2 cavity or 4 cavity

[bigarm]

I only have 2 moulds, both 2 cavity. I am going to purchase my next mould, this time for 9mm/38 Super probably 130 or 135 grain (leaning towards 130 at this time). I am very new to this and think that the more holes you have in the mould, the better technique you probably should have. I did pretty well with the Hardline Industries moulds in 40 and 45 (2 cavity). Should I try 4 cavity or stick with the 2 cavity? These things are not cheap and I don't want to make a $150 mistake.

[Jack Stanley]

I find my four and six cavity moulds are about as easy to use as the two cavity . Each one likes it's lead served up slightly different and I'm sure you will adapt , get a good quality mould though and you will not be sorry you did .

Jack

[kbstenberg]

For my pistol I like the most cavities available. Most people shoot more pistol ammo than rifle.
For rifle bullets I prefer 1 or 2 cavities. In most cases the bullets will be more uniform.
Just my 2 cents

[williamwaco]

Depends on how many bullets you want.

I find I can drop around 200 to three hundred in an easy morning with a two cavity ( around two hours )

The same number increases to around 400 to 500 with a six cavity.

They do not scale exactly because more cavities take more work and they drain the pot so fast you will likely have to wait occasionally for new ingots to melt. ( I do not preheat mine. )

[Guesser]

I can't handle the weight of a steel 4C, have never tried an aluminum mold of more than 2C so I don't know. I enjoy casting so much that a 4 or more C would shorten my pleasure; don't want'em to come too fast!!!

[kungfustyle]

Depends on what you want. If you are on the fence about it get a Lee 6 cavity cast a thousand and if it suits you keep it and if not many people here like Lee molds and will be happy to take it off your hands, especially if you take $10 off.
If you are looking to cast then get a 2 cavity. If you are looking to crank out boolits get a 4 or 6. Can't beat a 6 cavity for production. Just when you are getting warmed up it's time to fill the pot again.

[340six]

I have a few Lyman 1 Cavity that cast great and are some of my best molds. One large and one is a small, 358242 in 125 grains does not bother me. I am in no hurry and can bang out some great 9mm bullets fast with it and the Key is quality not quantity
One ya get a rhythm up it goes well. And i used to be a ladle caster.
Most I have are Lyman vintage 2 Cavity molds. And i like them old molds the best.
Do have some Group Buys in 4 Cavity Brass as well as 2 Cavity Brass.
Only Steel 4 Cavity I have is a restored 452389 and it is way heavier than the 2 and 4 Cavity brass.
If i had to Choose it would be a good 2 Cavity. But Everything works and some I got at deals to good to pass up or were only availbe the way I got them.
http://s234.photobucket.com/user/fas.../Red%20Carnuba

[EDK]

Allegedly Mike Dillon got some advice about selling his first reloading presses from a marketing executive..."you selling a machine or what it will produce...you buy a drill bit because it's pretty or do you want to drill a hole in something?"
A serious pistol shooter needs four cavity (or larger!) moulds and a STAR and a DILLON (or equivalent) for high level production.
MIHEC or NOE aluminum moulds are a good choice. LEE will give you an economical mould that may suit you.

[Petrol & Powder]

Saeco makes three cavity molds.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'm perfectly happy with two cavity molds but mine are all iron. A 4C iron mold would be heavy. A 4C aluminum mold wouldn't bad at all. I'm with williamwaco, I can produce a couple of hundred bullets in an easy session with a 2C mold and I very happy at that rate. If I wanted to step up my production, more cavities in the mold would be the obvious method

[shoot-n-lead]

I have a lot of 2C molds...but I definitely prefer 4C...in my opinion, they cast better.

[fredj338]

Unless you are buying a mold for a magma machine, a 4cav will be a lot faster. I just ordered a new 45 mold from Accurate, 4cav. I do have a lot of 2cav but for bullets I cast very little of, or for my Magma. I have a few single cav HP molds but 100 bullets a year from them is sufficient. FWIW, the Magma Master Cast is a great machine but no faster than a good 4cav mold, even slower than a Lee 6cav. It's just easier to cast for long periods of time on a Magma.

[WALLNUTT]

I have 1,2,3,4,and 6 cav molds. All work fine,all are different. Thirty to forty-five cal. Get ya a 6cav LEE and handles. Your only out about fifty bucks and can use the handles on about any mold.

[bigarm]

I have a few Lyman 1 Cavity that cast great and are some of my best molds. One large and one is a small, 358242 in 125 grains does not bother me. I am in no hurry and can bang out some great 9mm bullets fast with it and the Key is quality not quantity
One ya get a rhythm up it goes well. And i used to be a ladle caster.
Most I have are Lyman vintage 2 Cavity molds. And i like them old molds the best.
Do have some Group Buys in 4 Cavity Brass as well as 2 Cavity Brass.
Only Steel 4 Cavity I have is a restored 452389 and it is way heavier than the 2 and 4 Cavity brass.
If i had to Choose it would be a good 2 Cavity. But Everything works and some I got at deals to good to pass up or were only availbe the way I got them.
http://s234.photobucket.com/user/fas.../Red%20Carnuba

Nice pictures!

[Boolseye]

My first mold was a Lee six cav. If you have any issues, the answers are on this forum.
I favor 4-6 cavity molds when they're available, though I like my 2s as well. With two-cav molds, you can get into a rhythm with two of them and go almost as fast as a 4 cav.

[tuckerdog]

I am a little eccentric but I like using two 2 cavity molds at the same time. I don't over heat my molds and can crank out a bunch of boolits fast. It just depends on you. Rifle boolits are done much slower with a single mold in one or two cavity.

[wv109323]

It depends on several things. Do you have a pot that can handle 4 cavities? I think a 20 lb. is necessary for 4 or 6 cavity molds because of lead consumption. If you have a 10 lb. pot you can not keep the lead or the mold at correct temps to cast for long periods of time. You will need to constantly add lead fluctuating the temp. How many boolits do you need? I think 4-6 cavities make sense for smaller boolit's especially pistol. For large rifle boolits where a low volume is needed then 1 or 2 cavity molds make sense.

[bigarm]

Well I have a Lee 4-20. I do get tired holding the mold after a while, though. I was thinking about getting one of those Lee furnace upgrades that were on this forum, but probably will have to wait a month for that if I buy a new mold.

[Leadmelter]

I started my pre winter casting. I did over 700 9mm 124 gr Lyman boolits with a four cavity mold in about 1.5 hrs. That does not include melt time and heating the mold on a hot plate(About 30-40 minutes). I used four cavity for my most common boolits including 150-.357 and 452 185, 200 and 230gr boolits.
4 cavity in al is really light.
Leadmelter
MI

[Bigslug]

"Quantity has a Quality all its own" - Josef Stalin

There really isn't any difference in technique with bigger molds - you're just doing more, faster. There's a time and place for low-output molds, but life's too short to cast pistol rounds in a 2-holer.

[LenH]

I have several 2 cavity molds and cast for years with them, then I found an 8 cavity H&G mold in a bullet I have been shooting for 5 or 6 years from Valiant Bullets. The 8 cavity is a hoss,
big, bulky and very heavy. But bullets rain from this thin and it will drain a pot in short order. And like Williamwaco you spend time in waiting for the next full pot.

I have a mishap last weekend with a hot plate. I was preheating ingots while wrestling the big 8 cavity and I looked over and had melted lead everywhere. This was the first time I tried to preheat
ingots and wound up with a mess, now I understand why some don't preheat ingots. Never again.