1st mold purchase

[fishboy747]

If you had to purchase your first mold and wanted a .44 cal 240 or 250 gr. keith style boolit which one would you get and how many cavity's. The second one would be a .45 cal in the same style primarily used in .45 lc and 460s&w plinking loads.

[stubshaft]

Lee 429-240 SWC

If you are new to casting your best bet is to start off with the basics. No need to spend an exorbitant amount of money in an endeavor that you may not continue with. Even if you did it is still not a bad investment as I still own and cast with my first old which was a Lee 308 155 SC bought in 1976.

[peerlesscowboy]

I'd go with RCBS, either 44-245-SWC or 44-250-K for the .44 & 45-255-SWC for the .45 Colt. Double cavity.

[cajun shooter]

Look at the MidSouth site for the RCBS molds.

[white eagle]

check out Tom @ Accurate molds
http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php,
He has some dandy Keith style molds in the weight class you are looking for
and in both cals
I would get them in three cavs
great quality and customer service

[captaint]

I'm with Stubshaft here. Go cheapo first and learn how to use that. RCBS, Accurate, Mihec, BRP and NOE - all great molds, excellent really. The Lee will likely make fine boolits. When is one most likely to damage a mold?? When you are new at the game. Learn what you're doing, then get the good stuff....enjoy Mike

[captaint]

Get a 2 cav to start.

[Blammer]

knowing what I know now, I'd not get a Keith style to start with.

I would get this

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=536439

it's the 2 cavity Saeco mould number 249, 240gr flat nose, well it's a round flat nose, plain base

or the Lyman 429667, I really like that one.

I'm partial to Round Flat nose or trun cone design as I tend to get them to shoot more accurate than the SWC style.

If you really want a SWC style any 2C Lyman or RCBS mould will work fine.

[Dennis Eugene]

I've found that The RCBS molds are some of the easiest to cast with and if I had to learn all over again I'd like to learn on an RCBS. And if I wanted to sell and hoped to get my money back RCBS holds value as well or better than any other. Dennis

[HeavyMetal]

I go for th RCBS Kieth style SWC, as a matter of fact that was my first 44 mold!

Ran it for years then stumbled across a 4 banger the BIL and I share as well as an HP version of same.

Lee doesn't have a 44 boolit I'd want to mess with and never has.

[fishboy747]

Thanks for the info I do not plan on investing the money only to dump this hobby I have been reloading for several years and would like to learn to cast my own. The cost up here is a bit high I call it the alaska disconnect fee everything is either barged or flown or shipped via truck and either way it is expensive. Now that some suppliers are starting to ship flat rate boxes and realize we are part of the united states it makes ordering easier. I have been looking at the RCBS molds but do you need handles for every mold or just enough to work the molds that you are pouring. Thanks for all the wonderful info. The contribulors are what make this site what it is
and I will be trying to absorb everything I can.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Fishboy,
normally, I'd agree with some folks here about starting out cheap, as I have done many times with many hobbies.
BUT, if you watch the sellin' and swappin' section or Evilbay, yo uwill notice that good quality boolit molds hold their value and seem easy to sell, if they have been taken care of.
I've only cast with one RCBS mold, and liked it. Lyman has had some quality issues with their New molds,I caution against a New Lyman, but I also wouldn't hesitate buying a excellent condition older Lyman mold. If Money is no big deal, the custom molds made by some of the vendor members here on this site, are in my opinion some of the very best available in the world !...Accurate molds, NOE, Mihec...ect

PS: I am not disrepsecting LEE, I own many and most of them cast fine. I think their quality has really turned around in the last year or two. But you get what you paid for.

[onesonek]

check out Tom @ Accurate molds
http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php,
He has some dandy Keith style molds in the weight class you are looking for
and in both cals
I would get them in three cavs
great quality and customer service


I would go to Tom also,,,,,cavity wise,it depends on how much you intend to shoot I guess. Personally I can cast enough with one cavity in a couple 2-4 hours to shoot what I want for the month, with what I shoot so far. I wouldn't eliminate the possibility of having a mould made with one of each caliber in a 2 cav mould,,,just a thought.

[white eagle]

I have more than one set of handles
if I use more than one mold at a time or......
I will leave a set of blocks on a set of handles
if I plan to use that mold again soon
so if you do have more than one set they will find uses

[MtGun44]

RCBS 44-250-K.

Not the cheapest, but an excellent boolit and a high quality mold that is easy to
cast with and it will not need fiddling to get it working right. Scrub it clean with
dish detergent and dry, then go to town. You will need to buy handles, but they
are top quality from RCBS, and the cheap Lee 6 cav handles will work OK.

Over about 7 to 8 gr of W231 it is mild. With 10gr of Unique it will kill any deer
that ever lived and not make you flinch. With 20 gr of 2400 under it, you have
a really accurate and powerful hunting load. Heck of a broad capability
first mold. Use std primers, not mag, with the above loads.

Bill

[fishboy747]

Well I am in for the long run I finally got the first of several molds on my wish list and it is the RCBS 250K 2 cav. Hopefully it is in good shape it is slightly used now I just have to find out the next step if any conditioning is required prior to casting.

[RobS]

The mold you chose has been a very good one for many people and for a very long time. I think you'll be happy with your 1st.

Here is BABore or BRP molds link for 44 and 45 cal molds. http://www.brp.castpics.net/P2.html

He does excellent work and has some good Keith designs that are about as true as Elmer would have probably liked. RCBS will more than likely be good to go regarding their as cast diameters. RCBS is probably the closest to any production mold (Lee, Lyman, Saeco, etc) regarding true Keith design as well. A note of caution: Lyman sucks right now and has been hit and miss with many of their molds running undersized.

[Old Shooter]

For 44 mag get a 2 cav older Lyman 429421 mold it throws 245 gr. Keith bullits.
For 45 Colt try a RCBS #45-255 SWC mold. Another Kieth style bullit that works great. With a little shop work you can use both on Lee low cost 6 mold handles, for minimum cost.

[Suo Gan]

Well I am in for the long run I finally got the first of several molds on my wish list and it is the RCBS 250K 2 cav. Hopefully it is in good shape it is slightly used now I just have to find out the next step if any conditioning is required prior to casting.

We hooked another one!

[HeavyMetal]

Fishboy:
Glad to hear you got a mold! The RCBS 250 K is great.

As to your question on " conditioning"? Be careful Lee's instructions will get you a headache with any mold!

Stay away from release agents don't lube it with boolit lube and don't try to get a 2 banger mold to make 1200 boolits and hour!

Now when you get the mold, as it is a used one from your posting, open it up over a soft cloth or two and shine the harsh light of a 100 watt bulb on it and take a magnifiying glass and examine every nook and cranny ( inside and out) for any sign of damage.

Once you a happy that the cavities and such are up to snuff clean it. Brake cleaner, Dawn dish soap followed by a wipe of the cavities with a Q-tip soaked in rubbing alcohol is my usual first time mold prep.

Lube the moving areas of the mold with either bullplate lube or anti sieze keeping in mind that a little of either goes a long long way!

Now set it on the edge of you lead pot and fire that puppy up with the temp setting on "HELL"!

Give both the pot and the mold sufficient time to get hot and I mean branding cattle hot!

Once this is ready, about 40 minutes depending on your pot, dip a corner of the mold block, with the blocks closed, into the alloy until no lead will stick to the block when you take it out of the alloy.

Then swing the sprue plate open and dip that portion of it that you "strike" into the alloy until the alloy won't stick to it.

Close the mold and start casting!

Do not worry about wrinkles

Do not worry about frosting

Do not worry about fill out

Do not worry about how many your making

Do not worry about "keepers"!

because the goal here is to season the mold! What your looking for is simple: each cavity must look liked you've blued it!

Once you have the coloration in the cavites your "GOLDEN"!

Never remove it

Never coat the mold with oil

and it will always drop good boolits once it's hot enough with no issues.

As for storage: Sealed metal ammo can with a dissacant pack of some type in it a large one!

One last note: this only works with "steel" molds! brass and aluminum are different animals!