Finally, Have a 3118 SC in my hands!

[Gtek]

Well I finally scored a like really new SC Ideal no vent lines, still snaps together and apart! Plans are for the soon to be completed 30 Badger, and try the 30 Carbine SBH, 30 WCf, 32 S&WL. Anybody still playing with this one and in what?

[barrabruce]

No …. but my Lee soupcan mold is still plunking out bullets besides a dicky spruce plate screw.
Think the 3118 would be good if one fell into my hands.

I have a 308241 150 rn pb mold the same with no vent grooves.
When it is " hot " it rains them out as fast as you can fill it.
A wet towel to freeze the sprue and away you go.
Slower way to get a pile of bullets …but they are all the same out of one cavity and accurate.

[Nueces]

That one and an accompanying 31133 HP were two of my earliest moulds, some 50 years ago. Shot many in heavy frame 32 S&W Long revolvers.

[MT Gianni]

I have a 5 cavity NOE, 1 cavity HP mold. It was a group buy and has never been cataloged. It may be one of the few Al made with a conventional hp pin. I have shot it in 32 long, 32 H&R, 327 Fed, 30-30, and 308 Win. Each of them had different challenges as to how they filled the throats. Mine measured 0.314" and I beagled it fora 32 H&R that likes 0.315" bullets.

[FredBuddy]

I have the very same mould and use
the boolits in 30-30.

[Green Frog]

The old small block single cavity Ideal 3118 throwing a 118 gr bullet was originally my baseline bullet design for 32s in general, especially 32-20, 32 S&W Long, and 32 H&R. At one time I had two and four cavity moulds as well, but now I’m too old for the big 4 banger, so I just kept the SC and DC. :castmine:
I also got in on a NOE group buy many years ago that emulated the design, but is heavier (about 125 gr) and I keep those bullets for my full snort 327 Fed Mags. :Fire:
As I have experimented more and more with 32 revolvers, I’ve seen a drift toward lighter bullets and now have several moulds in the 95-105 gr range that I seem to be using most often. If I were buying one mould without regard to cost, I’d probably go with the Accurate Moulds copy of the Lyman 313631, sans gas check shoulder. It runs somewhere in the 105 gr range. Does this mean I’d give up my original 3118? Of course not… I’ll pass it along to a favorite grand nephew when I retire from shooting. 8-)

Froggie

[MT Gianni]

I agree with Froggie re a pistol bullet at 98-105 gr. For me the RCBS 98 SWC is still the gold standard 32 pistol bullet.

[rintinglen]

^+1 My sentiments exactly. I have used it in 32 S&W long, 32 H&R, 32-20 and .327 Magnum with complete satisfaction. It is the most accurate boolit I have found for use in my Browning 53, and the last honest 1" group I shot with a handgun came from my 7 1/2 inch Single Seven.

The RCBS 32-98 SWC is a winner.

[Thin Man]

I keep a listing of all of my molds along with side notes worth saving. For anything in the 32 S&W Long,32 H&R Mag and 32-20 the Saeco mold 325 (98 gr.) gives me reliably tight groups with most any powder charge. Immediately after it is the Ideal tong tool branded 32 NP (new police) (105 gr.). If neither of these cast patterns won't group in the test firearm, it won't group with anything. With about 20 different molds to choose from these two are my favorites.

[pworley1]

Mine works well in the 32 20.

[35 Rem]

I have a Lyman 311008 that I bought new maybe 10 or 12 years ago. It worked so well in my Marlin 1894 Classic in 32-20 that I've never even tried another bullet in it. The mold drops bullets easy and they work. I love it. I use a light charge of Unique that gives about 1,280 ft/sec. It's sort of like a 22LR that grew up.

[cuzinbruce]

Good score, Gtek! It is a great bullet. Standard bullet for the 32/20. It was just about identical to an old Winchester mold for 32/20 (probably made for Winchester by Ideal). And that is what I have used it in, Win 92, Rem 25, S&W's, Colt.