Mould advice

[boolit_boy]

Hello all :-D

I want to get back into casting after a few years away, and would like some advice on what moulds to buy. I shoot a SBH, Marlin 1894 and Marlin 444P. The last two I will be hunting with and the revolver will be for target/silhouette.

Thanks

[475/480]

Go to the Lee site and get the 6 cavity TLC 430-280 mould for $29.00,it is in the over stock section..this will feed your 44 mag and 444 and has proven itself in the field...
There is a picture of the TLC 430 boolit on the (25 caliber) boolit post.

Sean

[boolit_boy]

Maybe I am being dumb, but could not find that mould or a over stock section??

[fatnhappy]

here you go.


http://www.leeprecision.com/html/catalog/surplus.html

[Nrut]

Hi boolit_boy......I believe these surplus molds are rejects from the first Ranch Dog .432 TLC mold buy he did awhile back...these molds where returned to Lee by the group buy members because they came out .430 instead of to .432 that they where suppose to come out as....It took LEE three try's to get this mold right IIRC........ The Marlin seems to like .432 size the best according to Ranch Dog (I don't own a .444)......the meplat was different as I recall also but I don't think that that would make much change accuracy that much......
Check this out www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=8729&highlight=.432 (http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=8729&highlight=.432)
BTW welcome to this group....I believe I smell a bit of Alberta soil on this your post...could be wrong~:mrgreen: ~

[boolit_boy]

Hi Nrut, thanks for the welcome. Yes indeed, I am from Alberta. What gave me away? :-D
Do you know if it is possible to get one of those moulds that Ranch Dog uses?

[Nrut]

The give away was the collection of firearms you have for one....[smilie=1:
There maybe another group buy on these one of these days....In the group buy forum they are mulling over a 300gr mold of this design....I would watch this thread www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=11767 (http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=11767) Like I said over at CGN I could ship you some in April when I start casting again............I might add that some of the guy's bought that .430 mold for their Rugers so it might work in yours depending on your BH's demensions and what you have for sizing dies...:)

[boolit_boy]

Haha, busted :)
I haven't actually measured my SBH, so not sure it's dimensions. What is the best way to do that? It seems those moulds from Lee are .432, but have a larger meplat than what was wanted. If I read the thread properly??
For sure I would like to try those bullets out, thanks.

BTW, how long is CGN down for? Missing it already :cry:

[Ricochet]

Best way with a revolver, if you happen to have some boolits of close but different dimensions to use as gauges, is to push them through the throats of your cylinder and see what will just push through, snugly. My SBH likes .430" boolits. I've put .433" through it, though, as Winchester used to sell swaged 240 gr. SWCGC boolits of that size. They cut them down after a while to .430", and that was fine, too.

They also have a plain based 429-255-SWC 6 cavity mould for $29.00 over on Lee's surplus page. I just ordered one of those. I don't really like fooling with gas checks where I don't have to. I've had good fortune shooting plain base boolits to maximum loads in the .44 Magnum, with only mild leading using WC820 or 296.

I think I'm going to save up all my .44 gas checking for the Lyman #429244HP. I found one of those moulds a while back, and had to have it. The first cast boolits I ever saw were some of those from my Uncle Don, who had an early S&W Model 29. He'd cast those boolits out of something soft, and when I was a little kid he gave me samples of the new as-cast and checked boolits and mushroomed ones.

Somebody with a .444 might want the monster .44 mould I got in a group buy a couple of years back for something like a 380 grain boolit. It's a heavy Lee .44 SWC with the gas check shank extended greatly. (I've tried to find the original thread on it and can't.) I cast one batch with it, and decided that wasn't something I'd use regularly in my SBH. I like the old standard boolits of around 240-250 grains best. PM me if interested. I might be interested in a trade for something else, like a standard .30 cal. 6-hole mould. Got plenty of Fat 30s.

[Nrut]

Probably the best thing to do is go here and read about measuring your revolver.. www.lbtmoulds.com/measurebore.shtml then for sure buy Verls book "Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets" Lots of good stuff there!....
The orginal GB bullets where undersized at .430 and the meplate was out of spec. as per the drawing (the buy was for .432)...we sent most of them back to Lee and some guys kept their mold for their Rugers .......Lee fiddle farted around and and tried to fix some of the ones sent back and then finally just made a new batch at .432 with the same meplate as in the original drawing and sent them out to us...The ones on sale at LEE now are the first batch of molds sent out @ .430 with the out of spec. meplate....The .430 mold may very well work in your Ruger ......
cheers :)
Mike
Yeah I'm surprized CGN is still down.....Maybe :Fire: wendy hired some hacker's eh?
Fixed the link [smilie=1:

[ron brooks]

I've looked and looked on how to order from the Lee Surplus page, do you just have to call them or can you order online and I'm just too dense to figure it out?

Thanks,

Ron

[357maximum]

I've looked and looked on how to order from the Lee Surplus page, do you just have to call them or can you order online and I'm just too dense to figure it out?

Thanks,

Ron

click on the blue part number....

[boolit_boy]

Probably the best thing to do is go here and read about measuring your revolver.. www.lbtmoulds.com/measurebore.shtml then for sure buy Verls book "Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets" Lots of good stuff there!....
The orginal GB bullets where undersized at .430 and the meplate was out of spec. as per the drawing (the buy was for .432)...we sent most of them back to Lee and some guys kept their mold for their Rugers .......Lee fiddle farted around and and tried to fix some of the ones sent back and then finally just made a new batch at .432 with the same meplate as in the original drawing and sent them out to us...The ones on sale at LEE now are the first batch of molds sent out @ .430 with the out of spec. meplate....The .430 mold may very well work in your Ruger ......
cheers :)
Mike
Yeah I'm surprized CGN is still down.....Maybe :Fire: wendy hired some hacker's eh?
Fixed the link [smilie=1:

I checked out that website. Sure has lots of great info. I will look into getting that book for sure.

Is it better to use a lighter bullet in the SBH and 1894, and a heavy in the .444? I was told by a guy in Wholesale Sports that the rear sight on the SBH might run out of elevation for anything heavier than a 240-250gr. Anything heavier would shoot too low.

I used to own a Lee 310gr mould, but since I have a 450 sizer, could not find a proper top punch. It was a dandy bullet.

PS : Wishing all a very Happy New Year :drinks:

[Ricochet]

Sight height in revolvers is a complex thing, Yeah, you might expect to need more elevation because of a lower velocity, but the revolver will recoil more while the boolit is still in the barrel with a heavier boolit, so you often end up having to lower the sights or aim lower.

I misspoke about the extra heavy .44 boolit being a SWC design. It's the Lee C430-310-RF with a lengthened gas check shank to extend the overall length to about the maximum for six hole blocks. Anybody remember who did that group buy? I can't find the original thread. I think it was on the old board.

I'm not a fan of extra-heavy boolits. Thought I might like it because I shoot a .45-70 revolver, but the .44 Magnum case is just too short for a boolit like that.

[MtGun44]

Ricochet,

Do you know what the Lee 429-255-SWC looks like (the 6 holer in
the Lee surplus page)? Might buy one if I could look at the design,
OTOH, I have a bunch of 44 mag 250 grain class SWC molds - so
maybe not.

Am I correct in surmising that the Lee molds with no leading letters
are their 'conventional' designs, and the TL means 'tumble lube"
design, and a "C" leading the designation means 'custom', and
likely came from a group buy from Cast Boolits? So the TLC would
be a tumble lube custom design --- ?

Bill

[357maximum]

Ricochet,


Am I correct in surmising that the Lee molds with no leading letters
are their 'conventional' designs, and the TL means 'tumble lube"
design, and a "C" leading the designation means 'custom', and
likely came from a group buy from Cast Boolits? So the TLC would
be a tumble lube custom design --- ?

Bill

TL=tumble lube
TLC=tumble lube with a gas check

[lovedogs]

Some have feeding problems with various square shouldered bullets in the lever guns. About a year ago I learned that Saeco designed their #431 bullet mould for use in the .444 Marlin. It's listed as a 250 gr. FPGC. Using a #2 alloy mine drops bullets out at around 242 gr. The meplat is wide enough that it works fine on game, too. I'm hoping someday to have a 1894 to shoot these through and am confident with it's rounder shoulder it'll feed well, too.

[Ricochet]

My Marlin 1894 won't handle Keith-type boolits at all. It's made for the flat nosed, rounded sides shape of commercial jacketed .44s.

I don't have a picture link for that 429-255-SWC, but it's a conventional semiwadcutter style. Look at other SWCs on Lee's available mould page for an idea. They discontinued it in 2004, presumably due to lack of sales.

[boolit_boy]

What would be a good bullet for the 1894? Lee's selection is pretty limited.

[Ricochet]

Dunno. I haven't shot anything in it except jacketed. I intend to experiment with the Lyman #429244HP in it. Looks like it just might work, seated deeply.

[Lloyd Smale]

best bullet ive found in the .444 is the ballistic cast 330 lfngc it has two crimp groves runs great in my outfitter and that bullet out of a super blackhawk ran with the big dogs in the linebaugh penetration testing a few years ago. IT went over 30 inchs through bone and wet print. Shot at 1300 fps it beat ever .45 colt and 44 mag load there and about half of the .475 and .500 loads to boot! Buddy used his outfitter to make two one shot kills on caribou in Canada with that bullet.

[Ricochet]

Ricochet,

Do you know what the Lee 429-255-SWC looks like (the 6 holer in
the Lee surplus page)?

I've got mine now. Had it a few days, actually. Haven't gotten around to casting any boolits yet. They call it a semiwadcutter. The nose is a short truncated cone with a big meplat and it has a small shoulder around the edge. The body has three lube grooves and a crimping groove.

Looks like it must might work through the action of my Marlin 1894. Er, that's my wife's Marlin 1894. Gave it to her years ago. Haven't shot it in a coon's age.