In the recent American Handgunner, Roger Smith penned an article called .38 & .357 Cast Bullet Origin Story. In it, he states, apparently regarding Keith's 358429 mold:
But he doesn't really explain that. At least for some applications, a hollow point bullet is superior to a solid bullet, but did he mean that 173 grains is literally just too heavy? Too heavy for .38-44? .357?Elmer quickly learned 173 grains was a bit much. Instead of designing a shorter, lighter bullet, he created a 160-grain hollowpoint version, 358439, which also expanded spectacularly, and another 160-grainer, the 358431 hollowbase version. He strongly advocated either of those two as superior to the heavier original.
I think 358439 is the same external profile, so I'm going to order a 4-cavity 358-429 HP from MP molds and be able to cast either way.
Is my thinking sound?