H&G top punch.....?

[3006guns]

I have a Hensley and Gibbs #86 two cavity mold that produces a very nice 174 grain, flat nose boolit at .315 as cast. My problem is that I don't have a Lyman top punch that fits it correctly...any that are "close" leave an unsightly ring. Does anyone know of a correctly fitting punch or will I have to make one?

[theperfessor]

See sig line, I've got what you need.

[MikeS]

As it's a flat nose boolit design, there's really no reason for a perfectly fit nose punch, you could use the Professor's punch basically as you get it without filling it with epoxy (or hot melt glue, etc.). For that matter you could use any flat punch as long as the top is above the top of the die. Tom at Accurate Molds also sells flat top punches that work very well for flat nosed boolits, he makes them in 3 different sizes to fit 45 cal boolits, 35 cal boolits (which includes 38 Spec.) and one for 30 cal boolits. I have one of each of them, and they work fine, in fact if you have a sizer that's not perfectly aligned they work even better as there's no chance of the top punch bending the boolit. I have some boolits that I have a custom fit nose punch, and I don't use the punch that came with the mould, but rather one of Tom's.

[41 mag fan]

Go with the perferssors punches. You wont go wrong having him make you one up. Plus they're 1/2 the price of what an RCBS or Lymans would cost.
Besides theres no match in quality when you look at Keiths vs Lyman or RCBS.
I've got 1/2 a doz of Keiths punches and will probably be giving him a holler for more shortly after the New Year.
And as the topping to the cake, Keith is one of the nicest people you'll meet and by ordering from him, you're giving a cast boolits member the business.

[462]

I have one of theperfessors top punches and would buy from him again.