Holy **** H&G mould for $409.15

[wv109323]

I think H&G is way over rated. I have a 6 cavity in a number 68. It is heavy and I need to modify the mold guide on my Lyman 20 lb. pot to use it. I believe the Mi-hec is an equal.

[Hamish]

Maybe I should start selling on e-bay

The room started spinning for just a second,,,,

[shotstring]

I think H&G is way over rated. I have a 6 cavity in a number 68. It is heavy and I need to modify the mold guide on my Lyman 20 lb. pot to use it. I believe the Mi-hec is an equal.

"Way over rated" based on what? They were designed for ladle pouring, not lead pots with mold guides. Mi-hec molds are excellent and I own several. But they are brass and they are 4 cavity molds, the largest he makes, so we are not comparing apples to apples.

No one makes a large gang mold out of anything but aluminum except Ballisticast, which are more money new than a used H & G. So frankly, even leaving the quality and consistency out of the equation, outside of Ballisticast, there is nothing being made that even compares to large cavity H & G molds. And it is collectors of antiques that have driven the price up as high as it is, not the casting people.

[MBTcustom]

I have a H&G mold that drops two #68s and two #34s every time you open it (a regular fount of blessing). It was unrivaled until I got one from Accurate Molds. Those two are the best that I own.

[MikeS]

While H&G made many 8 & 10 cavity moulds, they also made many 2 & 4 cavity moulds as well. Comparing a brass Mihec or Accurate 4 cavity mould to a 4 cavity H&G is in fact an apples to apples comparison, and the Mihec & Accurate moulds (as well as NOE brass moulds) are in fact IMHO equals to the old H&G moulds. This is not saying anything bad about the craftsmen at H&G, in fact comparing the equipment they used to make moulds compared to what the other mentioned makers use, I think it's a great complement that they were able to make moulds without using CNC machines, or even machines with DROs that are as good as ones made on today's modern CNC machinery! But when it comes to actually casting with a mould I don't think how the mould was made matters, only how well the mould works.

[FISH4BUGS]

Im new to molds and casting, so why would this mold sell for so much?

I have a fair number of H&G moulds and have been collecting and using them for a number of years. I actually got my start here on this Board and I have to thank Tom (TexasFlyBoy) for getting me hooked on H&G moulds....kind of like thanking your crack dealer for making you a junkie.....
Yes they are expensive. Quality always is. Messers. Hensley & Gibbs were absolute craftsmen, and their work is as good as any machinist ever did. The steel they used was far better in those old days, and you cannot duplicate their work today.....there was a steel alloy that is called meehanite that I believe they used for most of their work.
Regardless of who makes them, that is not a slight to the current mould makers but you cannot ever go back to those days.
For instance, I have an S55 380 10 cavity mould that use in my Mac11A1 380 submachinegun. I can cast 1000 bullets in a few hours. It DOES empty a 20 lb pot in a hurry. Once it gets warmed up, you can cast, let it cool, open it up, and all 10 bullets just fall out without even tapping the blocks.
But the point is that this is quality of years gone by, never to be duplicated. The bullets cast and fall out of the moulds like rain.
I have paid stupid money (as I bet Tom has too) for H&G moulds. I paid almost $300 for a #51 two cavity dual hollow point mould. Very rare. Yes, I hurt for an hour or two after making that last bid. I forgot all about it when the mould arrived....what a work of art in metal.
I guess it just depends on how much you admire craftsmanship. It also depends on how much you are willing to pay.
Hey...it's only money......

[ballisti-cast]

A little off topic here but I was unaware you could shoot cast bullets in a fully automatic weapon. I was under the impression they had to be full jacketed bullets.

[FISH4BUGS]

Not off topic at all. I cast with H&G moulds for all my sub machine guns all the time. 380, 9mm and 45 all eat cast lead. I like the 6, 8 and 10 cavity moulds simply for the production. I DO have some 4 cavity but those typically are used in revolvers, like 38/357 and 44 spl/mag.
The only bullets I use that are not cast are for the M16 (.223), the 308's, and the 147gr subsonic 9mm to use through a supressor on an Uzi, the 76 and the Macs. There is a rule of mine that one should NEVER shoot cast lead through a supressor. Don't ask me how I know.
I load the cast bullets just high enough to cycle the guns reliably. The Macs (both the 380 and the 9mm) work just fine, the S&W 76 has a lighter recoil spring in it (16 lb) so I can load light on that one too along with the Sten. The Uzi is in both 9mm and 45. That one needs to be loaded a bit higher but still not to max loads. Some day I will experiment with a lighter recoil spring so I can load lighter.
Many of us full auto shooters cast and shoot in our subguns. Frankly it is about the only way I can afford to shoot these bullet hoses. It is pretty easy to blow off a thousand rounds in an afternoon of shooting!

[MBTcustom]

Dang, How else could you afford to shoot full auto? Dad used to stack 9MM for a suppressed Uzi. three hours loading for 30 minutes of unadulterated fun.
Some of these manufacturer spread myths make me laugh.
You know a Glock cant shoot cast lead either?
Neither can an AR.
Neither can an M1
or a 300 winmag
or a .22LR
Its impossible!!!......No wait, its even unsafe!!!

[Texasflyboy]

A little off topic here but I was unaware you could shoot cast bullets in a fully automatic weapon. I was under the impression they had to be full jacketed bullets.

M3A1 "Grease Gun" as made by the Guidelamp division of General Motors:

As of 02/2012, I have shot approximately, 65,000 Hensley & Gibbs #34 Bevel Base Bullets, loaded as cast, tumble lubed with Lee Liquid Alox. Mixed Range Brass, Winchester Large Pistol Primer, x.x charge of Winchester 231 powder. The alloy is straight wheel weights. The mould is an 8 cavity #34.

I also own one of the 9mm conversions for the M3A1. I have shot about 5,000 rounds of the Hensley & Gibbs #115 BB through it.

I can't recall the last time I had an ammunition related problem with this setup.

[werepyr]

Maybe I should start selling on e-bay

Thats how I found your molds because one was on ebay.

[John Boy]

Check this out for $125 on eBay ...

[bowfin]

Maybe I should start selling on e-bay

I would certainly throw one or two up there and see what they would bring.

[41mag]

A close friend threw in on the $400 dollar one before it was up there. He asked me about it and I told him, well it's one of the best ever made, and you probably won't find one in that condition again.

It was over my head when it hit $150, and I figured it would head on up from there.

What is said about the prices and the folks who bid is correct. What is sometimes irrelevant to some is just what someone else has always been looking for. I have spent my share on old fishing reels a time or two for sure, but there again, they ain't making those particular ones anymore either.

[KohlerK91]

[QUOTE=41mag;1622822]well it's one of the best ever made, and you probably won't find one in that condition again.

QUOTE]

I found one of these exact moulds at a gunshow a few years ago. In new condition. I dont even shoot or load this caliber...... but you are right if I would have passed it up, I will never see one again.

I gave $100 for it.

[Texasflyboy]

Did you guys ever think those E-Bay molds might just be counterfeit? With that kind of money, it would behoove a man, with less than reasonable morals, to make up some of them.

That's been tried.

As long as I can see really good photography, I can spot the fakes.

It isn't that hard. There are no shortcuts to quality.

[ddixie884]

H&G molds are the best I have ever used................

[skeettx]

My retirement nest egg
Better than an IRA

[StratsMan]

I just acquired a few H&G molds that a guy was willing to part with... I don't cast all of those calibers, and will sell some, but I'd like to try casting a few also... Some of them are 8-cavity molds...

So how do you guys cast with them?? Do you only ladle pour, or have you discovered a system for using those heavy molds under a pour spout????

[finishman2000]

I have a H&G 251 10 cavity coming any day now. just ordered a standard base for my mastercaster. 40lbs of lead should be able to keep it filled!
i'm hoping the 251 doesn't make too small a boolit, i think it was designed for the s-w 52 and the chart shows it as a .356 mold.