Help a noob pick the right molds

[b money]

Hello, I am completly new to casting, the closest i'v been to casting has been to pick up about 300lbs of WW from the local tire shops, and i'v also been reading. I'v been reloading for about 2yrs and mostly I have been loading lead so I thought casting would be the "next step". Now i'v been loading 38spl, 45acp, and I will soon start loading 45 long colt. I'm thinking Lyman molds would be a good place to start cause they have been around for ever and you can find em cheap on fleebay, gunbroker, gunshows etc. I'd like to stay with SWC's (don't ask why, I guess it's the "stay with what works" rule) so here's what I'm thinking:

45ACP- 452630 200grn SWC H&G 68 copy
45LC- 452424 255grn keith SWC
38spl- 358477 150grn SWC
** * * * 358665 158grn RNFP

so far I only have one problem I like the 358477 design but it's 150grn and it's SO much easier to find data for 158grn so that's why I put the 358665 in the running. I also plan on using WW's and i'v noticed that they cast a little heaver than they should so the 358477 may be ok. Please let me know what you think

thanks

[sagacious]

The few grains of weight difference between 150 and 158grs is not worth even a particle of worry.

Any mold may be expected to cast a few grains heavier, or lighter, than nominal specs. This is one reason why you should always start at the recommended beginning charge and work up from there. If you do that, your safety margin is built-in from the get-go.

[johnvid]

There are several excelent mould makers here on this forum. Most make moulds for the group buys.

I have several moulds from Mihec and all are first quality. Your money will be well spent. Mihec has several moulds listed on his web page under his e-store section. Miha is located in Slovenia. When he makes a mould for the group buy, he will run additional moulds that he sells in his e-store. www.mp-molds.com

[Rex]

My 358665 drops 165-6 grain boolits with wheel weight lead. They shoot nice and I like them.
I know it isn't prudent to give data over the internet but I really like 5.4 gr. Unique with the 150 gr. bullet. But, REMEMBER, MY REVOLVER IS AN L FRAME SMITH. You can load that at your own risk. That is in a 38 special case.
Rex

[fredj338]

You have the first step well in hand, finding cheap/free alloy. Molds, I prefer iron, like the RCBS a lot, but have Lyman, Saeco & a few Lee. I think it's easier for a newb to get good bullets w/ good iron molds vs the cheap Lee, JMO. The molds you listed will be fine, don;t overlook the RCBS in sim. styles.

[JIMinPHX]

There's plenty of data for the 358477 in the Lyman Cast Bullet handbook. Also, I frequently just use 158-grain lead data with it. I haven't had any problems.

The 358477 is a good mold to start with. the rounded edges on that boolit design make it easy to get good fill out.

Any of the molds you listed should work fine for you.

Welcome aboard.

[b money]

Thanks everyone!! I'll see if I can score any of them at a local gun show this weekend

[MtGun44]

358477 is a really great boolit. Us 158 gr load data and you will always be safe.

Bill

[b money]

Thank you for the tips on the .38 mold, does anyone have any experience with either of the .45 molds? If you like them or if you don't like them, why? Stuff like that. Also since I'm going to a gun show and might see some used molds, is there any way of telling the difference between a good used "buy it now" mold, and an abused "run from it" mold?

[HORNET]

On the .45 molds, it looks like you've picked a couple of pretty good designs that usually work quite well.
Used molds? If you can see burrs, dings & dents, hammer marks, galling, or other obvious damage, you probably want to avoid them at this stage. A lot of old 'beaters' can be salvaged after you've got enough experience to figure out how to fix them. One thing that might matter is what you need for dimensions. Some of the old "Ideal" molds ran a bit bigger than current production Lyman's of the same style. I really like RCBS for barrels that take current nominal dimensions.

[Doc_Stihl]

I'd suggest starting with a 2 cavity lee mold personally. Figure out what you like and don't like and then go from there. It's sometimes hard to find a good used lyman for short money, but a new lee is still half that money and makes a mighty fine boolit.

[MtGun44]

H&G 68 is the gold standard for .45 ACP IPSC competition, very reliable feeder and accurate
enough for most purposes. Not familiar with the particular mold you mentioned, but be
sure it is an ACCURATE reproduciton of the H&G 68 - small changes in the nose can cause
problems in feeding in some guns. The 454424 is a great boolit for the .45 Colt and some
have had success with it in the .45 ACP altho the shape is not intended for feeding in
a semi-auto - doesn't mean it can't work. It is a bit heavy for the ACP, too. Another
great choice for the .45 LC is the RCBS 45-270-SAA.

If you intend to try for the last tiny increment of accy in the ACP, the 452460 is a wonderful
boolit, but slightly more likely to have feeding issues in a few 1911s due to a shorter and
wider nose. It feeds perfectly in my guns, and probably will in most but it doesn't have the
decades of experience and billions of rounds fired successfully that the H&G 68 does.

[b money]

Well my gun show "haul" consisted of a bottle of unique(new powder for me) and a double cav Lyman 452374, which is a 225grn round nose. Not exactly what I was looking for but it was at a price I just couldn't pass up. I'll still try to find the 3 that I mentioned earlier though.

[That'll Do]

For 38 Special (and in my case, 357 Magnum), I like the RCBS 38-150-SWC or Saeco 382 (158gr. SWC). Both boolits work quite nicely with a wide range of powders. I usually use Bullseye, Unique, Universal, W-231, or 2400, depending on what my intent is.

For 45 ACP, I feel that there are two choices that IMMEDIATELY jump out: The H&G 68 200gr SWC (I use a Saeco 069, which is pretty much a dead-ringer for the original H&G 68) or a 230gr round nose. I like the RCBS 45-230-RN, because that's what shoots accurately in my gun (Kimber Custom Stainless Target II).

I recommend iron molds for a new caster (which I myself am). I noticed that casting with iron molds has been much easier (less frustrating is more accurate) than my aluminum mold (NOE 360-180-WFNGC, which is an excellent mold, just a new material I need to learn).

Of course, maybe buying a 2 cavity Lee mold to test waters wouldn't be a bad idea.

[MtGun44]

452374 is an excellent choice for .45 ACP, very reliable feeder and accurate. Not good for
self defense or hunting compared to a flat meplat for more damage, but still a large caliber
hole.