New to me 1885 Miroku 38-55 mold advice needed
New member of the single shot club here as I just purchased a Winchester Limited Series Traditional Hunter in 38-55. It sure is difficult to find definitive info on these. Serial number 33 which may be from the last batch from what I read. This is the 28" octagon barrel model. I've always wanted a falling block and wanted the lighter shooting 38-55. This gun came with the Lee Shaver rear Soule sight with the Hadley eyecup and a Lyman 17 front sight, so is suitable for the 200 yard range at my gun club where 99% of my shooting will be.
Getting reloading supplies in these troubling times is difficult. My order has been placed for Starline short brass as that is all that is available. RCBS cowboy dies ordered and also a .378 sizer die. My bore slugs just a bit under .369X.377, probably closer to .3765. A .379 bullet in some old thick brass wouldn't chamber when I was visiting a gunsmith old timer who shoots the vintage real Winchesters. I measured a 1-18 twist.
New molds of course are hard to come by at this time and cost a fortune. I would probably be happy with the Lee 250gr but don't want to pay $100 for a Lee. Looking around and seeing advice with a lot of people from here took me to the Accurate Mold site. I am posting here rather than the mold sub forum as I saw more discussions of this gun here and not the more common lever guns. I have read that this is an accurate gun but I may not know for a time as I try to get it up and running.
The Accurate site is quite daunting as there are so many molds to choose from. Ones that have sold more would seem to be a good start, but as there are so many more lever guns around, maybe that is not the best advice and hence my post here. I won't be competing or shooting more than a couple hundred a year so thought a 2 cavity aluminum cut with 2 different cavities would be a nice start. My posting reason is a question to the more knowledgeable about my possible choices:
https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet...bullet=38-255B
https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet...bullet=38-285D
I thought about these at a .378 minimum diameter and cast of mostly #2 and WW mixed with maybe 25% soft lead and kept in the 1100-1300 fps range. I hoped some single shot guys would have a bit more insight into this. All molds are scarce and expensive now, so I thought now is the time perhaps to go up a notch especially now that I upped the gun purchase a notch too for me personally.
Thanks for any info
Steve