358156

[mainiac]

i just got this mold yesterday, and fired the old pot up and cast 10 pounds of them today. the bullet weighs 159 naked, 163 sized to .358,lubed and checked. Aint used to these puny lube grooves,and am wondering if this mould is normal. front band is .358 middle band is .363 and the last band is .361. lyman gas check is not a snap fit, very loose-although they crimped on tight. After sizing, the crimp grooves are hardly left- very shallow. Do all 358156 act this way or have i got a frigged up mold? Will get to shoot it next weekend and than i will know...... thanks,mark i thunk its going to have to be a great bullet to beat the 358429 that ive been using.

[NuJudge]

I don't seem to get them to shoot well except with a near maximum charge, and somewhere between 13.5 and 14 grains of OLD 2400 I get cloverleafs at 50 feet, this with NRA lube, with a Winchester SP Mag primer, and a firm crimp. Beware, as current 2400 has the reputation of being faster than what I am using.

I have limited experience with any other powders, because 2400 always worked so well for my father and myself. Long ago I tried some Unique (I don't remember results), and more recently tried some light charges of Bullseye with ho hum results.

The bullet actually has two crimp grooves and one lube groove. The two crimp grooves were so that people could use shorter brass with the lower crimp groove, and longer brass with the upper. This is an old design and people used to do this a lot. I hope doing such scares you as much as it does me.

I have a gang mold that drops the two full diameter driving bands at about .360". A gas check put on it and run through a .360" Lyman size die ends up being about .362", and the base of such a bullet in a .357 Mag case bulges it to the point I cannot get the cartridge in the cylinder. If I run the bullet through my .358 Lyman size die they end up about .359", and cartridges with them fit fine. Perhaps some time I will size just the base down, and leave the two driving bands full as-cast diameter, and see if cartridges with such bullets will fit in my .357's.

Because of the problem with disappearing lube grooves when very oversize bullets are sized down a lot, I like to lube in a full diameter lube/size die, then size down. A LOT more work, but my grooves don't disappear.

CDD

[44man]

So many years ago that I will not admit it, I used that boolit in my .357. I loved it! It was very accurate and did a job on the game and varmints I shot with it.

[oso]

Mainiac, what size sizing die are you using for this bullet? Your band sizes are interesting.
I've got a couple 358156 molds, a single cav 358156A and a double cav 358156ES (extended shank), all the cavs throw undersize front bands (.356.) The first crimp groove lets you seat the bullet out in 38 Special brass. Middle and back bands seem to be the same diameter as well as I can mic and I haven't noticed any decrease in the adequate lube groove or any sizing marks after sizing WW bullets through .359 die. Hornady and other gas checks are snug.

[Char-Gar]

You got a big un! I grabed some out of my stash and they run .355 on the top band and .359 on the rest. I have a four cavity mold.

[Rick N Bama]

You got a big un! I grabed some out of my stash and they run .355 on the top band and .359 on the rest. I have a four cavity mold.

I have a 2 cavity and it measures the same as yours. With WWs & a bit of tin, they weigh 161grs naked and 165 dressed, ready to load.

Rick

[mainiac]

i used a .358 die because my gun has .358 throats... shot 20 shots just awhile ago, and they shot 2.5-3 inch groups. I thought they would shoot better than this. shot a load of lil gun ( just below max) and they shoot perfectly clean (no lead) and recoil quite sharply. My mistake was seating them in the outer crimp groove, dont know what i was thinking,but with the rugers long clylinder i got away with it. will try them again seated in the right groove, but i am some what saddened by the big groups. This gun will shoot better than i can shoot it with 358429 and lilgun,and this is what im used to. I thought from what ive read that this 358156 bullet would really make the ruger shoot! i wont give up this quick though

[9.3X62AL]

Mainiac--

NO, don't give up on #358156--I do the same stunt you did with the castings, stretching them out to that longer OAL in a Ruger BisHawk x 7.5". I will NOT type the loads of 2400 or WW-296 I use in the critter, but velocities exceed 1500 FPS and accuracy is excellent. I think both Elmer Keith and Doug Wesson would approve of this intensity, But SAAMI would be aghast. These loads have no business in ANY S&W or Colt revolver.

[BruceB]

If I was restricted to only ONE cast-boolit .38/.357 revolver design, 358156 would be the one. At one time in my checkered casting "career", it WAS the only .38 revolver mould I used, and many of them were fired without gaschecks with good results.

I've recently started using the RCBS 150 SWC, a plain-base design, and it's a dandy. However, for my full-power .357s I still use the 358156, but now they get gaschecked all the time.

I just measured three randomly-chosen boolits from a run with my 4-cavity mould, and the foremost bands went .354-.354-.353. The first band BEHIND the crimp grooves measured .359-.360-.359, and the bottom band ran uniformly .361" on all three boolits.

Since I'm sizing at (nominally) .359, my crimp grooves are certainly not getting squooshed at all, and the actual driving bands barely get nicely trued-up. Just about right, I'd say....

Echoing Deputy Al, I too say do NOT give up on this excellent design. Good luck.