357446 VS 358477 (Not a thread for favorite boolit so it is here)

[TCLouis]

Why does everyone get perfectly good precise performance out of the 358477 and less than acceptable performance out of the 357446?

Looking at them they seem fairly close in overall design.
Unfortunately many years ago I bought both in 4 cavity before of learning of the 446s lackluster performance.
It was several years before I used them and when I did, it was the 446 and I wondered what had happened to my shooting ability.

[Poygan]

I could not get acceptable accuracy out of that mold either. I have concluded it may be the slightly smaller diameter. I have the RCBS version of the Lyman .358477 and it works very well.

[tazman]

The 357446 works better if you push it fast as in low level 357 mag and up. It has the same or similar issue as the 358156 in that regard.
The 358477 has those nice, wide driving bands that seem to work so well for 38 special right on up.The 358429 has those same large driving bands and it works well in 38 special also.
NOE made a mold that weighed 150 grains that was similar in some respects to the 358477 but the front driving band was actually a tiny bit larger. I don't see it on their web site now. That is a shame because it works really well for me.

[pjh421]

TC,

I have that same 4 cavity 357446 mould. I noticed recently that it still has the lapping boolits with screws sticking out of them in it. I had put them there prior to getting divorced from my second wife, lol. That was in 2011. Anyway I have never shot boolits from this mould. When I do, I will push them hard like Tazman said and I will also first bake some Hi-Tek on them to ensure I can size them to a large enough diameter to work in whichever gun I use. Part of the problem is that there are other boolits that shoot well with no extra effort like the Lee .358 RF and the H&G 51. It will make an interesting project some day.

[MT Gianni]

I think my 446 had an undersized middle band. I sold it before the turn of the century so don't really recall. I have had no desire to look for another.

[Walks]

I lost my 4cav #358446. I've also found it doesn't do well at under 1000fps. The only reason I use it is for Medium-Heavy Target/Jackrabbit loads in My S&W M27's. As many Folks know the #358429 is too long to be loaded in a .357Mag Case and still fit the Cylinder length of the M27. A problem S&W fixed in all subsequent .357Mag Chambered Revolvers.

Rather then load Hot loads in a .38spl as I did in my youth, I prefer to keep all loads within the pressure of the Cartridge Case Markings.

Someone may come along after I have passed and put a Hot .38spl load into one of my Colt Cobra's or Agent's or even My 1905 S&W M&P.

I load #358477 in .38spl STD loads, the #358429 Medium Loads in .357Mag Cases
for all other .357Mag Revolvers. And the #358156GC in Max Power Loads for all .357Mag Revolvers.

I can't Hunt anymore, so not having another 4cav .38/.357 mold won't hurt me. I can always cast a few out of an old 1cav small block mold if I really feel the need.

[BABore]

The 446 has a much heavier base band. It takes more pressure for it to obturate. That's why it shoots better when pushed hard. If you measure and study all the different diameter of real Keith bullets, you'll find that there is a specific band and lube groove height ratio going on. The 447 sticks close to this while the 446 does not. I spent many CAD hours on this when I was cutting molds to figure out what made certain designs tick.