Nose Pour molds

[AfricanHunter]

Is Hoch the only maker of these?

Thanks,

[BulletFactory]

If the base affects accuracy more than the nose, (and it does), then I dont know why all of the molds arent nose pour designs. Doesnt make sense.

[theperfessor]

Manufacturing concerns mostly. A cherry with a stem small enough for most nose pour molds is a lot weaker than a conventional cherry. Can't lathe bore through a little hole either, and boring in from back requires adding a base plug to the mold. It all costs more to do. Look at the price of a Hoch mold.

[madsenshooter]

There was Don Eagan also. I'm afraid he's gone now though. Boolits from my Eagan molds always produce my most accurate loads, at the highest velocity. Anyone says there's no difference between a nose pour and a base pour, just hasn't seen the light. I hope someday to be able to make use of a couple of Mr. Eagan's mold cutting cherries that I have.

[MT Chambers]

I agree, my D. Eagan molds are my most cherished, just look at the winners lists in CBA benchrest shooting, Eagan molds still dominate. That's also why copies of his molds are getting popular here on GBs, I'd love to have a .25.

[madsenshooter]

I've tried Accurate's copy of Don's MX4. It's a high quality mold, but a base pour. I don't think it would be the equal of the nose pour version, if I had one to try. There's a 90 something year old fellow, a one time benchrest national champ, shoots at a club in MI where I shoot. Whenever I mention I'm shooting an Eagan boolit he always says Don Eagan made the best molds. The old fellow visited Don's shop on a couple occasions.

[Piedmont]

You guys that like the nose pours is there a trick to using them? I picked up three a long time ago and with the exception of the Hoch, which I finally figured out how to cast with around 5 years ago, I have a great deal of trouble getting a good bullet from them.

The two I still can't get working are an Eagan .30 MX2 (I think, long bore ride 190 gr) and a custom Old West for a .45-70. Both moulds have a small sprue hole I have noticed and I cast from a bottom pour pot, not with a ladle. I think I read somewhere Eagan set his up for Linotype and I never use that. The usual flaw is bad bases. Any ideas?

[.22-10-45]

Hello, AfricanHunter. Some of the very best nose-pour moulds I have are made by Fred Leeth over at Pioneer Products. I had him make a copy of the old Ideal 22636..in both gas check & plain base. These were the only moulds (and I tried every other mould I could get my hands on..including Eagan's) that finally let me equal the best jacketed match-bullet accuracy at 100yds. with my Shillen barreled Sharps Borchardt Hornet. I had him make a N.P. copy of the old Ideal 412263..the original .405 bullet..this is now the most accurate bullet I have for my .40-70 Sharps & Remington rolling blocks.
These moulds are tool room quality..in addition to pins, there is a male dovetailed plate that closes base..mating with a female d.t. on opposite block.
Upping the heat on your melt usually cures any fillout problems with N.P...and a little added tin always helps with any type of mould.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Piedmont, I have the same trouble as you. I have a .321 cal Hoch mold and I haven't been able to get a usable bullet out of it in two casting sessions. The body of the bullets are passable but the bottoms look like the Pillsberry Doughboy. I have another Hoch mold in thirty cal. that casts good bullets and they shoot great in my Ruger #1 in 30-30 but they are in the shape of a cylinder. I can't understand why anyone would order such a design. I bought them used in a gun shop. I say used, I should hve said previously owned since no one had even tried to use the .31 cal. I must admit though, the molds look like works of art.

[HARRYMPOPE]

The Eagan MX4-30 Ardito's design and Eagans quality are why it does so well in my opinion.I have quite a few Eagan molds and though i like the nose pour idea i have been beaten by base pour designs quite a lot.They were the finest made in my opinion but the current Accurate and NOE's have been splendid as well.I have an Eagan MX3-22EX 22cal 62g tapered bullet that NOE just made a run of in base pour. Iwill try it compared to the nose pour and be able to make a fair comparison (i hope)

George

[white eagle]

To answer the op's original question
as far as I know Hoch is the only place to get a nose pour
except for one manufacturer in Sweden but REAL expensive

[Yellowhouse]

Well, I have Brooks and KAL nose pour molds for paper patch. Also a Tom Ballard for greasers but hes no longer making them

[Catshooter]

While I'm sure that they don't make them any longer I have a Lyman 457676 nose pour. Before I bought it I had no idea they had ever made any nose pours.


Cat

[Ugluk]

To answer the op's original question
as far as I know Hoch is the only place to get a nose pour
except for one manufacturer in Sweden but REAL expensive

Come on, $130 for a 5-cavity iron mold isn't that bad.. But they're no longer made so it doesn't really matter.

I easily get good base fillout and the best accuracy but they do not drop the boolits any way near as readily as a base pour. Production rate for me is less than half that of a good alu 6-cav.

[John Boy]

Some of the very best nose-pour moulds I have are made by Fred Leeth over at Pioneer Products. Gents, I could not agree more with .22-10-45 that Fred's nose pours are par excellence!

He made me an custom Sharps original design adjustable PP that is a creation of beauty that casts bullets the same way. Fred's wife told me when I was calling around - "He can make anything" which he did with the best of the best quality ...

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd220/Meadowmucker/Molds/PDRM2818.jpg

[white eagle]

would it be possible to convert a conventional mold to NP?

[John Boy]

would it be possible to convert a conventional mold to NP?
[smilie=l: I'll let someone else post their reply! Pass the :popcorn: please!

[HARRYMPOPE]

would it be possible to convert a conventional mold to NP?

yes i have had two Lyman's(311299 and 311284) that were converted similar to the Hoch set up.(more like a Beverage actually)I had no accuracy improvement but the bases sure came out nice.They were pretty simple to do as the bullets are almost the length of the block.

George

[Humbo]

To answer the op's original question
as far as I know Hoch is the only place to get a nose pour
except for one manufacturer in Sweden but REAL expensive

I'm sorry to say that Mimek in Sweden quit producing molds, they were some of the finest molds made, quite similar in quality to H&G and Ballisti-cast molds. They might still have some in stock though.

http://home.online.no/~kjel-phu/bilder/IMG_4658.JPG

[carbine]

Years ago, I had Walt Melander of NEI make me a 2 cavity nose pour .515 mold, 395 grains.

[beagle]

Not real hard to convert a Lyman or RCBS mould to a nose pour. Takes a little machining and forethought. Someone gave me a missdrilled HP'd Lyman SC 311284 and we resurected it as a nose pour. The first step is drilling new index pin holes while you have it all aligned. Once it's reindexed, you can start cutting and switching parts. Be sure and think where things are going first./beagle

[HARRYMPOPE]

Years ago, I had Walt Melander of NEI make me a 2 cavity nose pour .515 mold, 395 grains.

I have a couple NEI cherry cut nose pour molds (47B) Walt made also.They were good back then.

George