MP Mold: 9mm, RNFP, NLG, Bevel Base, 124gr

[Phlier]

Hey Gents,

This is my first time doing this, so be gentle.

Quick background... I cast a lot of 9mm. Several thousand rounds per week. I've tried a few molds trying to find "the perfect boolit" and recently purchased this mold: 356/359-125 Flat Round Nose, Flat Base, 8 Cavity Aluminum No Lube Groove Mold

For more reasons than I could possibly put into one post, this particular mold casts as close to the perfect 9mm boolit as I've been able to find so far. The only thing that keeps it from being the perfect boolit (at least, IMO) is the lack of a bevel base. Bevel bases can greatly increase your ammo production rate, as they are much easier to get to sit straight on top of the case to get a nice straight seating operation than a plain base boolit.

I've gotten permission from Miha and HATCH to start an interest thread for a group buy of this boolit with a bevel base. If you click the link above, it'll take you to the boolit mold in question, and you'll notice that this mold comes in different sizes. The one for this group buy would be .356. Now keep in mind that the .356 is with WW alloy. I think that most of us that cast for 9mm use an alloy similar to Lyman #2, which means quite a bit of antimony. My home made Lyman #2 alloy drops out of the .356 version of this mold at .357-.358 and 124 grains. For a lot of guys, this would make it a cast, coat, load and shoot boolit. In fact, in two of my three guns, I can run it without sizing it. So the .356 size mold kinda covers all of the bases for the most common sizes guys are running 9mm: .356, .357, and .358. Want .356? Use WW alloy. Want .357 to .358? Add some antimony til you get the size you want.

Miha didn't say how many guys need to commit in order to get this into an active group buy. I'll send him a PM and let you guys know what he says.

Let's get the ball rolling!

1. Phlier
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[Burnt Fingers]

I've got that same mold. I purchased a custom powder funnel for my Dillon 650 and have no problems loading flat base bullets.

The funnel is basically the same as a Lyman M die.

[Phlier]

I've got that same mold. I purchased a custom powder funnel for my Dillon 650 and have no problems loading flat base bullets.

The funnel is basically the same as a Lyman M die.

That sounds like a great solution. But I'm loading that boolit on three different presses... a 550, a 1050, and an LCT. So I'd need to get three separate funnels. I'm also considering getting a Mr. Bullet Feeder for the 1050, and have heard that bevel base boolits play better with it, in regards to having it set the boolits nice and square on the case.

Must admit, I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been any interest in this potential group buy.... think I'll just let this one die off.

[DAFzipper]

It's the post Christmas cash flow problem. Give it some time.

Sent from my LG-H700 using Tapatalk

[Phlier]

It's the post Christmas cash flow problem. Give it some time.

Sent from my LG-H700 using Tapatalk

Good idea. I'm just getting a bit anxious... as much as I love this boolit, it is responsible for slowing down my ammo production *a lot* due to the flat base. I usually run around 700 rounds per hour on my 1050, and this boolit has me down under 500 now.

I could just get a five cavity mold of this boolit design with a bevel base from a different manufacturer, as several of them do offer such a thing, but I do like throwing 8 boolits at a time since I cast thousands of boolits per week, and I also really like the quality of Miha's molds. The additional three cavities doesn't really sound like that much, but it greatly reduces the total number of casts when you sit down and turn 40 lbs of alloy into boolits at one sitting. That's equal to about 2,200 boolits, which is 275 casts at 8 cavities, or 440 casts at 5 cavities.

This really is a fantastic boolit design, made from a top tier mold artisan, and in an 8(!) cavity mold! If it just had a bevel base, it would truly be my dream 9mm boolit.

I thought for sure that there'd be a lot of guys in a similar situation, ready to jump on the chance of getting this boolit in a bevel base, 8 cavity mold from one of the finest mold artisan manufacturers around.

I'll give it a couple of months to see how many guys are interested, then ask Miha how much he'd charge me to make up the difference... For example, if it normally takes 20 guys to commit to a GB before Miha will invest the time and money into a new cherry for it, and I'm only able to get 8 guys, how much he'd charge me to only make 9 molds. Eight would be sold at the normal price to the other guys, and I'll eat the rest of the cost to buy the ninth mold. Yeah, I want this mold that bad.

[Burnt Fingers]

That sounds like a great solution. But I'm loading that boolit on three different presses... a 550, a 1050, and an LCT. So I'd need to get three separate funnels. I'm also considering getting a Mr. Bullet Feeder for the 1050, and have heard that bevel base boolits play better with it, in regards to having it set the boolits nice and square on the case.

Must admit, I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been any interest in this potential group buy.... think I'll just let this one die off.

I'm pretty sure the same funnel would work with the 1050 and the 550. Don't they use the same powder measure? The same company that makes the bullet feeder makes the funnels.

I just checked, they do use the same funnel.

http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1582

[Phlier]

I'm pretty sure the same funnel would work with the 1050 and the 550. Don't they use the same powder measure? The same company that makes the bullet feeder makes the funnels.

I just checked, they do use the same funnel.

http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1582

The 1050 and 550 do use the same powder measure, but the powder-through funnels are different. The 550 uses a powder-through-expander funnel, and the 1050 uses a powder-through funnel that also serves to bell the case. The difference is very subtle; while the 1050 funnel does put a bell on the case, the expanding is handled at a completely separate station, where as with the 550, the funnel expands and bells, too.

While you can technically use a powder-through-expander funnel with a 1050, you're duplicating functionality...expanding the case twice. not that big of a deal usually.

I normally use Lee Auto Drum powder measures on the 550, as they are so much cheaper than the Dillon measures. I'm tempted to try one of the uniquetek funnels in a Lee Auto Drum just to see if it'll work.

Thanks for the link! I think I'll get one and see how it works. Might at least hold me over until I can get this group buy going. I do love how the M die makes a boolit "snap" into place on the top of the case.

[jsanch03]

I’m interested in a 356 bevel

[jsanch03]

Any update on this group buy? I know covid put a kink in a lot of things but curious where this is at in terms of interest?

[Phlier]

Think the interest got stuck at you and me, jsanch03

[Law.man]

I would be interested in this mold, however most of my 9mm barrels slug at .356" or thereabouts and in my experience, PC does not make up for lack of bullet diameter, saying that when I take a .356 bullet, apply PC, size to .358, I still get a little bit of leading, whereas if I take a .358 bullet, then PC, then size back to .358, I am golden. I also prefer to cast at 10-12 BHN, which is absolutely sufficient for 9mm minor ISPC loads. True, I could use harder alloy for a 0.001" increase in diameter, but then I would also be wasting precious antimony and tin.

Sooooo, is there any chance to maybe bump the diameter .357" or .358" and add the option of 6 cavity brass? Pretty please?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Sizing at .358" has caused me chambering issues. And I shoot powder coated in 9mm so 3.56" is perfect. I've got two Lee six bangers that I use for 9mm.