Lyman 429650 not as advertised.

[the_ursus]

Got a Lyman 429650 300gr mold this Christmas and finally got a chance to warm it up. As usual, casting with the Lyman was a charm. Nice crisp slugs fell from the blocks and hissed as they dropped into the water bucket. Great, now let's check them on the scale. 330, 330, 330, all consistently 30 grains over thier listed weight! And with lube and a check that's 339 grains!!

I like heavy, so it's not a huge deal provided I can get enough H110 behind it to shoot well out of my Super Redhawk. I'm just really shocked that it's casting so heavy!

Anyone else have Lyman molds that are this far off?

[Wally]

Wow--that is really something--never had one be that far off before--as it is so much heavier, you might have a stability problem as 300 grains in a .44 Mag pistol is about as heavy as one can use and the bullet remain stable, with the slow rate of twist of the barrel. Only by trying it will you find out for sure.

[jdgabbard]

Wow, that is heavy... But then again the 190 Ranch Dog I use in the 357 is pretty heavy for caliber too, and it shoots just fine.

[AZ-Stew]

First, what alloy are you using? The Lyman designs are listed by the weight of boolit they will cast using Lyman #2 alloy. An alloy containing a higher percentage of lead than is in #2 will cast heavier.

It's not boolit weight, but rather length and velocity with respect to rifling twist rate that determines boolit stability.

I can't tell you what results you will get. You'll have to do some testing. Your boolits are 10-15 percent heavier than listed, which means you'll have to reduce powder charges. As long as they shoot accurately, I wouldn't worry about the extra weight. It will translate into more penetration on game, even factoring in the reduced velocity.

Regards,

Stew

[the_ursus]

Alloy is 50/50 ww/pure. This is the same alloy I use in all my other molds (RCBS & Lyman) and they cast true to specified weight give or take 2 grains.

I figure if I can't make it shoot I'll send it back and try again.

[BCB]

the_ursus,

I cast that same boolit and mine weigh-in at right around 320 grains using wheel weights...

I shoot mine from a SRH also using H-110 and there is never any doubt that the primer went off with the hammer strike!!!...

Accuracy is very good with that slug. From my bench and a good sandbag rest, a groundhog-sized steel plate can be hit at 200 yards once the "hold-over" is noted for that particular day. 100 yard hits on the steel plate are a piece of cake!

I think you will like that boolit...

Good-luck...BCB

[Oklahoma Rebel]

you could always have it converted to a HP, that will take a little weight off, how much depends on your cavity. I am wanting to get this mold or a similar accurate 43-290sg, and have it hollowpointed with a .3 deep cavity( round bottomed) and about .17-.18 wide at the opening for controlled expansion. I do use lyman#2 so it should end up at around 300+- 5 grains. will also have a spud made to produce the regular flat nose. if you find you need to take weight off, you could have the top shaved down to make it a PB, a gc really isn't needed anyays, unless you shoot it out of a carbine.

[WFO2]

I was thinking the same thing send it to Erik and have him hollow point it .I sent an RCBS to him and it should be around 290 when it comes back and that's removing the gas check . So HP might drop enough weight for you .

[Larry Gibson]

Alloy is 50/50 ww/pure........

That is the reason the bullets are heavier than nominal. Some newer Lyman handgun designs, such as your 429650, are actually cut for linotype. As mentioned, yours should prove satisfactory with H110 as case capacity based on crimping in the crimp groove should be the same regardless of the alloy used. Just adjust the start/max loads for the increased weight.

Larry Gibson

[Oklahoma Rebel]

? they are not very smart, going to a alloy that's been on its way out for decades, shucks, wheel weights are on their way out!

[HangFireW8]

? they are not very smart, going to a alloy that's been on its way out for decades, shucks, wheel weights are on their way out!

This has been discussed many times. Lyman's expected alloys are way out of step with what most casters use today. They also cut molds for .001" over perfect bore size using those alloys, which means something less than that using typical modern alloys.

Meaning, if your shooting a bore that slugs .001" over and casting with WW+2% Tin in a Lyman, you've got an undersized boolit.