Recommendations for 158 GR. SWC mold

[Huskerguy]

I haven't kept up on all of the new molds and all the options that are out there. I shoot multiple revolvers in 38/357, mostly Smiths but also Rugers and a Colt. I realize one bullet won't work perfectly with each firearm. However, I am interested in the best option for me.

I like the 158 GR SWC and I load them mild. I have a Lyman four cavity a friend gave me and I used it several years and for some reason I was not happy with the accuracy at that time. I ran out of bullets and decided to give the Lyman another chance and I was surprised at how well they shot so I have started using it again. It is steel and much heavier so it wears me out at first.

I picked up a Lee 158 SWC TL several years ago. Accuracy is good, not a fan of the two hole mold. It sticks, does not align well and is generally not what I would call a high quality mold. However, it does produce (slowly) a decent bullet. I size all my bullets with a Lee sizer although I have other sizing equipment. I used to TL my bullets but now I have gone to PC'ing them. I size after pouring and after coating.

All the numbers and brands out there are a bit overwhelming. Ideas and your experiences? I realize at my age, 65, that the bullets are generally more accurate than I am. Thanks in advance

[ioon44]

I really like the molds I have got from Accurate.

[Petrol & Powder]

Everyone has their favorite.

I prefer iron molds over aluminum but the price for that is weight.

RCBS is still hard to beat in terms of quality and price but they only come in 2 cavity molds.

The .358" 158 gr SWC bullet is one of the most versatile and useful bullets for 38/357. Some folks claim the RNFP is more accurate in the same weight range but honestly I couldn't see the difference and stayed with the Keith style SWC.

The two cavity limitation of the RCBS mold drove me to look for a 4 cavity replacement and my personal preference required that it be an iron mold. SAECO is by far my favorite and my SAECO #382 mold with 4 cavities is now the only SWC mold I use for 38 Special.
There's a bit of expense up front but it's a one time purchase. It produces excellent bullets and my search for a 38/357 SWC mold is over.
When you find what you're looking for - STOP LOOKING !

A lot of people like the custom molds from Accurate or N.O.E. and that's certainly an option. For me it had to be iron and in that price range SAECO was the best option.

As for shooting the same bullet in several different guns, I have the absolute best luck with 38 Special over the largest array of guns. That SAECO SWC, sized to .357" shoots fine out of many S&W and Ruger revolvers. I was sizing to .358" and found that most of my cylinder throats were closer to .357" and that works far better. YMMV
As for Colts, all bet are off. The Colts seem to be a bit more picky. They can be great shooters but be prepared to spend a little effort tweaking your loads for those guns.

I can't speak to powder coating at all. As for TL, it's not for me. TL is an advantage when shooting high volumes of bullets "as cast" but if you're sizing them you might as well be lubing them at the same time.

Good Luck.

[oldhenry]

+1 on the 382. Mine is a BB.

The SAECO 4 cav. will be lighter than the Lyman 4 cav.

An added bonus: they speed load fairly well (better than any other SWC that I have).

Henry

[tazman]

NOE makes a number of SWC molds from 152 grains on up including a 158 grain version. I have several NOE molds and they all work well and shoot even better.

[Wheelgun]

Lee 6 cavity molds are way better than the 2cav ones. If you like the Lee boolit, I suggest getting a 6cav.

Noe or Accurate are a great choice. Also Arsenal makes a great mold.

[cwlongshot]

Agreed 100%

Lee 6 cavity molds are way better than the 2cav ones. If you like the Lee boolit, I suggest getting a 6cav.

Noe or Accurate are a great choice. Also Arsenal makes a great mold.

[lotech]

For years I've used an H&G #51, a 158 SWC. This is the original Philip Sharpe-designed .357 Magnum bullet. Shoots very well in .38 Special and .357 Magnum and has been accurate enough that I have no real need to search for anything else. I would guess with the many mould makers we are blessed with today, someone has duplicated the #51 design. However, there are probably other bullet designs that would be just as accurate.

[gwpercle]

After you find a few 158 gr. SWC moulds , every 38/357 shooter needs one or two , keep an eye out for the discontinued Lyman #358432 wadcutter mould in 160 gr. weight , it was also made in 148 gr. weight .
I picked one up used single cavity 160 gr. on Ebay and discovered every one of my 38 special and 357 magnums shot it better than any other boolit I've ever tried....and I been looking since 1967 and have about 25 moulds from different manufacturers in 38 cal. I'm a boolit mould and target accuracy junkie always on the lookout for the ultimate 38/357 boolit .
As soon as I discovered NOE made this design NOE 360-160-WC PB (360432) I ordered a 3 cavity mould so fast it made my head spin . With my production now up this design is about the only one I cast for 38 special and the NOE is better than the Lyman ...the .360 size drops out .3585 and is easily sized .358 with my alloy . The Lyman drops them .357 but they need to be .358 for best results .
Write down this number and keep it in mind ...it's a mould worth having .
Gary

[tazman]

gwpercle is correct about the 358432 being a good boolit. I have excellent accuracy with it in all my 38/357 revolvers as well.
I have a 4 cavity Lyman mold and the NOE version as well. Both shoot great for me.
I can make hollow points with the NOE mold.
I ran some of those through a new-to-me S&W 19 this morning and it shot them the best of anything I tried today.

[FISH4BUGS]

I know we all have our favorites.
Hensley & Gibbs #51 all the way.
1) #51 4 cavity Plain base for 38 and light 357's
2) #51 4 cavityGas checked for full house 357's.
3) #51 Dual cavity HP
4) #39 4 cavity round nose
I usually cast 2000 or so at a whack (except the HP's), run them through the Star sizer, and load them on Dillon 550. What else do you do in the winter here in NH?
Never run out of ammo!
Got 'em all covered!

[Land Owner]

I picked up a pair of Mihec 357/38 brass (heavy) molds that will allow me three types of HP's as well as solid SWC's. One is a two cav. Keith profile (MP-358-429) and the other a 4 cav. "Classic Thompson" 358-156 style.

I have not "seasoned" or "heat soaked" these molds yet (no handles), but have high hopes.

I also viscerally like to shoot straight "ash can" WC's from a single cav. Lee 358-150 AL mold as there is "just something" about that solid piece of lead traveling 950 fps.

[Huskerguy]

It looks like NOE is popular and I have looked at the offerings for SAECO as well. I was a little surprised by the number of options for the various companies which can be a bit overwhelming. I only want to do this once! I could do a couple different molds if the price is right. That wadcutter NOE mold sounds very interesting. I have never reloaded a WC. I guess right now I am leaning towards the Lee TL 6 banger and the NOE wadcutter as options.

thanks for the input, keep them coming. I appreciate it.

[Petrol & Powder]

Huskerguy, people come at this from different directions. Some use a traditional lubersizer, some use a Star lubersizer, some tumble lube, some pan lube, some powder coat and some use more than one method depending on the cartridge. In order to keep your decision making a manageable process, you need to narrow down your criteria.

I don't tumble lube or powder coat so I discard those choices right off the bat. Others have excellent results with those methods so it depends on which route you want to take.

The title to this thread is "Recommendation for 158gr SWC mold" and that's a good place to start. Again, keep the criteria narrow. The full WC is a fine bullet but that's a whole different book full of choices.

The SWC is one of the very best "do it all" bullet designs. Unless you're really trying to cut very nice, clean holes in paper or you want the largest possible meplat for the caliber; the Semi Wadcutter [SWC] is probably a more overall useful design.

SO - keeping this restricted to a SWC style, in the 158 grain weight range, your selection should go like this:

* You need to pick a type of bullet lubrication/coating method (tumble lube, powder coat, traditional lube groove design, etc.)

* Then, you need to pick a base style - flat base or bevel base. (I'm going to say flat base only if you're using a lubersizer)

* You need to pick a mold material (iron, aluminum, brass)

* Then you need to decide how many cavities in the mold you desire.


By the time you get to this point, your selection may be made for you because some of those combinations may only be available in one mold.

And then there's the price

Happy Hunting !

[6bg6ga]

Do you have a casting machine or use hand held molds and a drip-o-matic?

[Huskerguy]

Good questions and thanks. I will do my best to answer them.

1. Lee pot, the drip o matic

2. 158 Grain SWC - this is what I have shot for 30 years. the wadcutter did peek my interest and had not thought about it until it was mentioned. Feel like the SWC is the best overall bullet for target shooting which is what I do but hunting if I ever get around to that. Considered hollow point molds but I don't know that I gain much.

3. I have a standard lube sizer that I have not sued for a long time and have tumbled for years. I now am set up to PC and plan to do that primarily.

4. Flat base although the bevel would make bullet loading a bit easier. I like the boattail in my rifle bullets but have not used them in pistol bullets.

5. Mold material is a bit more difficult as I have only used steel and aluminum. I like the light weight of aluminum but have a steel Lyman and have never used brass but it interests me. The Lyman is like a sledge hammer heavy while the two banger aluminum is a bit more delicate.

6. 3-6 cavities. This one is harder to answer. If the mold releases well, the 3 would work well enough. I am "planning" on having more time to do all of this in the next 10 months! Right now I have fewer sessions but longer and try to get as many done as I can.

[6bg6ga]

I guess I am lucky. I got into the group buy years ago and got a Ballisti-cast Mark IV bullet caster otherwise my shoulders would be totally gone now. I favor the 158 it works well in both the 38 and 357 I have. Very accurate. I have a bunch of Magma bullet molds and a few Ballisti-cast ones. I favor the Magma.

[9.3X62AL]

I have LONG been a fan of SWC designs for revolver shooting in all centerfire calibers. This design does a lot of things right for a lot of shooters. I am GRATEFUL for the design genius of both Elmer Keith and Ray Thompson.

But the round flatnose isn't chopped liver. This design has been "boiler-plate" for levergun/revolver combination calibers since black-powder times. These calibers seem to "Punch above their weight class" very well, and the bullet meplat seems to account for a lot of that. The shoulderless design feeds into both revolver and levergun chambers easily, and (per the late Ken Waters) the shoulderless design seems to self-center in a revolver's forcing cone readily. So, the round flatnose design is starting to catch up to the SWC in both range time and for field work. As for which design is "better" for hunting or felon repellent......I don't think a well-placed bullet of any shape does the recipient any good whatsoever. A lot of these discussions on shape factor sound very much like the medieval ruminations upon "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin" to me.

Gather a few samples from folks here and see what works for your arms. If a companion levergun will ever be part of the program, I would bias my selection toward the round flatnose. Some SWCs (the Thompson designs) work well in leverguns--the Keiths tend to hang up for me. FWIW.

[robg]

For pb boolits the Lee 158


works well. GC boolits the rcbs 158 mold works at higher speed 1500fps+

[Petrol & Powder]

Huskerguy, you still seem to be all over the map

Sounds like you have a lubersizer you don't use. Have used tumble lube in the past and are switching to PC. So that's no real help in narrowing your criteria.

As for bevel base vs. flat base - that bevel is NOT there to make the bullet a "boat tail" bullet like a rifle bullet. The bevel mostly aids in helping the bullet drop from the mold (which is why commercial casters favor the BB design) and it can help to start bullets into the casing but the correct expander is a better solution if you're having problems there. A Lyman "M" style expander is a good fix to bullet seating issues and I would turn to that before resorting to a BB design. A BB design can be a real PITA with a lubersizer. If your powder coating it may not be an issue. (I don't powder coat so maybe someone else can chime in here ?) Tumble lube doesn't really matter when it comes to flat base vs. bevel base.

Mold material - it sounds like you are still up in the air with that decision. All three materials (iron, aluminum & brass) have their pros and cons. If you go with a custom or semi-custom mold maker; aluminum will be a more common material. If you go with a large mold (6 cavities) Aluminum may be your best choice.

Number of cavities - You said 3 -6. That's a big spread. If 3 is your minimum, then that rules out RCBS molds.
3 cavity molds are available from SAECO in iron. Most of the custom mold makers will make molds with 3 cavities but if the mold block will allow 4 cavities in your caliber, you might as well get 4 holes in there because the external size of the block will be the same.

I think what we're really talking about here is a 4 cavity mold in Aluminum, brass or iron OR a 6 cavity mold in Aluminum.

In a 4 cavity, .358" bullet, off-the-shelf factory, iron mold; your choices are pretty much SAECO or Lyman. I would consider an old Lyman of known good quality. I wouldn't even bother with a new Lyman these days. YMMV.

In a semi-custom, 4 cavity, aluminum mold your choices are far more abundant. There are plenty to select from.

In a 6 cavity, aluminum mold you're just about down to a Lee or one of the semi-custom makers.


Huskerguy, you need to land the plane on some of these decision points.