Molds for revolvers

[Gatch]

I don't have or load for a revolver. But why does it seem like noone uses rn boolits in revolvers ?

I'm keen getting a sbh in 44 for a bit of fun and am reading all I can about it. But it seems like everyone uses keith style swc or big meplat tc or rf. Is that just down to the individual gun or owner, or is there more to it.

[Outpost75]

The ogival flat-nosed Cowboy bullets feed better in lever-action rifles than the sharp-shouldered Keith type, but if shooting revolvers only the Keith design with large meplat and full-diameter front band above the crimp groove, which fits the revolver cylinder throats, gives better accuracy.

As long as the meplat is from 0.6 to 0.7 of the bullet diameter, performance on game will be satisfactory with either type.

[brewer12345]

I load the same stuff for lever actions and revolvers, so I shoot plenty of rnfp boolits out of my revolvers. If I really want to get the very best accuracy out of revolvers, I shoot wadcutters.

[quail4jake]

I do cast and shoot some RN boolits in revolvers but it's only in .32 S&W and .38 S&W and only because they are the original weight and configuration. No doubt the RNFP or Keith is the way to go based on the large meplat and crimp groove etc.. Ranch dog configurations in NOE molds are probably the highest development of these very versatile boolit types (IMHO). Then there is the wadcutter... great grouping and hit like a freight train that missed the end of track sign! I use soft (BHN 8) 148 gr DEWC from an NOE mold at about 850 fps in our S&W 2" bbl .38 spl revolvers for defense. I have shot grounghogs with these (laser sighted) and they make scrambled giblets with all the holiday trimmings out of a burrowing rodent! Round nose boolits are fine for steel targets, they go clang, bong, bing the same as Ranch Dogs but should not be used in tubular mags and leave ragged holes in paper and tend to go through critters without giving us the satisfaction of the jello like feel of the chest and abdomen upon retrieval. So there's that...

[Land Owner]

Revolvers will readily ingest round nosed, or semi-round nosed boolits. My 45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk likes the Lyman 454190 which pours from my 49/49/2 - Pb/WW/Sn alloy at 255 grains:

[psweigle]

I myself cast quite a lot of rn boolits for 357 magnum plinking. I use a rnfp to hunt with. My round nose works well in the revolvers, my 77/357 rifle, and my coonan classic. Also now use round nose in 32 s&w long for a 1903 hand ejecter.

[FISH4BUGS]

For general shooting, I use an H&G #39 38 158 RN for 38 and 357 loads. It feeds and shoots great in all the revolvers and the Rossi 92.
For punching holes in paper I use the H&G #51 160gr SWC.
Great moulds, great bullets.

[Bookworm]

For hunting, a round-flat works very well, as does a SWC.

For paper targets at relatively close range (50yds or less), a full wadcutter is fabulous.

Round nose feeds very well in speed loaders for action games, and is arguably the most accurate. I use the Lee tumble lube round nose in 38/357 for all my casual shooting.

I suspect that most casual shooters don't use round nose boolits because it's not fashionable these days. The SWC just looks cool.

[GhostHawk]

I figured I was breaking the rules. I have a Lee .358 158 gr round nose plain based tl that gets used in 9mm as well as my .357 handi rifle. So when I picked up a RIA .38 special only 4" barrel I loaded up 100 round nose bullets for it, over a mild 3 grains of Red Dot load.

Shot very well. To sights in fact. Yes I could have used a 125 gr RNFP in .358. I reckon I'll have to one of thees days. ButI am still sitting on a couple hundred cast, lubed, boolits in a sealed container. Ready to be used as needed.

I wanted to know how much recoil I could expect. As it turned out I was pleasantly surprised. Not as mild as my .32sw long, but not bad. For sure packs more punch on the other end.

As mentioned they load easy from a speed loader.

Pistol in question is currently sitting by my bed/nightstand. Yes there is a flashlight there. And a box of ammo.
Also a loaded 12 ga pump gunwithin reach.

But as I age I find that shotguns inside houses are unwieldy things. What worked in my 30's and 40's is perhaps not indeal in my 60's.

I have no desire to hurt anyone, just want to be left in peace. But I will protect what is mine.

[DeputyDuke]

I cast, load, and should old fashioned round nose bullets all the time. They drop easily from the mould, but most importantly, I can tell at a glance what ammo I am looking at. If I pickup a round nose loaded round, I know it is a standard pressure .38 spl., or 44 spl. by seeing it. I shoot the vast majority of my handgun ammo in my backyard range at steel knock down targets and RN perform that task as well as any. As another poster noted, they work well in speed loaders too.

[Bigslug]

In my case, it's about DAMAGE. I shoot on a roughly two-week cycle of rounding up dog food cans, as well as plastic bottles and refilling them with water. Round noses are simply not as entertaining on impact. Since there may also be a hunting or defense application involved, the work to make them is the same, there is no need to mechanically feed them as there is with an automatic, and if I want extreme range I use rifles, I don't see much point to RN's.

I do shoot RN's from molds that replicate the regulation bullet designs in my .38 and .455 Webleys - the .38's out of a sense of tradition; the .455 out of both that and the MKVI revolver's weird dimensional need for a hollow base slug. If you are involved in some form of speed shooting competition where you need to get speed loaders into the gun with all possible quickness, a more tapered nose may be your friend. Otherwise. . .

[RED BEAR]

I use rn to load my 32 sw 32 swl 32 hr and my 44 spec . I did get rid of my 38 rn because they were heavier bullets and they didnt get used much. The 32 i use because i like lee molds for there weight just easier for me to use. And don't care for tl bullets. But the rn seem to do just fine for me well they shoot better than i can anymore.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Maybe it's not popular, But I cast a couple RN boolits in 44 caliber.

[Walks]

I cast RN, SWC, FP, WC and TC bullets for Revolvers in .32Cal up to .45Cal.

For paper punching and general use it's hard to beat a SWC Keith Bullet. You can load it light for Paper & Heavy for Hunting.

For over all use, if I had only one mold for everthing. It would be a N.O.E. TL432-240-RF.

It has a Wide Meplat and feeds well in a Rifle. It takes PowderCoat well and it's easy to Tumble Lube and size in a push thru die.

[wonderwolf]

Round nose is a streamlined design, its going to act like a puncture wound (getting stabbed with a ice pick) it will slip right through a soft/hard (meat/bone) target. Flat nose will have more of hydrostatic effect.

Round nose also don't nice holes in targets, Ground hogs I've shot with RN don't die right away. Flat nose esp flat nose hollow point will dwell longer in the target as well as displace more matter cause more of a temporary wound cavity/ channel.

At the end of the day it comes down to bullet selection after shot placement. In my bolt action 77/357 that shares ammo with a revolver the RN feed very well in the bolt gun but I don't use them because it is not an effective projectile against ground hogs/ small game. It has started a journey of finding a bullet that both feeds and performs. Revolver does not need to worry about the feed thing so it comes down to performance.

Top 3 favorite cast 38/357 bullets for all around use I've used so far are all 3 flat nose or type III wadcutter

180gr RNFP with HP pins
158gr LEE RNFP
160gr type III wadcutter with HP pins

all 3 of those feed in my bolt action and shoot VERY well in revolver. The 160gr type III would be my go to if I had to only choose 1.

[gwpercle]

More to it .
Read "Sixguns" by Elmer Keith , learn a lot about revolvers .

[Jack Stanley]

For the plastic shoot through targets I only use round nose . If I need damage I have other style bullets to use .

Jack