Is there any place where I can get a historically correct mold for .44-40?
Are you thinking about the old original "IDEAL bullet mold & reloading combination tool"?
In that case I think eBay and gunshows are your best bet.
If on the other hand you want a modern bullet mold that casts an authentic flat-nose bullet with proper grease grooves, then LYMAN still makes those.
Lyman 427098 is a historically correct 44-40 mold. 2 grease grooves and no crimping groove. Mine usually drops wheel weights at about 200 gr, pure lead closer to 205gr.
Quote from: Tascosa Joe on November 27, 2024, 11:33:42 AMLyman 427098 is a historically correct 44-40 mold. 2 grease grooves and no crimping groove. Mine usually drops wheel weights at about 200 gr, pure lead closer to 205gr.
Unfortunately it seems that that mold is out of production.
9245, ifin you are set on the Lyman style 427098 mold for a 44-40, if ya can't find one somewhere, in case you have or haven't heard of them, try NOE Bullet Molds (online store). They are a quality maker of both aluminum and brass molds of alot of rifle and handgun calibers, many of them similar to alot of bullet designs from yesteryear. They are very good, excellent quality with high fives in the bullet casting fraternity. I have two of them, one a .257 diameter (250 Savage) rifle mold and the other a 45 Colt mold (.454) for shooting in my Kirst cylinder Colt 3rd Model Dragoon conversion. They aren't cheap, but nor are they overly expensive. Similar to RCBS and Lyman prices. NOE has alot of variations of about every caliber you can think of in style and weight, 2-6 bullet molds. Might not have some extreme wildcat caliber, but from looking at all of their offerings bet you could find something similar to what you are looking for. Friendly helpful staff if you need to call. I talked with the owner once and ya couldn't find a nicer guy. Besides bullet mold talk we talked about a whole host of things. You wouldn't see or get that with any of the 'big name' outfits selling shooting needs.
How does the Lee 429-200-RF compare to the original?
The LEE molds have shallower grease-grooves than the originals, so they are more suited to smokeless type bulletlube and smokeless loads.
One way to compensate for these shallow grease-grooves when loading blackpowder, especially for Cowboy Action Shooting, is to reduce the powder charge and fill the void between powder and bullet with sesame seeds. The sesame seeds contain up to 50% oils, and when fired will leave an oily film in the barrel that prevents powder residue from caking and thus ruining accuracy.
A .44-40 will hold up to about 35 grains of blackpowder.
Reducing this to about 25 grains to make room for sesame seeds will not matter in a competition scenario.
In a hunting scenario you would probably want the full 30+ grain load, and you should be able to squeeze off two to five rounds before accuracy suffers.
Then you'd have to wipe the barrel clean before tackling the rest of the buffalo herd...
How about Lyman LY2660666?
Accurate 41-200L?
I only have experience with the Lyman style 427098 and the LEE mold.
I have heard only good reviews of Accurate Molds, and I believe he has technical drawings of his molds on his website...
Perhaps someone with firsthand experience with the other two will chime in...?
Quote from: Crow Choker on November 27, 2024, 08:12:03 PM9245, ifin you are set on the Lyman style 427098 mold for a 44-40, if ya can't find one somewhere, in case you have or haven't heard of them, try NOE Bullet Molds (online store). They are a quality maker of both aluminum and brass molds of alot of rifle and handgun calibers, many of them similar to alot of bullet designs from yesteryear. They are very good, excellent quality with high fives in the bullet casting fraternity. I have two of them, one a .257 diameter (250 Savage) rifle mold and the other a 45 Colt mold (.454) for shooting in my Kirst cylinder Colt 3rd Model Dragoon conversion. They aren't cheap, but nor are they overly expensive. Similar to RCBS and Lyman prices. NOE has alot of variations of about every caliber you can think of in style and weight, 2-6 bullet molds. Might not have some extreme wildcat caliber, but from looking at all of their offerings bet you could find something similar to what you are looking for. Friendly helpful staff if you need to call. I talked with the owner once and ya couldn't find a nicer guy. Besides bullet mold talk we talked about a whole host of things. You wouldn't see or get that with any of the 'big name' outfits selling shooting needs.
Closest I could find from them was 432-216-RF-Z1, which is a 216 grain bullet, not 200 as the original was.
Quote from: 9245 on December 01, 2024, 04:25:16 PMClosest I could find from them was 432-216-RF-Z1, which is a 216 grain bullet, not 200 as the original was.
Well in the later days of 2024 that we are in now, sometimes "Closest" is the best ya can get and be allowed to use with what was used 150 years ago (plus/minus). If you can't get a "Historically Correct" mold or Lyman 427098 mold ya might have to go with what is similar or one that is only 16 grains over the original 200 grains in weight. Sometimes in this shootin what they did back in the day ya gotta make some concessions. I've read of shooters bitchin about other shooters selfmade holsters not having the right 'stitchin' as was done back in the day and other minor this and that. My thoughts on those who try to find nit-pickin areas of others gear, clothing, guns and such is I bet those guys are wearing modern made and purchased BVD or Fruit of the Lomb underwear at the range while finding faults with others. JMO and stickin with it. ;D
A big "Like" for Mr. Crow Choker's opinion.
Lucky ;D
:) Yessiree BOB ;)
ANOTHER BIG "LIKE" for Crow Choker
This is a near and dear topic for me. After six years or more of reading everything I can get my hands on on the subject, it is my opinion that the closest mold available now is the Accurate 43-210B, a fantastic bullet if you're using Swiss BP or a bulky smokeless- as (just like the original) it has no crimp groove. The 210gr weight is between the original 200gr weight of Winchester's bullets and that of Remington's original loading at 217grs. If you want the 200gr weight, I would talk to Tom at Accurate about customizing the 43-210B by shortening the driving bands of the bullet enough to lose the 10 grains without losing any lube capacity or messing with the nose profile which is already spot on to the original. Most designs in Tom's catalog are custom designs. This is what I want to do. I have been shooting the 43-215C with good results, but don't need the large lube groove with the Swiss powder I now shoot exclusively, and I also want a historical bullet design. Little more room for powder wouldn't hurt either.
The Accurate mold:
https://accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-210B
I have been greatly helped by the work of the late John Kort, whose old threads you can find everywhere by googling "44-40 black powder journey". Here are some of his initial posts in that thread as it appears on CASCity: https://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=54292.0
John's protege, Bryan Austin aka Savvy Jack, also has a fantastic website with just about everything you could want to know about this venerable cartridge. It's a little annoying to navigate at times, but the amount of research and testing the man has done and made available to us is nothing short of heroic: https://sites.google.com/view/44winchester/chasing-the-44-40?authuser=0
I should also mention that according to John Kort, the Lyman 427098 has reduced lube capacity compared to the original WRA bullet. Probably fine with Swiss, but the Accurate bullet is better in that respect.
As others have said, Lyman 427098 is as close as you'll find. If you want the real deal, buy an original Winchester .44 WCF bullet mold. You'll see them often on Ebay.
Quote from: Crow Choker on December 02, 2024, 07:35:29 AMWell in the later days of 2024 that we are in now, sometimes "Closest" is the best ya can get and be allowed to use with what was used 150 years ago (plus/minus). ;D
This is very good reasonable advice. A good choice for a bullet, if you can find the mold, is Dick Dastardly's Big Lube Mav Dutchman. It is about 200 grains in 44-40 and has a lube groove that will carry enough lube for the longest barreled rifle.
Lucky ;D
Here on Ebay,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/146236850113?_skw=winchester+44-40+bullet+mold&itmmeta=01JE6VKH469T31FH4G648XCG00&hash=item220c653fc1:g:-scAAOSwWF9nL9sx&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnejzRWkkcNrM1BtqQxgyEmnASJsPV%2BakD1XIOLgX0TL0feUkzHcnF37ytM3t2etqiuOlQqswqwtHfaty8eFdZGWL44bM%2F6II8VxTlK17K4t282M0sqrAMeGwZFjZzXs57JfBmmWS9nVU3e3vdeIAA%2FAaOq4ar%2Bh3%2BSATMNsquawyCn%2FUNjhiMkxkpHQYsZvi%2BDgzT%2F1lfHouTvgZ%2FnVjyAOevBdRDtSu%2FwDuBtuWjONp7oyCGkABSxqflAp4RGENG%2FeDLzCEsza--E8yAf1S4s99jsxqShfqjeZaOYDeE4B9MBFmDMcEcIDWke7z0W1Vg%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5SSztvxZA
A buy now, https://www.ebay.com/itm/156546707921?_skw=winchester+44-40+bullet+mold&itmmeta=01JE6VKH46QRG7S8RFETV6TGSR&hash=item2472e931d1:g:jdYAAOSwoc1nJVIw&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmQ4t6ERWnNvhEge0qppptVdre9pcfhe2qUo8WwZuEQ2SIog3Pm93tQxtkpoJzLaqFTrDwQ3DljrH9YZVodtj1IO9gqiyXlxJW%2FJ8p2KETbQw5gL4TY9c0LmN398d6qsbYOGAo%2F9%2FIUJs79%2F1J3SKlqBV%2BpWEBVYOhCN2i33M4P2NdIO9X6HHQa4SYkiSE4MXJcbHRgnRY7j2T9s4lO9P0%2FYJOAP9RMnF6ryrC9UGQG19hoKLcaW8Hf%2BatAOpGoGzoaIWOWcz8PEJgOEJ%2BGKyyFQR08pyMXwAfAo7ay62FYfsJi0sUVbiKG5cqzVQxpdnM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5aSztvxZ
A Real Winchester, https://www.ebay.com/itm/205040055508?_skw=winchester+44+wcf+bullet+mold&itmmeta=01JE6VTA4PTZ0R91MC4MBCE3XQ&hash=item2fbd56f4d4:g:iP4AAOSwThNnCxtv&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmTHRGVg%2B7DLbRPwYvViH1nCHRkG8K0s3kTYVDZScH69YOfXGxhdfRdd7gw6ujRfHSsd24oqiQttABo9aXhDREI1OUWvT13Ykqqwagod%2B0Qa0%2FQSgdNWjs7%2FIXekCi7qirEhvZ9tvULJCL%2BosJ1nW%2BSxIppe3VxAHdijd%2BNZsKMCd0ADc9%2BlAeptSan3iMfLQPldHft5Gt4%2FnTO83ebRNoT5%2BU0Q%2FFyhc8GNt364YvgdVjnogo9YixypX3oyZms%2BdBVl40hW7hNmUHO2g7gbL9a%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7ai6dvxZA
Just go to Ebay and search and BE ready to pay.
That top double cavity Lyman mold looks to be the best of the three, but appearance wise looks like DD's Mav Dutchman mold/bullet and the Mav carries alot deeper lube cavity. Thumbs up Lucky RK for posting, was thinking about doing so but forgot to. Do any of DD's big lube molds ever show up anywhere for sale? Was going to get his 45 PRS when Dick was still selling but waited to long to do so and couldn't find one for sale. Ended up getting a similar appearance NOE deep lube bullet mold. Surprised if Dick isn't going to offer again no one took up the task of doing so. I love my 44 Mav Dutch, shoot in 44 Open Top, Richards II, and a RM conversion. Also 44 caliber '66 Yellow Boy, size all at .430". Also shoot a 38 Snakebite cast in RM conversion. Great bullets.
Good luck trying to buy a Dick Dastardly bullet mold. I tried about 1 1/2 years ago and nothing to be found. I read most people state he is out of business and off the website, here. Only chance is if someone wants to sell their used one.
Just for reference, here is a bullet cast from my original Winchester mold. The reduced picture quality required to post reduces the detail, but this should give you an idea of what the Winchester molds produced.
Griff
It's a decent choice for CAS distances, but if a big lube groove bullet is needed, the Accurate 43-215C designed by the late John Kort is more accurate at longer distances. It has a single big lube groove and will carry enough lube to deal with dirty powders like Goex, Scheutzen, etc
Quote from: Lucky R. K. on December 03, 2024, 09:53:59 AM
This is very good reasonable advice. A good choice for a bullet, if you can find the mold, is Dick Dastardly's Big Lube Mav Dutchman. It is about 200 grains in 44-40 and has a lube groove that will carry enough lube for the longest barreled rifle.
Lucky ;D
Quote from: Little Dalton on December 03, 2024, 07:17:00 PMif a big lube groove bullet is needed, the Accurate 43-215C designed by the late John Kort is more accurate at longer distances. It has a single big lube groove and will carry enough lube to deal with dirty powders like Goex, Scheutzen, etc
This is the bullet that I use. When it's loaded, the exposed part of the bullet looks very much like an original.
Here consider the RCBS 44-200-FN or the 44-200-CM.
I choose the FN as my first 44-40 crimp-able bullet but not historically correct shape. Then went to the Lyman 427098. Then final bought an Original Winchester 44WCF mold. Stuck with BP and the original for many years.
https://www.rcbs.com/bullet-casting/moulds/bullet-mould-.44-200-fn-595/355308.html
https://www.rcbs.com/bullet-casting/moulds/bullet-mould-.44-200-cm-636/355306.html
Quote from: Black River Smith on December 03, 2024, 03:57:20 PMGood luck trying to buy a Dick Dastardly bullet mold. I tried about 1 1/2 years ago and nothing to be found. I read most people state he is out of business and off the website, here. Only chance is if someone wants to sell their used one.
Wonder why Dick D hasn't sold the rights for his 'Big Lube Bullet Molds' to anyone interested in marketing them? From time to time on the Darkside section there are posts wondering about his well being. Those who remain in contact with Dick indicate he's OK but out of the shooting sport and also his mold business. Be great if Dick never has plans to restart if he would sell his mold rights whatever that encompasses to someone interested in getting them available again.
Quote from: Black River Smith on December 03, 2024, 12:18:19 PMHere on Ebay,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/146236850113?_skw=winchester+44-40+bullet+mold&itmmeta=01JE6VKH469T31FH4G648XCG00&hash=item220c653fc1:g:-scAAOSwWF9nL9sx&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnejzRWkkcNrM1BtqQxgyEmnASJsPV%2BakD1XIOLgX0TL0feUkzHcnF37ytM3t2etqiuOlQqswqwtHfaty8eFdZGWL44bM%2F6II8VxTlK17K4t282M0sqrAMeGwZFjZzXs57JfBmmWS9nVU3e3vdeIAA%2FAaOq4ar%2Bh3%2BSATMNsquawyCn%2FUNjhiMkxkpHQYsZvi%2BDgzT%2F1lfHouTvgZ%2FnVjyAOevBdRDtSu%2FwDuBtuWjONp7oyCGkABSxqflAp4RGENG%2FeDLzCEsza--E8yAf1S4s99jsxqShfqjeZaOYDeE4B9MBFmDMcEcIDWke7z0W1Vg%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5SSztvxZA
A buy now, https://www.ebay.com/itm/156546707921?_skw=winchester+44-40+bullet+mold&itmmeta=01JE6VKH46QRG7S8RFETV6TGSR&hash=item2472e931d1:g:jdYAAOSwoc1nJVIw&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmQ4t6ERWnNvhEge0qppptVdre9pcfhe2qUo8WwZuEQ2SIog3Pm93tQxtkpoJzLaqFTrDwQ3DljrH9YZVodtj1IO9gqiyXlxJW%2FJ8p2KETbQw5gL4TY9c0LmN398d6qsbYOGAo%2F9%2FIUJs79%2F1J3SKlqBV%2BpWEBVYOhCN2i33M4P2NdIO9X6HHQa4SYkiSE4MXJcbHRgnRY7j2T9s4lO9P0%2FYJOAP9RMnF6ryrC9UGQG19hoKLcaW8Hf%2BatAOpGoGzoaIWOWcz8PEJgOEJ%2BGKyyFQR08pyMXwAfAo7ay62FYfsJi0sUVbiKG5cqzVQxpdnM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR5aSztvxZ
A Real Winchester, https://www.ebay.com/itm/205040055508?_skw=winchester+44+wcf+bullet+mold&itmmeta=01JE6VTA4PTZ0R91MC4MBCE3XQ&hash=item2fbd56f4d4:g:iP4AAOSwThNnCxtv&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmTHRGVg%2B7DLbRPwYvViH1nCHRkG8K0s3kTYVDZScH69YOfXGxhdfRdd7gw6ujRfHSsd24oqiQttABo9aXhDREI1OUWvT13Ykqqwagod%2B0Qa0%2FQSgdNWjs7%2FIXekCi7qirEhvZ9tvULJCL%2BosJ1nW%2BSxIppe3VxAHdijd%2BNZsKMCd0ADc9%2BlAeptSan3iMfLQPldHft5Gt4%2FnTO83ebRNoT5%2BU0Q%2FFyhc8GNt364YvgdVjnogo9YixypX3oyZms%2BdBVl40hW7hNmUHO2g7gbL9a%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7ai6dvxZA
Just go to Ebay and search and BE ready to pay.
Thankyou for that. I ordered the first one. :)
9245,
Please understand that on Ebay you 'do not order' the item you see. That particular item you claim 'to have ordered' was an auction item. You only won, because you were the only person to bid on that item. You could have lost if someone was willing to pay more than you. So, you won the item because you won the auction at the price the seller was starting the bidding at and no-one-else bid before the time ended. The other option is to directly commit to a BUY NOW (normally a higher price than a starting point of an auction) sale of a particular item. That is again you are will to outright buy the item at the sellers higher asking price, no auction bidding involved.
I hope it works out for you. That was a very good price for a double cavity mold of that bullet design. I noted on that mold there is lead tinning on the face. That has to be removed in order to get a good bullet.
To me, the second one, a Buy Now at $4 dollars more, looked better. Only grease to be cleaned off with a solvent, but that is just me. Both having the same shipping costs, levels everything to -- chance of losing to -- buying outright at just $4 more.
Good luck.
Quote from: Black River Smith on December 06, 2024, 05:10:06 PM9245,
Please understand that on Ebay you 'do not order' the item you see. That particular item you claim 'to have ordered' was an auction item. You only won, because you were the only person to bid on that item. You could have lost if someone was willing to pay more than you. So, you won the item because you won the auction at the price the seller was starting the bidding at and no-one-else bid before the time ended. The other option is to directly commit to a BUY NOW (normally a higher price than a starting point of an auction) sale of a particular item. That is again you are will to outright buy the item at the sellers higher asking price, no auction bidding involved.
I hope it works out for you. That was a very good price for a double cavity mold of that bullet design. I noted on that mold there is lead tinning on the face. That has to be removed in order to get a good bullet.
To me, the second one, a Buy Now at $4 dollars more, looked better. Only grease to be cleaned off with a solvent, but that is just me. Both having the same shipping costs, levels everything to -- chance of losing to -- buying outright at just $4 more.
Good luck.
So I misspoke. Yes it was a very good price, most I was seeing when I tried searching myself seemed closer to $100+. I think I did pretty good.
How do you remove the lead tinning though? Can it just be melted off by dipping it in the lead pot?
To remove the tinning, I do not have a great method. I will have to defer to some of the other experts that have posted here.
To answer you 'sort-of' -- I do not believe your approach will work. I do not think that just heating the mold will cause the 'mold - liquid lead' just suck off the tinning thin layer.
I thought the 2nd mold might have corrosion on the inner block faces. 2nd look, ya might be grease, think if I were interested I'd contact the seller on that one hopefully he's honest enough to say.
I normally wipe lead/tin off off mold blocks with a light wiping using 0000 steel wool or some brass wool I keep on hand. Have used light brushing with a brass brush which works also. Read once that tin likes to adhere to brass. The blocks need to be fairly hot. Read sometime back on another forum a guy advised he used bamboo sticks to rub it off.
I received the mold today and got it mounted to my Lee mold handles. I do not see anything that looks like lead or tin stuck to the mold and it even cane with the bullet in the listing picture and everything looks good. Maybe I'm missing something glaringly obvious? What am I looking for?
Quote from: 9245 on November 27, 2024, 12:25:27 PMUnfortunately it seems that that mold is out of production.
Go to Accurate Molds and look at 43-210B. It's pretty much a copy of the old Lyman 427098
Quote from: 9245 on December 09, 2024, 05:13:29 PMI received the mold today and got it mounted to my Lee mold handles. I do not see anything that looks like lead or tin stuck to the mold and it even cane with the bullet in the listing picture and everything looks good. Maybe I'm missing something glaringly obvious? What am I looking for?
Please post pictures of the faces of the inside area of the mold, in your possession. Then maybe I can point out areas of suspected tinning. Referring back to the ebay photos, to discuss what I see and you see, could cause an error, if the lighting was different or something else has happened.
Quote from: Black River Smith on December 10, 2024, 08:06:53 PMPlease post pictures of the faces of the inside area of the mold, in your possession. Then maybe I can point out areas of suspected tinning. Referring back to the ebay photos, to discuss what I see and you see, could cause an error, if the lighting was different or something else has happened.
Here you go. Only thing I could find was some bullet lube that was stuck to it that I am still trying to wipe off. The previous owner took pictures with an already lubed bullet (or with traces of lube still on it) in to the mold for the pictures. I can feel a bunch of it still on it but a bunch got stuck to the mold too.
IMG_3462.jpegIMG_3461.jpeg
Quote from: Cap'n Redneck on December 01, 2024, 12:46:56 PMThe LEE molds have shallower grease-grooves than the originals, so they are more suited to smokeless type bulletlube and smokeless loads.
One way to compensate for these shallow grease-grooves when loading blackpowder, especially for Cowboy Action Shooting, is to reduce the powder charge and fill the void between powder and bullet with sesame seeds. The sesame seeds contain up to 50% oils, and when fired will leave an oily film in the barrel that prevents powder residue from caking and thus ruining accuracy.
I predict 9245's next question on the boards is where to find historically accurate sesame seeds . . .
;D ;)
Another vote for Accurate Molds. When I was working up my loads for the Vetterli I ended up custom ordering a correct mold from them.
In your photos those whitish marks are what I believed was tinning 'as shown heavier and brighter on the ebay pics'. IF you are now stating that cleaning the molds are now removing those whitish marks because they are just 'old lube', then keep cleaning and you will have 'perfect molds and perfect bullets'.
As a tip, I use Acetone to clean oils and organics off my molds.
Quote from: Black River Smith on December 13, 2024, 02:21:36 PMIn your photos those whitish marks are what I believed was tinning 'as shown heavier and brighter on the ebay pics'. IF you are now stating that cleaning the molds are now removing those whitish marks because they are just 'old lube', then keep cleaning and you will have 'perfect molds and perfect bullets'.
As a tip, I use Acetone to clean oils and organics off my molds.
I will try that when I get a chance, I think I have a bottle laying around somewhere.
And yeah it's some kind of a sticky waxy gunk, sort of reminds me of a mixture of old peelable glue and wax, it is very thick and sticky, the same stuff was slathered allover the sample bullet so my best guess is bullet lube.
Looks like that mold will make nice bullets. As a beginner at casting, co far my best bullets have been made with pre-mixed ingots of 20-1.
Would one of you gentlemen with an original mold be willing to share some measurements with me? I specifically need the overall length of the bullet, and the length from the very bottom of the bullet to the top edge of the forward driving band (the lip that the case gets crimped over). Thanks in advance!
Quote from: Little Dalton on December 18, 2024, 01:09:54 PMWould one of you gentlemen with an original mold be willing to share some measurements with me? I specifically need the overall length of the bullet
The value I get is 0.591". This is an average of 5 bullets measured on the flat portion of the nose and the best portion of flat base. Negating the seam where lead is slightly higher and any flowing of lead from sprue cutting.
Quote from: Little Dalton on December 18, 2024, 01:09:54 PMWould one of you gentlemen with an original mold be willing to share some measurements with me? I specifically need the length from the very bottom of the bullet to the top edge of the forward driving band (the lip that the case gets crimped over).
The value I get is 0.3088". This is an average of 5 bullets measured from the base flat(as stated above) to the best I can do seeing(using magnifier headset) the top edge of the forward band.
I used a dial caliper with the sharp edge of the arms/claws. I did not save each individual measurement for a range level, sorry about that.
This is coming from bullets molded out of a Perfect condition mold (I got luck with the condition of this 44 WCF mold) and using 'my' purest lead. Other alloys or purity may change these values slightly.
Quote from: Black River Smith on December 18, 2024, 02:16:02 PMThe value I get is 0.591". This is an average of 5 bullets measured on the flat portion of the nose and the best portion of flat base. Negating the seam where lead is slightly higher and any flowing of lead from sprue cutting.
The value I get is 0.3088". This is an average of 5 bullets measured from the base flat(as stated above) to the best I can do seeing(using magnifier headset) the top edge of the forward band.
I used a dial caliper with the sharp edge of the arms/claws. I did not save each individual measurement for a range level, sorry about that.
This is coming from bullets molded out of a Perfect condition mold (I got luck with the condition of this 44 WCF mold) and using 'my' purest lead. Other alloys or purity may change these values slightly.
BRS, you are THE MAN! Thank you! I'm going to talk to Tom at Accurate as soon as the budget allows, and work on modifying the the 43-210B to bring it down to closer to 200 grains in pure lead. These measurements are exactly what I need. Thank you!
Little Dalton,
You are welcome. I hope you can see that project to completion. That bullet in a crimped groove design would be nice to see. Awhile back I bought an Accurate 43-215-C thinking it would be OK for the 44-40 smokeless because it had a crimp groove. Well that mold dropped a 224 grain bullet with my pure lead. That would not work for me even though John Kort designed it for longer ranges. But, last week I was lucky to win a NEI 427-200 aluminum 4 cavity mold, my first big production mold. It will be a Christmas present, so I cannot cast some to see what the final weight will be with my lead. But it does have what appears to be a small crimp groove and one grease groove and is slightly longer than the original, we will see. What I found was this mold was first produced in 2002. This mold looks unused. Amazed!
I got my 427098 on E Bay. Pretty common on there..