I have finally started pouring lead into this mold as of this evening, and had some real challenges.
I started with the penta plug and getting the bullets to drop was a real frustration. Not owning a rawhide mallet and not wanting to use a hammer handle, I eventually extracted the real problem bullets with the pliers. Needless to say, those all had to go back in the pot.
I let the mold cool down and turned the hollow point plugs around hoping a flat nose would help get things going, but almost no help there, either. Absolutely impossible to get 1 of the 4 to come out no matter what I did, until I finally took a hammer handle and beat the tar out of the thing.
So now I think I appreciate why Lyman, as I understand it, modified the Keith original design from fairly square-bottom grease groove to a larger radius design.
Anyway, just wanted to share my rather miserable experience. Tomorrow I think I pick up a rawhide mallet. This will be the first mold I have had from any maker (including MP hp molds) that causes this much fuss. I'm thinking old Elmer maybe never actually had to cast his own designs, just shoot them. They're going to be beautiful bullets once I get the mold running right, but for now it takes so long to get them out the mold cools down enough I can barely crack the sprue plate open.
These I'm seating right a 1.675" OAL--can't waits to shoot 'em.