Which mold would you go with for classic Keith SWC in 357 and 44?

[Stopsign32v]

I'm wanting to powder coat some Keith SWC for Ruger revolvers. 357 Magnum out of my GP100 and 44 Magnum out of a Redhawk. The trouble I am having is which brand mold to go with and what weight. Any advice on which route I should be going? I want to do this right and measure my revolvers and the whole 9 yards but this will be my first revolver cast loads.

[ryanmattes]

I actually spent time on ebay trying to get a decent deal on the old Lyman/ideal molds, and managed to get both the .357 and the .44, but they were single cavity. When I wanted to do larger quantities for .45 Colt, I bought the NOE copy of the Keith SWC with the square lube groove. Beautiful mold, drops great, and the boolits are perfect.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210711/388d9dde49d847703cd3485475b9eb5c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210711/bf617f4169d552149ffa9e702e9799d9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210711/e61fcc947f6ea719288c528865835e83.jpg

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[Stopsign32v]

How do you even identify the older versions?

[ryanmattes]

How do you even identify the older versions?Research. Orange cardboard box with metal edges and marked IDEAL for the old ones, later ones come in orange plastic boxes and are marked Lyman. In between is a grey area where they were phasing out the ideal name. If they aren't in the box you can't really tell when they're from unless they're stamped IDEAL on the mold.

As long as they have the right profile, I'm good with one from the 70's or 80's. They're steel, so they're not going bad as long as they were taken care of, no matter how old they are.

The point, though, is to find the original Keith profile. On several of them Lyman later made the lube groove rounded so they would drop easier, but it came at the cost of some room for lube. Keith's designs had a square lube groove. They made some other adjustments too, over time. So you can find 454424 with a round lube groove, but the square ones are harder to find.

Anyway, the NOE reproduction is faithful, and a great boolit. I'm sure several other makers do reproductions too, but that's the only one I can speak for.

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[megasupermagnum]

You can argue about tiny details here and there, but Accurate, NOE, and Arsenal all make a good version of the 38 and 44 caliber Keith bullets. A 38 caliber Keith is somewhere in the 170-175 grain range, depending on the alloy you use. A 44 caliber Keith is around 255-265 gr again depending on the alloy. If you use Linotype for some reason, I think the 38 is as light as 168 gr, and the 44 is 250 gr.

Accurate is always a top of the line mold maker, and I have a lot of their molds. That said, I opted not to use them for Keith bullets for reasons I'll get to. For 38, I have the NOE 360-176-SWC. My 44 is the NOE 432-264-SWC. I opted for NOE, because I could get them in hollow points. If you don't want hollow points, then I would opt for Arsenal molds. I believe Arsenal has the closest replica of the H&G #503, and their version of the 170gr Keith looks pretty close to the NOE version. Arsenal molds makes a high quality product, and the great thing about them is that they are relatively inexpensive. You can get a 4 cavity Arsenal mold for $83, compared to a NOE at $92, and an Accurate at $136.

You don't have to measure your revolver, they should all cast big enough, and Ruger is fairly consistent on sizes. In my GP100, I size .358". In my Redhawk, I size .431". If they don't shoot as you hope, then worry about it, else it isn't a huge deal.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Are you sure you need a swc style? A design like this will not hang up when your loading the cylinder. http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=36-158V

It has the square base and generous grease groove like the Keith style which I think helps the boolit obdurate. And the meplat is larger too.

This mold powder coats nicely and drops the boolits easily. At a bhn of 10 the coated boolits weigh 173 grains. Over 7 grains of HS-6 they are great performers out of my 5" Model 27.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=36-170T

[Mal Paso]

In 44 I like the #503 clones available from MP Molds (432-256) and Arsenal.

[Thumbcocker]

+1 on the MP 503 clone.

[Shuz]

Plus 1 on the MP 503 clone. Available in 6 cavity too!

[Stopsign32v]

+1 on the MP 503 clone.

They are out of country? Their website says Slovenia?

[RKJ]

They are out of country? Their website says Slovenia?

I believe that's where he's located. I've got 4 or 5 molds from him (as have many others here) you can buy with confidence. His is a stand up company with an excellent product.

[ryanmattes]

Yep, I have an MP mold too, not a Keith clone, but a .45 acp hollow point, and it's excellent.

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[Stopsign32v]

Do you guys bother with gas check for these 357 and 44 loads? I plan to powder coat them if that matters (I know it is a thin layer of lubricant and not a protectant coating)

[Stopsign32v]

Well I just got this mold for $60. Just realized it has the round lube groove and not the square. Dang

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/6BYAAOSwcH1gxUbw/s-l1600.jpg

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MEQAAOSw3j5g62rl/s-l1600.jpg

[44MAG#1]

For the 44 I would select the Accurate Molds 43-253K and not look back.

[ryanmattes]

Well I just got this mold for $60. Just realized it has the round lube groove and not the square. Dang

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/6BYAAOSwcH1gxUbw/s-l1600.jpg

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MEQAAOSw3j5g62rl/s-l1600.jpgStill a good boolit. Look at one of the recommended brands when you're looking for a 4-6 cavity to speed up production.

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[Mk42gunner]

With modern lubes like FWFL I have never had the problem of running out of lube, even in a 24" rifle barrel. With some of the old BP/ early smokeless lubes, you might.

Robert

[Mal Paso]

Plus 1 on the MP 503 clone. Available in 6 cavity too!

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-432-256-pb-solid-6-cav-alu/

If you put in your email he will notify you when he does a run. I just got one that way.

Plane base boolits are fine for pistol speeds.

[Stopsign32v]

Thanks Mal, I just was setup for an alert


What type lead would you guys go for, for a general 357/44 Mag loading? Hardcast? Again...Will be powder coating with Eastwood.

[farmbif]

ive both the older with square groove and newer with rounded groove both Lyman molds for the 44 they both shoot the same lubesized with carnauba red at .431.
I got the one in plastic box with round lube groove then came across an older 4 cavity Lyman in carboard box. the mp 503 clone with hollow points is an a great mold also. it was a group buy here quite a few years ago.

[Dom]

I shoot both these bullets in my 44 hand gun & rifle, Win 94 AE. They shoot great out of either . You will notice the bullet on left ( Arsenal 250gr PB ) has the square lube grove . I also have this same bullet in Lyman 250gr round lube grove PB. If it makes a difference I sure can't tell it & now that I PC all my cast bullets , absolutely make no difference. Either works great..The 265gr GC ( Saeco ) RFP also a very accurate bullet out of any of my 44's. I can't see any real difference in performance.285937

[ryanmattes]

Yeah, likely the only difference you'll see is the SWC makes a /slightly/ neater hole in the paper. Good cast out of a good mold is good cast out of a good mold.

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[megasupermagnum]

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-432-256-pb-solid-6-cav-alu/

If you put in your email he will notify you when he does a run. I just got one that way.

Plane base boolits are fine for pistol speeds.

HA![smilie=l:

I wouldn't waste your time with MP molds. The guy loves what he does, but is EXTRMELY slow at it. The molds are good from what I hear, but no better than NOE or Arsenal, and I'd argue Accurate is better. I've been in line for a mold from MP countless times, and he loves to string you along with "I'm just waiting for X part, should be here in 2 weeks." Then 2 MONTHS later someone has to kick him up, and again he is still waiting.

The final straw for me was when I was trying to do a group buy on a clone of a shotgun slug, and I took the time to draw exactly what the dimensions were. He comes back with a modified version, and says take it or leave it. So I put my name on the list anyway. That was 2019, and we are still "waiting on parts". I mean, the guy is a machinist for goodness sakes. Either figure it out, or get out of the business.

[Bigslug]

I think lube groove configuration and especially lube capacity is probably of VERY minimal concern with handgun munitions, given the success many of us have with tumble lubing. If nothing else, a rounded groove may fall out of the mold easier.

Where the Lyman molds seem to more critically depart from original spec is that they narrow the front driving band - presumably for easier function in a wider range of guns. Keith's main design criteria was to have three equal length, full diameter bands. Many complain of newer Lymans casting small. Given these issues and that you can buy from NOE, Accurate, M&P, etc... most of us have moved on from that brand.

If you haven't already learned, the classic Keith .358 SWC was the 358429, and it was concocted for heavy loads in .38 Special cases. It's nose will be too long for many revolvers with traditional seating to the crimp groove in longer .357 cases. That requires crimping over the front driving band to get the length usable. Others have probably done the hard science on this, but to my way of thinking, that bullet might as well stay in a .38 case, since this deep-seat approach takes away the extra 1/10" of powder capacity the .357 case grants you.

[QuackAttack24]

I have the 429421 255gr Keith mold from arsenal. It's a very nice mold and casts beautiful bullets, but be sure to check the dimensions in the diagram. It's designed with driving bands that are .434 in diameter. If you need your bullets to cast at .431 or .432 you need to contact him to special order. I found that out the hard way. Mine are dropping at .435 with range scrap, and .436 with Linotype, so I have to size them down just to tumble or pan lube them. If I powder coat them as cast, they size out at .438. That's a tight squeeze through my .432 sizing die, so I didn't powder coat them like I do with all of my pistol bullets. I am going to try a couple to see if they will fit through the sizing die without deforming them too bad, but I'd rather have them dropping at .431-.432.

I also have his 358429 170 gr Keith mold. I thought I was getting a .358 mold, but it is designed to drop at .360. Again having to size down more than I would like. They are dropping at .361 with range scrap and .362 with linotype.

I'm not the only one who's made this mistake. I've talked with another member on this forum who also didn't notice the diagram, and is getting bullets dropping larger than he would like. I think his molds are very reasonably priced for the quality, but check the diagram before you buy so you get the size you want.

[megasupermagnum]

I have the 429421 255gr Keith mold from arsenal. It's a very nice mold and casts beautiful bullets, but be sure to check the dimensions in the diagram. It's designed with driving bands that are .434 in diameter. If you need your bullets to cast at .431 or .432 you need to contact him to special order. I found that out the hard way. Mine are dropping at .435 with range scrap, and .436 with Linotype, so I have to size them down just to tumble or pan lube them. If I powder coat them as cast, they size out at .438. That's a tight squeeze through my .432 sizing die, so I didn't powder coat them like I do with all of my pistol bullets. I am going to try a couple to see if they will fit through the sizing die without deforming them too bad, but I'd rather have them dropping at .431-.432.

I also have his 358429 170 gr Keith mold. I thought I was getting a .358 mold, but it is designed to drop at .360. Again having to size down more than I would like. They are dropping at .361 with range scrap and .362 with linotype.

I'm not the only one who's made this mistake. I've talked with another member on this forum who also didn't notice the diagram, and is getting bullets dropping larger than he would like. I think his molds are very reasonably priced for the quality, but check the diagram before you buy so you get the size you want.

I'm not sure what drawing that is, but Arsenal molds shows .432" right on the website. You must have bought the wrong one.http://arsenalmolds.com/products?product_id=138&limit=100

Maybe powder coating is different, but most of us are extremely glad that these custom makers are making molds that drop bullets big. Sizing down .003" is no big deal. My NOE's drop around .361" and .433". As I said, I size to .358" and .431", and I can barely feel that. They size super easy. On the flip side, I've had molds, mostly Lyman, that drop exactly, or slightly smaller than I want, and it is a nightmare. Beagling works, but it isn't great.

@Bigslug, I'll confirm that a Keith bullet crimped in the crimp groove fits in a GP100 without a problem. As far as I know, the only common 357 magnum that it won't fit in, is an N frame Smith. I'm unsure of the J frame. It should fit in a Ruger LCR, but it would be close.

[QuackAttack24]

I'm not sure what drawing that is, but Arsenal molds shows .432" right on the website. You must have bought the wrong one.

I beg to differ. The link you posted is not the Keith model. The Keith model is 429421. When I emailed Jared to find out why the Keith molds were dropping so large, he sent me the exact diagram I posted, which is 429421. The 358429 170 gr. Keith drawing is also posted and it clearly shows .360.

I agree it's not the end of the world, but I don't really want to size down from .438 to .432 after powder coating. The harder the alloy, the rougher it is to push the bullet through the sizing die.

[fredj338]

Do you guys bother with gas check for these 357 and 44 loads? I plan to powder coat them if that matters (I know it is a thin layer of lubricant and not a protectant coating)
Me, no. I have removed gc from several of my molds. At handgun vel, I dont think it is really needed unless you want to cast very soft alloy that will likely lead.
I like the Accurate molds, but my Keith style are either RCBS or an older Lyman.

[slohunter]

My older Lyman 429421 poly coated at .432

[JAC43]

I beg to differ. When I emailed Jared to find out why the Keith molds were dropping so large, he sent me the exact diagram I posted. Says very clearly .434 on the drawing.

You are going back and forth about two different molds. Arsenal's 429421 is drawn at .434" vs the H&G #503 at .432".

[QuackAttack24]

You are going back and forth about two different molds. Arsenal's 429421 is drawn at .434" vs the H&G #503 at .432".
Exactly

[Dom]

My Arsenal mold 429421 drops it's bullets at .436 to .437 in the mold I have, cast fro scrap WW BH 10.5 to 11. Then I have to size before I PC. Then have to size again. My sizer is .430. I end up with a bullet I can shoot, but the crimp grove has now become a narrow slit from all the down sizing. The driving bands have also become noticeably wider. My old Lyman similar style drops it's bullet at .431 using the exact same alloy & shoots great. For all those who like a mold that drops a larger bullet I will sell mine for $55 shipped to you & it is is perfect shape.

[downzero]

I beg to differ. The link you posted is not the Keith model. The Keith model is 429421. When I emailed Jared to find out why the Keith molds were dropping so large, he sent me the exact diagram I posted, which is 429421. The 358429 170 gr. Keith drawing is also posted and it clearly shows .360.

I agree it's not the end of the world, but I don't really want to size down from .438 to .432 after powder coating. The harder the alloy, the rougher it is to push the bullet through the sizing die.

There is no reason for hard alloys when powdercoating, and I agree with posters that I would rather have every bullet slightly oversized. Your complaint is unique to you--the rest of us want oversized bullets so we can size to the diameter we want. If they cast too small, that can't happen.

[QuackAttack24]

I would rather have every bullet slightly oversized.

Me too.

[Dom]

Me too.

Me too.

[Stopsign32v]

There is no reason for hard alloys when powdercoating, and I agree with posters that I would rather have every bullet slightly oversized. Your complaint is unique to you--the rest of us want oversized bullets so we can size to the diameter we want. If they cast too small, that can't happen.

Why do you say hard alloys aren't needed when powdercoating?

[QuackAttack24]

Why do you say hard alloys aren't needed when powdercoating?
I kind of wondered the same thing. Some of these Keith bullets are being shot from a Henry Rifle at 1600-1700 ft/s. These are not gas checked bullets. I try to get those at BHN of 20-22. Sizing down a powder coated bullet that hard from .438 to .432 requires some pressure on the handle, sometimes more than my table can handle.

[358429]

My favorite bullets in 357 magnum and 38 special. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/64e3bdd3cff3501ddb1e41a4cc1b337a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/dcd062f7a14c806177670175384eb098.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/c4f710bbadc152d14c3775ffb35cb8d3.jpg

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[Stopsign32v]

My favorite bullets in 357 magnum and 38 special. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/64e3bdd3cff3501ddb1e41a4cc1b337a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/dcd062f7a14c806177670175384eb098.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/c4f710bbadc152d14c3775ffb35cb8d3.jpg

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Oh man I like the looks of those. Which mold is this?

[358429]

Oh man I like the looks of those. Which mold is this?Mp molds. The flat nose Keith bullet is an aluminum 8-cavity mold. The hollow points come from a four cavity brass mold, it comes with a bunch of different hollow points. These ones are the deepest, I love how they look, they also shoot surprisingly straight from a bunch of different guns.

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[QuackAttack24]

My favorite bullets in 357 magnum and 38 special. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/64e3bdd3cff3501ddb1e41a4cc1b337a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/dcd062f7a14c806177670175384eb098.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/c4f710bbadc152d14c3775ffb35cb8d3.jpg

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And along comes 358429 himself. That's awesome! Are these from an old Lyman mold? Also did you add the hollow point pins after the fact? If so, who did the modification. I've got a couple of molds I'd like to convert to hollow point molds.

[358429]

These are mp molds from Europe.

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[358429]

This is a diagram showing the hollow point bullet I use.

Due to the length of the bullet it is designed for using in 38 Special brass.

It maximizes internal volume so you can use a heavier powder charge of a slower powder. I have been experimenting with this bullet and 38 and 357 brass in a Ruger 77 / 357 with IMR 4227, and some other powders.

In 38 brass it's something like 1.55 over all length of the loaded cartridge, I don't remember exactly I'll check later.

Sometimes I like to load these in 357 with Winchester 296... those ones I trim the

magnum brass short, to 1.23 inches, for an overall length of 1.6, which fits the cylinder of my J frame and I believe

maximizes the horsepower of a 20 ounce revolver.

If you're trying to use regular 357 brass with no special trimming, and if you don't have thousands of 38 brass feeling sad in a bucket cuz they don't have powder and bullets, I would recommend not using this bullet.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/d11e2a10ba965c390bbe9bf9949f1fde.jpg

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[Stopsign32v]

The hollow points come from a four cavity brass mold, it comes with a bunch of different hollow points. These ones are the deepest, I love how they look, they also shoot surprisingly straight from a bunch of different guns.

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I need this in my life. It looks like it would be absolutely nasty in some ballistics gel!

[Stopsign32v]

if you don't have thousands of 38 brass feeling sad in a bucket cuz they don't have powder and bullets, I would recommend not using this bullet.

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I have more 38 special brass than I would use in a lifetime. Somehow I can't stop from still buying more. I can't explain it.

[358429]

What gun powders is do you have stocked in your powder cabinet?

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[358429]

If you had, for example an 8 pound jug pistol or shotgun powder ( burn rates between bullseye/tightgroup and 4227/2400) that was sad because it wasn't loaded into thousands of 38 Special cartridges...

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[Stopsign32v]

What gun powders is do you have stocked in your powder cabinet?

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Not much, I need more but the problem I had before, when powder was a buyable option, was I hadn't really zoned in on what powder I needed. So I was essentially overrun with options and didn't know what to choose.

[358429]

Not much, I need more but the problem I had before, when powder was a buyable option, was I hadn't really zoned in on what powder I needed. So I was essentially overrun with options and didn't know what to choose.What powders have you tried and how did you feel about them?

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[Stopsign32v]

What powders have you tried and how did you feel about them?

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Titegroup, Unique, 231, and lately 296

It has been a long time ago but I did some loads of 38 Special in Titegroup and 231. I believe I liked 231 the most and what stood out to me with Titegroup was it burned very clean but it left the gun very very HOT! Unique is such a classic and mostly is my go to. I don't have enough knowledge to make accurate loads (yet) with handgun cartridges.

[Shuz]

Thanks Mal, I just was setup for an alert


What type lead would you guys go for, for a general 357/44 Mag loading? Hardcast? Again...Will be powder coating with Eastwood.

If you are gonna powder coat you don't have to worry about hardness of your alloy. For me, ww+1% tin works just fine, and no gas checks needed.

[358429]

That's the truth. I'm casting these right now out of monkey metal, and I'm going to powder coat, Eastwood ultra gloss clear, size 358, and then load them up anyway I like.

I like to load this with 3 grains of Red Dot or 10 grains 4227 in 38 Special. The ones that I use with 296 I add some more tin to it, I'm not even sure if I need that, I just do that cuz it makes me feel good.

I think I'm going to have to prove that one way or the other in the next week or two...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/6735cc5c5dbbce4caf3ab594dddc08a6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/b7df2b13171297678fd6f3a52753f867.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/6e945175313d5b112375edc605119ef9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210713/b16ad958890f0f0f43e10c46c0575f09.jpg

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[Forrest r]

It's interesting that the op decided on swc bullets for the 38spl/357/44mag on the advice of 1 person on another website.

Nothing wrong with keith style swc's but they can be a little touchy if they don't get a good fit/alignment in the cylinders. Along with the tend to be oal sensitive when used in lever actions. It's common to have issues with swc's in the lever actions when trying to use 38spl/44spl's loaded with swc's in the lever actions.

While worrying about if the oal of a load will fit in a revolver is the 1st thing that should be checked. The more importent part of the equation is the fit in the leade's of the cylinders.
https://i.imgur.com/Lcmp4hk.jpg

As you can see the top reload sits back from the set/leade in the cylinder, there is a gap there. The bottom reload has the shoulder of the bullet out further (longer oal) so it is aligned to the cylinder. The top bullet has to jump to get into alignment in the cylinder, the bottom bullet is already aligned. This is huge for accuracy, makes finding accurate loads easier.

This is why the longer/larger drive band is important. It gets the bullets shoulder out into the leade of the cylinder which is better for accuracy.

When looking at lyman molds you want to find ones that have the equal drive bands/large front drive band like this example.
https://i.imgur.com/Adjeuw0.jpg
I'm glad it's a U-mold (undersized) because I pc my cast pistol/revolver bullets, saves me the trouble of sizing them twice.

Haven't tested a lot of different swc's but I have used these in the 38spl's & 357's
https://i.imgur.com/9Wyshk2.jpg
Their pretty much the classic keith swc's from lyman, cramer & h&G molds. I also use the mp-503's in the 44cal's, the mp-503's have that equal/long front drive band thing going on.
https://i.imgur.com/MGkzk5b.jpg

I like to use the lyman 429422, a hb version of the 429421 bullet in the snubnosed 44psl's. The top left load.
https://i.imgur.com/fo57jjU.jpg

Made my owh hb pin for that 44cal hb mold, makes the bullet lighter
https://i.imgur.com/rVx5uvQ.jpg

Along with having not only the hp nose expand, the base will compress/expand also because of the thin walls of the hp pin design.
https://i.imgur.com/Swqedh0.jpg

Anyway this is why you want the longer front drive bands/equal drive bands. The bullets with the longer bands tend to be more accurate, easier to find accurate loads with. And tend to have higher velocities for the same loads (seals the cylinders better/ faster).

[Forrest r]

Before you start dumping $$$ into a bunch of swc molds you really should take a hard look at rn, fn & wfn bullet designs also. Myself I prefer the fn style bullets (640 series) over the wfn bullet designs. The fn's tend to feed better in the lever actions along with it's extremely easy to find accurate loads with them.

This mp 640 series 35cal fn is worth looking at.
https://i.imgur.com/3f3FUJ4.jpg?1
The mold casts a large round hp along with a penta point hp both weigh +/- 158gr and a 170gr solid nosed fn bullet. That bullet has 2 crimp grooves & I like to load that 640 bullet long/crimped in the bottom crimp groove when loading them in the 38spl's. It's that get the bullet out into the leade of the cylinder thing. Typical 6-shot groups @ 50ft/blammo ammo with the mp-640 series bullet in the 38spl cases.
https://i.imgur.com/AL4WBux.jpg

Another fn bullet that I like to use is an old cramer "hunter" bullet, it's a 158gr hp bullet also with an extremely small hp. The hunter bullet is the bullet in the center of the bottom row
https://i.imgur.com/0A0Ga7O.jpg

Was doing a little testing with a cramer #26 keith style swc, the hunter fn and the 640 fn @ 25yds in 357 cases.
https://i.imgur.com/9YSO2RC.jpg

Those are 6-shot groups & 25yds, all 4 of them are 1 1/4" or less measured outside to outside. Took the 5.5gr & 6.0gr bullseye loads using the hunter fn and the 640fn out to the 50yd line. All 4 6-shot groups @ 50yds were 2 3/16" or less measured outside to outside.
https://i.imgur.com/CfpwHXk.jpg

Nothing more than blammo ammo/dirt clod killers playing around with a s&w 686 competitor.
https://i.imgur.com/im4jQKD.jpg

Had that 7x scope mounted on it bench resting doing those test targets looking for plinking ammo that will do 1100fps+ with a 158gr bullet.

That s&W 686 is actually a pretty good range revolver. Slapped a scope on it to do a little load testing. Got board with that & in less then 1 minute the scope was off and a mini-reflex was on and I was banging on steel @ the 25yd line. Before I left I did pop the reflex off and run the irons for awhile.:D

You might want to start another thread asking what works in revolver & lever guns along with what bullet designs have consistently been more accurate/easier to find accurate loads with.

Playing around with a 10" bbl'd contender with a burris fastfire III on it @ the 100yd line using a mp 640 bullet designed for the 44cal's. The mp mold casts a 270gr fn or a 245gr round or pents point hp. The bullet on the right is the bullet I was using in the contender.
https://i.imgur.com/bMDc2PH.jpg

Target doesn't look like much, was playing around trying to move the poi with the fastfireIII on the top 3 targets. Whe I was getting close I shot the bottom targets starting with the left target. I realized the dot was too big/bright and turned it down 1 click and shot the bottom right target.
https://i.imgur.com/wLHw6OR.jpg

It's only a 3 shot group @ 100yds but after shooting that I was able to clearly see what my poi was and gave the burris a couple clicks and started banging on steel @ 100yds. That final 3-shot test group @ 100yds with that 44cal mp 640 fn bullet.
https://i.imgur.com/7KMGHIm.jpg

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Those hollow points look great.

[Stopsign32v]

Before you start dumping $$$ into a bunch of swc molds you really should take a hard look at rn, fn & wfn bullet designs also.

I've gotten an absolute ton of criticism for going with SWC molds over others. YES I am aware that they will not feed reliably in a lever action. YES I am aware that there are better options out there.

A little note about myself: I am a very nostalgic person. I think better times are behind us, not in front of us, and obviously I love history. I am currently reading up on Elmer Keith and also some of Sketter's editorial writings. So I am going down this road following in the steps of these giants. If for anything, to say I did it. The other stuff will come later. I'm in absolutely no hurry with the politicians we have in office.

[Stopsign32v]

This mp 640 series 35cal fn is worth looking at.
https://i.imgur.com/3f3FUJ4.jpg?1
The mold casts a large round hp along with a penta point hp both weigh +/- 158gr and a 170gr solid nosed fn bullet. That bullet has 2 crimp grooves & I like to load that 640 bullet long/crimped in the bottom crimp groove when loading them in the 38spl's. It's that get the bullet out into the leade of the cylinder thing. Typical 6-shot groups @ 50ft/blammo ammo with the mp-640 series bullet in the 38spl cases.



Of course it is out of stock too. And you mean the .360 version? Not the 35 cal.

[1hole]

Well I just got this mold for $60. Just realized it has the round lube groove and not the square. Dang

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/6BYAAOSwcH1gxUbw/s-l1600.jpg

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MEQAAOSw3j5g62rl/s-l1600.jpg

I love ol' Elmer's work but I'm not concerned about his square xtra volume lube grooves. We now have much better lubes than he did and I believe they more than make up any real difference.

[Stopsign32v]

I love ol' Elmer's work but I'm not concerned about his square xtra volume lube grooves. We now have much better lubes than he did and I believe they more than make up any real difference.

I was getting it more for the historical significance (debatable I guess) than anything. I won't be using lube anyways so I couldn't care less either if it was square, round, or star shaped.

[358429]

I was getting it more for the historical significance (debatable I guess) than anything. I won't be using lube anyways so I couldn't care less either if it was square, round, or star shaped.Fire up the melting pot, and pour yourself a hot one!

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[ryanmattes]

Fire up the melting pot, and pour yourself a hot one!

Sent from my SM-G930T using TapatalkAgreed. That mold makes great bullets, just one at a time. If there was a 4-6 cavity version of that mold available I'd buy it in a second.

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[358429]

Cast a couple, coat them, size them, then check the cylinder fit.

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[Stopsign32v]

Cast a couple, coat them, size them, then check the cylinder fit.

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I might make some tonight and post some pictures. I only have a pair of Lyman double cavity handles but their website says this will also work on single cavity. We will see I guess.