New to casting,,,Brain on overload!

[wmitty]

Couldn’t tell if it was a Parrott rifle or not. Use concrete cast in pvc pipe mould. Lead is too valuable .”

[Wayne Smith]

Where was a guy on here a few years ago who traded lead for zinc - he used it to cast cannon balls. Food for thought.

[Cherokee]

My fav 45 Colt mold is the RCBS 45-230CM intended for cowboy action shooting, for which I have used thousands. It is a rounded fat nose that cuts a nice hole in paper as well as taking the steel targets down in SASS...and it is accurate for me in my guns. If you want a SWC, then the RCBS 45-245 WC (Keith) is a good mold.

[Grmps]

I tend to steer away from any of the newer Lyman stuff especially molds.. Their quality control has gone to heck and their customer service /warranty is the worst out there. RCBS won't let you pay for replacement parts or shipping, Lee will replace the bad part for free if you ship it to them or just charge you for shipping if you order it online. I'm not familliar with Dillon , noe .. but have heard good things about them.

I've gotten quite a few newer Lyman molds for pennies on the dollar because they cast too large, to small or on multi cavity molds the cavities were different sizes, off up to 5 thou. on a 4 banger.
I believe they are using softer cast iron because the tops of the molds a wearing down where the sprue plate pivots on the block. I've had to have several thousandths shaved off the top to re-flatten the mold and allot the sprue plate to ride flush whith the top of the mold again.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the OLD Lyman / Ideal molds, the new stuff -- not so much.