A plinking bullet for my 358 Win. JES Rebore

[Ben]

Here's an " Oldie ".
IDEAL 358246. The outside of the mold has a few dings, etc. The mold cavity looks pristine.
I'd like to know how old this mold really is ? ? I'm 67 yrs. old ( born in 49' ), I figure the mold is older than I am.

No vent lines inside of the mold halves.
Cast a .3615" bullet.
I've sized these to .3605" and lubed with Ben's Red with an over-coat of Ben's Liquid Lube.

I'll shoot these in " Rows of 5 ea. "
Maybe I'll find an accurate load ? ?

 

[gman]

A mold like that deserves to be in the hands of someone who will care for it and use it. Nice mold Ben. You guys have me looking for a rifle to turn into a 358. How am I supposed to ever recover from my addiction hanging out with this crowd lol!

 

[Ben]

Not going to be very easy.

 

[Chris]

Ben, Unique has shot well for me in .358 and perhaps you would try it sometime. I plink with the 358315 which throws a 205 gr. more or less and looks somewhat like your bullet above.

Interestingly, 12.0 grains Unique shoots well and hits precise point of 50 yard impact as the 250 Hornady loaded max. Wouldn't be surprised if you could work out something similar with your bullet. I have no experience with the powders you are trying so I anticipate your results.

 

[Ben]

Chris,

My bullet is a plain base and I'm reluctant to push it too fast.

Ben

 

[Ben]

Anyone want to give a " guess ti mat " of the age of my mould ? ?

 

[gman]

My guess......77

 

[JWFilips]

Ben,
Don,t know the age of that mould but that is the 38 S & W bullet......which is An. old caliber

 

[Ben]

Yes Jim,

I've decided the same.
When I 1st cast with it and was getting very close to .362", my
1st thoughts were...." Umm, this mold is made for the 38 S & W."

I'm hopeful that the bullet will shoot well at sedate velocities out of my 358 Win. rifles ? ?

 

[RicinYakima]

I think it is post WWII, but pre-1954. That is the smokeless powder bullet for the 38 S&W that was noted for accuracy after about 1910. If I had to shoot anything other than a full wadcutter for money, this is the one I would use. As an aside, the PPC shooters in the early 1970's used these for the speed loader strips for reloads after shooting the cylinder of WC's.

 

[Ben]

Thanks Rick !

Ben

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

When looking for a light plinking bullet. is there a nose style. That would work better. Or is fit still king?

 

[Ben]

Since mine needs to feed out of the mag box of my VZ-24 Mauser , obviously nose shape is critical in my particular application.

If you're shooting out of a single shot , not so.
Fit is always KING !

 

[fiver]

fit is king.
but you can get away with some weird combinations if the alloy strength and pressure curve is correct.
I have to fight getting gas checks on my 410610 mold so it by default become my low velocity 41 mag bullet.
the wad cutter is my medium speed bullet and the plain base lyman is my high velocity go to.
my alloy choice now gets softer the faster I go in this caliber, but I water drop the plain base ones.

if I use the few remaining lazer cast store bought bullets I have here at anything less than warp-9 pressures I get severe leading and have to shoot the slow end non gas check bullets to clean the leading out of the revolvers barrels.

the lack of crimp groove and extra lube capacity leads me to believe this was initially intended for black powder use.