Only one 44 Mag SWC: A H&G 503 clone or a Lyman 429244 clone?

[Petander]

Gentlemen,

I want a new 44 mag SWC mold. I have a beaten up Lee 255 dual cavity from 20 years back but now that I have discovered NOE,Mihec etc... I want a Mihec brass HP mold this time. Enjoyable casting , more production plus they are in stock. I already have a couple of Mihas HP molds,including a 44 mag RF HP... I tend to laugh aloud while casting ...

But now I want a good SWC. It can be HP while at it,options are good. Miha's pin change is a breeze.



My 44's are an -88 m29 (10 3/8" Silhouette model) and a -19 mod 629 V-comp 4". I just succesfully reamed 629 throats to .431 , mod 29 is ~.4315. I enjoy good accuracy above anything else. Our club has a 75 meter berm where like to shoot claybirds.

Imagine this would be your one and only 44 SWC. Which one would you write to Santa about and why?

EDIT:It will be plain base, I also Hi Tek coat my boolits

Thank you.

[Petander]

503:



429244:

[cp1969]

I'd take the one on top. It looks like Elmer Keith's original design.

[RKJ]

It'd be the 503 for me. Gee, I'm a poet. Seriously, I like that design much more.

[farmbif]

+1 on the mp 503 hp. I got one through group buy years ago and it shoots great, no gas check and I've never gotten any leading or problems even when shot full power with h110 or 300mp . it my favorite super Redhawk load

[Don Purcell]

503, you don't need a gascheck with the right alloys for the load.

[derek45]

503

http://arsenalmolds.com/index.php?ro...product_id=138

[Mal Paso]

Big #503 fan here. I also reamed my throats to .4313". I had the MP #503 hollowpoint and it's a great mold but if you want Solids the aluminum 6 cavity is better. I have the Arsenal #503 as well, they have cylindrical alignment pins. Good mold, just have to pay attention. I also have 2 4 cavity MP #503 Solid, brass molds. They have a tenancy to tin at the edges of the grooves during long casting sessions and require cleaning so I use the Aluminum 6 cavity now.

[Don Purcell]

Gee Mal Paso, I thought I was bad about the 503! One 8 cavity Hensley and Gibbs and a matched pair of Ballisticast 6 cavities. Somehow I see you in a dark alley saying "Hey buddy, need a 503?" and opening the trunk of your vehicle showing it full of molds.

[Mal Paso]

Gee Mal Paso, I thought I was bad about the 503! One 8 cavity Hensley and Gibbs and a matched pair of Ballisticast 6 cavities. Somehow I see you in a dark alley saying "Hey buddy, need a 503?" and opening the trunk of your vehicle showing it full of molds.

If you count what I lost in the fire I've had 1 four cavity brass HP, 5 four cavity brass solids, 1 five cavity aluminum and 4 six cavity aluminum #503 molds plus a BC1103. LOL

I was adding it up this morning. I've cast well over 100,000 #503s by now. That's like 2 TONS! Where does the lead/time go?

[Don Purcell]

I bow my head and raise my glass high to you. "Well done my noble and faithful apostle" is probably what Elmer would say.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've had several 44 SWC molds, and my favorite was the Saeco 441
which if compared to the H&G 503 or the Lyman 429244, It is much closer to the Lyman 429244.
that's my 2¢

[Irascible]

NOE has a clone of the 503 he calls "Real Keith" and for a while they were even engraved with Keith's signature. I have one of those and 2 H&G 4 cavity 503s. The bullet is the same.

[Petander]

Thanks a lot everyone!

503 it is.

[stubshaft]

Attachment 271396

Miha 503 HP

[Mal Paso]

NOE has a clone of the 503 he calls "Real Keith" and for a while they were even engraved with Keith's signature. I have one of those and 2 H&G 4 cavity 503s. The bullet is the same.

What has Al got against crimp grooves? His are the smallest. There is .015 less crimp groove on the NOE than the MP 503. It's also .002" longer and the nose is a hair fatter than the MP.

Of course we are talking thousandths when the original cherries were cut by hand and eyeball.

I started with 2 Lyman 429421 molds, the rear band was .429" the front .427". My first good bullet fit was the first run of the NOE 429421. They only had .434" molds and sizing water dropped .431" was a little hard on the sizer but leading stopped and I gained almost 100 fps with the better seal. I was in on the first group buy of the MP #503 and have used them ever since. The first 5 were Brass molds. I was going through 1200 rounds a month and casting about 1800 in a session. The deep grooves of the #503 right where they met the block would build up tin? oxides and need to be cleaned. I had 4 molds in rotation and would clean several at a time. Then came the MP 6 cavity aluminum. They were great except for alignment pin issues. Then came the wildfire, I got out with some molds and 800 #503 bullets. I got another 6 cavity MP but after a few months I had alignment pin issues so I got an Arsenal 5 cavity and kept casting. When I got some time I reset the 6 cavity pins, cross drilled and pinned them and I'm running that one now. I think all the new 6 cavity MP molds are cross pinned now. Aluminum expands faster than the steel pins. Those pins are on the bottom of the mold right next to the Hot Plate when the mold is warming up.... And who wants to fire up a 6 cavity without a hotplate?

[KVO]

I have one if the Keith signature 4 cav. aluminium molds. Agree on the tiny crimp grooves especially if PC they
just about disappear. Of course old Elmer didn't have a #5 butter tub and airsoft BB's by the campfire (or if he did I must have missed it in 6 Guns and Loads). Casts beautifully, but I could never get it to shoot as well as the MP #503 clone. I shouldn't bad mouth it too much since I'll be selling it some day. For reference the far right is the NOE "Keith" and the left three are all MP #503's.

[Mal Paso]

That one on the right looks like that 277g Signature Keith. I had 2 of those and agree about the performance. They also have a 264g Keith that matches the MP #503 except the crimp band and nose. I also bought a BC 1103 4 cavity before they closed their doors for the last time. Don Purcell was the smart one getting the 6 cavity BC Molds. Iron is still the best for molds.

[Don Purcell]

Thanks Mal Paso, but think it was more luck than smarts. Interesting that you and KVO agree on the accuracy or lack of with the big nosed N.O.E. Keith Signature mold. I have two of the .44's and one in .45 caliber. I have only shot the .44 in a hollowbase which I have shot in my 4 3/4 Colt Single Action and a 4 inch Model 24 Smith & Wesson. I ordered one to be able to make hollowbases because my Colt has at least .433 Throats and .428 groove diameter. Shooting has been at only 25 yards for now so haven't really wrung it out yet. 7.5 of Unique and 8.0 grains of Power Pistol is all I have tried so far. After the group buy for these molds I was surprised that there was/is no reports back on its performance or maybe I've just missed them.

[Petander]

Excellent info, thank you Mal and everyone.

I was thinking about the MP sixholer really hard but ended up with the familiar (to me) 4 cav brass HP. Gotta start somewhere.

Another MP (and a project gun under repair) here: