Bullet mold sizes and what cals. they will work for...Help

[2_Smithereenz]

This question may have been asked before and I don't want to rehash old business, so if anybody knows of such a post or info that's already been done......please be so kind as to point me in the right direction.

My question is as follows.

I have the MP .452 mold that casts 200gr. Hex and Reg. HP's, and also 215gr. Solids Cramer Style. I bought this mold with the intention of loading for 45 ACP, which works very well, but I'm also wondering if it will work just as well for 45 Long Colt, and possibly 454 Casull?

Maybe that's asking too much from one bullet mold, but my next question is how do you know what calibers take what size cast bullet?
I mean when it comes right down to the 45 caliber pistol rounds it could be the difference of just .001 or .002 thousandths that's the difference in a good non-leading load, and one that smears the **** out of the inside of the barrel and loads up the riflings with lead.

I know the 45 Colt takes a .452 jacketed bullet, but what about cast?
Same with the 454 Casull and the question even came up with the 460.
Are they all capable of shooting the same .452 boolit from my MP mold?

If anyone knows of a chart or list of calibers and boolit sizes that each one takes, please post a link or something for me to look at.
I'm sure at some point, somebody has sat down and made up such a chart........but I have yet to find it.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Moonie]

You will have to slug your barrel and cylinder throats to know if the boolit will fit. Keep in mind that this boolit doesn't have a crimping groove for those calibers. As long as you find the boolit will fit (.001 to .002 larger than your slugged sizes) you should be fine, if not then perhaps you should look into another mold designed for these cartridges.

[Tatume]

You should visit Veral Smith's site and read this page:

http://www.lbtmoulds.com/measurebore.shtml

The revolver "push through slugs" are very easy to use. Your cast boolits should be at least as big as the cylinder throats. The cylinder throats should be at least as big as the groove diameter of the barrel. A few thousandths larger in either case (or both) is fine.

[2_Smithereenz]

Thanks for that info, but I would kinda like to know for a new pistol purchase that I've been thinking about. Maybe that's reversed thinking? Buying a pistol to fit the mold instead of the other way around? It would be nice to be able to use the same mold for several different calibers rather than have to buy another mold just for a particular weapon.
Don't know if that makes any sense or not?

I'm kinda on a budget and I've already dropped over a $100 bucks on the MP mold and then if I get a new pistol that's another chunck of change, and I really like the style of boolits that the MP mold drops.

[2_Smithereenz]

You should visit Veral Smith's site and read this page:

http://www.lbtmoulds.com/measurebore.shtml

The revolver "push through slugs" are very easy to use. Your cast boolits should be at least as big as the cylinder throats. The cylinder throats should be at least as big as the groove diameter of the barrel. A few thousandths larger in either case (or both) is fine.

That's good info. Thanks I'll read it thoroughly.
I have some pure lead on hand and I've heard about slugging a barrel before on a reloading site that I belong to. Guys have used lead sinkers and even solder before to slug barrels, but I've never done it myself.
I know it would be more practical to purchase a mold to fit the weapon, but when your on a budget with not much money for extras you try to find ways to use what you've got on hand.

(Edit)
Ok, so after reading on that link provided, if I'm reading it right.............a gas check may solve the problem of a slightly undersized boolit for a given bore diameter?
I've never used gas checks before, but that might allow me to used a mold that drops a boolit that may be slightly undersized for the true diameter of a bore without getting gas cutting and leading of the bore?

[2_Smithereenz]

I found this on the internet while searching around for info and as it turns out........it's actually some archived information from right here on cast boolits........Go figure?

You all read it and tell me what you think. It sounds like most guys are having good success with a .452 sized boolit in their 454's and 45 LC's??
My MP mold drops exactly .452 and I have ran them through my Lee sizing die and sometimes the die barely even shaves the boolit at all. Everything I have mic'd has been .452-.4525 reliably unless they are rejects that didn't fill out all the way, then they go back in the pot.
Link--> http://castboolits.gunloads.com/archive/index.php/t-39732.html

[Harter66]

I've a couple 45 moulds that so far have worked well enough in a RBH 45Colts ,a1917 Colt 45ACP,and an 45ACP auuto whose make escapes me just now ,but its a cheap 1. The SAMMI standard for 45cal hand guns is .452,out in the world you'll get .4505 to :453. And can on a single cyl have throats from .453-455 cause I don't why maybe CNCs using 2,3,6 different reamers?? My RBH was with 2 .453s ,3 .454s and a .453 and pitched 1 every time . I did some basic lap matching now it shoots 3" at 30yrd and 6"at 50 like clock wrk. The 1917 always shot well w/al 6 chambers being .453 and the bore being .4515. The High Point (it just came to me) is .452 and has other quircks but shoots the as cast .454s into a 5 gallon bucket at 35yds with little to no leading.

Now 9mm/35/38 here ya go! Those are all over.

[2_Smithereenz]

That's what I've tested my .452's in was a High Point el cheapo 45 ACP and they did surprisingly well. I got some leading at first, but a small change in bullet lube recipes and it was cured. Lithabee seemed to work the best with very little leading. More accurate than I expected also.

[runfiverun]

most revolvers like a crimp.
i use a variety of 45 boolits in all my 45's. the acp, colt, 45 a.r,even the 45 win mag and 450 express all do fine with them sometimes a revolver needs a 453 or even a 454 to do it's best but most newer guns do fine with 452.
the 160gr rnfp through the 454424. i interchange them in the revolvers,leverguns,and the acp.
the crimp groove can be used or ignored.
but if you have enough neck tension and aren't using big recoiling loads a non crimp boolit could work okay.

[2_Smithereenz]

I always use a light taper crimp on all my pistol rounds whether it's an auto or a revolver. I just don't use a heavy crimp especially on autos because they head space off the case mouth and not the rim like a revolver.

My MP mold .452's don't have a crimp groove so a light taper crimp is the only way to go with these boolits, which shouldn't be a problem at all with a revolver that head spaces off the rim?

Of course for a heavier load that needs the pressure build a heavier taper crimp could be necessary?

I've been reloading for quite some time for my rifles and always used factory made jacketed bullets, but just recently started loading for pistol about a year and a half ago. Then most recently in the past 6 months I just started casting my own boolits, so I'm a fairly newbie to the pistol loading and casting.
I apologize if I ask some rookie questions, please bear with me and I really appreciate everyone's advice. ;-)

Thanks for the input.

[AZ-Stew]

Prior to last year's Nevada Cast Boolit Shoot, I was trying to come up with an assortment of guns I could take, with the thought in mind that I would be staying in motels for a number of nights, and that I wanted to take guns with me that wouldn't be too awfully painful to lose in case they were stolen. Two that I took were a Win. M-94 .45 Colt and a Ruger Blackhawk .45 colt. I knew I would be shooting the Lyman 452424 SWC in the Ruger, but I was worried that it wouldn't feed well through the Winchester. I bought a Lee 230 gr RN TL mould that was designed for the .45 ACP to be sure I had something that would feed through the carbine. As it turned out, both the SWC and the RN fed well through the M-94, and they both shot well through both guns.
As others have said, the cartridge the bullet was designed for is less important than having the bullet sized correctly for the firearm you'll be shooting it through.

Regards,

Stew

[454PB]

In theory, a mold of any weight that throws a boolit of .453" or so will work in everything from .45 ACP to .460 S&W, but it may not be the best choice. A 270 gr. boolit can be "made" to work in a .45 auto, and a 200 gr. swc can be "made" to work in a .454 Casull, but there will be a lot of limitations.

I own three .454 Casull revolvers, and none of them will allow a round to chamber if the boolit is sized over .452"......the chamber throats are too tight.

All my .45 dies have expanders that are small enough to produce a nice tight boolit fit in the case, so heavy crimps are not required. However, using a 200 gr. SWC designed for .45 ACP and lacking a good crimp groove in a .454 Casull case and loaded to say 1500 fps. would cause all kinds of problems......leading first, and possibly even boolits pulled forwards by recoil. The best way to determine if you have enough neck tension for a revolver is to load 6 rounds, fire 5 of them, then check that last loaded round to see if the boolit has moved forwards.

Taper crimping can and is used in some revolvers (think Ruger 357/9mm and .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertibles), but common sense must be used to avoid problems.

[2_Smithereenz]

In theory, a mold of any weight that throws a boolit of .453" or so will work in everything from .45 ACP to .460 S&W, but it may not be the best choice. A 270 gr. boolit can be "made" to work in a .45 auto, and a 200 gr. swc can be "made" to work in a .454 Casull, but there will be a lot of limitations.

I own three .454 Casull revolvers, and none of them will allow a round to chamber if the boolit is sized over .452"......the chamber throats are too tight.

All my .45 dies have expanders that are small enough to produce a nice tight boolit fit in the case, so heavy crimps are not required. However, using a 200 gr. SWC designed for .45 ACP and lacking a good crimp groove in a .454 Casull case and loaded to say 1500 fps. would cause all kinds of problems......leading first, and possibly even boolits pulled forwards by recoil. The best way to determine if you have enough neck tension for a revolver is to load 6 rounds, fire 5 of them, then check that last loaded round to see if the boolit has moved forwards.

Taper crimping can and is used in some revolvers (think Ruger 357/9mm and .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertibles), but common sense must be used to avoid problems.

That is an interesting piece of info. I would have never thought that a bullet could start forward just from the recoil of the previous rounds fired? That could also cause rotation problems in the cylinder couldn't it? With the bullet moving forward it might grab as the cylinder rotated?
I'll tuck that away in memory for later.

In the scenerio you described with shooting a 200gr. SWC from a 454 at high velocities casing all kinds of problems including leading, would a gas check prevent this from happening? Then allow you to drive them at the higher velocities without so much leading?
Chances are that I would be shooting a heavier bullet with the 454 and the lighter 215gr. Cramer Style Solids and 200gr. HP's for the long colt as practice rounds, but it would be nice to see how they would perform loaded in the 454 Casull.

[454PB]

Yes, a gas check solves a lot of problems, but we were talking about using a boolit in less than ideal conditions. Gas checks are getting pricey, and some gas checked boolits used without the check are less accurate.

My point was that even though the diameter may be "universal' for use in a variety of cartridges, the weight, shape, velocity limitations, and crimp style makes those uses less than ideal. For more than experimentation, I think it's better to own a variety of mold designs.

[Harter66]

As only a causual observation a WDWW round ball might be intresting in a full tilt 460. At the same time in a revolver a 255 RNFP works in an ACP as it can be seated out a ways. It seems I saw something about and 260 or70gr HPBT in an ACP for autos.I once shot up some 85gr golddots in a 357 carbine, that 380 bullet was definatately not intended for 2K fps but was maybe 1 of the most accurate expirements I've done.

The OP asked about a 200-215 convertible boolit within its limits it should function fine in Colts,Casaulls and S&W if kept to 1200 properly lubed and alloyed.

[C1PNR]

I guess before we delve too far into the benefits of using gas checks, it would be helpful to remember that the mould design must be one that anticipates the use of gas checks.

While applying a gas check to a plain base design may be possible under certain circumstances, I can't think of any right now.

Is your 200 gr MP mould designed to use gas checks?

Almost any boolit sized to fit the cylinder throats will work. Once in a while you may find a design that's just too long to work through the cylinder of some revolvers, just as some designs may be too long to work in certain lever action rifles.