358242 vs 356242 (120gn molds)

[autopilotmp]

Back story:
So I got a PCC and wanted a round nose bullet to feed it because it wasn't having anything to do with the TC bullet I was feeding all my other 9mm guns. I picked up the lyman 356242 here used (double cavity). Fired it up and the PCC liked it, only it cast a little small. I had heard that years back they made this mold in 358, great news I will hunt one down. I found one from another member here used, and started casting with it. They both cast well and both are just a little under sized as cast, I PC so no big deal there.

So that brings us to what I wanted to mention. I did some searching and it seems that most people are under the impression that when Lyman switched so the 356 the just renamed it and kept producing notoriously undersized molds. But that's not true, I have a picture of the two bullets side by side and they are in fact different.

258069

LEFT: 358242 it weighs in at 130.8gn and has a fatter nose profile and also just a slightly bigger diameter .3575 - .3590

RIGHT: 356242 it weighs in at 125.3gn and has more curve to its nose and is .355 - .356

also the 311 nose punch that it calls for does not fit the 358242 it cuts a small ridge on the nose, the 356242 on the other hand fits just fine making no marks on the nose.

[Dragonheart]

A PC bullet sized it to .356" works on every 9mm I own. In my limited Ransom Rest testing of identical loads, accuracy was not improved by shooting oversized bullets, in fact just to the contrary.

For a nose punch, just lube the nose of the bullet and press it into an oversized nose punch that has been filled with JB Weld. Once the epoxy has set you have a custom punch. If you want to use the punch for other bullets, hot glue can be used instead then melted out.

[Burnt Fingers]

I use a Saeco 115 for my RN 9mm needs. I've also got a H&G 115. The Saeco is more like the H&G 331 as the front driving band is much wider than the H&G 115.

I also have the NOE 128 RN. It's a very good boolit.

[Dusty Bannister]

Every time the cherry is sharpened, the profile has a small change. Every time the cherry is replaced there can be a small change. Width of driving bands, shape of lube groove, all can change through the years. Perhaps your alloy has something to do with the as cast diameter as well. The Lyman mold is cut for Lyman #2 and if you are powder coating, you probably are a long way off from that alloy.

None of the older molds were going to be used with powder coating, so keep that in mind as well if you have feed or fit issues. It might not be the mold, but the coating that is the problem. Good luck, and enjoy that bullet. The 358242 of about 125 grains is my first mold. I have two others and son of a gun, they are all different. Probably due to different production dates. Dusty

[autopilotmp]

Never thought about the cherry being sharpened and thus demintions changing over long runs. They both shoot great through my pcc, but through experience I know that my 1911 shoots 357 better than 356 so I chose to pick up the 358242 mold. I have been casting them with the same alloy I use for my 452460 mold (coww+tin).

As for the nose punch I chose to use hot glue to make it fit the nose, and it worked well.