New to me Lyman 359439

[izzyjoe]

Last Saturday I picked up a Lyman 358439 at a gun show for $25, there was a women selling her late husbands stuff, he must have been a gunsmith, loader, caster. There was a lot of gun parts, casting equipment, I'm talking piles of it, I didn't have enough money because there was a lot that I passed on, especially the molds. All the molds were $25, but this one jumped out at me, and said buy me! It is missing the hollow point pin, but I'm going to make one when I get time. Anybody have any thought on this mold? I'm going to try it for 38/357 and 35 Rem.

[Walks]

I cast and loaded tons of that bullet when I was a kid. Cast of straight COWW, they would punch thru a BIG Jackrabbit, leaving a hole twice as big going out as going in.

Loaded to .38-44 specs, they were very accurate in any old Colt, S&W or Ruger.

[OS OK]

Mine came with two pins...



Makes great little HP's...

[izzyjoe]

I was thinking I'd make two pins, one HP and one short to make a flat nose!

[lotech]

I've had the #358439 for years and while I've never done a side-by-side comparison, I'm pretty sure I get a little better accuracy with this bullet in comparison with the regular #358429 version. I no longer load .357 magnum, only .38 Special using ww alloy bullets.

[MT Gianni]

IIRC, the pin diameter is 0.155". I would get a drill bit that size and use it as a start. I think my pin was between 1/2 and 1/3 of the bullets oal length. I have moved away from HPP molds for the most part but that is a great buy.

[izzyjoe]

I did some measuring, and a 5/32 drill bit is pretty durn close. I'll polish it in the lathe, and make a handle for the pin. I notice they lock in place under a set screw, I'll have figure that one out!

[MT Gianni]

If you can affix a collar with a cutout to the pin that would be a place to start. The cutout should have enough room to clear the set screw but not be sloppy.