Just another good RCBS mould

[L Ross]

In several of my previous posts I have touted RCBS series of "cowboy" moulds. For those of you unfamiliar with this style they are plain base round nose flat point bullets of simple design with a single but substantial grease groove.
Their nomeclature is simple to understand, i.e. 25-85-CM. 25 caliber, 85 grains, and I'm only guessing but perhaps CM stands for cowboy mould?
I now have their 25-85-CM, 32-90-CM, 30-150-CM, 44-200-CM, and 45-230-CM. I have nothing but praise for all of them. They are all round, cast large enough to be sized but not so large as to be deformed upon sizing. I just received my 32-90-CM and after installing the blocks on handles I scrubbed them with Dawn dish washing detergent and hot water. I pre-heated the blocks on a piece of 1/4" steel on a hot plate while my alloy came up to temp. I Bull plated the pins and block face and went to casting.
Typically good bullets easily fell from the mould after only a couple of rejects. I listened to a ball game and filled a cigar box with little beauties that are destined to be launched out of my Stevens Ideal 32 wcf. They came ot round, at .3155" and weighing an average of 90.7 grains out of range scrap and old wheel weights.
I think I recall an article in Hand Loader Mike Venturino wrote about using the 45-230-CM in a variety of platforms. These are just good, dependable moulds.

Duke

[1bluehorse]

You'll get no arguement from me on RCBS mold quality...

[theperfessor]

I love my RCBS molds. I'd love them twice as much if they were four cavity. I'd also buy a bunch more if they were four cavity, or at least the ones intended for handgun use. Until then, ....

[runfiverun]

ditto the 4 cav thing.
rcbs would get a ton of my money if they did 4 cav molds.
especially in thier rifle designs.
i can't imagine what 40 new 4 cav molds would cost but i bet i'd find out real quick.....

[rintinglen]

If RCBS made 4 cavity molds as good as their 2 cavity molds, everyone else would be out of business except Lee.

[Lloyd Smale]

i agree totaly. There hard to beat for the price. Hands down better then 2 cav lymans. I once contacted rcbs about making 4 cav molds and they told me that there wasnt enough demand to justify it. I about told them they were nuts and would sell them faster then they could make them.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well,everyone knows I'm the poster child for RCBS Molds! There just is not a better mold made for the money and the 2 cavity thing does not bother me. They are also in my favorite mold material,IRON!

Here's an orphan 10MM mold I picked up off of E-Bay with handles for less than new mold price. Cleaned right up and loves making boolits!

[Dennis Eugene]

Well for twice the money you can buy two two cavs and run them at the same time. Not saying that's what I do but I do love my RCBS molds and it is an option. Dennis

[Lloyd Smale]

yup dennis and i do that. I even buy 3 of a rcbs mold i really like and run 3 at a time but id still rather run 3 4 cav molds. Personaly though id rather have one rcbs 2 cav mold then 5 2 cav lymans. Lyman makes a hell of a nice 4 cav mold but there two cav molds are junk.

[94Doug]

...even a three cavity would be helpfull.

Doug

[C Broad Arrow]

I picked up 4 RCBS molds for $20 a piece. Once of them included the handles. I have usually bought RCBS ahead of everything else with the exception of my Hensley & Gibbs mold... and that is another story altogether... The H&G mold is I think a study in genius. When I first got the mold I was concerned that the sprue plate was too loose. Then I started using it... when heat was applied it tightened right up. Someone tell me that this is standard and not an accident.
You can never go wrong with quality. And I think the RCBS molds are certainly up there!

[jblee10]

I have found the 30-150-cm cast nearly perfectly round boolits. And the 38-140-cm is a good mould too. My first mould was an RCBS and I think that is why I continued to cast for 32 plus years or so. I've always liked RCBS products, the moulds in particular. But today I cast with a Mihec mould and they are great also.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Here is the thing for me,if you have plenty of money it's not a point about the mold material. I prefer iron over anything else. When you buy a mold from one of the independent mold makers you are usually going to get aluminum as that gives you a price point with a new RCBS iron mold. I have molds from Mihec and NOE and they are actually works of art, but are in aluminum! I bought them because they are a design I could not get from RCBS and that was really the only reason!

[GabbyM]

When you get over a four cavity sized mold aluminum has a huge weight advantage over iron. I’ve had or have six, eight and ten cavity H&G molds. The weight is something you have to overcome. Four cavity Saeco , Lyman or H&G are nice to work with.

RCBS had a few quality issued a few years Back after the one man who machined there molds retired after an illness. Took a while for the company to find a machinist capable of making a good mold plus they had to buy some new machines that weren’t worn out.

For a four cavity iron mold the new owners of Ballisti-Cast have a great product. IMO.

[ballisti-cast]

Weight is an issue on the 8 & 10 cavity molds, but I have several customers that use H&G 8 & 10 cavity iron molds exclusively as they can cast 3000 bullets an hour with them. They say you need to have guides and supports set up for the molds so you don't have to try and support the weight with muscle and once you get a good set up for them fatigue isn't an issue.