New 358477 mold - 150 or 158 gr.?

[GrizzLeeBear]

As I described in my earlier thread, the Ideal mold I got on ebay for this bullet is pretty worn. Since the bullet shoots so well and they are still available, I was thinking about getting a new one. I have read Glen Fryxells articles and he states that the newer molds throw a 158 gr. bullet vs. the older design being 150 gr. Anyone have a newer one of these molds? What weight does yours throw?

[beagle]

I have one and it's a Lyman. Sized and lubed, it weighs 153.4 grains so I'm guessing the newer ones are 150 grainers...more or less./beagle

[GrizzLeeBear]

Thanks Beagle! I don't think the slight weight difference will matter much since I don't plan to shoot it at max. pressure, just wanted to here from people that have the newer molds.

[AlaskaMike]

I don't think the difference is due as much to the tiny weight difference as it is to the difference in lube groove size. The 158 has a smaller lube groove, but as long as you use decent lube with it, it'd probably be perfectly fine, especially in typical barrel lengths of 2 - 6".

Mike

[GrizzLeeBear]

Well, looks like I won't have to replace it after all! I did some work on the mold and its dropping good bullets just fine now. The mold was not closing properly due to some burrs on the corners of the blocks and the cavities. When I held the blocks together and held them up to a light I could see light between them. After about 20 minutes of filing and checking as I went, I was able to remove the burrs. Now they close with no light visible between them. There was also a burr on the corner of a couple of the cavities that made it not want to let go of the bullet. A few minutes with small file fixed these.
I just cast a pot full (lee 20 lb.) of them, about 400 - 500 I'm guessing. Once the mold heated up after about 5 - 6 casts, it produced good bullets that dropped out without much effort and almost NO REJECTS! Most of them have a visible seam from the slight missalignment due to the worn pin holes, but its cosmetic only. They are much better than my first batch before working on the mold. So looks like I got a pretty good deal on a 4 cavity mold for 26 bucks (after a little work)!