In your opinion , 45-70 moulds .

[Harter66]

I'm fussy about my moulds . I've been at this long enough that making a mould work isn't a big deal anymore . I have routines that work for 90% of the moulds on hand and I have as many "good" moulds as Lee moulds even those nefarious old styles don't give me too much trouble .

I want a 405 gr FP for a 45-70 and I've found almost a load for some salvage lead bucket of mystery meat 458193s . The load is sound , the lube works , there's room for "ownself BP" lube and I don't have a 458 rifle mould .

My choices with pros , wash and cons .

457193
I've shot these
they seem to group
405-415gr

PB bullet

Only seems to be available as a single
Lyman ,up to spec ?

SC 460-425 FP
NOE
4-5 C available
<$100 2C $80
It can be had w/w/o GC
It will throw 460-425

Looks to be a good match for the 193 but with a crimp groove above the top lube groove .

Haven't tried this one so it's a dice roll .
It's $20 more if it doesn't work out .
405 is the target weight.

457-450 F (Lee 2 C)
HP candidate
Can be lapped easily
It's $20
If it doesn't work it's $20

So far all of my Lee's except 2 RB have been fat and heavy
It's a 450 but it has the nose/shank relationship I want
It's a plain base
It's a 2C
I have a 458-340F single that shoots ok over Unique .

It's Lee
It might not be worth the HP if it shoots
There's not enough shank to mill it to 405-425
405 is the target weight

Am I missing any major points ? Any pros or cons you'd add ?
Should this have been a poll ?

I just don't have the time with the Cartridge , Cal or platform to decide .....

[Scharfschuetze]

I like the Lee 405 grain hollow base bullet for duplicating the US Army Trapdoor loads.

I also like the Lyman 457193 405 grain design which works well in my H&R and Marlin 45/70 rifles.

Both are plain base designs, but that's OK with me as I rarely push them past 1,300 fps. Both bullet designs hold very well past 600 yards and further.

[44man]

I gave my friend my 457193 since it cast way too small for my Browning and it shoots very well from his rifle.
I have the Lee 459-500-3R and it does not shoot well at all.
The Postell shoots great from my friends rifle but not from mine, still casts to small.
I have a Rapine 500 gr Gov't mold that drops a .460" boolit and it shoots best. I can't shoot a .457" at all.
Lee has several 405 gr molds that look good and as long as you get fit, should work fine.
Fit has been my problem. My Browning is almost a micro groove with 8 lands and grooves. I made several molds for my 45-70 revolver, size .459" and they shoot pretty good from the rifle.
I don't know why they keep making .457" molds, the .460" Rapine shot best from a trapdoor and a Roller.

[stubert]

I don't have a 405 mold, but I do have a 350 gr. NOE mold. It is brass and a work of art. Buy once, cry once.

[Lloyd Smale]

your overlooking one of the best. The rcbs 405rfgc. Ive killed quite a few animals with it and its preformed flawlessly amd is probably the most accurate across the board bullet in all the 4570s ive owned. Only downside to it is its a single cav mold. But then I don't go out and shoot 500 4570s in a day anyway. Bottom line is if I could only have one 4570 bullet for everyting that bullet would hands down be my first choice.

[buckshotshoey]

your overlooking one of the best. The rcbs 405rfgc. Ive killed quite a few animals with it and its preformed flawlessly amd is probably the most accurate across the board bullet in all the 4570s ive owned. Only downside to it is its a single cav mold. But then I don't go out and shoot 500 4570s in a day anyway. Bottom line is if I could only have one 4570 bullet for everyting that bullet would hands down be my first choice.

RCBS for me too. The 325 gr version. It throws out bullets at .458 and 332- 335 grains with the alloy I'm using. The 325 is more then adequate for whitetail and is pleasant to shoot at trap door velocities. It's a plain base design and RCBS recommends keeping it below 1500 fps. It is a little odd that the literature that came with the mold states this, but the Speer 13 manual has the minimum load higher then that.
It shoots best from my rifle at about 1400 or slightly less.

[RickinTN]

I've had very good luck with molds from Tom at Accurate molds. I've been able to get bullets to my specifications and profiles. The last I ordered just this month was a 2 cavity, one pb and one with gc, for my Ballard rifled .444 Marlin. The "fit" is exactly as I had wanted and as soon as a few bullets season I'll give them a try. Tom's molds are a little more expensive than others but I have always received what I expected with no issues. I can without hesitation recommend his molds.
Good Luck,
Rick

[iplaywithnoshoes]

I buy 405gr from Missouri Bullet and Acme for a reasonable price. Anything heavier and I cast using the 459-500-3R. It throws them out at around .460" at 471-476gr with Lyman #2. Accuracy with that one has been good so far but then again, I am working with an unusually fast twist (1:14).

[flint45]

Look through the catalog at Accurate molds he will have what you want his molds are top notch. He just made me a 305 gr. mold for my .45-60 and .45-70 it casts great and shoots very good.

[Maven]

What Scharfschuetze said! Also, don't overlook the 340gr. Lee FPPB or the Lyman ~330gr. Gould HP (PB) or a copy thereof. Lastly, your choice may depend on how fast you want to drive those CB's and how much recoil you're willing to tolerate. Trust me, in my Marlin #336, you can clearly feel the difference each 50 [extra] feet per second makes.

[DocSavage]

I have the RCBS 405,I also have Redding 400,500 and 525 gr molds all double cavity and an NEI 500 gr round nose. All cast at .460 and I size mine to .458.
The Redding blocks are their black powder line they're pricey but worth it imho.