Ballisti Cast machine molds (H&G) casting way low on weight

[awayne]

So I have a .40 180GR mold set that was cut by ballisti cast. On the molds it says 359bb so it does cross reference a H&G .40 180gr Bullet. But when I cast with 92-6-2 lead alloy I am getting 161-163gr. Any idea why this could be?

[shell70634]

Does it still have a bevel base? Maybe machined down to remove it?

[awayne]

Does it still have a bevel base? Maybe machined down to remove it?

It does yes by according to the H&G site it’s a 180gr with the BB

[gwpercle]

Ballisti Cast mould weights are based on boolits cast from Clip On Wheel Weight alloy of approx.
composition of ... 95.25 - 4.0 - 0.5 + trace amounts ( .14 arsenic & .05 copper).

Your alloy of .... 92 - 6 - 2 will contain less lead , more tin and thus cast lighter boolits .
If you want a heavier boolit ...add some lead to your mix and cut back on the tin ... anything over 1% is really wasted

For 9mm , 38 Super , 38 special +P , 357 Magnum , 41 Magnum and 45 acp ... I use an alloy of COWW and scrap soft lead mixed 50-50 . This has a BHN of 8 - 9 .
I have discovered hard boolits , in handguns , aren't necessary or the best way to go .
For decades I cast with straight COWW metal ... the 50-50 mix actually makes a more accurate bullet ...learned the hard way ...fit is much more important than hardness .
Gary

[fc60]

Greetings,

Ballisti-Cast renumbered their moulds by adding 600 to the H&G mould number.

An H&G 501 became a Ballisti-Cast 1101 (501+600).

Can you post a photo showing the Ballisti-Cast stamping on the side of the blocks.

A 359BB would be 959BB in Ballisti-Cast numbering.

The old H&G mould chart show a 359 (155 grain) and a 359BB (180 grain).

Cheers,

Dave

[awayne]

Greetings,

Ballisti-Cast renumbered their moulds by adding 600 to the H&G mould number.

An H&G 501 became a Ballisti-Cast 1101 (501+600).

Can you post a photo showing the Ballisti-Cast stamping on the side of the blocks.

A 359BB would be 959BB in Ballisti-Cast numbering.

The old H&G mould chart show a 359 (155 grain) and a 359BB (180 grain).

Cheers,

Dave

Hello and thanks for your response. Yes, it is 959BB on the side of the mold. I also have the 100gr 380 molds and they cast just under the 100gr

[awayne]

Ballisti Cast mould weights are based on boolits cast from Clip On Wheel Weight alloy of approx.
composition of ... 95.25 - 4.0 - 0.5 + trace amounts ( .14 arsenic & .05 copper).

Your alloy of .... 92 - 6 - 2 will contain less lead , more tin and thus cast lighter boolits .
If you want a heavier boolit ...add some lead to your mix and cut back on the tin ... anything over 1% is really wasted

For 9mm , 38 Super , 38 special +P , 357 Magnum , 41 Magnum and 45 acp ... I use an alloy of COWW and scrap soft lead mixed 50-50 . This has a BHN of 8 - 9 .
I have discovered hard boolits , in handguns , aren't necessary or the best way to go .
For decades I cast with straight COWW metal ... the 50-50 mix actually makes a more accurate bullet ...learned the hard way ...fit is much more important than hardness .
Gary

What’s weird is some of my molds that are also ballisti cast molds are very close to the weight they should be... like my 100gr 380 weights 98-99 or so. But these .40 bullets are almost 20 grains under