H&G #130 4 cavity mould...

[Dale53]

Yesterday, I brought out my H&G 4 Cavity #130 mould (200 gr SWC mould for the .45 ACP) for a little casting session. These days, I typically will run only one RCBS pot of metal (makes 20 lbs of bullets) at a time. My back starts complaining if I go more.

This particular time, again, I marveled at what an absolute delight this mould is to use. It came from the estate of an old, dear departed, shooting friend.
The #130 design drops bullets pretty much like shelling corn. I pre-heated the mould on a hotplate while my metal was heating. When the metal was ready the mould was ready. I actually was able to use the first four out of the mould. THAT is a time saver. I am a believer in Bullshop's Sprue Plate lube and that was utilized as soon as I was certain that the mould and metal were ready. It takes a few casts before the extra heavy sprue plate of the H&G is up to heat (in spite of pre-heating). Then, I can easily "twist" the sprue plate with my hands instead of beating on the mould (have to use the knocker the first few casts until the sprue plate is hot). This gives me much better bullet bases and is, long term, easier on the mould.

Man, what a pleasure to use this combination. If any of you fellows and gals get a chance to use one of these moulds, give it a trial and see if you don't agree with me.

The bullets shoot well, also. Thank you, Bill. I think of you every time I use the mould.

Dale53

[fecmech]

The H&G's will sure spoil you! I have 3 four bangers and they are my best moulds.

[NoDakJak]

In 1968 I ws stationed at Itazuke AFB, Japan. The Base Rod and Gun Cludhad an auction to dispose of quite a few items. The real treasure that I came away with was a Hensley and Gibbs, four hole # 130 mold that the base Pistol Team had purchased during the early 1950's. I have probably cast at least a half ton of lead through it in the following years. I have probably cst more boolits with it than all my other molds combined. Fantastic! Fill and dump! Fill and dump! Just like a metronome! Very rare that I ever have to tap it.
Once I left it sitting on the rim off a pot and had to respond to a fire. Oops! When I returned several hours later I neglected to cool the mold. Damn! Soldered it up solid! Had to resort to a acetylene torch to get it unstuck. Doesn't seem any the worse for the wear. This mold is at least fifty five years old, has cast hundreds of thousands of boolits and works as well if not better than when new. Try that with yer Lee! Ballisticast has supposedly carried on that quality. Think that I will give them a try. Neil

[Lloyd Smale]

h&g or the new company ballisticast make the best molds on the maket bar none!!

[FISH4BUGS]

I have a bunch of them too and I love the way they cast. The few non-H&G moulds I have are a 4 cavity 358156 and a couple of SAECO 4 cavity meehanite 45 auto moulds.
MY favorite for production is the S55 - a 10 cavity 380 mould. You can put out a ton of bullets in a few hours - its a good thing because I shoot them in a MAC M11A1 380 subgun, and at 1200 rounds per minute it eats up a lot of ammunition.
1 6 cavity 9mm takes care of the 9mm subguns. TexasFlyBoy is the king of H&G moulds and spoiled me when it comes to moulds.

[GSM]

The H&G 130 is a dream.

Once it comes up to temp, it's hard to put it down. Almost hypnotic the way good slugs come out of it.

The 4 banger is ideal, the 6 banger version is a little bit of a wrestling match though.

[Reloader06]

I really love all my H&G's, the classic 68, 81, 51, 503, 109. Just love 'em. Got a 50 coming my way. A couple need some tlc does anyone know if Ballisicast does repairs to originals, or if there is another source?

Matt

[xr650]

I happened on a mould I believe to be H&G. "130" is stamped on the side. There is no other stamp anywhere on the mould.
Looks like it has original packing grease on it. I don't think it has ever been used.

Is this a knock off someone didn't want to claim or are some moulds not stamped with company name?

[Texasflyboy]

I happened on a mould I believe to be H&G. "130" is stamped on the side.

There are two possibilities in my opinion.

#1 - The mould is a genuine Geo. A. Hensley mould. #130 design dates back to the 1940's when he was stamping his name on the handles only, not on the blocks. It could well be an early mould that just has the stamp "130" on the side. Did you look at the handles to see if the mfg's name is stamped anywhere?

#2 - It may be a copy of the Geo. A. Hensley #130 design and was so stamped on the side to indicate the bullet style. I've seen a handful like that before.

The surefire way for me to tell is to post some nice high quality pics here on this thread and I should be able to identify the mould for you.

Tom in NC

[xr650]

Tom,
I will try to post some pics this weekend. I don't know about the nice high quality part though.
There is no other stamping anywhere on mould or handles. Handles are .250" thick and hinge between the grips and mould.

Awesome website. I didn't know about it. I'll be spending some quality time there in the very near future.

Thanks,
Larry

[xr650]

Dale,
Sorry for the thread drift.

Tom,
Here are a few pics.
I can post more or start a new thread if you want different views.









There is some heat discolotation on the sprue plate. If they don't test fire these at the factory then I guess it has had a little use.

[Texasflyboy]

Yep! That's an early George A. Hensley 4 cavity mould with handles. No doubt about it.

You did good....

[xr650]

Thanks Tom.

I'll have to cruise your website and see if I can date it.

Are these test fired or has it been used?

[Texasflyboy]

When you cruise the Hensley & Gibbs reference website, download and read all the old catalogs.

You'll discover numerous references where George Hensley, James Gibbs, or Wayne Gibbs all say no mould left their factory unless it was tested.

So, yeah. It was fired. The fact that you have it means that it passed the test (weight variation <.1 grains per cavity) otherwise it was scrap metal.

Wayne told me that by the time they hit their stride in the 50's, it was a rare event that a mould didn't hit the mark, be it 2,4,6,8 or 10 cavity. Those guys were Master Machinists in every definition of the word.

[xr650]

Thanks Tom.

Dale,
I will get the hell off your thread now.

[Dale53]

xr650;
No need to fret. After all, I was talking about the H&G #130 four cavity mould and you supplied excellent pictures of same.

No problem whatsoever. Just imagine that we were sitting around the "Old Cracker Barrel".

Dale53

[xr650]

[flydad]

A couple of weeks ago I bought an excellent h&h 130 6 cavity mold for about the same price as some of my mp brass molds . It is without a doubt my favorite mold. I let it warm up on my hot plate and every cast produced 6 perfect bullets . I have never had that happen before. It is a joy , but will drain a RCBS pot in a hurry.

[lightman]

Wow, this thread was started before I was a member here! But, I have to agree with everything said about H&G. They are a joy to cast with. Pretty often I get good bullets on the first cast if pre heated and the bullets fall out easy. I have a few and I am actively looking for a few more. I've stayed with the 4 cavity as it seems to be a good compromise between weight and production.

[44MAG#1]

I recently won a Lyman 452488 four cavity mold that casts a clone of the 130 bullet. This mold turns out excellent bullets and casts like a dream. Dont know how old the mold is but it looks new.
Got it at a very good price. I have several H&G molds and the Lyman mold casts just as good as the H&G molds.
I hate to admit that but it is true.

Again I mean no harm, hurt or anguish by my post. I am not trolling, baiting or calling out anyone. I am merely making a statement based on my knowledge, experience and/or belief. Please understand that.
Thank you.