Opinions on the Mihec 6 cav. H&G#68 Clone

[seagiant]

Hi,
I was lucky enough to pick up one of these from a member here who had an extra for sale. I have been searching for some feed back on it. I saw a report from Lathesmith but nothing else. I was wondering if there were other owners who could give their opinions on this mold? Thanks

[cbrick]

Is the question about the H&G #68 design? Or the quality of Miha's molds?

I have that mold coming in HP, not here yet. But I have other molds from Miha and have no doubt this one will be exactly like the others, an incredible work of art.

I haven't found a semi-auto yet that #68 didn't shoot well and feed well from.

Does this answer your question?

Rick

[seagiant]

Hi CBrick,
Thanks for the info. I know that the H&G#68 is good to go a classic which this mold is suppose to be an exact copy of. I was wondering how people that actually owned this mold thought of it. I have the LEE 6 cav in their interpretation of this design just looking for feedback. Not alot of info to find and this was a group buy mold! Thanks again!

[btroj]

I have both the Mihec version in flat base and the Lee version in bevel base. Not a fair comparison. I find the flat base much easier to get good accuracy with. The Mihec mould I have is brass. It is heavy for a four cav. It is easily the easiest casting mould I have ever used. It is just plain magic.
Get the mould, you will never, ever regret it. My 1911 likes it and so do I.

That answer your question?

Brad

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well... I appreciate the info but the mold I'm talking about is a six cav. aluminum mold and like you said the 4 cav. brass mold you have would probably be a little different in use! So I'm still waiting for people that actually have the Mihec 6 cav aluminum mold. Thanks!

[btroj]

I don't have a Mihec Al mould but the two brass ones I have are beautifully machined. I would not hesitate for a moment to buy one of his Al moulds.

[MtGun44]

I have a number of different Mihec molds, but not that particular one. All mine are very
high quality and cast good boolits. ( I have a real H&G 68 mold, or I'd have bought one)

The design (H&G68) is a really good one, and Miha was supposed to be making a dead on
copy. If he did his normal excellent work (and I'd be quite surprised if he did not) then you
can't go wrong, should be a great quality mold in a great boolit design.

Bill

[That'll Do]

I have the 6 cavity H&G 68 clone made by Miha. It is easy to cast with, and you'll have a big pile of bullets in no time.

I don't have any complaints about the mold. As long as I preheat it, and keep my alloy (I almost always use wheel weights with a bit of tin added) around 650-700 degrees, everything is smooth sailing.

[686]

i have 2 of mi hec 6cav al. h&g #68 molds. they cast grate bullets. i run both at the same time and wish i had a 3rd. one . mine has a bb and cast, lubes, loads, and shoots good.

[seagiant]

Thanks Gentlemen, I appreciate the good word. I was hoping even though the Lee 6-cav works ok that the Mihec would be a big step up and looks like it will be. Hope to get my mold later on this week. I wonder how many molds were made in that GB??? I might have been lucky to find one?

[captaint]

I have one of the Mihec 6 cav aluminum 68's. Both the mold and the boolits work real well. I would not hesitate to buy one again. In fact, I have, many times. Only they're all brass now. All the better... enjoy Mike

[oscarflytyer]

Too funny, but Mihec's 68 clone in 6 cav alum was my very first mold! I love it! It casts GREAT (0nce I figured out how to put it together! - It WAS my first ever mold - don't ask!).

After I cleaned it up properly and put it together correctly - it is a dream to work with. And my old Thompson Auto Ord loves the bullet w/ 5 grns Bullseye. Puts em all in a ragged hole at 10 yds with base GI gun and sights.

You can't go wrong with this one. Prob the only 45 ACP boolit/mold I will ever cast.

[alamogunr]

I have the 6 cavity Mihec H&G aluminum mold. When it came, it didn't close tightly. Left a little daylight in the center. Per Miha's suggestion, I baked it in the toaster oven(can't remember the temp) with the halves c-clamped together. This helped but in use the boolets still came out slightly oval. It wasn't out more than 001-.0015. When sized they are absolutely round and the groove is still deep enough to hold lube'

Since I'm no expert with a handgun(rifle either!), they work great. I'm still in on the 4 cavity brass GB that is going on now, just because.

John
W.TN

[MtGun44]

Oscar !

That is officially cheating! Getting one of THE best molds ever made in one of
THE best designs ever made as your FIRST MOLD! Definitely going to be pretty much
downhill in all directions from that pinnacle!

Smart move, enjoy a wonderful piece of equipment and a great boolit.

Well done. Kinda like having Marilyn Monroe as your first date. . . . . . . going to be some
dissappointments ahead. :bigsmyl2:


Bill

[GaryN]

Who's Marilyn Monroe?:kidding:

[big dale]

Isn't this Marilyn's birthday?

Big Dale

[Huntducks]

I have a H&G 68 only 2c but just right for me.

All my 1911's digest these boolits without a hiccup.:Fire:

There is or was one on ebay for $399.00 that did not sell, wonder why

[MtGun44]

I just KNEW some youngster would ask the "who is MM?" question. Couldn't readily
think of some young good looker in current movies, just don't pay that much attention
to movies anymore. Usually have ZERO idea who the latest gossip is talking about. XXXXXX went
out and did such and such and I go "Who?" :confused:

I guess I should have said Angelina Jolie (SP?), at least I know who she is.

And actually, for the record, MM was dead when I was about 10 or 11, not even too interested
in girls yet, just saw some old movies over the years.

As to the H&G 68 mold at $400 . . . . . . . . . . . WOW:shock:

Mine was maybe $120 and I thought I was overpaying then for a 4 cav. about 5 yrs ago.

Bill

[Huntducks]

Mtgun44

I'm with you on the young good lookers I have no clue who 90% of them are my wife LOL at me, and says if it had to do with hunting or guns you would know, what can I say i'm retired and so are a lot of my memory cells.

Ebay is ridiculous on H&G molds anymore, there a good mold but not that good, I sold #68 6c there maybe 2.5 years ago it went for like $145 all I could do was:lol:
I think I bought it a couple year before for $20 matter of fact I sold all my larger 6c and up back then I had shoulder replacement and they were just to heavy to use.

If you have an old Ideal mold just write RARE in the description and you will get double for it.

[Dale53]

I just ran a pot full (RCBS pot - 21# of finished bullets) from my Mihec six cavity H&G #68 clone bullet mould. It took me all of 1.0 hour of actual casting time.

I finished up sizing and lubing them last evening. I exactly TWO rejects. All of the rest are match quality bullets. My alloy is WW's with 2% tin.

When I first received the mould, after the mould was running well, I set aside one mould full of bullets. The six bullets mic'ed within .0002" of an inch of being round (that is NO misprint - 2/ten thousandths). They weighed plus or minus .2 (two tenths) of a grain between all six. I have NEVER had a mould that cast bullets that close in multi-cavities. Here is a case where aluminum shines. Six cavity iron moulds are too heavy for me to enjoy any more. However, the six cavity aluminum is a joy to use.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

[oscarflytyer]

Oscar !

That is officially cheating! Getting one of THE best molds ever made in one of
THE best designs ever made as your FIRST MOLD! Definitely going to be pretty much
downhill in all directions from that pinnacle!

Smart move, enjoy a wonderful piece of equipment and a great boolit.

Well done. Kinda like having Marilyn Monroe as your first date. . . . . . . going to be some
dissappointments ahead. :bigsmyl2:


Bill

LMAO! I never have played fair! And I think I might trade the mold for that date!

But you are correct - it does kinda make other molds a bit of a downer!

[MtGun44]

Dale,

What a report! My Mihec molds are similar, just a joy to work with in every way.
My only issue is that at first the Cramer pin HP versions are a bit sticky on the
pins, but this goes away as they break in. The non HP molds don't have a weak
point IMO.

Bill

[Dale53]

MtGun44;
When using the Cramer moulds, I first assemble the pins with a soft touch and on the outside of the mould put ONE drop of Mihec's supplied sprue plate lube (or Bullshop's sprue plate lube) on the pin shafts. Then I carefully work them in and out until the shafts are lubed and I can feel them sliding properly. I also, the first time, put mould release (microfine graphite suspended in a denatured alcohol base) on the pins. It would be a good idea to allow the mould to dry overnight but, frankly, I have applied the mould release, blow on it to dry, then immediately start casting. The bullets just drop off the pins after doing that.

I don't put release on the pins routinely, just the first time, and of course if I needed it several cycles down the road, I would reapply.

I pre-heat all of my moulds on a steel topped hotplate until JUST below casting heat, and let the first pour bring it up to casting heat. That way I insure I am not overheating the mould. I did that once with a single cavity custom mould for a bench rifle and after the first pour I had bullet metal soldered to the cavity. So, DO NOT OVERHEAT!

I have always considered the Lyman hollow point moulds to be a "pain in the tuckus" and SLOW-W-W when casting hollow points. Being single cavity with a removable pin was just not much fun. I got excellent bullets (after a learning curve) but didn't really enjoy it.

Using the Mihec Cramer style moulds have been an absolute joy for me in spite of the additional manipulation these moulds require. They are SO-O-O much better, that I can express perfectly with that old saying, "Mihec's are a treat instead of a treatment"!!:drinks:

I don't mean to slam the old Lyman hollow point moulds. For years, they were the only game in town. It's just a shame that Lyman is seemingly "dropping the ball" these days. But, the bright side, is that the "hole in the market" is being ably filled by Mihec, NOE, and BRP.

The good old days are indeed TODAY!

Dale53

[MtGun44]

100% agreement on Lyman single cav HP molds! I will use the mold release spray
on the tips of the pins next session, thanks for the tip. I do loosen one of the
slide pins a touch so it can seek it's own perfect alignment, and also add the MP
or Bullplate on the pins and work it into the mold on the pins, cold. I have not
done the preheat on hot plate trick yet, but it sounds like a real timesaver.

Like I said to the original thread starter, when you have a MP mold you have a really
top quality one and after that many (most?) will be a step down.

I agree that the current Lyman management is a shame, but they are and will be
steadily bypassed by the people that are breaking new ground in quality, innovation and
attention the needs of the customer. It is usually this way, big companies buy up the
smaller and older ones and some of the big companies lose sight of the market.
Been a long time Lyman user and pleased with many of their products over the years.
Why they would not start offering Cramer-type HP molds, I just can't fathom.

Bill

[Dale53]

One of the dangers of consolidation is that these larger conglomerates lose the desire to service "niche" markets. If they can't sell a cazillion of something, they are not interested.

They seem to have totally lost sight of "start small and build". Mihec, NOE, and BRP are stepping up to the plate and offering superior quality for things we actually desire. However, I am sure that their volume is such that regardless of their success, it won't come to the attention of the "big boys". They just don't care. They should, but they don't. As one by one the smaller companies of the conglomerates fall by the wayside, eventually, the conglomerates will fail. We have seen some spectacular examples of this in the last couple of years.

"OUR" guys, will prosper, I believe. IF they stay with it, and I believe that they will, eventually they'll offer a full line of "in stock" items to satisfy the most demanding criteria. The cream is coming to the top, as it were.

I just hope some more of our American companies in other fields can survive the disasters of our manufacturing areas. Most of our successful manufacturing companies rose out of the brain and work ethic of men who became giants in world industry. Men such as Ford, Edison, and the like built companies so strong that they continued after they passed on. However, today, management style is more about flash than substance...

At any rate, I'm thoroughly enjoying the moulds I have received from OUR suppliers in the past several years. We are indeed fortunate that people we are now acquainted with have such great ability and strong business sense coupled with high ethics.

Dale53

[ColColt]

Reading this about MM reminds me of when I was in Germany and me and some guys were going to see Jane Mansfield in Frankfurt but unfortunately she had a car accident and was killed that same time frame...around Spring or Summer of '67. She was absolutely gorgeous.

[MtGun44]

Dale,

I agree exactly.

Bill

[mold maker]

Today's casters are indeed privileged. When I started, there were mostly single cav molds that weighed like modern 4 cav. There were just a few designs in each size, and no one did custom molds, or at least none that I could afford.
Now There are light weight 6 cav molds available in most any size and design. The advent of the cramer style molds, make all kinds of HP molds cheap and very usable.
I used to consider a couple hundred bullets, a major casting session. Now, several thousand, are the norm.
I just wish I were 30 yr younger, to see what the next decades will bring.
BTW
Norma Jean Baker was a very distant relative of mine.

[mroliver77]

The miha #68 H&G was one if not the first six cavity mould he ran. There was some problems with the mould blocks being warped( sprung, not flat ). I do not recall what happened but Miha made it right. I put shims at the outside odf mine and used a "C" clamp to pull the center a little over flat. A couple heat cycles and a light dressing on a flat plate and all is well. I did have the option of sending them back but did not think it necessary It has turned out to be my favorite mould for the 1911. A friend and I play around with IDPA shooting and go through a thousand or more boolits a year. That is a couple hours casting with this mould. The boolits fall out so easily. Buddys 14 year old son cast some for us After a half dozen pours he had it down and went to town with it. It is that easy to use. I have a Lyman 20lb pot with a 20 lb Lee to preheat alloy. I also have a hotplate to preheat mould and ingots. If nature calls I can set the mould aside and take care of business. Upon returning I just resume casting. There is no missed cycles waiting to get mould back up to temp.

I had the Lee version of this mould for some years and didn't think it got any better. I sold it after getting the Mihec mould. I wish I could afford two of every mould he makes! I keep offering him my sister if he will move here! ;) I love the brass moulds but wish he would make more of the six bangers!
Jay

[Dale53]

mroliver77;
I'll bet Miha (Mihec) will build anything reasonable in the mould line if we can offer to run a good Group Buy. I have not asked, but I am THAT sure he would run some more aluminum six cavity moulds if we asked and presented a proper Group Buy that insures enough demand to warrant tooling. In fact, since he already has the tooling, I'll bet he would go for an order for the clone of the H&G #68 with only fifteen or twenty people interested. If you want to run this, you can PM him and you'll have a definitive answer.

The only problem Mihec has suffered in the past is when a sub-contractor let him (and us down). Mihec promptly made that right (at no little expense to himself) and now runs ALL of the cavities himself on his new dedicated mould maker CNC machine.

I have NEVER seen better moulds regardless of the expense.

FWIW;
Dale53

[MtGun44]

IIRC, he got a batch of aluminum that was not on specification. I offered some
advise on alloy selection (not sure if he took it) and my mold was one that was
delayed to remake because some were bowing. I had to wait an extra month or two,
I forget, but have a wonderful H&G 503 clone now that is a joy to use and one of the
very best Keith .44 mag molds I have, and I have many 429421s, and even one
real H&G 503 two cav.

His high tech undersized, ultrahardcoated cherries are really impressive, and probably
last essentially forever on aluminum, plus he can cut whatever diameter he needs
by using this method rather than the old fashioned fixed cherry and two blocks
moving into it.

Bill

[jayjay1]

Found this old thread by searching for a competitor for my Lyman 460.

I know the H&G 68 from the Lyman book and do have some of Mihec´s molds.
His 140gr. 9mm is my favorite boolit in this caliber, having two six cav. of them I can cast those pills in masses.

After reading this, I just called Miha and he told me, that he is having still one of this molds with a BB.
Ordered and payed it with Paypal, can´t wait to get it.

If it runs like I think it does, I will order a second one.

Thanks for your infos.
:drinks:

[MtGun44]

You will like the mold. See if you can't get the flat based one, I like it a
bit more, although the BB is certainly not a bad mold or bad design, I think
it is slightly less accurate in some guns.

Bill