Fellas, I don't get here regularly, but I'm never disappointed when I do get around to checking in. Lots of good experience here, and "idea men." That's why I'm posting this question here.
The first bullet mould I ever bought, some 30 years ago, was a Lee 45-190HP mould that I got for my Colt Mk. IV Series 70 .45 ACP. Worked pretty darn good, and it wasn't long before I learned to cast a passable bullet. That teensy lil' ol' HP didn't do much to open the bullets up, though, even over 8.0 gr. of Unique, which was used a lot in those earlier times.
However, I've been thinking for some time now that Lee's really missing the boat by not making a more apt HP design. Their moulds are - by FAR - the easiest to use and fastest casting HP moulds I've used. Seems to me that a big ol' gaping HP stem with maybe a parabolic type curve on it (so it could go fairly deep without thinning the front end too much for handling) would make up some darn fine HP's, and it seems to me that a good HP pin would be able to release the bullet easily, too.
You guys have more experience than I do at this type of thing, though, so I want to hear your opinions about this possibility.
They've got some pretty good bullets already that look like they'd lend themselves easily to making up on a HP mould, like the 45-230TC, the wide pointed .44 and .45 SWC's in heavier wts., and that 357-158RNFP looks like it ought to be a winner, too. Cast of alloys commensurate with the speed they're to be driven at, and these ought to provide some useful "improvement," at least for some purposes, over anything they presently offer, I think.
I've also used the .357-150SWC-HP a lot in both .38 and .357 guise, and even of WW's, it would open up reliably. It had a MUCH larger HP pin, though, than the 45-190-HP. That bullet has taken a couple of deer that I know about, and very cleanly, too.
What say you? Remember, the HP configuration would need to be customized to the caliber, length, etc. for this to work well.