Saeco #265 Boolits?

[mktacop]

Does anyone have one of these molds? If so, how well does the mold perform, and how are the boolits it casts?

I'm looking at buying one of these, but I don't want to make a decision I might regret. Any experience someone might have with this mold would be most appreciated.

[MikeS]

I have one of these moulds, and it casts great! My only regret with this mould is that it's only a 2 cavity mould, rather than a 4 cavity. It's basically a 200gr round nose boolit with a very slight point, with a step from the nose to the driving bands.

What use do you plan for these boolits? What you want to do with a boolit will make a difference in how it will work for you. SAECO moulds are made from iron, and so are very durable when compared to aluminum moulds (Lee moulds are made from a fairly soft aluminum!). Personally I prefer brass moulds over either aluminum or iron, and so I've gotten rid of several of my SAECO moulds, and replaced them with brass ones with a similar cavity design. The SAECO moulds are priced kind of high, a new 4 cavity mould sells for around $150.00 which is even more than most of the custom mould makers charge (which is why I haven't replaced my 2 cavity mould with a 4 cavity).

Are you looking at a new mould, or a used one? If new, make sure you buy it from a company (like Midway) that will stand behind it, as it seems that many of the production mould makers (Lyman, RCBS, Lee, etc.) have problems with moulds not casting large enough, although I don't think I've heard of anyone having that problem with a SAECO mould. If you're looking at a used mould, you're kind of stuck with however it casts, but chances are if it's an older mould (pre Redding) it should cast large enough. I've found that the moulds made pre-Redding are generally of a higher quality. I had 2 four cavity moulds that were made by I believe the original owners of SAECO, and they cast really well, and I probably shouldn't have sold them, but I replaced them with brass moulds, so really didn't need them anymore, and would prefer that they were with someone that was going to use them, rather than just sitting in the back of my mould drawer waiting to rust!

Remember, unless seriously abused, moulds tend to hold their value, so if you get the mould, and then find that you don't like it, or it doesn't work for what you wanted, you can just offer it for sale here. If it's a 4 cavity mould you're looking at, and it doesn't work for you, just let me know, I'd be interested in it! :)

[mktacop]

Thanks for all the information! I've got a WTB for one of these posted here, and another member offered to make me about 20 so I can test them out. If I can get a mold, they would primarily be used for IDPA or plinking purposes.

[MikeS]

Have you looked at the H&G #68? It's a boolit that's used in lots of 45's for target shooting, it's a SWC that's designed specifically to be accurate, and to feed in 1911's. You can get an H&G #68 clone from several different sources. Accurate Molds has one, Mihec (MP Molds) also made one, I don't know if he has any extras or not, and Lee makes one too. While some folks say the Lee isn't that close of a clone to a real H&G, it's close enough, and generally shoots the same. Another boolit you might want to consider if you're looking for more of a round nose boolit would be the H&G #34. NOE had made a group buy of this mould, but he's sold out of them, however if you don't mind using tumble lube, Lee makes a boolit that's fairly close to the H&G #34, except that they modified it to have their tumble lube style lube grooves. I've shot both Lee boolits (their #68, and their TL round nose), and for me both shot fine. For the speeds and pressures in a 45ACP round Lee's tumble lube works fine, with a properly sized boolit I've shot their tumble lube round nose boolit with NO leading at all. As I said before, the SAECO 4 cavity mould is $150.00 and that's before putting a set of handles on it! You can get a Lee 6 cavity mould and buy a set of handles for it all for about $50.00!

If you would like some samples of either the #265, or the #68 (made with a Mihec mould), or the #34, send me a PM with your address, I'd be happy to send you a few of each to try. I would offer to send you some of the Lee round nose boolits, but I don't have any that aren't loaded already, and I sold my 2 cavity mould planning on replacing it with a 6 cavity, but then I got the #34, and as it's about the same I didn't bother.

[mktacop]

Thanks again for the information. I currently have 3 Lee molds. 2 are clones of the H&G 68, but are BB. One is a 2-cav, the other a 6-cav. I also have a 2-cav 230gr RN. I don't have the TL design in any of these molds. I decided to go with a traditional design and pan-lube them until I get a Lube-sizer.

[lbaize3]

I have a four cavity #265 210 grain 45acp SACO mold, but have not cast with it yet. Still too busy trying to load a huge batch of 38s and 30-30s. I am pleased with all of my SACO molds, although the 180 grain 357 mold sometimes becomes stubborn in regard to releasing the cast boolit. I will probably cast a bunch of these 45 boolits later this spring. This mold does look good, doesn't it.....