Lyman mold #39538 - what is it?

[buckstix]

I have a Lyman mold that is stamped #39538. I cannot find a reference to this mold anywhere. Can anyone help?

[runfiverun]

sure looks like a b/p muzzle loader boolit to me

[buckstix]

Yes, I fugured that too ... casts about .398 .... but why is it not listed in any lyman books? Also, it appears to be a hybrid between a maxi-ball (solid base) and a mine-ball (hollow base).

[missionary5155]

For some reason in some of thier catalogs they chose not to list muzzle loader articles.. round ball moulds do not appear either. But then the catalog does say "Cast Bullets".. I guess Muzzle stuff is "Projectiles".

[JeffinNZ]

Looks like it would be ideal for both my .40cal RB guns.

[Glen]

I don't know what it is, but I have one just like it! If anybody has a .40 caliber muzzle-loader and needs a hollow-base mould for it, please let me know. I can make you a heckuva deal on this mould.

[floodgate]

Buckstix:

That is one that doesn't show up on any of my pretty comprehensive set of Ideal / Lyman bullet mould lists, either. There was a .22 caliber plain-base "express" hollow point #22638 in various lengths / weights listed from at least 1897 through 1945, but this is clearly - as others have said above - a Minie'-type bullet for a .40 cal. muzzle-loader. And that triggered a memory...

I went out to the shop and dug around and - LO! and behold there was an identical #39583 mould I had gotten forty or so years back along with a .40 caliber barrel, lock and hardware for a flintlock "Kentucky" a gunsmith friend put together for me; but I must have put it away and never used it; now I will. I suspect it may have been a special run by Lyman for Dixie Gun Works, from whom I got the parts, using a cherry number "borrowed" from the obsolete .22 mould - Lyman did that a lot in the old days - and never found its way into their catalogs or Handbooks.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Floodgate

[Woodnbow]

I don't know what it is, but I have one just like it! If anybody has a .40 caliber muzzle-loader and needs a hollow-base mould for it, please let me know. I can make you a heckuva deal on this mould.
Glen, it’s been a dozen years since you made this post. Hell, you might not even come to the board anymore. I’m interested in the mold you have if you’re around.... pm inbound...

[zarrinvz24]

Hope it works out for you! Glen's profile shows he last accessed the forum on 7 Dec 2020.

[Good Cheer]

Got one in the fun box.
Anybody know what works with ol' #39538?

[Red River Rick]

Found this on a Muzzle Loading Forum: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/40cal-minie.48377/

[Good Cheer]

Thanks for the link.