More mold advise

[Kirk Miller]

Scrounger is selling some molds that I might be interested in. After PMing him and asking his advice on which molds would fit my needs, his reply was that" he had not cast with any of the molds that I am interested in".He then suggested that I ask the advice of the other board members.
So here I am once again begging for help. MY first requirement is that the molds cast at least .358 and hopefully not more than .360. The first is a saeco 353, then an rcbs 162gr. swc and finally a 358156,
MY question is, in anybodys experience does the saeco molds run large, small or
right at .358-.359. Same question on the rcbs.
Now I know that I'm really getting into subjective territory, but does anyone have experience with both the rcbs and Lyman molds. Experience such as casting ease, longevity and most of all, accuracy.
I know that I've posted a lot in the last few days, but my fierce self reliance and determination has reached the point where It's just hurting my ability to learn. Therefore, here I am hat in hand, head hung low {yeah right} asking for y'alls help.
Thanks
Kirk

[AZ-Stew]

I assume you're shooting .38 Special or .357 Magnum from a revolver.

.360 is not necessary for a revolver bullet unless your barrel slugs at .359. You would then want your cylinder chambers to be .359-.360 for best accuracy. If your barrel slugs at a more normal .357 - .358, you can do well with a .358 - .359 diameter boolit.

Changing the alloy will vary your boolit diameter. You'd probably be better off adjusting the alloy to give the diameter you want from a particular mould than trying to find a mould that drops a boolit of "x" diameter from some arbitrarily chosen alloy.

In addition, you can size the boolit in a lubricator-sizer to the size you want. Of course, it will have to start out larger than the desired final size.

Mould life depends entirely on how well you treat it. You simply CAN'T wear out a mould by casting with it. You can, however, destroy one pretty quickly using improper techniques during casting and storage. See the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook for details.

Accuracy will depend on MANY variables. Bullet style with respect to your revolver, alloy hardness, chamber throat diameter versus barrel groove diameter, powder type, charge weight, primer choice, seating depth, amount of crimp, sight alignment, trigger control, eyesight, distance to target, wind, etc., etc. Can't pin that one down. You'll have to experiment.

I hope this helps you some.

Regards,

Stew

[Bass Ackward]

I know that I've posted a lot in the last few days, but my fierce self reliance and determination has reached the point where It's just hurting my ability to learn.
Kirk


Cpt,

Oh no it's not. What if I tell you that I have owned five, 358156 molds and everyone threw .359 exactly? How does that help you? 5 guys will get 5 different final diameters from the same mold. Too many variables from mix, to fill method, to temperature, bottom line is that you either buy it sight unseen or ask the guy to mold a few samples. And if you water drop, your bullets CAN grow. About .0005 in .357 is average.

RCBS used to use Lino as their standard, not sure what they do now. So any mix with less antimony threw less diameter. Does that mean it will be too small for what you want?

The 358156 was the gold standard for decades and probably the largest selling mold in history. So much so that the guy who designed it was asked to run for President simply for putting a GC on a pistol bullet. Everybody should own one at some point in their life. Most of the older ones were for when lead tin mixes were very popular, so they tend to run .360+ with WW. Newer ones (70s on) tend to be closer using the Lyman #2 standard, but will vary based upon your geographical region of the country, whether your WW is closer to 2% or 4% antimony.

I'd buy the Lyman myself for a GC design. A Lee 358 RF for a PB design. But there is always ebay if your unlucky with anything you buy.

[Scrounger]

I think what the guys are telling you is that you won't know if it will shoot well for you in your gun until you try them. As pointed out, the same mold used by different people with different alloy and technique will give different results. Whatever I know about casting I learned here. But my philosophy is still the same as when I started about 10 years ago. I don't weigh or measure bullets. I buy a mold because it is the caliber, weight, and shape I want to shoot. If my gun likes it, I keep it; If it doesn't, I sell it. Some people here have advanced the art/science of casting far beyond my interest. I understand their interest and their work will help everyone who casts, but my interest, and there are others here like me, will never aspire to that level. Before I moved up here to Nevada, I cast only rifle bullets. Since moving here 4 years or so ago, I haven't cast any bullets but my "arsenal" has gone through massive changes in that time. Now I have only a few rifles, the bulk of it is now pistols and pistol caliber carbines. I acquired molds because I thought they would work well in my guns and whenever I found a bargain. In time I ended up with duplicate molds and molds for which the gun intended was gone or my use of it had changed. I hope I'm going through a period of stabilization now where my inventory of guns and molds will be more static. See, I told you, you gave me too much credit...

[Kirk Miller]

Well I knew going in that there are almost unlimited variables when it came to casting. However, I was hoping against hope that a basic pattern of mold performance would show itself over a period of time with many different casters. For instance, the first molds that I aquired are 1950-1960 Ideals and they all cast .002-.004 over nominal dimensions.
Thus my ignorant questions.
Thanks for taking the time to reply
Kirk

[Bret4207]

Kirk, Either the 358156 or RCBS 162 will suit you I think. The question is do you want a GC (358156) or plain base (RCBS 162SWC if it's the one I'm thinking of). FWIW- I think RCBS moulds are a bit better, sometimes a lot better, than Lymans, and SAECOs are too. But Lyman is good, sometimes excellent. None will beat a Walt Melander NEI or many LBT's out of the box.

Pick the design you like best and try it. If it doesn't work for you either sell it here or put it on Ebay and double you money. Just put "RARE!!!" in the auction title. The noobs will be all over it!