Top 12 molds of all time?

[45nut]

Need nominations for a calendar idea....[smilie=1:

[rugerman1]

H&G 68:drinks:

[Jack Stanley]

Lyman 311291 or 311334 . If ya need another H&G mold , the little hundred and fifteen grain for the 32-20 ... I think it's number 67 .

Jack

[JudgeBAC]

Any of the Keith designs and 358156 Thompson gas check design.

[madcaster]

The Keith #429421 or #454424
Then an RCBS 45-270-SAA
Then a #375449..................

[Bullshop]

Perhaps not a clasic but the one we here at BS acres shoot prolly 100 to 1 of anything else is the NEI #2. For us its #1.
BIC/BS

[Mike Nesbitt]

I certainly agree with #311291. And let me vote for the old
Lyman Ideal #3118, or #311008 if you prefer its modern designation. One more that gets my vote is the old Gould hollow point for the .45/70, #457122HP. Shoot sharp, Mike

[fatnhappy]

311284
or 314299

[rmb721]

31141 (311041)
311291
358311
358156
358429
429421
429244
452374
452424
225415
225438
3118

There's 12 for a Lyman calandar

[MakeMineA10mm]

Wow, I'm guessing there will be a lot of consistency for about 8 of them, and then there will be fights over the last 4 or so! :mrgreen:

The older, original version of Lyman #429421 (Keith)

H&G #68

Lyman #31141

Lyman #452374

Lyman #311467

Saeco #115

Lyman #358156

Saeco #315

LBT 45-325-WFN

[jh45gun]

Ideal 311407 Goes perfect with the 30-30 and thats about as classic as you can get.

[Mike Nesbitt]

Let me also cast a vote for the good old round ball. Of any size. After all, the round ball is where this all started. Shoot sharp, Mike

[45nut]

Let me also cast a vote for the good old round ball. Of any size. After all, the round ball is where this all started. Shoot sharp, Mike

Ahh,,,profound thinking there....:drinks:

[MT Gianni]

LBT180fn classic 357 mold that we have shameless had 3 group buys of [lee copy]
RCBS 180 fn
LY 311466
LY 429421 square groove
LEE soup can a scaled down version of #1
LY 311291
LY 358627
LY 35863
LY 454424
LY 358156
LY 3118
Saeco 352

[Texasflyboy]

Hensley & Gibbs #68 -200gr. SWC
Hensley & Gibbs #50 -148gr. Wadcutter
Hensley & Gibbs #99 - .308-.312 .30 Caliber 184grs.
Hensley & Gibbs #20 - .308-.312 .30 Caliber 170grs.
Hensley & Gibbs #34 - 230gr. LRN .45ACP
Hensley & Gibbs #130 - 200gr. SWC .45ACP
Hensley & Gibbs #115 - 120gr. LRN 9mm
Hensley & Gibbs #503 - 240gr. SWC .44
Hensley & Gibbs #501 - 250gr. SWC .45 Colt
Hensley & Gibbs #79 - Cap & Ball (.31 .36, .44 Caliber Black Powder Revolvers)
Hensley & Gibbs #254 - .30 Carbine LRN
Hensley & Gibbs #51 - .38/.357 "Phil Sharpe Bullet for .357 Mag)

Not that I am biased or anything....[smilie=1:

[45nut]

Not that I am biased or anything....

HAR! Thats priceless!

[357maximum]

HMMMMMM...no partcular order, just the way they came to my thinker..

Ly-358429
Ly-358156
Nei 358-180-GC-SWC
LBT 35-180 Larsons' version
Rcbs 35-200
Ly. 358627
Ly-311440
Ly-31141
Ly-311291
lee 30 soupcan
just about any 148 gr 38 special wadcutter, just pick one(rcbs38-148 my pick)
ly 225415

Could always throw a pic of a Hp version in to spice it up a bit.

[I Haines]

Keith's 429421 is the best bullet I dealt with. IH

[NVcurmudgeon]

I got here too late, and you guys named all my favorites, EXCEPT RCBS 35-200.

[357maximum]

I got here too late, and you guys named all my favorites, EXCEPT RCBS 35-200.

Ha, I caught you not paying full attention :)..see 5th boolit down on my list....

[Buckshot]

...............This is all giving me a headache so my contribution will only be:

311407

...............Buckshot

[Rick N Bama]

I'll add the..........

RCBS 41-210SWC just so the 41Mag will be represented.

Rick

[Shuz]

Lyman's 429421 --round groove,square groove, big FDB, little FDB, tapered crimp groove, narrow crimp groove, even the HP, it doesn't matter....they all shoot extremely well in all my .44's!

Cramer 55A--100g, 25 cal, great in the .250 Sav.

Lyman's 358009-- for a 1:12 to 1:14 twist 35 cal rifle like the Whelen.

Saeco 070-- great in the 7mm TCU and the 7mm-08

Lyman's 311291--Shoots very well in all 30 cals I've owned.

[1Shirt]

Really hard to beat in my book include:
311291
311413
311284
358429
429421
457122
457124
And for front stuffers w/Mini's, really like 575213 not that I have anything against RB either!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[felix]

The very easiest boolit I have to cast, load, shoot is a LBT-432-250-GC. No fuss, no bother, just load and shoot. The best commercial boolit that fits the same category for me is RCBS-321-170-GC. All others require something special in casting, loading, or shooting. However, I can get most any boolit to shoot in most any gun (if things fit), so that is no problem for me. Sometimes, it will take six months to make a boolit shoot to a fixed sight setting, but that is a challenge I like. ... felix

[Bret4207]

By "top" I'm thinking the "classics".

225438
the 25x75gr Loverin- not sure of the #
3118
311291
311284
314299
358429
358311
358156
3589
429421
454244?- The Keith 45 style
45/70 Collar button
45x500gr Lyman

Similar mould designs from B+M, Potter, Yankee and especially H+G, Ohaus, Saeco, RCBS- it's the design thats the classic. A Keith, a Thompson, a Loverin...

[NVcurmudgeon]

Ha, I caught you not paying full attention :)..see 5th boolit down on my list....

You got me. I suffer from that form of dyslexia common to those of high activity.

[mooman76]

Just to be different how about the Lee REAL or one of the BP Minies. And with all the buys we do here I think we definately need a Lee 6 banger!

[45r]

the rcbs 270 saa is the most accurate and easy to cast commercial mold I have.My redhawk shoots 2 to 3 inch groups at 50 yards iron sights over 9.5 grains power pistol and is my most often used and shot gun.I think it is the keith bullet perfected in 45 caliber.

[Bent Ramrod]

For a calendar, I would go with design features, rather than a given mold. All these people were trying, in a scientific manner, to improve cast boolit shooting.

Elmer Keith's 429421, 358429, 452423 and 454424

Dr. Hudson's 319273 and 375272 for Scheutzen. Also his 311256 and 311259 for military practice.

Horace Kephart's 311206 for the Krag

The slew of H. Guy Loverin designs

A. C. Gould's 457122 hollow point (and solid)

Harry Pope's 311403

Captain(?) Postell's 457132

Whichever one it was (311334?) that was the first to feature the Barlow gas check

Ed. McGivern's 358395, A.L.A. Himmelwright's 429220, and B.F. Wilder's 358271 for target revolvers

Veral Smith's revolver bullet designs

Jim Harvey's Prot-X-Bore and Jugular bullets

I like Mike Nesbitt's idea of the round ball. Maybe throw in a picket bullet too.

[shooter93]

Well...I can see nothing but trouble coming from this....it will be a dog fight to really decide the best. As I see it the only good way to determine this if ALL of you send ALL those molds to me and I'll give them a very extensive testing and get back to you in 15 years or so.....smiles

[Charlie Horse]

If you dream about a calender with pictures of boolit molds.....you just might be a gun nut.:Fire:

[FISH4BUGS]

Hensley & Gibbs #68 -200gr. SWC
Hensley & Gibbs #50 -148gr. Wadcutter
Hensley & Gibbs #99 - .308-.312 .30 Caliber 184grs.
Hensley & Gibbs #20 - .308-.312 .30 Caliber 170grs.
Hensley & Gibbs #34 - 230gr. LRN .45ACP
Hensley & Gibbs #130 - 200gr. SWC .45ACP
Hensley & Gibbs #115 - 120gr. LRN 9mm
Hensley & Gibbs #503 - 240gr. SWC .44
Hensley & Gibbs #501 - 250gr. SWC .45 Colt
Hensley & Gibbs #79 - Cap & Ball (.31 .36, .44 Caliber Black Powder Revolvers)
Hensley & Gibbs #254 - .30 Carbine LRN
Hensley & Gibbs #51 - .38/.357 "Phil Sharpe Bullet for .357 Mag)

Not that I am biased or anything....[smilie=1:

I would have been shocked if there was anything OTHER THAN Hensley & Gibbs! Ditto on that list, also.
Donald

[truckboss]

well i only have 7 molds,the most classic would have to be my 6 cavity h/g 68,my best hands down is my lbt.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I think...therefore I am
I think I am...therefore I am...I think
But I do NOT have to think about these:
311284
311041
311332 and 334
429421
454190

Rich
DRSS

[Newtire]

I am really late but will contribute anyhow.

RCBS 165 sil. .30 cal.
Lyman 245496
Saeco 243 TC
Lee SoupCan
Lee 120 gr. .30 cal carbine
Lyman 429421
RanchDog .44 285 gr.
Lyman 311407
Lee 310 44 cal
Saeco #298316 .30 cal.
Lyman 311290
Lee 175 gr. 8mm

These are all boolits I have shot with great results in various guns. No special order and good in some guns maybe or all guns for some.

[scrapcan]

you should prbably throw in one of the 38-55 styles from lyman. 375449 or the non gc version, but don't remember the number right off.

I also use a bunch of the old winchester moulds for 38-55, 38-56, 45-70 Gov't (that is how each are marked).

My other favorites are already in the list, 31141, 311291, 358429,3118, etc..

[45nut]

bump for the calendar thread.

[9.3X62AL]

Can't argue with any of the selections made herein. Glad I'm not charged with the choice-making!

I have to ask......will the featured boolit photos be rated "G" (fully dressed with lube and gas checks), or rated "R" (as cast)? :-)

[Frank46]

311284
314299
311316 32-20 gc lyman don't know if the mold number is correct
457483 400gr+ lyman gc " " " " " " " "
375449 375 cal 265gr gc
And thats all for now.
Frank

[monadnock#5]

Don't forget the 356402!

[Gun-adian]

These are my favorites:

Lyman 225415
Lyman 31141
Lyman 311316
Lyman 314299
Lyman 33889
Lyman 338320
Lyman 358429
Lyman 358439
Lyman 429421
Lyman 452454
Lyman 452423
Lyman 457643

[threett1]

Another for 457122.

[EDK]

You forgot 429244 and/or 429215 by Ray Thompson, designer of 358156.

:castmine:

[ktw]

I'm not going to list 12 because there are a lot of calibers I don't shoot. But if I were going to vote on it I would cast votes for

311291
311041
311466
311284

429421

454190
452424

457122

Round balls in general

-ktw

[dromia]

All these have given me good service over the years:

225415
266469
311291
314299
323470
356402
358091
358311
358429
429421
452630
575213PH

[38-55]

FWIW
311041
457122 that's put a lot of meat on the table over the years. (Gould hollow point )
429421 same as above except not a gould hollow point... more like a keith game getter
429244
311008
311299 my M1 loves these...
452374 tens of thousands through my 45 acp's with no problems
358156 if I only could have one .38/.357 mold this would be it
lee r.e.a.l 320 gn 50 cal bullet also has put alot of meat on the table
375248
37583
358432
honorable mention, the round ball, where it all began....

[pumpguy]

Put me down for the following:
311041
311407
358156
Gould hollow point for the 45-70
RCBS 170gr 32 caliber (forgot the number)

[Murphy]

Lyman: #311041

Murphy

[Jon K]

Lots of Good Molds listed &................
Well here's some of my favorites that I didn't see listed:

Lyman 375296
RCBS 145 Sil 7mm
RCBS 180 Sil 357
RCBS 300-FN
RCBS 325-FN-U
RCBS 44-240-SWC
Saeco #571
Saeco #015
Saeco #354
Saeco #399
Paul Jones 45001
Paul Jones 40001

Jon

[Linstrum]

My all-time favorites are the
Lee “soup can” C309-113-F,
Lee C309-180-R,
Lee C312-185-1R,
the 45-grain 0.311” round ball,
and the Lyman 358156.
Oops, I forgot the 8mm Lee C324-175-1R

Like Mike Nesbitt already pointed out, I also think the round ball deserves an honorable mention on a list of popular designs even though it is NOT the #1 design that we all use nowadays for defense, hunting, or target work. But for about the first 610 years of the 758 years that guns have been an important part of mankind, it was NUMBER ONE. It was what Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Robbins, and the others all used in discovering the principals of modern ballistics. It was what got us to where we are now.

A round ball was “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World” fired April 19, 1775, at Lexington-Concord that began the world-wide process of toppling tyrants and defending the innocent, plus was what kept explorers and the pioneers in good stead from hunger and danger, and then for those who followed later it kept the peace, via Sam Colt.

And finally, on October 4, 1957, it was The Shot That Went All The Way Around The World (and kept on going for three months until January 4, 1958) in the form of Sputnik 1, a 23-inch high velocity ball with two radio transmitters inside it that was fired at the then staggering velocity of 26,400 feet per second. Although not fired from a gun, it was a projectile none-the-less. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

[Ricochet]

I'll add the first cast boolit I ever saw, the one that got me interested in them, a mould for which I now have. They shoot mighty well in my Ruger SBH. The Thompson designed Lyman/Ideal #429244HP.

I like the old Gould designed Lyman/Ideal #457422HP a lot, too. First mould I bought and cast boolits with myself.

[w30wcf]

It would seem to me that if you define "The top 12 molds of all time" as the ones being in production the longest, the list would look something like:

mold # - year introduced
311008 - before 1900
401043 - before 1900
427098 - before 1900
457122 - before 1900
457124 - before 1900
452190 - before 1900
457191 - before 1900
457193 - before 1900
457125 - before 1900
313249 - 1904
311284 - 1906
311291 - 1906
314299 - 1907
358311 - 1909
225415 - 1931
257420 - 1931
225438 - 1932

As you will note, there are more than 12 molds on this list. These are the molds still in production today that date back to many, many years ago.

w30wcf

[John Boy]

... and ya all forgot the best bullet for the 38-55 ... the Ideal 375166
Bullet calculates 17.68 for a 1:18 twist barrel.

Now ... Anyone got the Ideal 375166 Mold that You Want To Sell?

[Jon K]

375166? What is that one? Is it similar to the 375167?

Jon

[John Boy]

No Jon, check out the bullets on Ol' Buffalo ... http://www.three-peaks.net/bullet_molds.htm

[Old Ironsights]

Need nominations for a calendar idea....[smilie=1:

My first mould : Lee .490 RB + .50 REAL combo.
My second mould : Lyman 358156 with HP
My #1 mould: C358-180RF - and someday I'll actually get it in a single cavity [smilie=1:

and my 2lb Lead Hammer mould

My .690 rb and wadcutter mouds are interesting, but not favorites.

[Maven]

I won't argue with the designs submitted thus far, but has anyone considered Saeco's RG-4 (.30cal., truncated cone, bore rider)? After all, it was an oft-used .30cal. target bullet in the 1980's (maybe even earlier). Some of the late Don Eagan's molds seem to have been based on it as well (imitation being the sincerest form of flattery).

[scb]

My $.02
311465, 311466, 311467
311284
454424
457125

Steve

[Bret4207]

If this is for the calender then may I respectfully suggest that it would be entirely possible to group moulds by designer. Popes designs, Loverins designs, Thompsons designs, Keiths designs, Boslers, Kepharts, etc, etc.

It would also be possible to show a grouping of similar designs and the improved models. B+M designs morphed into Veral Smiths WFN's for instance, and the Lee Soup Can is the same idea.