Searching for new 45 Colt Mold

[Rick45Colt]

Ok, I purchased the Lyman 452490 45 Caliber Ray Thompson design GC Mold. I cast some bullets a couple of weeks ago and finally shot them this past Sunday. I really like the bullets that I cast but if I keep this mold. I either have to purchase a new rifle (Puma 454 Casull) because they are just too long for my Henry. I just shoot them out of my Ruger SRH 454 Casull - 45 Colt. I really do not have the extra money to buy another rifle and I am not selling my Henry! I do have a TC Icon in 30 TC but no one wants to give me enough money for it. I made a mistake in buying that one but it really does shoot as well as a 308. Any opinions on a mold? [smilie=l:

[PS Paul]

454190 from Lyman is a classic RN with a small flat on the nose (design has changed a little over the years) which misght serve well.

I love the Lee 250 gr RNFP in a six-cavity. Also like the RCBS 250 KT which is a classic "Keith-style" SWC in 255 gr.

BUT, you might have some luck just crimping over the driving band as opposed to using the crimp groove in the boolit from your existing mold? I went through this recently with a 300 gr. Accurate mold. Too long using the crimp groove in .45 Colt, but crimping over the driving band works wonderfully in a BH revolver. Just a thought......
PSP

[Rick45Colt]

When you say the driving band are you talking about the area just above the crimp groove? I uploaded a picture of the mold I own.

76498

[PS Paul]

yup. The uppermost full-diameter band. Picture just crimping the brass ever so slightly over that band like a full-wadcutter in a .38 spl target load. When doing this however, it is prudent to REDUCE loads since the deeper-seated boolit will increase pressures. I do not load full-house .45 Colt loads with the 300 gr. crimped over the band with powders like 296/110 or 4227.

This is not entirely uncommon. I am sure there are a few on the forum who have pics of this type of load? I am not savvy enough to take shots of my loads, but I'm gonna see if my daughter can help.

Stay tuned!

[RobS]

If it's like my Dad's 44 Mag Henry then it's going to need a shorter nose design. The Lee 300 Grain GC with the short COAL will likely work for you. I'm guessing you will need a nose length of .300"-.320" The Lee short COAL crimp groove leaves the nose length right at .300" The Lee 255 RF would also likely work very well for a PB in the mid 200 grain range. Maybe ask for some samples in the boolit exchange section:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?49-The-Boolit-Exchange


What is the nose length of your SWC design?

You could also design your own and have a custom mold maker cut what you desire or look into their catalogs for what you are after. Tom at Accurate Molds does excellent work and you can design or look from his ever growing catalog. www.accuratemolds.com

[454PB]

I have a Puma in 454 Casull, and it requires fairly deep seating for proper feeding. From the looks of your boolit, it wouldn't feed in the Puma if crimped in the normal crimp groove.

The 454190 that Paul mentioned should feed beautifully, just be aware that with no crimp groove, there's always the possibility that the boolit can be pushed further into the case by spring pressure/recoil in the magazine tube.

[PS Paul]

76500 Well, I attached this image, but I failed to orient it in the right direction, so either turn yer head or turn your computer (ha ha!!). 454PB is correct, but I found a few powders that allow safe loading while leaving little space for boolit to seat deeper. I do not shoot these in a levergun, but friends have in theirs with good success.

The boolit is the Accurate 300 gr. .45 Colt from a 4-cavity aluminum mold that cast beautifully.....
PSP

[pmer]

I'm not sure if the Rossi is similar to the Henry in COAL but the 452424 feeds in my Rossi. The big Lyman 325 grain feeds too, I think its a 452651. The RCBS 255 is a nice boolit but it catches a little bit in the R92. The Accurate Molds 45-300G was designed as a 300 grain boolit with a nose short enough to feed in 45 Colt lever actions. You might want to check and see if it will work in the Henry.

[DougGuy]

Hi Rick, don't know how much help this will be but these are two dual crimp groove gas check boolits I have been working with.

On the left in the photo is the 325gr FN DCG GC sold by Beartooth, this one has a nose that measures .290" from the top crimp groove, it is 1.650" crimped in the bottom groove as shown, and would measure 1.575" crimped in the top groove. The meplat is smaller at .300" and supposedly feeds very well in just about any levergun.

On the right is the Lee C452-300-RF with the nose .280" from the top crimp groove, it is 1.620" crimped in the bottom groove and would be 1.565" crimped in the top groove. the meplat is larger at .390" and I don't know how well it would feed in all leverguns, but W. R. Buchanan put a chamfer on the barrel of his and it feeds this boolit with ease.

Either of these designs would be short enough to work crimped in the top groove, and I have pretty decent accuracy out of the 325gr Beartooth over 20.5gr of LilGun in a Vaquero. I think it may be a little more accurate than the wider meplat Lee but the Lee makes a better two hole punch in a deer..

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Reloading/DSC01699_zps4e419eeb.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Reloading/DSC01699_zps4e419eeb.jpg.html)

[GLL]

45 2.1 designed a modified 454190 with a crimp groove for an old Group Buy. You might see if you can find one
via the "want to buy" classifieds.

I can provide you with a few bullets to experiment with if you are interested. They cast on the "fat side" !
They are especially good if you need something in the 0.454-0.455" range. Perfect for pre-1980 S&W Model 25s ! :)

http://www.fototime.com/95C9C564D92CBC9/standard.jpg

Jerry

[bigboredad]

Tom also has a version of the above bullet at www.accuratemolds.com as well as many others. In my sons. 44 henry the col cannot exceed 1.6 at or under it feeds like butter including the rcbs 240 or 250gr swc