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View Poll Results: What were the first mold(s) you used and how did you acquire it/them?

Voters
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  • Lee molds, purchased.

    259 47.52%
  • Lee molds, given, borrowed.

    20 3.67%
  • Other brand mold, purchased.

    214 39.27%
  • Other brand mold, given, borrowed.

    52 9.54%
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Thread: Quick poll on first molds.

  1. #161
    Boolit Buddy kaiser's Avatar
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    Mar 2010
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    I bought my first mold, a Lyman, after I purchased my first black power rifle (a T/C Seneca). That purchase 40 years ago introduced me to casting, a hobby which took me 20 years to renew do to location. Now, I have as many molds of different brands as I have reloading dies (many!).

  2. #162
    Boolit Buddy glockfan's Avatar
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    Jan 2018
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    partly VT,partly canada
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    started my casting endeavors not long ago...bought a 356637 lyman because i like heavier boolits in my glocks...

    bought that mould without even knowing what ''slugging a barrel''' meant lol. now i know, and if i had to do it again, would have ordered from accurate molds with the correct specs . if ever my boolits gives me the accuracy i'm expecting, it will be all about the '' luck''' factor because i did NOT slugged my barrels when i placed my order for my lyman mould ...

    in the wait for my lyman piece, i'm working with a lee 356 120 which doesn't provide that much accuracy shot from my glocks . hope for better results from my lyman.

  3. #163
    Boolit Master
    high standard 40's Avatar
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    I started with Lyman molds for my 44 Mag and 357 Mag back in the early 80s to feed my silhouette revolvers. I purchased my molds new.

  4. #164
    Boolit Master
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    in 71 I was 21 got my first pistol a ruger blakhawk in .357. then my first mold a lyman 358429 single cavity. made a lot of skeeter .38 loads back then. still have both pistol and mold.

  5. #165
    Boolit Master

    RedlegEd's Avatar
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    Sep 2017
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    I started with a Lyman 445599 Minié ball mould back in the early 70s, then picked up a Lyman 452374 (.452 225gr RN) and RCBS 45-255-KT. I've acquired Lyman, Lee and Accurate moulds since, mostly for .45-70. Ed

  6. #166
    Boolit Buddy McFred's Avatar
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    Jan 2014
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    I'm sure they'll listen to "Reason"
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    My first mould was a 2 cavity Accurate custom; a 700gr 50cal tumble lube for a wildcat of mine. 2nd was a 2 cavity 550Gr Mihec 50cal HP which I haven't used yet, 3rd was a $10 2 cavity Lyman 356402. That's all I got for now.

  7. #167
    Boolit Master
    Outer Rondacker's Avatar
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    Lyman 357 mould 2 cavity. I had headed to a retired professional shooters house to buy a press and he kicked me out for no reason as soon as I hit the door. I drove two hours so I kinda just sat in his driveway. A few moments later his wife came out and said come on in honey. He gripped about do you youngster ever care about how a bullet is made. I said yes. 6 hours later I left with a chevy 1500 limping home. Moulds lead pots presses bullets books and so on. At the time I only had been reloading for a year. George if by some chance you are on this forum buddy I can not thank you enough for getting me into casting.Well thats my story.

    Oh and I paid 500 bucks and had so much in my truck my wife had to hold one of the presses on her lap as the bed had no room in it.

    Ready for this. I didnt own a 357 at the time.

  8. #168
    Boolit Grand Master
    rintinglen's Avatar
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    One of the best reasons to buy a gun is that you got "such a deal" on components. My first 9mm came to me after an elderly friend gifted me with a shot bag half full of 9 mm surplus ammo.
    _________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.

  9. #169
    Boolit Bub
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    Western NY
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    I just started casting in the last few months. I have learned a lot from you guys. The mold I bought was for a 45-70 405gr WFNGC from Accurate Molds.

  10. #170
    Boolit Grand Master

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    About ten years ago I had a rifle that I couldn't get to shoot commercially available projectiles satisfactorily and I was getting tired of buying bullet$ that didn't work. One day a big brown truck brought me a really BIG brown box with a Lee furnace, Lyman sizer & dies, two Lyman moulds and all the other stuff that I thought I needed to get started casting. To be quite honest I never got that rifle to shoot to my satisfaction but boolits from my first session were better than I had bought.
    I guess you could say that rifle and those Lyman moulds started a long, expensive journey for me but it's been a lot of fun.
    Endowment Life Member NRA, Life Member TSRA, Member WACA, NRA Whittington Center, BBHC
    Smokeless powder is a passing fad! -Steve Garbe
    I hate rude behavior in a man. I won't tolerate it. -Woodrow F. Call, Lonesome Dove
    Some of my favorite recipes start out with a handful of depleted counterbalance devices.

  11. #171
    Boolit Bub
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    Mar 2016
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    I always seem to start of with lee's just to see if i like it then get nice molds, currently using noe

  12. #172
    Boolit Buddy Arkansas Paul's Avatar
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    Feb 2010
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    I started with Lee molds.
    I prefer Lyman now but I still use several Lee molds with good results.
    Life is a series of bullseyes and backstraps - Ted Nugent

  13. #173
    Boolit Man
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    Jan 2014
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    89

    Cool Lee Molds when I first started casting

    I started casting with Lee Molds and soon went to Lyman, Noe, Rcbs, Rapine ect.. I have not had good luck with Lee molds, I have had very good luck with Lee dies. The Lee collet neck sizers and factory crimp dies are great. YMMV

  14. #174
    Boolit Bub
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    State College, PA
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    37
    Started casting just a few months ago after building a 300BO and realizing that 30 round mags and $0.30+ per bullet wasn't gonna work for me. Bought the Lee TL309-230-5R on midway and shortly after the NOE 311-230-FN. Already looking for more.

  15. #175
    Boolit Buddy Knightflyer's Avatar
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    Mar 2018
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    George brought me a N.O.E. mold 311-180-FN (311041). I'm making boolits for a Mossy 464 30-30.
    Knightflyer - Pesky newbie with a 30-30 & a zillion questions
    "And what I want to say is this, that I'm the King's man; and if this Parliament of Owls is any sort of plot against the King, I'm having nothing to do with it." - C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
    Shalom y'all!

  16. #176
    Boolit Buddy


    DW475's Avatar
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    Started with lee molds casting .357 & .41 bullets and moved on to Lyman and RCBS molds. After I discovered this site, I got hooked on Mihecs molds. Dang I need a second job!!

  17. #177
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by DW475 View Post
    Started with lee molds casting .357 & .41 bullets and moved on to Lyman and RCBS molds. After I discovered this site, I got hooked on Mihecs molds. Dang I need a second job!!
    Tell me about it! My first several were Lee’s...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  18. #178
    Boolit Master
    Mal Paso's Avatar
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    I cast Lyman's 429421 up until NOE's first group buy of their 429421. It seems having a boolit a couple thousandths over bore stops leading and increases velocity. Who Knew?

    Since then MP-Molds, more NOE and Ballisti-Cast. I've never seen a Lee first hand. I've had several of Miha's 6 cavity molds which although similar probably don't have the "feel" of a Lee.
    Mal

    Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.

  19. #179
    Boolit Grand Master
    9.3X62AL's Avatar
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    I started with Lyman moulds at the outset in 1981, and RCBS within a couple years' time. Lee moulds came kinda late to the party at my place, early 1990s IIRC. Small-shop makers have dominated my mould-buying since c. 2002, almost all aluminum blocks by NOE, Accurate, and Mountain Molds. I have yet to cast with a brass mould block. These small-shop products have TOTALLY changed the game as far as bullet casting is concerned, IMHO. We are in the Golden Age of bullet casting, for certain. I have about 80 moulds on hand presently.
    I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.

  20. #180
    Boolit Master
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    Sep 2016
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    I've been reloading for years but casting for only one or two. To start with I got 6 banger Lee molds from Midway in all the pistol calibers I own, but found the type of bullets I eventually wanted to use were not offered. I ended up with Accurate and then MP molds with which I do all my casting, including most of the trial and error learning. Most of the Lees have never been used except for the handles, which fit the other two brands. My goal is to eventually replace all the Lees.
    Last edited by kevin c; 06-08-2018 at 04:22 AM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check