ID this mould? Looks kinda H&G, but different

[BP Dave]

I picked this up years ago--decades actually--at a Minnesota Arms Collectors Association Show held in (of course) an indoor ice arena.

It was sold to me as a .32 mould and I wanted to try it with a .32-40 I had acquired, but darned if it doesn't cast .340. It's a good quality piece, and I've often wondered who made it, but never found out. It seems to have a lot of Hensley & Gibb-style features--in particular the little windows showing the ends of the mounting screws--but it's not H&G marked. The only markings are "A-340-750" over "1 0 2 5" on one side and two "1"s (one on each half) which I assume are assembly numbers.

Attachment 266089Attachment 266086Attachment 266087Attachment 266088

If you happen to know what it is/who made it, that would be great.

Now I'll step aside and let the experts chime in.

--DJ

[Pressman]

That is a Modern Bond. To use it you really need M-B handles as well. Or do a lot of modifications to Lyman/RCBS handles including new screws.

They are every bit as good as the Ideal moulds they competed against back in the 1920's and 30's.

[BP Dave]

Wow. That was fast. Thank you!

Looks like there are even a few images online--amazing how easy it can be to look something up after someone else tells you exactly what you have.

Re: the handles--I tried a set of RCBS, but as you hinted, they wanted to leave just a sliver of light between the halves when closed. I probably won't worry about fitting handles at this point, since I don't have anything with that size bore to cast for.

Thanks again for the info--

--DJ

[Mk42gunner]

Pure speculation here, but I think it was probably meant for the .33 WCF. Assuming both cavities cast at .340", I would guess one is meant for full charge loads and the other for a small game short range load.

Also wondering if the 1025 is a date code?

Robert

[redhawk0]

Looks like someone gave it a few extra vent lines. All in all, it's a nice mold. Too bad you can't use it with the 32-40.

redhawk

[NoZombies]

Kinda late to the game here, but the 750 and 1025 would be the lengths of the bullets it casts in thousands of an inch.

[justingrosche]

Same bullet as the Ideal 338237. As MK42 said, for the 33 win. I have a single cav of the 195 gr version in Ideal blocks.