Mountain Molds

[405]

Just received a custom design by Mountain Molds today. Used the online design program. That type of online program takes some time to learn but with some study and double-checking on all the bullet dimensions and design features it is the "cat's meow"... the "bee's knees" !!! I needed a 45 cal .460 mold in a specific weight and design- so did it on the program, slept on it, then double checked everything. Printed the design sheet and sent it along with the $. The mold arrived well within the estimated delivery time that Mountain Molds claims.

Fired up the pot and started casting. Only took about 10-15 casts until.... presto started dropping perfect bullets. The dimensions dropped are right on the money. Got some loaded so will test the next range outing. I have little doubt they'll perform to my expectations.

Mountain Molds gets my vote if you need a custom mold. I got tired of trying to make some of the "regular" molds drop the right bullet for certain guns..... in the end what amounted to settling on the wrong bullet.

[crabo]

I like their molds. I have one in hand, one ordered and 2 on the drawing board.

[Glen]

I've ordered a dozen or so from Dan, and his workmanship is very good. I have been very pleased with what I have gotten from Mountain Molds.

[PatMarlin]

Wish he made 22 cal molds.

I just bought one from NEI and the workmanship looks crappy. The blocks are uneven on the edges. The blocks don't even match and look like one half goes to another mold almost by the off looking machining. Also the blocks don't sit flat together. The cavities look good. I wish I would have bought an LBT. I think I blew it, but if I can seat the pins and get the cavities to close solid, it maybe a good shooter.

This was my first and last time I pay $100 for an NEI mold.

[carpetman]

Pat--If you need a .22 cal mold, the RCBS is a good one. It's 58 grain which may be too heavy for a hornet---don't have a hornet so I don't know. .222 and 22-250 works great. Not so in my .223 but that's probably due to twist rate of it??? It's a gas check design but seems to shoot as well sans gas check.

[sundog]

+1 what Carpetman said.

Pat, I, too, have an NEI that I wish I had never gotten. Same problems as yours, and it went back twice. It will be the last from them.

The 22 Bator is also a good'un. It's a Lee mold from Midsouth, but it a pretty good little boolit.

[Andy_P]

I have bought four from Don and every one was exactly as I specified. Mountain Molds is the best thing going. No negotiating with 25 other people for a Group Buy, no six month wait.

[Nobade]

Yep, I'm another happy customer of his. I got a 260gr. .434" mold with big grease grooves for use with either smokeless or BP. It's just what I ordered, only took two weeks, and is so well centered that bullets just fall out when opened. BTW, I got the brass blocks. They really work nice for maintaining even heat. As for NEI, I have a lot of Walt's moulds and they're all perfect. But since he died I bought one more from them and it's not even close to right. Too bad, they were a great resource but their current machinists are just not skilled enough or don't care.

[PatMarlin]

+1 what Carpetman said.

Pat, I, too, have an NEI that I wish I had never gotten. Same problems as yours, and it went back twice. It will be the last from them.

The 22 Bator is also a good'un. It's a Lee mold from Midsouth, but it a pretty good little boolit.


Boy I wish I woulda known Corkey.

I called NEI to talk to them about it, and some dood got real defensive right off the batt with me. I think I'm going to contest it cause I paid with my credit card, and force them to take it back.

Also- their website and my confirmation invoice said the price was $90, then they charged me $100. "Not as advertised". Let em' choke on it.

I have the bator, but haven't tried it yet. What's your twist on the .223 Ray? Mines 1in9.

[Heavy lead]

I've heard a lot of rumblings here about newer junk NEI moulds, that is too bad. I only have one a .412-230 Keith, it is THE best mould I have, period, but if the boss died, and no one else cares NEI is probably doomed. Too bad.

[PatMarlin]

I just checked my online invoice...

They invoiced me $80 plus shipping as their website stated plus $8 and some change for shipping, but then charged my card $100.

That's BS... eventhough their site says prices to change without notice, you can't make the change within the order transaction, that's bait and switch.

I'm gonna make them eat the mold. The chamber on my Savage .223 is tight anyway and the boolit's base will be exposed in the case so it may not shoot well, but that's not my real concern. It's poor quality, and the additude they had on the phone. Screw em.

I still think it would be the perfect boolit for future throate errosion after copper.

I'll stop rambling... :rolleyes:

[bishopgrandpa]

Have had several molds from Walt that were great. The last one from the new regime was terrible and sent it back. Got a replacement that was better but was twenty grains off (450 gr). The GC step is loose as well. Have tried Mountain Molds and will highly recommend for service and fit. Love making my own design and finding out they work well.

[sundog]

12 twist .223 that is really picky with cast. Felix and I kinda figured out it's the throat (too abrupt - it's a factory Rem hvy bbl), so it's getting lots of hot jacketed loads right now, which are doing X-tremely well. Time will tell whn it gets smooted out a bit. 14 twist in another CF 22 that seems to like the Bator, but need to test more.

[PatMarlin]

Ya- my Howa .223 is a 12 twist and is doing 3-4" groups @100 with cast.

Kinda depressing when it shoots tiny bug eyed groups with copper.

[Scrounger]

I had a .222 Remington (14" twist) that had been rechambered to .223. It would shoot cast far better than a similar rifle with a factory .223 (12" twist) barrel.

We ought to mate this .223 twist rate thing to Larry's RPM theory.

[GabbyM]

I've three Mountain Molds. All perfect. Two more on the way for 35 rifle.

I bought five RCBS molds this summer and only one was good to use as recieved. Now I've discovered China was underbid by India. No one at RCBS knows how to make a mold anymore or even cut a cherry. It's pathetic and I'm never buying a thing from them again. One mold went back and I've not heard from RCBS. Also haven't heard anything from Lyman about the mold I sent back to them. May have something to do with the letters I sent in with them.

I buy Dans "machine cast" blocks. They drop right in my Magma casting machine. His workmanship is amazing.

http://www.mountainmolds.com/

[PatMarlin]

The workmanship on my old RCBS molds are definitely better than the newer ones.

Country's going to hell in a chicken basket... :roll:

[FN in MT]

Whats the average wait from Mtn Moulds??? Weeks or Months??

It's so absolutely SAD where we are headed concerning our manufacturing ability. On the average a terrible work ethic. Same goes for Quality Control.

FN in MT

[Heavy lead]

I do not understand why it is so hard to make and buy a good mould. I have bought a few Lyman in the last year. 4 have been excellent, both in function and workman ship, 2 simply junk. The two that were junk were simply no excuse for getting out of the factory. One 452424 cast at .447. I have not had any bad luck with RCBS yet, all 3 that I currently have and the other two that have come and gone were both fine. I've had 4 Lee moulds, the only complaint I've had on them is the .475 mould I had casted so oversize that the itsy bitsy grease grooves were almost gone after sizing. The question I have is why the heck won't Lee make a 6 cavity mould for a plain 358429, 429421, and a 454424 or a RCBS270SAA. They would run Lyman and RCBS out of the mould business completely IMO. I like my iron moulds and prefer them, but have used the Lee moulds enough to know I would buy them for the price if they offered what I wanted.

[FN in MT]

Wonder if Dave Scovill may have some sort of Pateent on his design??

But I agree 110% that LEE should expand and make some moulds that the MAJORITY of shooters would buy.

Then again as a dyed in the wool S&W fan all they seem to want to make anymore are .500 and .460 HANDCANNONS or on the other end of the spectrum FLYWEIGHT, unshootable magnums. It all comes down to what the Beancounters want....the bottom line.

FN in MT

[GLL]

My last NEI mould will be my very LAST ! It was an expensive custom design and is a piece of crap ! :(

VERY poor machining and not in spec !

Great fishing weight though !

Jerry

This was their second attempt ! The first was not even close !
http://www.fototime.com/65C7B7B0908F077/standard.jpg

[HATCH]

I am looking at a custom Mountain Mold myself...
But I got to look and see what goodies are in the christmas box from my Brother... :-)

[405]

Whats the average wait from Mtn Moulds??? Weeks or Months??

It's so absolutely SAD where we are headed concerning our manufacturing ability. On the average a terrible work ethic. Same goes for Quality Control.

FN in MT

Can't speak for the average or past turn around times but the mold I just received was ordered by mail on Oct 24. I received it Nov 21. Less than the 4-6 weeks I was expecting so no complaints from me! That time includes the time it took for the mail to get there and the time it took for the mold to arrive by mail. Seems like pretty good turn around time to me.

The one I have now is a single cavity iron mold. The workmanship and fit is excellent. The sprue plate is thick and stout and the sprue hole is large and well finished. Bottom line.... it drops the right bullet. One caveat as mentioned in the first post is to study that bullet design sheet carefully. The numbers you put in there are the ones that come back in the form of the mold.

[waksupi]

I ordered two this year. First took about a month, second, about two weeks!

[No_1]

The box I already sent or the box I have yet to send.....

Robert



I am looking at a custom Mountain Mold myself...
But I got to look and see what goodies are in the christmas box from my Brother... :-)

[Char-Gar]

I have two Mountain Molds are both are perfect in every regard.

I have two dozen NEI molds from the days when Walt Melander was making them. I only have one from Post Walt NEI, and it was from the 311284 group buy. Mine turned out just fine, well within spec and well made, but others were not that lucky.

[451whitworth]

i won't even bother with RCBS, Lyman, or NEI anymore. too many bad experiences. i have some older moulds from those three makers that are great. everything mould i've ordered in the last 4 years has been LBT, Mountain, or a Rapine round ball mould. i've had zero problems with any mould from those makers. i would rather spend the extra $$$ and wait a month for a custom mould (most times it is less) than go through the aggravation of returning a faulty mould and having them send out a replacement that is no better.

[405]

The goal for this MM bullet design I just received was for maximum accuracy on paper at 100 and 300 yard targets. Not designed to be historically or politically correct. :mrgreen:

Got to the range for a short session this morning.

Rifle:
Shiloh Sharps 45-70
Aperture tang and globe front
Shot from bench 50 yds.

Bullet:
MM custom mold
.4609" cast diameter
.459" sized with Lee push thru
435 gr. with Gator 45R gas check
No crimp, no crimp groove
Alloy BHN of 11 (pure lead+ww+tin)
Pan lubed with modified Felix + Lars BAC

Load:
very light load of 5744 + low density dacron fluff

Pic of 6 shots:
1st shot from cold clean barrel POI high
Next 5 shots in cluster as shown.

Shows promise I think. No leading! Fairly clean load :-) the 300 yard target will be telling

[Ben]

My last NEI mould will be my very LAST ! It was an expensive custom design and is a piece of crap ! :(

VERY poor machining and not in spec !

Great fishing weight though !

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/65C7B7B0908F077/standard.jpg

That's a shame Jerry, you shouldn't have to pay that kind of $$$ and end up with ship ballast !

Ben

[TAWILDCATT]

I dont have any of those molds,but have used Saeco(real)and Lyman(old)I would suspect Lymans machinery is not the latest,and if Redding is using the old cal machinery well??since manufacturing is going over seas may be no one is teaching machinists.it sure is a shame.as to Lee they probable sell more molds and presses than any one else.I have had good experiance with there tools and molds.I have been paying $34 for there 6 cavity.and $12 for the handles.not one has failed.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[Heavy lead]

Wonder if Dave Scovill may have some sort of Pateent on his design??

But I agree 110% that LEE should expand and make some moulds that the MAJORITY of shooters would buy.

Then again as a dyed in the wool S&W fan all they seem to want to make anymore are .500 and .460 HANDCANNONS or on the other end of the spectrum FLYWEIGHT, unshootable magnums. It all comes down to what the Beancounters want....the bottom line.

FN in MT

Agree with above 100%. I'm sure the x frame is a fine weapon, but IMO there are very few shooters that can handle them. My 475 Linebaugh gives me all I want, and will kill anything I want with a handgun, and I can carry it. If I want a 5 pound weapon, I will shoot a carbine. Smith is on the right track with their 1911's, I think they need to get back to the 357's through the 45 class handguns and they will be fine. The x frame and the scandium magnums are a specialty tool that most shooters will just look at and cuss and sour them on the shooting sports IMO.

[ddeaton]

I am interested in this. Is it worth cloning the Keith 452424 or can I buy a off the shelf mold? And is there a link to basic dimensions of boolits? For someone who is bit by this bug and wants to learn more? What is the material of choice for these? Iron, brass, or Alum?
Sorry so many questions

[GLL]

ddeaton:

Take a look at CAT's 454424 Group Buy design by 45 2.1 !

CAT has already run these twice as LEE 6-cavity moulds. They are my very favorite interpretation of the 454424 !
You might place a WTB in the Classiifeds here and see if one shows up.

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/7754EF81239E149/standard.jpg

[carpetman]

I did not measure the twist---but according to the chart my Win mod 70 in .223 is a 1 in 9". It shoots jacketed great--better than any rifle I have. Not worth a darn with the 58 grain cast RCBS. My .222's and my 22-250 show to be 1-14" twist and do great with the cast bullet. My .243 shows to be a 1-10" twist and the similar shaped RCBS 95 grain cast does well in it.