Mould advice for newbie 357/38

[richfr]

Hi I would appreciate your expert advice on what mould design and size I should go for.
I want to get a good mould from the start so have been looking at NOE's moulds along with a temp probe kit.
I will be reloading a S&W 686 6" just for target shooting (will eventually load 9mm too) I checked the throats and they are 358.
Am I right in thinking I need a 360 mould and then size down to 359?
I have been looking at the NOE 360 160Gr. SWC would have liked hollow points to play with the weight a little (and they look good) but they are out of stock of the pb RG's so would have to be a solid one.
Would appreciate your help I want to make the right decision to get me casting well from the start :)

[happy7]

I would certainly not recommend a hollow point mold for your first mold.

[beagle]

That's a pretty good design and yes, bigger is better.

HPs are not hard to cast but just starting out I'd go along with previous advice and start with a "solid" first. Later on, you can always have it hollowpointed./beagle

[Beerd]

if you are looking for a quality mould, another good one would be this from MiHec:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=132861
..

[richfr]

if you are looking for a quality mould, another good one would be this from MiHec:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=132861
..

Thanks for the advice guys :)

I had seen that one but they aren't doing a plain base one yet and the NOE ones are in stock now.
Was I right in thinking I need a 360 mould then size down to 359 to fit throats that are 358?

[catboat]

You thought of acquiring an NOE 360-160 grain mold is very wise. I would suggest the plain-base version.

I have an NOE 360-145 grain SWC plain base bullet, and it shoots very well in my SW 586, 686, 14 (38 special), and Ruger GP100 (4" barrel). I have shot it in our club's winter centerfire league, and scored well with it.

Other sound mold choices are: RCBS / Lyman / ideal 150 grain SWC, Lee 358-158 SWC (tumble lube), or Ranch Dog 175ish grain 6-cavity mold (it's normally a gas check mold, but you can get him to make it into a plain base for a nominal charge of ~ $10? dollars-check out his link on the top of the website.). The Lyman/ideal 170ish grain SWC plain base is a great mold too (358429).

I would first try .358" sizing (your throat diameter), then try .359" or .360". Keep it simple for your first mold and loads. You may be fine at .358" and a stock Lee Push through mold. Get a decent mold, learn to cast (no kidding, read castboolits.com-many excellent people on the site who have made all the mistakes ahead of you), try a few loads (keep records) and alloys. It's all too easy to get a mold, then think "another one" will be magic and be a one-holer. Get a proven mold design-of good quality, and shoot it.

Great choice of a revolver too. You'll enjoy it.

[richfr]

You thought of acquiring an NOE 360-160 grain mold is very wise. I would suggest the plain-base version.

I have an NOE 360-145 grain SWC plain base bullet, and it shoots very well in my SW 586, 686, 14 (38 special), and Ruger GP100 (4" barrel). I have shot it in our club's winter centerfire league, and scored well with it.

Other sound mold choices are: RCBS / Lyman / ideal 150 grain SWC, Lee 358-158 SWC (tumble lube), or Ranch Dog 170 grain 6-cavity mold (it's normally a gas check mold, but you can get him to make it into a plain base for a nominal charge of ~ $10? dollars-check out his link on the top of the website.). The Lyman/ideal 170ish grain SWC plain base is a great mold too.

I would size to .359" or .360". Keep it simple for your first mold. Get a decent one, learn to cast (no kidding, read castboolits.com-many excellent people on the site who have made all the mistakes ahead of you), try a few loads (keep records) and alloys. It's all too easy to get a mold, then think "another one" will be magic and be a one-holer. Get a proven design-of good quality, and shoot it.


Great choice of a revolver too. You'll enjoy it.

Thanks for that.
Yes I love the 686-2 it is one with the 4 setting adjustable front sight.

So if the mould drops at 360 I might not need to size them at all? Or is it still good practice to size anyway? How will I work out if 359 or 360 is best without buying both sizers?
I was going to size with a Lee sizer then pan lube until I get a lube/sizer.

[MT Gianni]

You might look at the NOE 358477, which should be available in a month or two in an RG version.

[richfr]

You might look at the NOE 358477, which should be available in a month or two in an RG version.

Thanks I did look at that but there only doing it for GC at the moment.

[catboat]

So if the mould drops at 360 I might not need to size them at all? Or is it still good practice to size anyway? How will I work out if 359 or 360 is best without buying both sizers?
I was going to size with a Lee sizer then pan lube until I get a lube/sizer.



Keep it simple. Get the mold of your choice. Pan lube, then run it through a Lee push-through sizer (.358"). The Lee sizers are cheap (~ $20?). Really, there is no need a drop over $100 on a lubrisizer and then $25-30 a pop for a sizing die.

When pan lubing, consider getting a few 35 caliber cases like a 35 Whelen, 358 Win or 35 Rem. Cut off the case head (file and deburr). Then you can use these cases to "cut out" your pan-lubed bullets, then size them. Keep "cutting out" the pan-lubed bullet, and they will eventually push out through the cut off case head (and you can catch them). Cheap and effective.

The benefit of the Lee Tumble Lube design is that you may not need to size at all-just tumble lube, dry and load. Again, if sizing is needed, the Lee push through sizers will work great. Really, it's not much slower (or lower quality) than a $100+ used SAECO lubrizier (or other make). You can also seat gas checks with it too.

I was able to buy a used SAECO lubrizer 15+ years ago for a song. I use a .360" sizing die for all of my "sizing" of .35 caliber cast bullets. Some bullet /mold results in just "touching" a spot or two on the bullet, and is really just a way to lube the bullet. In that sense, it is no different than pan-lubing, or pan-lubing with a .360" honed out Lee push through sizer.

Keep it simple. There are excellent sources of tumble lube, and "stick lube" on this website. Very reasonably price ("high value"), and great guys to work with.

I'd strongly suggest to pan lube first, and use a .359" Lee push through sizer to uniform your bullet diameter (I believe "Ranch Dog Outdoors" -website advertiser has them. Great guy.)
http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_33&products_id=141

As a bullet caster, you now have to take the role of being a methodical experimenter. Keep a notebook of things done, tried, and results obtained. You'll surprise yourself.

After you do it for years, you'll wonder "why did I do that in such a complicated way when I started? I could've obtained similar or better results if I just pan-lubed and lightly sized this bullet...."

Been there, done that. So have many others.

In other words, if a reloader knows what he is doing, he can make A+ reloads from a simple Lee handloader. You have to learn what are the important variables, and then account for them. The same holds true for bullet casting. Keep it simple. Learn what to do, then do it. This isn't brain surgery.

Read the sticky in "bullet lube" section about "tumble lubing made easy."

Good luck, and have fun in the process. The journey of improvement and learning provides its own reward.

You can never read enough. Here's a link to a blog from a castboolits.com poster. Good stuff for 357 Mag cast bullet shooters.
http://357shooter.blogspot.com/2012/01/best-all-around-mould-to-cast-for-your.html

[richfr]

Thanks for the help catboat.
I was looking at ordering some BAC or 2500 lube then pan lube as you suggest.
The suppliers I have looked at in France don’t have the 359 sizer so may have to get a 358 and open it up a little.

[kweidner]

NOE is good stuff. Wish that had been one of my first moulds. Then again I learned much with undersized Lymans. now have a NOE for .44 thinking of getting same mould you are looking at. The Lymans Made me a better caster. To tinker is the way of the caster.

[richfr]

I ordered it while it was still in stock along with a thermometer kit and a pot thermometer :bigsmyl2:
Just need the handles, sizer, lube and a Lyman casting kit and I am ready to go.
Thanks again for the help :)

[MtGun44]

358477 is a wonderful SWC design, available new or used in Lyman, nominal 150 gr. The Lyman

358429 is also a great SWC boolit, a true Keith design, casting about 173 gr.

The Lee 358-158-RF is also a really good one, a LBT style design, with a BB, which is a small
bit of a PITA for folks with normal lubrisizers.

I concurr with avoiding HPs as your first mold. A bit like avoiding a Corvette as a first car,
much more likely to wind up in a ditch than with a normal sedan when you are still
a newbie.

Bill

[tonyjones]

The NOE RG moulds do come with pins to cast both solid nose and HP bullets.

Welcome and regards,

Tony

[bobthenailer]

Over the years ive owned perhaps over 12 S&W 357 mag revolvers in those guns 4.0 gr of Bullseye @ 780 fps, loaded in 357 mag cases with any bullet ive cast from 6 different moulds 158 gr to 180 gr sized to .358 dia , would consitantly shoot a inch or better at 25 yards either from a Ransom Rest or from sandbags with a scope.
That load also shoots just as accurate at 50 yards from a 357 mag in a RPM XL and a contender pistol and a Marlin 1895 leaver action rifle .

[David LaPell]

I second the #358429 cast bullet. In your 686 as long as you keep your brass to spec in length you should have no problem with the cartridge being too long overall. You could crimp in over the driving band but you have to reduce the loads for pressure. It is a wonderful bullet and if you wanted to use it on game such as deer you have the right bullet for the job as long as it is properly cast. I use wheel weights that are water dropped and at 1,200 fps plus with Lee alox lube (squirt and shake) I have no leading even after shooting 20-30 plus rounds. If you want to get into gas checks and bullets than I say look into the old #358156 but I would start with the SWC not the hollowpoint.

[MikeS]

Another option for you, if you're set that you would really like a hollow point mould, check out www.hollowpointmold.com. Erik is now selling Lee 2 cavity moulds that he modifies into being a great casting hollow point. They sell for $85.00 which includes shipping. I just got one, and unlike most other HP moulds which make casting slower, with Erik's inset bar conversion they cast much easier than a normal Lee 2 cavity mould. Currently on his website he shows a Lee 358-158-RF as one of the moulds that he has in stock. Even tho this mould is a hollow point, you can still use Lee's method of lubing them (LLA).