National Bullet Co. 158 gr TC

[Eagles6]

I recently was given some of these boolits and they shot very well in my Ruger SP101 .357 Mag.
I know all about their problems and that they are no longer in business but does anyone know what mold these were cast from?
Thanks.

[richbug]

Do have any left? a picture would help immensely.

[cabezaverde]

I was at the National Bullet facility a long time ago. It looked like all their machines were Magmas.

See if you can find it here.
http://www.magmaengineering.com/bullet-molds

[Eagles6]

Don't have the ability to post pics at the moment.
They sure do look like the Magma 150 gr though these are 158 gr. Close enuff within the range of different alloys.
Thanks.

[GabbyM]

Is this what they looked like. This is the 150 grain magma. I think the 158 is the same with a bevel base that weighs eight grains. It's an exelent shootng 357 bullet. Not much of a crimp grove but o well. Saeco makes a 158gr TC with flat base. Could have been that one.

[Eagles6]

Similar but these have a bevel starting about .09 forward of the crimp groove back to the crimp groove. Mirror image of the bevel back of the crimp groove.
Wish I could post pics.

[Eagles6]

I have the box and it says 158 gr 38 cal TC.

[Eagles6]

Cancel that bevel forward of the crimp groove. I was looking at a deformed boolit. It looks like the Magma only 158 gr.

[fecmech]

I believe Saeco makes a mold for that bullet. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=145059

[GabbyM]

If it's a flat base 158 grain its probably the Saeco bullet. Saeco blocks are easily machined to run in Magma machines. You'd want a Saeco mould over a Magma for hand casting anyway. Well IMHO. It could also be a modified Magma with it's bevel base altered to flat after some wear or damage.

Truncated cone and RN or RNFP tend to shoot better in most revolvers than a SWC. I've never shot one but the Lee 158 RNFP with a large meplat is popular and comes in the cheep six cavity moulds.
you can purchae those Magma 357-150-TC here. Illinois Bullet Company
Of course around here we encourage casting your own.

[Eagles6]

Thanks all for the help . The Magma mold looks like the boolit with the Saeco being very close except for a slight difference in the crimp groove.
A buddy gave me a bunch of these and a pound of W820 (Loads to AA #9 data) to see if I could come up with a load.
Thanks to the info that I've gotten here on Cast Boolits I've found a load that works very well.
13.5 grs of W820 and a SMP primer gives me 1349 fps, according to the AA manual, with excellent accuracy, no leading and surprisingly reasonable recoil.
Have to wait to buy the mold. In the meantime I may find some of the Lee boolits and give them a try.
Thanks again.

[bobthenailer]

national bullet co used alot of saecos design bullets . saeco [redding] makes a 158 gr tc bullet # 398