Lyman 358477
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
fiver
Well-Known Member
for a mold that is as good as the 477 is you would think they would try to keep it mostly the same.
it seems the front drive band and the nose is what they liked to interpret when they got a new cherry.
and apparently they went through enough cherrys for a bunch of changes.
it seems the front drive band and the nose is what they liked to interpret when they got a new cherry.
and apparently they went through enough cherrys for a bunch of changes.
Yeah cherries do wear out, would be nice though if the new cherries would at least be close to the one it's replacing. Doesn't seem to be a priority though. Not just with Lyman either. Many years ago I was using a lot of RCBS's 35 200 and kinda frustrated with a 2 cavity I bought a second one, they were probably 7-8 years difference in the mfg date so hardly consecutive molds. The bullets look quite similar but there was about 6-7 gr difference in as cast weight using the same pot of alloy. Both molds cast beautifully and both drop great bullets but the idea of using 2 double cavity molds to produce more bullets for competition didn't pan out this time.
Thought I'd attach a couple of photos of one of the 477's that I already own. Look at the nose profile and the depth of the lube groove as compared to the one that I bought a few days ago.
Here is the one that I bought a few days ago
Similar but certainly not the same :
Here is the one that I bought a few days ago
Similar but certainly not the same :
Last edited:
Wiresguy
Active Member
Your new mold reminds me of the 429360, similar design except for the nose section.
The 429360 was much maligned on the CB forum and I received a little "push back" when I said mine was accurate. That's been a few years ago and the mold has since found a new home. Probably one I should have kept, but you know how it goes - gotta keep trying something new
Odd how Lyman used so many different cherries for the same bullet number.
The 429360 was much maligned on the CB forum and I received a little "push back" when I said mine was accurate. That's been a few years ago and the mold has since found a new home. Probably one I should have kept, but you know how it goes - gotta keep trying something new
Odd how Lyman used so many different cherries for the same bullet number.
If ANYONE ever said anything that the higher powers didn't agree with , you could expect the wrath to come down. My view is , it is your mould, you say you like it, you say it shoots well.........end of story.
Ben
Exactly Ben.
I don't care what works or doesn't work in your gun and neither do my guns
If it works for me and my guns then I use it. I don't even consider others opinions when the target tells me the gun is happy.
Some people just can't be happy if others have results that don't mirror their own.
I don't care what works or doesn't work in your gun and neither do my guns
If it works for me and my guns then I use it. I don't even consider others opinions when the target tells me the gun is happy.
Some people just can't be happy if others have results that don't mirror their own.
I think with some people it's that they tried and failed and to them if they can't do it not much chance you could. With others it's that what you did wasn't inline with the old wives tales they routinely pass along therefore you didn't do what you claimed. No shortage of folks that will try to thwart the art of casting. Fortunately there are lot's of folks that want to learn something new and are happy for others that have success and try to learn from them.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
And thank goodness you did!
Longone
Active Member
Which makes me ask why Lyman changed dimensions and driving bands, nose diameters on molds over the years. I traded for some 311291 bullets and they shot lights out in my 03-A3, I was amazed how well they shot, so much so that I went out the next day and ordered a new 311291 for my very own.
I was never so disappointed with a mold, the nose was undersize and the bullet wasn’t round. I get it that not every rifle shoots every bullet but in a side by side these two were very different. If they are going to change the shape, dimensions, it would be nice for them to add a prefix or suffix with an explanation.
Rant over.
KeithB
Resident Half Fast Machinist
I think Lyman's QC has been pretty variable over the life of the enterprise. I have duplicates of several Lyman molds and sometimes the difference between them is noticeable. As Longone notes, sometimes the bullets from one mold work well and another supposedly identical mold drops junk.
KeithB
Resident Half Fast Machinist
They are what they are, I treat Lyman molds as one-of-a-kind creations. I can deal with diameter issues, but it's hard to alter the basic shape of a cavity. Of course, Lee has done the same thing over the years. The current 358-125RF is very different from the first ones given that designation. And a two cavity version I had was slightly different from the six cavity version I bought a year later to get higher production.
I can sympathize to a degree. It's hard enough to make a bullet mold, and even harder to make two (or more) identical bullet molds, separated in time by years. But the variation is extreme in some cases, and I won't speculate why.
I can sympathize to a degree. It's hard enough to make a bullet mold, and even harder to make two (or more) identical bullet molds, separated in time by years. But the variation is extreme in some cases, and I won't speculate why.