate band is .305" at least. For more generous throats such as some (not all) Marlin .30-30s have, NOE 311-165 with real lube grooves or Ranch Dog TL version. Ric's pick is an H&G #150.
Ed Harris' SKS bullet.
Heavier rifle designs: RCBS 30-180FN (lots of votes), MP 30 SIL, Accurate Molds copy of Ideal 311284.
NOE 311299 since Lyman/Ideal have made like two in 120 years that actually fit a .30 caliber rifle. I'd like to see some taper from the middle of the base up to the first band, like Lyman tries to cut it. NOE's is parallel all the way.
Saeco #315? The genericized Eagan bullet. Good bullet in lots of things.
I'll submit also the John Ardito 311679. Outstanding bullet if anyone could ever cut it correctly.
300 BLK
ACE 311-230. Mine is perfect because it doesn't quite follow the nose profile exactly on the drawing and instead has a little rebate right at the break in the ogive. NOE copied his drawing faithfully and the ogive jams in the rifling early, which can easily be a show-stopper for AR-15s and often does require the bullets be seated too deeply to crimp in a groove or get the front band into the throat very far. I'd like to see it cut just like the one I have and also make the forward groove a crimp groove because that's what we use it for anyway.
.31 caliber
.32 caliber rifle
.32 caliber handgun
RCBS 115 SWC gas check.
.33 caliber
9mm
.35 caliber rifle
RCBS 35-200-RF
BRP 35-220 (largest a Marlin 336 can handle)
Lee C358-200-RF
NOE 360-180GC WFN (for leverguns).
.35 caliber handgun
MP 359640HP
Lee 158 SWC.
H&G #51 160 grain SWC
Lyman 358429 (rifle and Blackhawk)
.375 caliber
.41 caliber
.44 caliber
Glen and Ian: Ideal 429421HP.
LBT WFN.
.451 caliber
Accurate 45-230L. I have sixteen .452" bullet moulds in the 200-230 grain area and this one is hands down the absolute best shooting. By accident, I designed it myself trying to put real lube grooves on a Lee TL452-230-2R, also a very good bullet, and I've shot it in just about every platform out there. Don't ask me why it works so well, but it does.
H&G #68, or whatever the actual number of the flat-based one was (#69 I think?). Nobody makes a copy I like. Accurate catalogs one that's real close.
RCBS or MP 45-270-SAA.
.458 caliber
This could be long. Think newbie, think smokeless powder. Ok, go ahead and list some good GG ones for BPCR. Paper jacket cores are a little beyond the scope of what I intended here.
.475 caliber
.500
Wow that got long fast. At first I was thinking along the lines of just .38 Special, 9mm, .45 ACP, .44 Magnum, .30-30, .308, .35 Remington/358 Winchester/.35 Whelen and maybe 45/70 and .45 Colt but there are so many others.
Give a number, what it's used for, WHY it works well, particulars an imitator might need to know, things you'd change, etc.
.22 caliber (Hornet, .223 Remington, .222 Remington)
Lee C224-55-RF
RCBS 22-55
Lyman 225415 (.223/5.56)
Lyman 225438 (Hornet)
.24 caliber
Lyman 245496
.257 caliber
6.5mm
Lyman 266469 lapped out to .2685" for Swedish Mausers.
.270
RCBS 130 and 150
7mm
NOE 7mm, what's the number, Fiver?
RCBS 145 grain (7mm TCU and 7X30 Waters)
.30 caliber (.30 carbine, .30-30, .30-40, .308, .30-'06, 300 WM, .300 H&H, etc.)
For plinking/light varmint work: Lee 311-100-2R or Soup Can.
GC middleweight designs: Lyman 311041, provided the nose casts .300" even and the intermediate band is .305" at least. For more generous throats such as some (not all) Marlin .30-30s have, NOE 311-165 with real lube grooves or Ranch Dog TL version. Ric's pick is an H&G #150.
Ed Harris' SKS bullet.
Heavier rifle designs: RCBS 30-180FN (lots of votes), MP 30 SIL, Accurate Molds copy of Ideal 311284.
NOE 311299 since Lyman/Ideal have made like two in 120 years that actually fit a .30 caliber rifle. I'd like to see some taper from the middle of the base up to the first band, like Lyman tries to cut it. NOE's is parallel all the way.
Saeco #315? The genericized Eagan bullet. Good bullet in lots of things.
I'll submit also the John Ardito 311679. Outstanding bullet if anyone could ever cut it correctly.
300 BLK
ACE 311-230. Mine is perfect because it doesn't quite follow the nose profile exactly on the drawing and instead has a little rebate right at the break in the ogive. NOE copied his drawing faithfully and the ogive jams in the rifling early, which can easily be a show-stopper for AR-15s and often does require the bullets be seated too deeply to crimp in a groove or get the front band into the throat very far. I'd like to see it cut just like the one I have and also make the forward groove a crimp groove because that's what we use it for anyway.
.31 caliber
.32 caliber rifle
.32 caliber handgun
RCBS 115 SWC gas check.
.33 caliber
9mm
.35 caliber rifle
RCBS 35-200-RF
BRP 35-220 (largest a Marlin 336 can handle)
Lee C358-200-RF
NOE 360-180GC WFN (for leverguns).
.35 caliber handgun
MP 359640HP
Lee 158 SWC.
H&G #51 160 grain SWC
Lyman 358429 (rifle and Blackhawk)
.375 caliber
.41 caliber
.44 caliber
Glen and Ian: Ideal 429421HP.
LBT WFN.
.451 caliber
Accurate 45-230L. I have sixteen .452" bullet moulds in the 200-230 grain area and this one is hands down the absolute best shooting. By accident, I designed it myself trying to put real lube grooves on a Lee TL452-230-2R, also a very good bullet, and I've shot it in just about every platform out there. Don't ask me why it works so well, but it does.
H&G #68, or whatever the actual number of the flat-based one was (#69 I think?). Nobody makes a copy I like. Accurate catalogs one that's real close.
RCBS or MP 45-270-SAA.
.458 caliber
This could be long. Think newbie, think smokeless powder. Ok, go ahead and list some good GG ones for BPCR. Paper jacket cores are a little beyond the scope of what I intended here.
.475 caliber
.500
Wow that got long fast. At first I was thinking along the lines of just .38 Special, 9mm, .45 ACP, .44 Magnum, .30-30, .308, .35 Remington/358 Winchester/.35 Whelen and maybe 45/70 and .45 Colt but there are so many others.
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