Mihec 10mm - 200gr WFN / .40s&w - 180gr HP, 4-cavity, Brass

[b2948kevin]

Thanks Red, good to hear that my load data helped.

Here are the retention results. Sorry it took me a while to get back to this.

I weighed all of the hollow point slugs that I picked up a while ago. Most of these I picked out of the tires that I was shooting through, as noted in my post above. The last 2 hit rocks that significantly damaged them, which is why they exhibit significantly less retention than the remainder. We seem to average 96.9% retention, not including the last 2 bullets.

Below my chart are the pictures of the bullets I weighed. These correlate respective to the chart with Excel row 2 being the top left bullet, and continuing from left to right and then top to bottom with Excel row 7 starting the 2nd row. You can easily see that the last 2 are more mutilated than the rest.

I hardness tested a couple of these and they ranged from 14.9 to 13.4 BHN.

[RED333]

Good data, thanks.

[b2948kevin]

I was out shooting these again today. Shooting great, as always.

Anyone have a favorite powder which smokes less than Titegroup?

[ctious]

Shot around 100 out of the ccu yesterday. At 100 yards they grouped tighter than hornady hap bullets. I really think the bullet will be sound out to 200 yards. Just need the room to test it.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Yeah that is what I thought when I read the chrono.

Honestly I think the 190 gr is the perfect weight for the 10mm. I think its the most efficient weight.

I need to calc some ft lbs of these loads. They are some serious power.

I've been shooting and loading 10mm since the late 80s, am a huge fan of the cartridge (like you couldn't tell, right? ), and have been a mod at the 10mm reloading sub-forum at GT since it's beginning. In my opinion, you've nailed it. In 30+ yrs of handloading, I've come to the conclusion through experience, that most cartridges (especially? straight-walled pistol cartridges) have a "sweet spot" in terms of an ideal bullet weight. In my opinion, the 10mm's sweet spot is 185-190grs. A bullet weight, by the way, that virtually all manufacturers ignore. Sierra made their 190gr FPJ bullet for silhouette shooting in this weight, and Colorado Custom Cast used to offer a nice TC commercial hardcast @ 185grs, and that was it... We have all benefitted from Oreo's good design talent on this boolit. Now WE have the ability to make for ourselves the perfect bullet for the 10mm's sweet spot.

I just found time today to cast a few of these up, and, oh my, but they are beautiful. I'll be weighing, measuring, and sizing these over the weekend, and planning some loads (for sure with my 2 favorite 10mm powders: AA#9 & 800x). I hope to spend most of the daynext Friday casting a quantity up, and then the G20 will sing.

[MakeMineA10mm]

I was out shooting these again today. Shooting great, as always.

Anyone have a favorite powder which smokes less than Titegroup?

Try Ramshot ZIP. W231-level (not quite identical loads, but very close, and velocities and accuracy identical) but with less smoke. Another factor with smoke is the boolit lube. You may want to jump over to the lube sub-forum and ask about a less smokey formula. (IIRC, Bullshop's Speed Green is known for less smoke.)

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, I'm at the loading bench now examining these excellent boolits.

I ordered the "short" or "smaller" of the 2 designs offered, with the planned length being .601" and weights of 190gr (FP), 185gr (Cup Point), and 180gr (deep HP) anticipated. (Though I do not recall reading it at this late date, I bet Oreo estimated weights based on WW alloy.)

I cast these out of my "soft" alloy, which is 40-50% pure lead + 60-50% WW + 1% tin. Typically this gives a heavier (and softer - better for HPs) boolit than WW, Lyman #2, or "Magnum" alloy.

My boolits are measuring .603" to .609" in length, depending on which cavity they were born in.

Diameters are a VERY consistent .405" - .406" across all cavities.

Weights (averaged from 5 near-perfect specimens):
Solid-nosed (FP): 194.8grs
Cup Point: 190.6grs
Deep HP: 186.3grs

I'm sure some of the added weight is my soft alloy, and I bet a bit of it is from the slightly longer cavities. Either way, I am ecstatic with this boolit, and look forward to casting more and begin loading them!

[Oreo]

Actually, its been pretty well established that these molds all drop about 5gr heavier then specified / advertised regardless of alloy. About half of that is due to me drawing the blueprint overweight and half due to Miha cutting the molds on the very outer edge of the spec.

I offered to tighten up the spec. for the rerun so the molds would drop as advertised but I was handily rejected. I was told not to screw with the design, not even a little bit. If you guys are happy with it I'm happy with it.

[Captain_Howdy]

Actually, its been pretty well established that these molds all drop about 5gr heavier then specified / advertised regardless of alloy. About half of that is due to me drawing the blueprint overweight and half due to Miha cutting the molds on the very outer edge of the spec.

I offered to tighten up the spec. for the rerun so the molds would drop as advertised but I was handily rejected. I was told not to screw with the design, not even a little bit. If you guys are happy with it I'm happy with it.

I bought the smaller mold...with 3.8 grains of w231 they make for outstanding plate poppers out of my old glock22. One would think a light load as such would be problematic but it has run 100%, hits dead on the money and that heavy lead slug will knock over the must stubborn steel on the range, all the while be easy on the hands. I worked the load up higher and it crossed back over around 5.8 grains and if needed I could certainly run that load as well.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Actually, its been pretty well established that these molds all drop about 5gr heavier then specified / advertised regardless of alloy. About half of that is due to me drawing the blueprint overweight and half due to Miha cutting the molds on the very outer edge of the spec.

I offered to tighten up the spec. for the rerun so the molds would drop as advertised but I was handily rejected. I was told not to screw with the design, not even a little bit. If you guys are happy with it I'm happy with it.

Well, maybe my alloy isn't as soft as I thought. (or, in my old age, I forgot which alloy I left in the pot! ). Either way, great boolit, Oreo! Thanks for the design work and honchoing it.

[Cmemiss]

I want to thank Oreo and Miha for a great mold. Got mine today and have already cast a test batch. With my alloy, a mix of ww and range lead, they drop out at .403. The deep cavity is 184 +/- .3, the shallow cavity is 188, again +/- 3, and the flat point is 192.3 with the same variable. I am new to Miha's HPs but found it funny/strange that the HPs dropped off the pins and the flap point occasionally needed a little tap to get it to drop. I'm in the middle of loading a batch of .45s right now so it will be a while before I can get these beauties into some brass.

[Normbro]

Just got mine. The mold looks wonderful. I have Lee, Lyman, Saeco, but this Miha is different,
and I would appreciate any tips.

I have a couple (more than) of questions, for you experienced Miha mold guys:

I read in the threads about loosening the pins if they were snug, on my mold they fit fine cold. Do I still need to loosen them?
Will the fit change when the mold gets hot?

It looks like with the solid pins, the mold drops bullets just by opening the mold,
but with the HP pins, do I open the mold and tap the pins a bit for clearance, and then invert the mold to drop the HP bullets?

I guess I need to remove and replace the snap rings for the pins each time I change out pins?

I quess the pins and mold pre-heat together ok, how do you pre-heat your Miha molds?

Thanks a bunch guys, for your tips
Thanks Oreo and Miha

[Guardian]

Got mine today! Unfortunately, it will be a while before I get to try it out. Someone had commented on the beauty of one of these molds. WOW! I put the handles on and just held it for a while, admiring the machine work. I do like fine tools!

Thanks for putting this together, Oreo.

Thanks for the fine craftsmanship, Miha.

[armedmoose]

I bought the full 200 grain mold for my 10MM.... Have though about setting up to load .40 S&W.... Has anyone here shoot the 200 grain bullet in a .40? If so a range report and load data would be much appreciated....

I purchased this mold for pistol matches... here is a good data sheet to help work up your own loads, scroll down for the 200gr lead loads.

The PF (Power factor) number is: Weight of bullet x velocity (divided by) 1000. You could use this as a generalization comparison of loads...higher = more power, lower = less power.

http://www.precisionbullets.com/PDF/maashl40sw.pdf

I cannot wait to start casting these for my own use, picked up my mold from the Post Office today.. fantastic and heavy!

[Oreo]

Someone asked about heat cycling in the other thread. To keep things organized I'm putting my reply here:

Heat cycling is to put a little oxidation on the brass. The oxidation helps prevent lead from soldering itself to the brass.

My method is to clean the mold block and place the halves cavity side up in a stainless pan. Then place the pan on a 1000w hotplate and set on high. After 1hr turn off hotplate and allow to air-cool till safe to touch. Repeat twice more.

I have been warned that overheating the mold blocks like this can warp (read: destroy) them but after doing three of Miha's molds I have not seen any warping at all. My theory is that heat isn't the problem but severe uneven heating- as in dipping a corner of a cold mold into molten lead and or rapid cooling like quenching the blocks in water might cause a problem. YMMV.

There are other methods and if you just start casting with your new mold it will develop this oxidation naturally after a few sessions. Either way, if you should discover some lead soldered to your mold DO NOT scrape it! Come back here and ask and I'll explain how to remove the lead in a way that's safe for the mold.

[lukewmtdew]

Someone asked about heat cycling in the other thread. To keep things organized I'm putting my reply here:

Heat cycling is to put a little oxidation on the brass. The oxidation helps prevent lead from soldering itself to the brass.

My method is to clean the mold block and place the halves cavity side up in a stainless pan. Then place the pan on a 1000w hotplate and set on high. After 1hr turn off hotplate and allow to air-cool till safe to touch. Repeat twice more.

I have been warned that overheating the mold blocks like this can warp (read: destroy) them but after doing three of Miha's molds I have not seen any warping at all. My theory is that heat isn't the problem but severe uneven heating- as in dipping a corner of a cold mold into molten lead and or rapid cooling like quenching the blocks in water might cause a problem. YMMV.

There are other methods and if you just start casting with your new mold it will develop this oxidation naturally after a few sessions. Either way, if you should discover some lead soldered to your mold DO NOT scrape it! Come here and ask and I'll explain how to remove the lead in a way that's safe for the mold.

Do we use a candle to soot these molds?

[Cmemiss]

Okay, how do you remove soldering, I have two specks on the 360-640 and on another (not Miha) aluminum mold.

[MTtimberline]

Heat treated this mold today as Oreo stated. Then I couldn't stand it any longer so I fired up the pot. This is my first Mihec and first brass mold. I can already see there is some getting used to but I am really liking this mold right from the start. I figured that the deep hollow point would hang up but surprisingly it was the solid that stuck to the mold on the half opposite of the Cramer pins. I found all the comment about running it hot were very true. I had to be on the edge of frosting to prevent rounded corners on the bases. I am going to practice some more to get the rejects to a more acceptable rate.

[MTtimberline]

I 'm really liking the looks of that shallow HP more and more.

[Oreo]

Do we use a candle to soot these molds?

You can but I'd try going without first. These molds probably don't need it.

Okay, how do you remove soldering, I have two specks on the 360-640 and on another (not Miha) aluminum mold.

Get a wet paper towel. Heat the mold normally. Then use a propane torch on the lead spots till the lead is molten. Wipe away with the wet towel. Repeat as necessary. For really stubborn lead spots use a bit of wood carved to a dull point. Wet the wood a little and use the same method with the torch. More pressure can be applied eith the wood, and it also gets into the corners of the mold easier.

ETA Clarification: Its not good to just hold the torch in one spot over the lead. Keep the torch moving so as to heat the mold evenly.