45 lc mold question

[bbs70]

I am wanting to get a 45 mold for my New Vaquero
I want it in 250 or 255 grain swc.

I've checked here and on the net for any info on makers and designs.
I was thinking about a lee mold because of price, but I have read that they don't hold up well.
Form what I've read if you're casting a hundred or two bullets a month that they are fine.
But I have latched onto 500 lbs of lead and want to cast as many boolits as I can and wonder if the Lee mold would hold up to such use.

I also saw a Lyman mold 452424 but it says its a Keith style bullet, and I'm wondering if it will fit in my New Vaquero's cylinder without locking up the action.

I use to cast my own 15 or so years ago and used lyman molds in 40 & 44. and never had much of a problem (bought them used)

This is my "fun gun" I use it mostly for target shooting and I'm not a hunter, so I keep the velocity around 800 fps.
I don't do any competive shooting.
I'm just at the range making big holes in whatever I can.

Any help or advise is greatly appreciated.

[Tom Herman]

It's a four holer, while the 452424 is a two cavity mold.
I have both. The 452424 loads to 1.650" COAL. which is 50/1000" too much for my Taurus Thunderbolt rifle. That's why I had to buy the 452664.
The 664 is an easy mold to use, casts a lot of bullets quickly, and the RNFP looks and works well. It loads to 1.580 or somewhere thereabouts COAL.
The only thing I don't like about the 664 is that it has a bevel base. It makes it a bit more difficult to wipe the lube from around the beveled area. That's not an issue with the plain based 424 mold. It's a minor issue!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[cajun shooter]

Look up Mid- South on the net, they have the best mold prices. The Rcbs mold 45-230-cm is a dbl cav mold and it drops great bullets. They shoot great and will load in any 45. I shoot CAS and when shooting smokeless this is my bullet of choice. I think that RCBS molds are easier to use than the Lee molds and for your type shooting they fill the bill. I have sent two Lee custom molds back to the factory in the last month. Mold blocks two small on one and blocks out of alinement on the other.

[bbs70]

First I would like to thank you gentlemen for your response.
:drinks:

I ended up going with a Lee mold in 252 g, I have cast a lot of Boolits with it in the last week.
Not sure if I like the Lee mold or not.
Thinking about getting a Lyman mold.
I had some Lyman and RCBS molds ( bought used ) 15 years ago and it seems if memory serves me correctly, I had less problems with them.

Cajun Shooter,
I thank you for the info about Mid-South.
I usually go to Graf's or Midway for pricing and order from them.
But when I saw the prices for molds at Mid-South I couldn't believe it.
$10.00 less at Mid-South.

I need to get a mold for my 40 cal and I do believe I'll be getting another one for my 45.

Thank you again, and happy holidays.
:drinks:

[Heavy lead]

bbs 70, be careful if you buy a Lyman 452424, not trying to butt in, but after spending 150 dollars and trying to obtain a good new one, I have given up. One new Lyman cast a .445 diameter, two others were misaligned so much, the problem was visable to the naked eye. I ended up keeping the .445 diameter like a knucklehead and tried to make it bigger, I failed and ended up with scrap metal. I have bought some Lyman moulds that were nice in the last year, those being 452460,429421,358429 and a faboulous 454190 that cast the most beautiful boolit you ever did see, but IMO if you want a 454424, buy the RCBS version of same. FWIW I use the RCBS270SAA for my standard heavy 45 load and love it, I plink with the Lee 255 Round Flat and have come to really like the boolit, even though at first I had reservations with the teeny weeny grease grooves, my guns seem to be fine with it though.

[fourarmed]

The throat diameter on your Vaquero may be too small for the driving band of some Keith-style bullets. That can be a blessing, as it lets you hone out the throats to a perfect fit. If you don't want to do that, the classic 454190 is a great .45 bullet.

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

tagged

[Gee_Wizz01]

[QUOTE=Tom Herman;447871]It's a four holer, while the 452424 is a two cavity mold.
I have both. The 452424 loads to 1.650" COAL. which is 50/1000" too much for my Taurus Thunderbolt rifle. That's why I had to buy the 452664.
The 664 is an easy mold to use, casts a lot of bullets quickly, and the RNFP looks and works well. It loads to 1.580 or somewhere thereabouts COAL.
The only thing I don't like about the 664 is that it has a bevel base. It makes it a bit more difficult to wipe the lube from around the beveled area. That's not an issue with the plain based 424 mold. It's a minor issue!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom[/QUOTE

Tom have you tried seating the 452424 to 1.60 or 1.58 for the Thunderbolt? The reason I was asking is that I was looking through an old Lyman cast bullet handbook, and it stated that the 454424 should be seated past the crimp grove and crimped in the leading edge of the drive band for some revolvers with short cylinders. I have a Thunderbolt and a 454424 mold, but haven't cast any bullets with it lately. I was just wondering if the bullet will feed ok in the Thunderbolt if they are seated deeper. My Tbolt loves the 452664 and the Lee RNFP, it feeds reliably and shoots accurately with both.

G

[Tom Herman]

[/QUOTE

Tom have you tried seating the 452424 to 1.60 or 1.58 for the Thunderbolt? The reason I was asking is that I was looking through an old Lyman cast bullet handbook, and it stated that the 454424 should be seated past the crimp grove and crimped in the leading edge of the drive band for some revolvers with short cylinders. I have a Thunderbolt and a 454424 mold, but haven't cast any bullets with it lately. I was just wondering if the bullet will feed ok in the Thunderbolt if they are seated deeper. My Tbolt loves the 452664 and the Lee RNFP, it feeds reliably and shoots accurately with both.

G[/QUOTE]

Hi G!

Thanks for the idea! I haven't tried to seat the 452424 any deeper than the crimp grooves. I gambled on the 452664, and that has worked out great!
I get the feeling that if I did seat the 424 under 1.600", it probably would feed better, and might even be reliable.
BTW: I took the Tbolt out a couple of days ago, and did great with it! I was burning up some old Carroll Bullet hard cast bullets I've had for almost 20 years... They are fairly short, and have a very wide meplat. They did just great, as do the 664's... I still have the modified carrier in the rifle (the one I filed almost .100" shorter to accomodate the longer bullets).
I'm glad to hear from people that use the Tbolt and get it to work reliably. I guess that makes at least two satisfied Tbolt customers!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[mtgrs737]

I have the Lyman 452664 four mould for my New Vaquero with .4525" cylinder throats and a .451" groove barrel. I size to .452" and load it over 8grs. of Unique for a pleasant shooting load. I have plenty of overall cartridge length clearance in the New Vaquero cylinder.

[StrawHat]

But I have latched onto 500 lbs of lead and want to cast as many boolits as I can and wonder if the Lee mold would hold up to such use.


Nice catch, yes, a Lee will hold up to that amount of casting. Yes, a two cavity will be slow.

A faster method would be to use two or three 2 cavity molds. Wil all the bullets be identical? Probably not but at normal revovler ranges, under 100 yards, you shouldn't notice much difference.

Lee makes a six cavity mold also, it might be worth your looking at it.

[copdills]

I have cast a few thousand with my lee 255 swc they drop at 259 gr with straight ww and work great

[cajun shooter]

If you have to; find the RCBS 45-230 cm and cast with it. Load behind 4.6 gr of Clays. I know it's a heathern powder load,so don't say where you got it. This mold works so well that I bought two of them as RCBS only makes the darn things in twos. Iwould use this bullet full time but the lube groves are too small for the BP stuff.