Help me! I'm going bonkers!

[Blammer]

Ok, here is what is driving me crazy!

the numbers!

I see people selling swapping, talking about molds and they refer to the numbers.

I think the first three will tell you the diameter of the cast bullet but WHAT or HOW do youknow what the rest mean?

How can I tell the difference between a Round Nose, Flat point, Trun Cone, Keith, what wt bullet it throws, number of lube grooves, gas check, flat base, etc... mold by the numbers!

Is there a reference list with a PIC I could look at?

[Duckiller]

Sources of info. At bottom of this(all) page is "Castpics". This has a link to Lyman on line catalog. This will show you what currently available molds look like. Also has a link to SAECO molds. For "all" Lyman/Ideal molds you need Lyman Cast bullet Guide. 2nd and 3rd Editions lists what is supposed to be all numbers of molds. The list is not perfect but it will give you bullet shape.

[BruceB]

Every mould maker has a particular numbering system. Many are purely arbitrary and offer no help at all.

For Lyman moulds, WITH pictures, go to CastPics, whch has a clickable link at the bottom of this page.

Once there, go to "Research and Data", and then "Lyman Moulds".

The Lyman mould numbers only express a GENERAL diameter, as in "311"291, or "457"122. Other makers' numbering may give absolutely NO clue as to weight, diameter etc.

I reckon it's a case of "immersion education"....I can rattle off a lot of bullet/mould specs without even thinking about it...but that's after forty years' "immersion"!

Others will help with more data, but don't get discouraged. This is one more reason why we like to collect old casting publications, too.

(While you're at Castpics. go to "Special Projects" and have a look at my 'mobile benchrest'... brag, brag)

[MakeMineA10mm]

Many companies use just numbers, like Hensley and Gibbs or Saeco. They have a list of numbers, from 1 to whatever, and you have to go look up that bullet in their catalog to figure out everything about it from caliber, to weight, to design...

Others, like RCBS and Lee have a system where there are a series of numbers, sometimes separated by dashes or a space to dilineate between caliber and weight or design.

Lyman combines the two systems and has the first set of numbers referencing the diameter and the second set of numbers is a meaningless number that represents the exact design.

A few companies will add on prefixes and suffixes, like GC (gas-check), BB (bevel-base), "U" (undersized), or HP (hollow-point). RCBS adds "K" to the 44-250-K bullet so you know it's the Keith bullet...

Basically, your best bet is to find all of the mould-makers' sites on the internet, bookmark them, and then you can go look them up for reference. :drinks: Eventually, you will become like the rest of us and when you hear a certain series of numbers, you say to yourself, "oh yeah, that's the so-and-so design"...

Sometimes when I see license plates, phone numbers, or other unrelated stuff, I think about the bullet design that number represents... But that's normal, right???:roll: :mrgreen: :castmine:

[IcerUSA]

Try this one also for Lyman molds : http://www.three-peaks.net/bullet_molds.htm :drinks:

[floodgate]

And, just to add to the confusion, if you run into a Modern-Bond mould (they are not all that common these days), the first three numbers are the caliber, and the following numbers are the length of the bullet in thousandths of an inch.

floodgate

[RayinNH]

Blammer, use the link that IcerUSA gave you. Print the pages and keep them next to the computer. When a mold is mentioned you just pull out the list and are able to look without even getting up. Non Lyman moulds you can find at Castpics...Ray

[Blammer]

thanks for all the help! Now I don't feel so bad and have some handy references...