Which maker and why?

[Bazoo]

I’m in the beginning of looking at new moulds.

I have had an accurate mould before. I bought it second hand. It was marked .434 but it dropped .437 with my alloy. I don’t know what was spec’ed when ordered. I don’t want a repeat of that. It cast wonderfully and I’m considering several of their offerings. Do they drop larger as a rule?

Next question, should I favor arsenal, accurate, or NOE given they all have a suitable mould in my flavor?

Is there other brands I need to consider?

Thanks for everyone’s input.

Bazoo

[dannyd]

Arsenal molds are hard to beat; he will make it to fix you rifle or pistol. You can also control the some of the size issues with the alloy your using.

[Targa]

All mentioned are outstanding molds but if you want it fast MP(Miha) is hard to beat.

[georgerkahn]

All mentioned are outstanding molds but if you want it fast MP(Miha) is hard to beat.

I soooo agree with sentiments re MP (Miha) moulds... BUT, I am every bit as happy as the many moulds, as well as stand-by-his-product provided by Night Owl Enterprise -- aka, NOE Moulds. NOE has quite the catalog/listing, and after you buy but a few from them, you even get a discount on any/all future purchases.

That said, NOE -- https://noebulletmolds.com/site/ -- would be my first choice.

geo

[Bazoo]

Speed isn’t an issue. Thanks for the replies.

[dannyd]

If your not a hurry then LBT molds makes a great one.

[Huskerguy]

I will qualify by saying I have one or more from most manufacturers other than Accurate.

Each has their pluses at various levels of detail. Then you get into comparing aluminum, brass and steel.

Here is just one small man's opinion. And I would add I love well made products, fine details do not escape me and they have to be accurate.

Surprisingly, Lee makes a good mold in the 6 cavity. I find the twos a little less fulfilling.

NOE makes a nice mold. If you had a NOE and Arsenal side by side you would be hard pressed to tell them apart. When you start looking at little details like alignment pins, etc I have had better experience with NOE and problems with an Arsenal.

MP molds are a piece of art. I only have brass and it is a HP. His work is impeccable. You will spend roughly twice the price for a 4 cavity MP brass versus a 6 cavity Lee. Is it worth it? Depends on how you use it. For me they will last the rest of my life.

In the end, I am more about finding a bullet that is super accurate regardless of mold maker. If a Lee 124 shoots well for me, that is the way I might go. I found an RCBS 358-150 that shoots lights out and then found Arsenal made a clone of it.

So best is a matter of opinion for what you want best to be. Best looking, best shooting, best handling, best heating up, etc.

Good luck

[Outpost75]

If you really know what your alloy is, not guessing, Accurate is your best bet in ordering a mold to cast a specific size.

[Bazoo]

Preciate the replies. I had forgot about lbt. I use WW and WW/Pb 50:50.

[GregLaROCHE]

All mentioned are outstanding molds but if you want it fast MP(Miha) is hard to beat.

I agree, but will add that not only they are fast, they are good quality and very reasonably priced. Unfortunately, you need to be content with their stock molds, because they don’t do custom orders anyway. Perhaps they would for a group buy.

[ioon44]

Accurate is the only mold I will be buying in the future. Accurate is the best I have used in over 50 years of hand casting.

[Fernando]

Accurate is my first pick followed by NOE or MP
Accurate will cut to what ever you want.
And always brass:drinks:

[375RUGER]

You can spec an Accurate mold to cast at whatever diameter you want. The NOE cast prettty much as advertised. No on your list but the MP molds cast as advertised too.

[gwpercle]

I soooo agree with sentiments re MP (Miha) moulds... BUT, I am every bit as happy as the many moulds, as well as stand-by-his-product provided by Night Owl Enterprise -- aka, NOE Moulds. NOE has quite the catalog/listing, and after you buy but a few from them, you even get a discount on any/all future purchases.

That said, NOE -- https://noebulletmolds.com/site/ -- would be my first choice.

geo
I'm with george :drinks:

"Swede" Nelson & Night Owl Enterprises ...
110% Satisfaction with moulds & Customer Service .
Gary

[Rapier]

Almost all of my molds are RCBS or Lyman, all cast iron. I started that way in the 60s and saw no reason to change.
I have good friends that use Saeco aluminum, swear by them, they gave me some of their bullets over the years to try, their bullets were accurate, but they look weird to me with that beveled ojive nose.

[M-Tecs]

I have good friends that use Saeco aluminum, swear by them, they gave me some of their bullets over the years to try, their bullets were accurate, but they look weird to me with that beveled ojive nose.

Saeco/Redding currently are machined from solid cast iron blocks. The older Saeco company made a bid deal of using Meehanite cast iron. I have a large collection of Saeco molds. I have never heard of or seen an aluminum Saeco mold?

If I want a mold to drop a specific size with a specific alloy Tom at Accurate molds is my first choice.

[megasupermagnum]

If cost is no big concern, there really isn't that terribly much to debate. Tom at Accurate molds makes the finest hand casting mold to date. It drops the most round bullets, casts exactly to size, in exactly the design you can dream of. The vent lines are superb. There is simply nothing you can fault Accurate for. No other brand has stood up to the quality and flexibility of Accurate.

The only downsides I can think of is they aren't cheap, and they definitely are not cheap to have converted to hollow point. They also can not make perfectly 90 degree shoulders/lube grooves, or round nosed bullets.

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of NOE molds. I must be close to the $1000 club, and I'll buy more in the future. I also have a handful of Arsenal molds, and will buy more. The only brands I will likely never buy again are Lyman, RCBS and Saeco.

[Bigslug]

Depends a little on what you want.

The only two MP Molds I own are brass hollow-bases for my .455. If you want the front or back to have a cavity, I consider that sliding pin Cramer system a MUCH easier mechanism to deal with than NOE's tilting pin arrangement.

NOE is excellent bang for the buck. . .if an off-the-shelf design will work for you. Swede runs in batches of what is in demand at the time. I've had some luck on his forum and by drumming up support for group buy runs both there and here - active participation and feedback was the key - but if your tastes are a bit more esoteric. . .might be a while

Accurate will cut to order, is fast, and has a nice, thick sprue plate, but no spitzers, round noses, or hollow point/base options from the source. As for diameter, you pretty much get what you ask for, edging to +.001", which is a lot more workable than -.001". Odds are yours was spec'd for something considerably softer than what you poured into it.

LBT molds are a marvel, and their formed sprue plates are a marvel on top of a marvel. Veral's 230 grain LFN is the perfect 1911 bullet that I've only shifted away from after acquiring a preference for tumble lube grooves. I have a nothing-else-like-it 130 grain .3205" WFN mold for what I alternately call my ".32-20 Actual" or ".32-20 Kinda-Sorta" Martini Cadet that he cut from possibly the first pound cast I ever did. Both are wonderful machines that cast well and shoot well.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the input. I’m in the research stages. I’m thinking I want a .430 220 grainish mould. But I’m not sure on design or what. I’m considering getting the lee 429-214 to try as an interim. If a lee mould works okay I’m happy enough with them.

[Targa]

I have 14 Lee molds, three of those are .429. Every one of my Lee’s does what they are suppose to do. The only reason I have other brands are simply because they have designs that Lee does not not offer.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I have NOE, Lee, Lyman and RCBS. The NOE work very well and have the molds with the hollowpoint options. I have looked at Accurate many times and expect to order a 200 gr for my 32 Special. Accurate does limit you to a flat point, not a big deal for handgun or many leverguns. Because I shoot in constant wind, the 'pointy' bullet molds from NOE and Lee are used the most in my Savage 99's.
The NOE molds are very nice, but the LEE molds do a good job too.

[Rich/WIS]

Suggest you decide on the design you like and then see who makes what you want.

[murf205]

I have NOE and Accurate and Lee. To get exactly what you want, in the diameter you want, Accurate is the mold I go to. In the configure a mold page, it specifies that boolits will drop +.002 of specified dia. Good for me as it saved my bacon on a 38/357 mold when I needed a 38S&W (.360 dia) boolit. With all that said, the best shooting 44 boolit I have comes from a Lee mold, a 240 gr GC.

[Bazoo]

Well, I am thinking a RF or WFN. Though if I come across a suitable SWC I’d be happy enough. I might add, I have no interest in HPs.


My lee moulds have been hit and miss. I’ve had several that dropped small across a section. I’ve had some good ones too. I ladle cast so I shy away from their ladle cast stuff.

Also I’ll add, I was thinking of other than lee because I want to treat myself, not to mention they don’t offer one that suits me. I have a couple unwanted items I’m going to sell, and thinking I’ll spring for a good mould in a weight range I haven’t tried yet. Be my all around bullet for 44 special on the lighter end.

[murf205]

What are you going to shoot it in? If it is a revolver, measure barrel and throats and Tom at Accurate can conjure up exactly what you need according to what you said you wanted. He did just that for me when I ordered my 45 mold. He has this boolit design in a 44 also. When it hits the cardboard backer on the target stand, It sounds like someone beating the dust out of a rug with a tennis racket! His online catalog is a candy store for a caster.

[murf205]

298292 He makes a pretty good looking .358 mold too.

[Bazoo]

I like those wfn designs. Which models are they?

The accurate mould I had previously was marked 434 but it dropped .437. Now, it could be the folks that ordered it specified pure lead or something. But on his sight he says .000 to +.002 is his specs. So that’s got me a bit concerned. I don’t want to order a .430 and it come at .432, for my intended alloys of course.

[Bazoo]

I’m looking at several from there. https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-219A Being one that catches my eye.

For me, I’m thinking it’ll be my go to all purpose 44 special, but lighter than the Keith and others I got at 265+ grains. Lighter weight, but a wide nose to offset the standard velocity and pressure I normally use. I don’t load much in the plus+ ranges. So it’s mostly for plinking, but also SD and hunting if it happens to be what I have handy. An all around bullet.

[Targa]

I don’t want to order a .430 and it come at .432, for my intended alloys of course.

That is much better than having it drop .002”s to small. Every mold I use drops bullets at least .001” larger than my goal and most drop .002” larger than advertised with my alloys. I have either a Lee or NOE bullet sizer for every caliber I cast for knowing that it will need to be sized down. My biggest concern is a new mold dropping smaller than advertised, it is much harder to size up and the amount you can size up is very limited.

[Bazoo]

That’s true enough. Undersized sucks.

[murf205]

Bazoo, the 1st pic I posted is a 45 caliber mold and it is a 45-253M and it drops .454 diameter from my mold that I ordered at .452 IIRC. The 38/357 in the next post is a 36-160H and it drops 158grs with my mixture of range lead +2% tin. I believe I ordered it at .358 and it drops at .360. I PC it to .361 for my 38S&W and it is deadly accurate with no leading what so ever from my S&W 33-1. For 44's the 43-250M is the same boolit but for a 44 caliber. I don't have one of these molds...yet, but it is in the future. I am still using a 2 cavity Lyman 429431 and a 270 gr NOE SWC along with a 240 gr GC and a 310 gr Lee GC for my 44 work.

If you are going to size your boolits anyway, I would order the throat/groove diameter and let it be .002 larger. You can size to whatever you want.

targa's advice is spot on. Not a lot you can do with undersize molds without massaging the mold in some way or the other.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the info. I’m considering just getting a 240 grain as I don’t have a plain based 240 grain bullet except for RN. And I ain’t into the RN for hunting or self defense.

Right now I have
RCBS 44-240-SWC @244 grains gas checked
RCBS 44-250-k @265 grains the Keith bullet
Lee 432-275-RF @270 grains. Ranchdog

And a new lee 429-200-RF that I ain’t tested
Lee 420-240-2R that casts undersized across a section. I’ve yet to address it.


I am having better luck sizing to .430 rather than .431 that is closer to throats. I haven’t had my throats reamed or anything. Last time I had a good hand and eye shooting session I was able to print a 6 shot 7/8” group, and under 1.5” for 12 on a different target, at 20y rested off the top of my car. So I’m happy enough with it.

[murf205]

I would be happy with those results myself. I also have had good results with my boolits sized .001(not any more) under throat diameter. As long as I don't get the sizes reversed, as in smaller throats and larger bore, the results have been satisfactory.

[Bazoo]

I’m still testing. But leading was reduced when sized .430, with the RCBS Keith. It didn’t lead much when sized .431, but it was reduced to none to extremely little.

[Bazoo]

I’m also looking at some of arsenals offerings. http://arsenalmolds.com/products?product_id=199

[ascast]

I tend to buy what is available in the size I want. A Lot of " OUT OF STOCK" on the web sites. They all vary with alloy. The trick is to know how much variance to expect when allow changes.

[kevin c]

With AccurateI think you can you can specify the tolerances to be nominal and up to 0.002” over, nominal and down to 0.002” under, or nominal +/- 0.001”. Tom takes casting alloy into account, AAMOF, I’m pretty sure his ordering process requires you to specify off a list he provides what you’ll be using (or whatever is closest).

[barnabus]

accurate moulds are my first pick, lbt is the worst.

[Targa]

I’m also looking at some of arsenals offerings. http://arsenalmolds.com/products?product_id=199

Looks like a winner to me. Arsenal makes quality molds, I like mine and currently have another one on order. If you want it anytime in the near future you might want to place your order now, it will take a while for Arsenal to get it to you.

[high standard 40]

I like those wfn designs. Which models are they?

The accurate mould I had previously was marked 434 but it dropped .437. Now, it could be the folks that ordered it specified pure lead or something. But on his sight he says .000 to +.002 is his specs. So that’s got me a bit concerned. I don’t want to order a .430 and it come at .432, for my intended alloys of course.
Speaking from my experience with Accurate molds, I wouldn't be concerned with the mold casting larger than specified. It's very possible that the mold you have dropping .437" is that way because that's what the original purchaser specified. Tom has cataloged molds with stated specs for each particular stock number but you can request a larger diameter and he will cut the mold to your order. Perhaps that's the case with your mold. I have several Accurate molds and every one drops bullets exactly as I requested when I ordered it

[murf205]

Bazoo, you said that you did not want a mold to drop .002 larger that your specified diameter. Do you shoot as cast, or size to fit when you lube?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I’m in the beginning of looking at new moulds.

I have had an accurate mould before. I bought it second hand. It was marked .434 but it dropped .437 with my alloy. I don’t know what was spec’ed when ordered. I don’t want a repeat of that. It cast wonderfully and I’m considering several of their offerings. Do they drop larger as a rule?

Next question, should I favor arsenal, accurate, or NOE given they all have a suitable mould in my flavor?

Is there other brands I need to consider?

Thanks for everyone’s input.

Bazoo

I've only ordered one new custom cut mold from Accurate. It was a 41 cal button nose WC in a 3 cav brass mold. I spec'd COWW and .411 size. When I cast with it, I get .411 boolits. Mostly, I use a alloy a little softer than COWW, but they still drop at .411

I have molds from the other manufacturers you listed, including over a dozen NOE molds, they almost always drop .001 larger (using COWW) than NOE has spec'd in the drawings in his website. The two or three Arsenal molds I have ordered were right on, to .001 larger.

I wouldn't hesitate to order from any of them.

[Bazoo]

I appreciate the replies JonB and everyone.


Bazoo, you said that you did not want a mold to drop .002 larger that your specified diameter. Do you shoot as cast, or size to fit when you lube?
I size. What I mean to say is, I don’t want to order a mould at .431 and it drop .433, since my intent is to size to .431 and .430.

My experience is, sizing none -.001 is preferable, and .002 is okay, but .003 and up distorts the bullets and is harder to run through the sizer.

[megasupermagnum]

@Bazoo, Accurate molds is the only maker that will consistently drop exactly what they say. While Tom states a .002" tolerance, my experience is that he holds it to .001".

In my opinion, you aren't completely correct, but if what you want is a bullet to drop .431"-.432", order your mold from Accurate at .431"+.002" tolerance, and you can be pretty sure they will be .431" or .432" with the alloy you specify. You will not get that kind of accuracy with any other brand.

[Bazoo]

Thanks MSM.