Harvey prot-x-bore 358500 ?

[Firebricker]

Ive got an old Lyman mould and wanted to see if anybody here is familiar with it. Its Lyman 358500 there guide lists it as 149gr swc. But the mould has harvey prot-x-bore stamped on it its old enough to still have Ideal on it also 625. the thing thats odd is it only has one very shallow lube groove and it leaves a small sprue bump at the base like a round ball because the opening to the cavity is smaller than boolit diamater.I was wondering if it was intended for some kind of moly coating. casts good boolits but havent shot any of them. any info would be great Thanks in advance.

[OldBob]

It was designed to use a zinc washer on the bullet base of the bullet, it was supposed to eliminate leading, don't know if it did or not, I never used one.

[Maineboy]

I have one of those and the .44 version as well. I don't have any of the zinc bases but cast up a bunch of the .44s anyway and tumble lubed them, then loaded them in some 44 mag cases over light charges of Unique. They didn't shoot worth a hoot.

[Bret4207]

There is still someone providing those zinc washers. Check in the Swaging section, I think I saw it there.

[Blammer]

I'd be more inclined to use a copper washer instead of zinc.

[NoDakJak]

I have a couple hundred of new, 38 caliber Harvey bullets laying on my bench at the moment. A fellow located in Bowman, North Dakota swages them with the copper base. I haven't tried any of these yet. Neil

[Firebricker]

Hey wanted to thank all you guys for the info Ive been wonderin about that mould a long time. About five years ago I bought eight Lyman moulds and some dies from somebody that bought house and they found em in the basement. I should try some washers to see how they work but low priority since I got three 358 designs I like better. just happy knowin how it works that one had me stumped Thanks again. NoDakJak when you get a chance to try them Harveys out would like to know how the work for you.

[NoDakJak]

I first read about the Harvey bullets in I believe a copy of Mechanics Illustrated in the early to mid fifties. Expanding bullets for revolvers weren't eing marketed then and Mr. Harveys intent was to provide a bullet suitable for hunting and self defense. According to later articles that I read they had certainly proved effective on oth man and beast. If I remember correctly none of the articles praised the accuracy and most stated that the zinc washer was only partially successful in eliminating. Most articles stated that they had moderate to extensive leading. This may have been okay for a duty gun or for a hunting gun where few shots are fired but almost elimaneted it from general use. When Speer came out with their line of half jacketed bullets little else was heard of the Harvey. I shot thousands of those half jackets in 38 Specials and 357 Magnums with almost no leading.
These new bullets use a thin copper washer to which is swaged a pure lead slug. It appears to be moly or graphite coated. The maker stated that he has been loading these to approximately 400 fps for plinking and has encountered no problems. I cannot believe that the copper washer could be as effective as the stiffer zinc so believe that I will give them a coat of JPW before I try them. I have done no shooting for several months as the temps have ranged from 20 above to 20 below. Finally starting to warm up a bit and hope to try them soon. Neil

[Firebricker]

NoDakJac, cant tell how much apreciate that info. those older lymans i bought are great. the man that owned those moulds took good care of his equipment. all of them cast excellent.I agree the harvey design was prob the thing to have at that time before all the advancements like the half jackets. the harveys were well before my time but I sure admire the quality put into those designs and moulds. I really should assemble some now that i know how they work casts to good just to sit. Or might do some mould swappin if find somebody looken for one. btw I predict youll have better luck with those boolits than those temps -3 here this morn LOL. Thanks again & stay warm

[odoh]

Do a search for bullet swage on ebay. There's a fella selling swaging dies and in his ad makes mention of providing zinc washers