The .357 bullets from my new N.O.E. .358 Sil mold were so nice that I decided to cast some 44 Sil bullets from an old RCBS 240 gr mold. This mold casts 2 at a time and is steel, my new .357 N.O.E. mold is a 4 bullet aluminum mold. Needless to say, I am having bad luck with the RCBS mold. Bullet weights are all over the place, 244 gr to 255 gr., lots of frosted, mainly in the base and to the crimp groove. Out of 310 bullets I will found 54 that are within +1 to -1 from 252 gr. I have a new lead tester and according to chart that came with it, it is a BHN of 9. I will use the best of the rejects, PC them without gaschecks and size them, then load them in 44 Special for close range.
I found some ingots that are marked linotype, but they seem soft, according to the lead test they are 11 -13 BHN. I think I will try to melt down all the various ingots I have, test them and order some linotype nuggets from Rotometal and see If I can get the 16 - 18 BHN that I want.
I also think that the 44 Sil RCBS might be a bad mold, it had rust on the exterior and is on rusty handles.
Is it better to have aluminum molds and molds with more than 2 bullets to get a better casting. What are the better 44 cal bullet molds around 240 to 250 gr for silhouette