Help decide on molds for 38/357 & 44 pistols

[Revolver]

My primary calibers are 38 special, 357 mag, 44 mag. I already have lyman 2 cavity molds for 38/357 & 44 that are gas checked however I would also like to have some molds that are not gas checked for plinking. I have a lyman 358429 which is nice but it produces boolits that are too long and won't fit all my guns when loaded for 357 as that mold was designed for 38 special.

My questions are...

What would you suggest I get for general purpose non GC molds for 38/357 & 44 mag?

Experienced casters, do you prefer 2 cavity or 4 cavity molds?

[Lefty SRH]

Persoanlly I like 4 cavity molds, you get a pile of boolits quicker.
Its hard to bea t a Keith style mold for the .44mag. You can load it heavy, light, and hunt with it.
.38/.357 boolits I like the Lyman 358311, its a nice classic round nose boolit

[45-70 Chevroner]

For the longest time I have been shooting a keith style in 38 and 357 and I really like them but here in the last year I have started using a double ended wadcutter 150 gr. great for plinking. I got the mold here on this site in a trade it's a Lee six cavity and it was well used but still makes great looking boolits. A six cavity mold will cast a lot of boolits in short order. As for the 44, the only thing I shoot is a Lyman Keith 240 gr. boolit from a double cavity. Well I guess thats not quite true, as I also shoot a 44 Lyman Keith 215 gr. GC from a double cavity mold.

[Larry Gibson]

Lyman 4 cavity in 358477 and 429421 or the Lee 6 cavity moulds in TL358-158-SWC or 358-158-RF and TL430-240-SWC. I've the Lyman moulds in 2 cavity and shoot a lot of them but I also have the TL358-158-SWC and the TL430-240-SWC and shoot a whole lot more of those at low 38 & 44 SPL velocities and medium level magnum velocities (1000 - 1100 fps).

I most often size and lube the TLs in a 450 lubrasizer and use Javelina or BAC lube.

Larry Gibson

[Rex]

I have come to like the 358665. It is a round nose flat point much like the Lee 358-158RF except the nose is a bit flatter and mine drops the bullet around 164-5 grains with weel weight metal. Qiite accurate in my S&W 686, will fit the Model 27-28 cylinder and loads from a speed loader very well.

[GRUMPA]

If it were me I would go with a mould that had the most cavities for the given design I wanted. And if I didn't know what design/style I wanted I would post in the boolit exchange area of this forum and ask so I could try them out first before I got any mould. Just my .02

[45-70 Chevroner]

You can get a Lee Six cavity mold for $39.49 and a set of Lee Six cavity handles for $11.49 from Midway. Thats less than two boxs of Gas Checks.

[RayinNH]

Mr. Gibson's recommendation of the Lee TL-158-SWC and 358-158-RF is a good one. They are my most used 38/357 boolits. The tumble lube version gets used in the .38 and the round front in the .357 mag. The six cavity mold produces results quickly when lead and mold are up to temperature...Ray

[steg]

+1 with 45/70 Chevroner.

[Huntducks]

I like iron molds....

Number of cav. is up to you

Buy a RCBS 38-150

Lyman 358091 or 358495 everyone needs a WC mold.

For the 44- Lyman 429421

[paul edward]

What would you suggest I get for general purpose non GC molds for 38/357 & 44 mag?

Experienced casters, do you prefer 2 cavity or 4 cavity molds?

2 or 4 cavity question: Answer depends on how many bullets you plan to use.

I like the Lee 429-215 SWC grain plain base. Works in all of my 44's.

For 38/357, I have the Lee 358-140 SWC plain base. I use the nose punch and bullet seater for Lyman 356402. Also like the looks of Lee's 358-105 SWC and 358-125 RF, but do not have those molds.

[youngda9]

Lee 6 cavity 358-158-RF and an Accurate Molds 431-260V is what I use for 357 and 44. Both designs have nice big meplats and hit hard, are accurate, and punch good holes in paper also. They're all I'll ever need for these calibers.

[Silverboolit]

I just loaded and shot a new Lee 358-105gr. 6 cavity. This mold sure puts out the boolits! L have them loaded over a light charge of Universal Clays, no leading and not much powder residue. This is out of my Ruger GP-100, 6 in. barrel. Quite accurate, too.
Targets look like they were hit with a paper punch.

[melter68]

For the 357mag, i would you the lee 2 cavity mold with gas check, it works like a dream and the gas checks make a difference too.

I like the lyman steel molds, not the ali molds, but on this one the lee does best

[Jtarm]

I have a lyman 358429 which is nice but it produces boolits that are too long and won't fit all my guns when loaded for 357

Seat/crimp over the shoulder. Cast from quenched WW and loaded over 13.5 of 2400, that bullet is wicked-accurate in my OM blackhawk. My auto pistol/jacketed shooting buddies refuse to believe an old fashioned sixgun and home-made lead slugs can shoot rings around their bullet-sprayers.

There seems to be a definite "sweet spot" in the pressure/bullet hardness ratio when water quenched Keith bullets are loaded maybe 10-20% below max] (I think 15 grains of 2400 is considered max for the 358429 per Lyman 46. =) 2400 has always worked best for me (maybe Keith knew something). !6.5 gns under the 429421 in a .44 spl case is even better. Caveat: I've only shot that out of .44 special revolvers. In my .44 world, specials are specials and magnums are magnums and never the twain shall meet. .38/.357s are allowed to fraternize:-)

[Revolver]

Wow, lots of stuff to consider, thanks everyone. Maybe I will try just crimping over the shoulder and see how that works (for the 38 mold in 357).

[Jal5]

I offer another vote for the Lee 358105 in 38 spl and either the 358429 or 358158RF for the 357 mag. That's pretty much all I ever use now for those calibers using the S&W M66. Joe

[Tom Herman]

I would strongly recommend the Lyman 429421 four cavity mould: It's a wicked casting machine! The thing just puts out good bullets all day long.
The only caveat is that if you're going to load for lever action rifles, I found this profile is long and doesn't feed well.
If there's any chance that you're going to do this, get a round nose flat point. That's what I did with my .45 LC's and it feeds GREAT.
My .44 cal solution was load .44 Specials (which I use a lot of anyways!) and they fed GREAT with the Keith style SWC.
Best of Luck!

-Tom

[EMC45]

Me personally?.....For the .44 I would go with the Lyman 429-421. For the .38/357 I would go with the 358-429, or the 358-311. Also the Lee 358158RF is a great bullet. I have shot several pounds of them and they have always done well.

[Char-Gar]

For a PB bullet in the 38/357 I have been using a SAECO/Cramer #12, but that design is long out of print. Today, I would use Phil Sharpe's old design 358477

For the 44, you can't go any better than Elmer Keiths 429241 or a good clone.