My new NOE mold for the 9mm arrived today!

[tazman]

I ordered NOE mold 358-135-rf-pb in 5 cavity last weekend. It arrived today in perfect condition. Extremely well packed and quickly shipped. I did the break in according to the instructions included with the mold. I attached it to a set of Lee 6 cavity handles and proceeded to cast some boolits.
I found I needed to heat the mold slightly hotter than what I am used to but that is no problem. After about 20-25 poor castings the mold took off and dropped perfect boolits after that.
This mold has to be handled carefully when opening and closing because the locating pin fit is very tight even when lubed. The boolits just drop from the mold with only a light tap on the hinge with my wooden rod.
I cast up approximately 250 boolits using range scrap for alloy. They weighed 135-136 grains and measured .358-.359 in diameter with my micrometer.
Ran them through my Lyman lubrisizer at .357 and lubed with 50-50 alox.
They chamber and feed from the magazine by hand perfectly at an oal of 1.10.
I loaded up a ladder set with green dot and will find out what they do accuracy wise tomorrow evening.
I will be working with other powders later as time becomes available.
Wish me luck

[Randy C]

Good luck now every body wants to be in your shoes testing those bullets. You know you had a good day when you have a mould that drops that many, works the way you want it to.

[Ia.redneck]

Yes! Good luck with your project tazman. I have one NOE mold and it is a joy to use. Plan to get more. What are you shooting that in?

[Love Life]

I almost cry every time I open the box to a new NOE mould. They are such amazing products.

[tazman]

Yes! Good luck with your project tazman. I have one NOE mold and it is a joy to use. Plan to get more. What are you shooting that in?

Taurus pt92 afs with a Beretta barrel. I wasn't happy with the accuracy I was getting with the original barrel so I put an m9 barrel in it. Lots better now.

[tazman]

I got to try out the boolit from the new NOE 135rf mold today. Feed was flawless, accuracy was good, however I think there is more there to accomplish.
First of I was shooting about as poorly as I have in weeks. Bad morning coupled with some bad news just before I started shooting but in any case I wasn't doing my part well at all today. Also found I hadn't metered the powder I used to load with as well as I had the week before as I had some squib loads show up. Nothing stuck in the barrel but it was obvious there was a problem.
Still, the new boolits performed. After discounting the obvious light powder loads, accuracy as good as my other best load so I am pleased with that.
Now I need to change to another powder that meters better and see what can be done with it.
The felt recoil is significantly reduced with this boolit for some reason. I find that intriguing. The heaviest powder charge I was using was only .3grains less than the charge for my 120tc boolit using the same powder, so there can't be all that much difference in energy or probably velocity. Impact point was roughly the same( a little hard to tell at times do to my poor form today).
Loads were with green dot.
coal was 1.1
Loads ranged from 3.8 to 4.3grains.
No failures to feed or failures to fire.
Accuracy was similar and quite acceptable with all loads but as I said earlier, my shooting stunk today. I will try it again later in the week and hope for a better shooting day.

[rintinglen]

Good luck!
I have an RG2 of that boolit and like it a lot. I load mine with 6 grains of Power pistol at an OAL of 1.1. It shoots well with virtually no leading with Ben's Red lube--not so good with Recluse 45/45/10--very heavy leading.

[HiVelocity]

Taz-

I bought this mold almost a year ago, but I the hollow point configuration, and love it. I just this weekend cast up a quart mayonnaise jar full ......... lol!

I'm surprised why more folks aren't jumping on this mold since it drops at .358/3585 with ACWW. I load this round, as cast, and lube and load in both 38 Spl and 357 Mag. I've also
had a friend load this bullet, sized 356, and load in the 357 Sig. Just for fun, I wish Glock would come out with a pistol in 38 Super. Yep, you guessed it, this is the bullet to go to.

Oh, I do load this bullet, in 9mm with Ned Schmidt's plain based gas checks. If you're a 9mm junkie, you really should have this mold. The best of both weights, right between 125gr and 147gr.

HV

[Low Budget Shooter]

Tazman, I am guessing that with range scrap you are getting some leading in the barrel. Are you? LBS

[tazman]

Tazman, I am guessing that with range scrap you are getting some leading in the barrel. Are you? LBS

None at all. And believe me I checked. I have what seems to be an excellent boolit fit to my barrel and hence no leading.
The boolits don't seem to be all that hard but I can't scratch them with my fingernail after a few days. I can right after I cast them but not later. Usually getting good accuracy with this sizing/alloy setup.

[Low Budget Shooter]

Great!

[kweidner]

Really want an eye opener load that boolit in a .38 special case with a small amount of bullseye. One ragged hole at 25 yards with HT gold and many .38s and .357 I have shot it in.

[tazman]

Really want an eye opener load that boolit in a .38 special case with a small amount of bullseye. One ragged hole at 25 yards with HT gold and many .38s and .357 I have shot it in.
I am going to try that in the near future. Right now I am working on the 9mm. I have the lee 125rf and have used it in the 38 with good results.

[tazman]

I got to take my 9mm to the range today with boolits from my new NOE 135 fn mold.
Accuracy was the best I have ever gotten with this pistol. I shot 3 different 10 shot groups under 1.5 inches at 10 and 15 yards.
Recoil was very mild. I didn't have access to a chrono so I cant list velocity figures.
I was running them at COAL of 1.105. I had a couple of failures to feed that indicated the load was a little too long. I will work with that a bit but the large majority chambered fine.
Cast from range scrap, water dropped.
Sized .357
lubed with 50-50 in a lyman lubrisizer
Waited a week for the boolits to harden.
Mixed brass
Winchester standard small pistol primer
I was working with a powder that is unlisted in any manual I can access.
Winchester super handicap. I have been having a great deal of success with this powder recently in 9mm and 38 special.
As usual, use this data at your own risk as I don't own pressure equipment.
Starting load was
4.0 grains accuracy good, function good
4.2 grains accuracy excellent function good
4.4 grains accuracy good, function good
4.5 grains accuracy good function good
No signs of over pressure with any load.
I settled on the 4.2 grain load. The accuracy was significantly better with this charge than the others.
I may need to change my lube a bit, but I fired 60 rounds through the pistol without cleaning and accuracy never dropped off. Just the lightest trace of leading in the barrel.
I think I just found my favorite load provided I get that feed hiccup figured out.

[Blammer]

Pictures man! We need pictures in this thread!

[tazman]

Pictures man! We need pictures in this thread!

I will try to get some for you tomorrow.

[quasi]

I have one of these from N.O.E., a 10 cavity. It has 5 holes top and bottom and 2 sprue plates. I have not used it yet.

[tazman]

I have one of these from N.O.E., a 10 cavity. It has 5 holes top and bottom and 2 sprue plates. I have not used it yet.

Now I'm jealous. Never seen one set up like that.

[tazman]

Here are the pictures I promised.
102173
102174
102175
102176
102177
102178
The last image of the target was one of the best groups I have ever shot with any handgun.

[220]

Wish my NOE moulds would arrive, left USA on 10th march, USPS shows it as arriving in AUS on the 16th, AusPost shows it as being processed through a sort facility at Frankfurt Germany on the 18th so I have no idea where they are or when/if they will arrive.

[quasi]

Now I'm jealous. Never seen one set up like that.

I am not sure how NOE determines when they offer them. I have seen them offered in .22 calibers as well.

[canyon-ghost]

Yes sir, tazman, that's been my experience with lead. Seems my loads are the most accurate just above the starting load. I've been pouring a lot of Bullseye with mine (3 9mms). Might try a powder trickler to fine tune the loads if you happen to be single staging. I love my powder trickler.

Good Luck,
Ron

[tazman]

Yes sir, tazman, that's been my experience with lead. Seems my loads are the most accurate just above the starting load. I've been pouring a lot of Bullseye with mine (3 9mms). Might try a powder trickler to fine tune the loads if you happen to be single staging. I love my powder trickler.

Good Luck,
Ron
I don't have the patience for trickling 9mm rounds. I shoot too many of them. I am single staging, but using a powder measure.

[Blammer]

sorry I can't see any of the pictures.

I have a 10C NOE in 9mm I think , it runs great! Cast a pile of boolits fast!

[tazman]

I think I have the pictures straightened out.

[TXGunNut]

I almost cry every time I open the box to a new NOE mould. They are such amazing products.

Got one in the mail this week, certainly brightened up a ho-hum week. Scrubbed it today, hope to cast a few with it tomorrow.