Looking for a 38-40 mould....

[Harry O]

I have several, but not what I am looking for. I need a 185gr to 200gr 0.401"OD round-nose bullet, plain base, with a crimping groove. The last part is the most important part and the hardest to find.

The only one I have with a crimp groove is a Lyman 401452. That is a SWC, similar to a Keith SWC in nose shape. That works great in my Uberti SAA clones, but it does not feed smoothly in my lever action.

I looked through present production moulds in my catalogs, but I have not found what I am looking for in Lee, Lyman, RCBS, Ballisti-Cast, and Saeco.

I have looked at the website for Mountain Moulds, but have not been able to find what is available and what works. That part of the webpage is "under construction" and has been since he put up the site. I have tried the interactive "design-your-own bullet", but don't know what I need and what I shouldn't do. I just want to buy something that works.

Does anyone have a suggestion or a mould that meets these requirements?

[fredj338]

Both Lyman & RCBS make a RNFP w/ crimp groove. I have the Lyman, use it for my 40s & 10mm, supposed to be 175gr. Depending on alloy, it goes 172gr-178gr. The RCBS looks good too & says 180gr. Most molds are calibrated w/ Lyman #2 so your wt. may vary a bit.

[Wayne Smith]

Check NEI and see what they have. I believe that they may have one. Remember any of their designs can be reduced by one or two lube grooves.

[Harry O]

Both Lyman & RCBS make a RNFP w/ crimp groove.

What are the model numbers for these? I have two Lyman 40043's (this is before it was changed to 401043). It has two lube grooves, but no crimping groove. I have tried crimping in the top lube groove, but it is sloppy and overlength.

I don't see anything in the RCBS catalog that has a crimping groove, but there are two specialty moulds that are not pictured, the 40-170 and 40-180. If it is either one of these, do you have any idea where I could get an accurate picture before I spend that kind of money?

I haven't looked at NEI, yet. Will do it as soon as I am done here.

[Firebird]

RCBS 82306 (https://shop.rcbs.com/WebConnect/MainServlet?storeId=webconnect&catalogId=webconnect&langId=en_US&action=ProductDisplay&screenlabel=index&productId=3396&route=C12J059) has a square lube groove and a crimp groove, this is the 40-180-CM bullet.
NEI catalog (http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog.html) page 8 has a 38-40 REV bullet at the bottom of the second column, but I can't make out the mold number. Looks to be very similar to the RCBS bullet, except has a half-circle lube groove.
For a Mountain Molds design for a RFN bullet, select the 40/10mm from the Online Design Menu. Select 180 grain weight, Tangential Ogive, bullet diameters (.401 default, depending on your gun you may want .403 instead), front band length .070", nose length of .300", .055" long crimp groove, 70% meplat, plain base equal length bands, 1.5 groove to band length, 55 degree groove angle. That produces a bullet that is a RFN design with a large square lube groove and with a nose length of .300" producing a cartridge OAL of 1.60" that should feed well in most lever action rifles.

[Harry O]

Thanks for the additional information.

My 401452 handloads are 1.640" to 1.642" OAL. They work in the Uberti SAA clones, but are too long to feed in the Uberti 1873 clone. When I tried it, I had to take the side plates off of it and remove the lifter to get them out. They cannot be shortened because of the position of the crimping groove.

I have some CAS commercial cartridges that load and feed great (RN with a flat-point). They have a crimping groove, too. They are 1.585" to 1.587" OAL. Just can't afford to use them full time.

[Harry O]

I ordered an NEI mould last week since they had one in stock. It is an item no. 200A which is listed as a .401-195 for the 38-40 WCF. I received it Saturday and cast 10-1/2 lbs with it today. The melt was a Bhn 9 to 10 mix that has worked well with mild loads in the past.

I am concerned that the as-cast bullet is undersized. The weight runs from 179 to 180gr instead of the 195gr listed for it. I don't have a major problem with that. The problem I have is with the diameter. The base is 0.4000" to 0.4005". The forward driving band (between the crimping groove and lube groove) is 0.3995" to 0.4000". This was measured with a Starrett micrometer, not a cheap caliper. I ran them through a 0.401" sizer I have and it just barely touched the base of the bullet at the mould-parting-seam. There were no sizing marks anywhere else.

I have been shooting Cheyenne 38-40 bullets until the cost of them spiked. They measure 0.401"OD. No more and no less. I have not slugged the bore of the gun yet (I usually do that when there are problems -- not when there are no problems), but the Cheyenne bullets were accurate.

I will load some up this week and take them to the range next weekend. If there is leading or poor accuracy because of the undersized bullet, I will return it to NEI be reworked. I have already e-mailed them with this information. I will let you know how it works out regardless of which way it goes.

[Harry O]

Got a reply back from NEI. They said that the reason my bullet is so light is that they use linotype to weigh and measure bullets.

I used a mix equivalent to wheelweights with a couple percent extra tin thrown in for castibility. I would think that if I used straight linotype, the bullet would have been even lighter and smaller. Am I thinking right?

[Wayne Smith]

Harry, they obviously didn't understand your e-mail. Let them know your concern is diameter, not weight. I have found that I have to speak simply and plainly to them, then they get it. I remember having to slow my thinking down and planning what I would say when on the phone to them. Not saying they are simple, just a little concrete.

[tanstafl10]

going with pure linotype will give a lighter bullet, BUT it will also be a smidgen bigger in diameter. May work in your case.

[old goat]

...http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0004482306

...This works in lever actions.

...old goat


...This should also work, when they get it in stock..

...http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=174322

[Harry O]

I took 50 handloaded cartridges with the NEI bullets detailed above, to the range today. I shot 5 groups of 10 at 25 yards (it is an indoor range). The accuracy is a little better than the Cheyenne bullets I had been using and certainly good enough for CAS shooting. When I got it home for cleaning, there was no leading in the barrel.

I don't understand how it works, but it does. I am keeping the mould. I have e-mailed NEI to let them know what happened.

[leftiye]

You could easily lap it a little. It might even do a little better. But, as they say - don't fix it if'n it ain't broken.

[Harry O]

I am thinking about trying to beagle the mould instead of lapping it. I have several thickness of brass shims. I read the article on beagling a mould and it says that an adhesive backed tape was used.

What is the kind of adhesive that will withstand the heat of a mould? Does anyone have a brand name that I can get at a hardware store?

[leftiye]

Get summa that 3M flue tape at an Ace Hardware store. Supposed to withstand over 600 degrees (that's the mold temp, not your melt temp = plenty). Beagling makes the boolits outta round across the mold, and lapping tends to get the cavities bigger along the parting line of the mold halves. Using both can give relatively (pretty good) round boolits with some impressively larger boolits.