.45 Colt bullet ? Semi wad cutter vs radius fn?

[hc18flyer]

I have my heart set on a new mold for my large frame Blackhawk. Mostly for clanging steel, but would likely want to take a close shot on a whitetail. I have had DougGuy hone the cylinder and I lengthened the forcing cone. I am considering the NOE 454-255 rnfp or the 45-270 saa . Thoughts?

[RogerDat]

That NOE bullet is pretty close to the design of my Lee 452-255-RF which I like very much. My NOE molds are certainly nicer than my Lee molds I bought on prices and the Lee works fine, but to your question I do like the size, weight and profile of that bullet which are very close to the mold you are considering. RFN hits like a hammer and if I ever get a lever gun in 45 colt the flat nose is good in a tubular magazine. Guy has to have dreams right?

I also like the lighter 230 grain round nose bullet. Less recoil in 45 colt and light enough for use in 45 ACP cartridge again I use the Lee mold which is certainly sufficient and good value. If I decided to replace or upgrade there is a good chance I would go with a NOE mold. The Lee made a great way to start casting for that caliber and try some different weights and profiles.

The clear advantage I think NOE offers is they make larger diameter molds which can be sized exactly to your firearm, Lee aims more for shoot as cast size. 452 vs 454 in the mold diameter part of the models. And they make intermediate sizes such as 3,4, and 5 cavity. Lee is 2, or 6. I find the 4 is a nice compromise between productivity and weight/fatigue of using it for a long casting session. Lee has less mass in their aluminum block which makes heat changes faster, NOE offers set allen screw to prevent sprue plate pivot screw from backing out or working tighter. Nice touch to avoid fiddling with mold during casting session. On the other hand $20 to try out a weight and profile ain't bad deal. I probably have 1k cast out of that Lee 255 mold so I figure good deal.

[USSR]

I'm a big fan of the 45-270 SAA. I bought one of Mihec's molds in that configuration, and my hollowpoints come out weighing 265 grains. Shot a deer with it, and all I can say is - Holy Cow, does that thing put down deer with authority!

Don