What is your favorite mold for your S&W 16-4?«
What is your favorite mold for your S&W 16-4?«
I was foolish enough to sell my 6” Model 16-4 after only having/shooting it for all too short a time. Back then, my bullet of choice was the Ideal 3118/Lyman 311008 design @ 115 gr+/-. If I were looking for a bullet today for that revolver, I’d probably look for this same one or for the discontinued Lyman 313631 or its copy by someone like NOE or Accurate. If I were custom ordering it new, I would probably have it cut without the gas check groove as I find GCs unnecessary.
Congrats if you’ve found a 16-4. I would advise being smarter than I was and holding onto it. A warm (or even hot) loaded K frame S&W is a nice fit for all around use.
Froggie
"It aint easy being green!"
Same here, I mostly use the #3118 sized to .314". It also likes the Ranch Dog 32-20 boolit, when I was shooting silhouette I'd go through thousands of those since I have a 6 cavity mold and it's a tumble lube design so really fast to make.
RCBS 98 swc. Not even close for the 32's. NOE has a clone, the 3118 works well but the RCBS just shines.
[The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze
Thank you guys. Need to add a 32-98-SWC of some make to my small assortment of 32 molds.
I recommend either the RCBS 32-98 plain base, the Gas check Accurate 31-100L or the NOE 315-102-SWC-AZ4 (an RCBS clone) for the 32 H&R. However, if a 327 is in your future, the 31-100L (Lyman 313-631 clone) is your ticket to ride.
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I prefer the Lee TL314-85-WC, for which I have a six-cavity mold. Matt's Bullets also used to offer this, but I don't see it anymore on their website.
Have any of you ever tried the Lyman 313445?
The cramer 52b was an outstanding mold for the 32cal wc's. Sold it on this forum a couple of years ago, it was a 3-cavity mold.
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Sold the 4-cavity Mihec hbwc on e-bay at the same time.
If you ever run across a Ly31357 latch onto it.
[The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze
I did not get good results from the 313-445 at longer ranges ( I have the NOE clone.) I used it in the 32-20 but found that I was missing more rams than I normally would. It seemed ok at shorter ranges, but at turkeys (75 yards) and at Rams it wasn't as good as the RCBS Boolit, 32-98 SWC. YMMV.
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I have used the RCBS 98SWC since I got my 16-4, 10 years ago or so now. It is an outstanding little bullet, never found a load that wouldn’t shoot with it.
But I like molds and fiddling so I bought a Lee 90gr TL SWC, the one that looks like a crayon. I don’t tumble lube but run it through my .314 sizer and squeeze some lube in the bottom 3 or 4 grooves. It is also very accurate. More so than I expected out of a $20 mold and a bullet not being used as designed.
Then a couple years ago I found a bargain on a 3 cavity Cramer 52d in mint shape. It throws a little wide nosed SWC that weighs about 95gr out of COWW and has a big for its size lube groove. It too is very accurate and my choice now for most of my shooting. I’ve gravitated towards it due to it’s being a 3 cavity, 50 percent more bullets per pour, as well as it’s nose shape being better for hunting use.
I will say that after a decade of use I’m not sure that my 16-4 wouldn’t shoot well with appropriately sized gravel loaded in it, it is just a really accurate little gun with anything I’ve ever loaded in it cast or jacketed.
That tumble lube Lee 90 with 2.3-2.5 gr Bullseye is a lot of fun in a 32 long.
[The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |