Another Lyman 356402 thread

[Sailormilan2]

I've been getting back into casting, and while reading some of the back threads, I ran across this one about the differences between the Ideal 356402 and the Lyman 356402 mold designs.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?111350-Vintage-Ideal-356402-Lyman-356402-comparison

So, naturally I had to dig out my old(40 years old) Lyman 356402 4 cavity mold and compare my bullets to those shown in the thread. Mine look just like the pics of the Lyman 356402.
However, mine are coming out of the mold considerably heavier, at about 132 gr, and larger in diameter, .360". I have weighed and measured about 8 bullets, so I think I am pretty close.
Are my bullets oversized due to the mold, or my alloy? Quite frankly I have no idea what my composition is, though I can usually gouge it with a thumbnail.

[NoZombies]

I wouldn't worry about either the weight or the diameter honestly, most people have issues with the bullet dropping too small, sizing down isn't too hard, getting a mold to drop larger can be a challenge. You should be able to size that bullet down to work in 9mm or .38/357 families without issues.

[McFred]

[My 356402] are coming out of the mold considerably heavier, at about 132 gr, and larger in diameter, .360".

I just picked up this mould (Lyman). It looks like the one in your linked thread, not the Ideal version. It too casts at about 131gr for me and my alloy, which's pretty soft (~14BHN). That said, the projectiles are not very round (between .355 and .365"). They're .630" long. I need to investigate, address any alignment issues and re-cast additional projectiles to verify the as-cast diameters.

I might try to cast with some SOWW to see if there's a difference in diameters between my usual alloy.

Here's what I got after my 'test drive' last week:
https://s13.postimg.org/ohm7ntwzb/356402_Cast.jpg

[tazman]

I picked up a Lyman 356402 mold a few months ago. It drops right at 120 grains and .356 diameter. I thought I wasn't going to be able to use it but it turns out my Springfield Range Officer 1911 has a groove diameter small enough that it works fine.
This boolit give me the best accuracy and perfect function with that pistol.