I have been casting now for nearly 20 years gents. There's not another hobby that has consumed so much of my time as this one. I was using cast boolits to knock down my GI Joes when I was 5 years old, and I can still remember it (I was a snob back then too. Only the H&G 34 was used to knock over my GI Joes!) I melted and cast my first lead bullets when I was 14 years old under the tutelage of my father who was an accomplished pistol marksman and bullet caster himself.
Since that time, I have attended to several bullet designs over the years. I almost never bought a new design unless I was ready to use it indefinitely. I want my collection to be short, to the point, and effective. If something doesn't work, it gets shelved, sold, or given away. I just don't care for bad bullet designs.
Because of this, several people have asked me to write a post describing which molds are on my shelf, and which ones I care to keep. I'm sure that to many people this list is a foregone conclusion, and the immediate response will be "yeah. Duh. Tell me something I don't know." but for the benefit of those starting out, and those wondering, and those who asked for my opinion, please bear with me and allow me to give honor to the designs that have totally impressed me.
I promise the list is short.
First, I allow me to describe the best of the best. These designs are the ones I have recommended the most, given the most samples of, and had the most good reports return from external sources. I feel I am on comfortable ground recommending these designs, and I think anyone else would be too. Mold makers often find these designs to be their staples (bread and butter as it were). These represent the best way to plug the hole in your barrel, and put a hole in an object down range.
Rifle bullets
#1. A relative newcomer, but very very effective and simply the best all around bullet for any occasion. It's worth buying a firearm (pistol or rifle) in 35 caliber just to be able to utilize this fantastic boolit design.
I give you the venerable RCBS 35-200-FN
Attachment 131011
This bullet was the first given to me on this forum back in 2011 when I was working on my 358 Malcolm wildcat (early XCB concept rifle). Larry Gibson was the donor, sending me 100 of these lubed, checked, sorted, and individually checked for hardness. They have consistently produced smaller groups in all my 35 caliber firearms. I liked this bullet so much, it inspired me to build two rifles for myself in 358 Winchester just to utilize it. It has proven itself on paper and in the field, and seems to always have more to give than I ever need for 200 yards and closer. If there were ever an all around bullet design, this is it. Very few 35 caliber bullets can hang with this design in all around versatility, unless you get right down to paper punching (and even then, you better bring your A game).
I have actually tried to design a bullet that edges this design out on the paper punching side, using the XCB concept, but this one will forever hold a place of honor on my mold shelf right up front.
#2 An old design that is as accomplished in it's superb design as it is in years:
The outstanding Lyman 311466 RN.
Attachment 131012
This boolit was the very first rifle boolit I ever cast. My father determined I was mature enough to handle a smokeless centerfire rifle, and bought me a Marlin 336 in 30-30 from a friend of the family.
He took me to the gun closet and pulled two boxes of dingy looking RP 30-30 brass from the confines of that magical wardrobe and handed them to me saying, “you can have these”. I asked him “do you have any bullets?” and he replied: “Right here.” As he handed me the 311466 mold. He also showed me an 8lb jug of Unique.
Over the next 5 years, I cast more bullets from that mold than all the others combined, and I wouldn’t doubt if that statement is still true. I have used the 311466 in 30-30, 30-06, 308, and paper patched in the 303 British. It never fails to impress. A quick stroke with a file across the nose makes it an ideal hunting bullet. Also, it typically drops exactly as it is designated at .310-.313 depending on the mold. There is only one mold that I have “worn out” beyond repair and this is it.
Pistol bullets
#1-A The bullseye champion of champions. The best of the best. The simple, but complex, ugly in appearance, but beautiful in performance 45 caliber bullet that is perhaps the most recognized and dependable way to give the competition a sound spanking in public with a 1911 pistol:
I give you the H&G #68 semi wad cutter.
Attachment 131013
This bullet gave me trouble in my first 1911, so I shied away from it for many years, but on the recommendation of a forum member (MTgun44) who took issue with my reservations, as well as my father telling me I needed to check my IQ level, I have given this bullet a very hard, second look, and it is now my go to bullet in the 45ACP cartridge. I have no idea how I ever concluded this design was substandard, but I am content that the offending pistol was surely buried at sea as a foreign made heretic not worthy to be owned nor operated by an American. This design is what I carry in my 1911 in warm weather for SD. This is one of the greatest designs in history.
#1-B Closely following #1 as it was the bullet I have used most before I came to my senses about the H&G68.
The H&G #34 (Yep. Same one I was killing GI Joes with when I was 5 years old. I go way back with this design. LOL!)
Attachment 131014
This bullet has proven to be more than a one trick pony. This bullet works well in the 45 Colt (some would call it the 45 Long Colt) as well as the 45ACP and almost anything that requires a bullet with a diameter of .452. with a filed flat tip, it does the job on game with boring effectiveness, and cast of air cooled COWW, it’s what I carry in my 1911 in cold weather for SD. Often imitated the 230 grain RN 45 is a good choice.
I have both the above designs in the same mold made by H&G, and why both are #1 IMHO
#2 If you own a 44 magnum and feel lucky (as 44 magnum owners often do) then this bullet is all you need to handle anything from hogs, to deer, to African Giraffe. It is in fact: “all that and a bag of chips”.
The Lyman 429421
Attachment 131015
This bullet is also a very good target bullet for punching nice groups in paper all the way out to 100 yards. 44man and Cbrick would no doubt correct me on this as they have much more experience at long range pistol shooting than your humble servant. Regardless, this is a must have bullet design. Simply astounding in its versatility and effectiveness at many applications.
These bullet designs are ones that I think everybody should own if you have a firearm that can utilize them. They are time honored, tested, and proven designs that are still around because people still demand them to be.
Honorable mention goes to the following designs:
Rifle bullets
The Ranch dog designs now available through NOE molds. If there were a bullet designer that I agree with more than any other, it’s Ranch Dog. For hunting bullets, he doesn’t miss the mark and his designs just do what a good bullet mold should do. Being able to enjoy these designs in a high quality NOE bullet mold is icing on the cake, and an irresistible option, especially if you enjoy shooting and hunting with Marlin lever action rifles (which I do). I own an original RD 350 grain bullet mold designed for use in the Marlin 1895 45-70 which was a gift to me by Btroj, and I have fallen madly in love with it. It works almost too well.
Attachment 131016
The Lyman 358318 referred to by us at MBT as the “venison boomerang”, I have put more deer in the freezer with this bullet than any other 35 caliber bullet. In a 14 twist rifle, this bullet barely stabilizes at 1850FPS, and shoots nasty 4” groups in paper at 100 yards. Fortunately, while Arkansas deer are small, they are usually larger than 4” and they do not like getting hit with this bullet.
Attachment 131017
I make no bones about it. This is not a target bullet, and many people will observe the poor accuracy, and refuse to endure the recoil required to make this terrible design behave on paper. Fortunately for me, I know something they don’t: This bullet was not designed to shoot small groups on paper. It was designed to feed like pouring water into a funnel, and kill deer, bear and moose dead as a hammer in their tracks. The very design traits that make this bullet such a dog on paper are what make it so effective in the field. Because the nose is so unsupported, and because it is not quite stabilized in a 14 twist barrel, it flies like a dying duck, and when it hits a fluid medium (such as the vitals of the buck you just shot), it goes through the deer doing somersaults as it tries to get the base in front and the nose towards the rear. It flips sideways about the time it’s going through the offside lung, and it exits in that manner every time. Big, oval exit hole.
The last deer I shot with this bullet was 75 yards distant, and when the trigger broke, I saw a flash of daylight through the deer’s vitals and a pink hairy mist out the opposite side. This has been demonstrated on several deer over the years and is shockingly predictable. It will never leave my shelf for this reason.
The Accurate 46-405K
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Yes, Keith had it right. His bullet designs were home-run hits every time. So it comes as no surprise that one of our members requested that Tom at Accurate Molds make him an upsized version for use in his 45 caliber rifles for laying pigs in the shade, and it does so very very well. It’s not the most accurate boolit in the lineup, but for its intended purpose, it is absolutely unbeatable. If there are too many pigs and it’s up to you to keep the population in check, this bullet here is the “delete” button, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on bear either. It feeds and engraves flawlessly in the Marlin 1895 lever action rifles.
This mold was also a gift to me by the man who designed it Bjornb, and I enjoy it very much.
The Lee 45-230 RN TL
Attachment 131019
This was my first Lee 6 cavity mold. It works close enough to the H&G 34 and will drain your pot in no time. Before all you fine folks bought up all the powder and primers, I was shooting 600 of these each range session. It’s simple, it’s ugly, and it works real well. Gotta love that TL design. I also have the truncated cone version of this, and I plan to buy the 200gr semiwadcutter as well. I won’t say I love this bullet, but I appreciate it very very much, and give Lee props for their 6 cavity mold designs with this bullet as a perfect example of why I say they rock.
Waksupi’s gift.
Attachment 131025
This bullet is one I have no idea where to get the mold, but I plan to buy it when I get the extra scratch. Waksupi sent me 100 of these to enjoy, and I have done so. This bullet was used in the M1A that I converted to 358 Winchester to level my buddy’s backstop. It fed flawlessly in the M1A and delivered phenomenal energy to what it impacted. It’s too heavy for it’s own good, but it just plain works, and I want it. Another 358 ultra heavy I would like to own someday is the Lyman 358009. Just gotta have it.
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Originally Posted by richhodg66
lol
